"O Taste and See"

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8 (KJV)

At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called "Baptist Day." On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every "Baptist Day" the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center.

One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false.

He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection, the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact, never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions.

After about 30 seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium.

"Docta Tillich, I got one question," he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it.

"Docta Tillich. CRUNCH, MUNCH” My question is a simple question,...CRUNCH, MUNCH..."Now, I ain't never read them books you read...CRUNCH,MUNCH.."and I can't recite the Scriptures in the original Greek...CRUNCH,MUNCH ..." I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger...CRUNCH,MUNCH...He finished the apple. "All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate, ------was it bitter or sweet?"

Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: "I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple."

The old white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly---"Neither have you tasted my Jesus."

The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.
Have you tasted Jesus? Jesus has risen... and he's coming back one day!

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him If you have, rejoice in the hope of the resurrection that your faith in Him brings.

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.


Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.


She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?"


Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.



"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"


Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?


Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?


Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?


How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?

~ Author Unknown ~

IT'S STRANGE ISN'T IT?

With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. Romans 12:1-2 (Phillips NT)

The following is a piece I received from a faithful participant of our weekly noonday Bible Study. The Lord has so gifted her to give illustrative and inspiration poems and short stories that drive our weekly lessons home. Hope it causes you to take inventory of your life and make the necessary adjustments. Enjoy!!!

· Isn’t it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?

· Isn’t it strange how two hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a movie?

· Isn’t it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

· Isn’t it strange how difficult it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel or book?

· Isn’t it strange how everyone wants front-row tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit in the last row in church?

· Isn’t it strange how we need to know about an event for church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?

· Isn’t it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend, and repeat gossip?

· Isn’t it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?

· Isn’t it strange how everyone wants a place in Heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?

· Isn't it strange how you can send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away, but before you send messages about God, you think about it twice before you share it with others?

Passion of Christ "R" Rating

Earlier today, I received this piece from one of GSJ's faithful members and thought I would share it with you. The author is unknown. Enjoy!

He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Corinthians 5:15)


The "R" of course is because of the violence — the gore of the scourging and the cruelty of the Cross.

In movie terms "R" usually stands for RESTRICTED. In The Passion, "R" stands for RELEVANT, for REALISTIC, for it REALLY happened for a REASON because we were REBELLIOUS we needed a REDEEMER. Yes, we needed to be RECONCILED and we needed to be RECOVERED. We needed to be REGENERATED. Jesus needed to be REJECTED so that we could have a RELATIONSHIP with God, not just a RELIGION about God.

The "R" is to REMIND us to REMEMBER what Jesus did to REMOVE our sin and to RENDER Satan powerless to our RESCUE from eternity in hell.

The "R" rating is to show that Jesus was RESPONSIBLE for giving you REST. As a RESULT of his death, Jesus RETIRED your debt and RETURNED you to God.

The "R" rating means that some will be REPULSED, some will REFUSE to believe, some will be RELUCTANT, and some will think you are RIDICULOUS in believing that a death was REQUIRED.

The "R" rating means that the RESULT of sin has been REVERSED and that now through faith in Christ, you can be REBORN and your REWARD is eternity because you are now RIGHTEOUS before God. You have RECEIVED him as the RULER of your soul and you have been RESTORED in your walk with God. What a REVOLUTIONARY and RADICAL solution to REDEEM humankind! He is RISEN!

It's In the Valleys I Grow

I received a card in the mail earlier today from a caring member of GSJ. The intent of this card was to encourage me to continue to fight the good fight of faith despite seemingly insurmountable pitfalls.

A glaring weakness of mine is hiding my frustrations associated with pastoral ministry. My expectations of the people whom God gave me oversight can be so unrealistically high, that the least deviation from desired behavior can be frustrating. Thank God for praying people in the pews who appreciate your ministry and have a vested interest in your success. The card was accompanied by a poem which inspired and invigorated me. The Lord always knows when to move on the heart of His people to be a blessing to you. The poem is entitled “It’s In the Valleys I Grow.” Let me share it with you. Enjoy!!

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It’s then I have to remember
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God’s love
And be living my life in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it’s in the valley I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.
My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan’s loss.

Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I’m feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it’s in the valleys I grow!

- Jane Eggleston

Walking Sermons

With every passing moment of my life, the urgency to live for God’s glory, and to allow my walk with Him to be a witness to unbelieving humanity becomes paramount. Truth be told, we don’t always know whose watching us. Consequently, it behooves us to remain cognizant of what our daily lifestyle says about our walk with Christ. Paul, in his second epistle to the Corinthians, says:

"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." -2 Cor. 3:3(KJV)

With that in mind, let me end this brief post by sharing an inspirational piece by poet Edgar Guest:

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
I’d rather one would walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and much sharper than the ear.
Fine counsel can confuse me, but example’s always clear.
The lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do.

The Cross Was His Own

While going through my folder marked "Sermon Notes & Illustrations," I was able to gain renewed perspective from a poem I read and placed in my archives some time ago entitled " The Cross Was His Own".

In an age where oftentimes everything is preached instead of Christ and His finished work at Calvary, it pays to be reminded that "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us who are saved it is the power of God" -1 Corinthians 1:18.

When we think of the cross as it relates to the purchase of our salvation and sanctification, Christ did it all, and we did nothing. He did it with His own Cross. The poem reads:

They borrowed a bed to lay His head

When Christ the Lord came down;

They borrowed the ass in the mountain pass

For Him to ride to town;

But the Crown that He wore

And the Cross that He bore

Were His own-

The Cross was His own.

He borrowed the bread when the crowd He fed

On the grassy mountain side;

He borrowed the dish of broken fish

With which He satisfied;

But the Crown that He wore

And the Cross that He bore

Were His own -

The Cross was His own.

He borrowed the ship in which to sit

To teach the multitude;

He borrowed a nest in which to rest,

He had never a home so crude;

But the Crown that He wore

And the Cross that He bore

Were His own -

The Cross was His own.

He borrowed a room on His way to the tomb,

The Passover Lamb to eat;

They borrowed a cave for Him a grave;

They borrowed a winding sheet;

But the Crown that He wore

And the Cross that He bore

Were His own -

The Cross was His own

- Author Unknown