Taste and See

 

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalms 34:8

In this world of unrest and uncertainty, there is one constant which will always remain...Jesus Christ.

• But, the sad thing is that so many do not know that He is good and kind.
• So many do not see Him as merciful and forgiving. They think they are too bad to be forgiven. That is the furthest thing from the truth! 
• So many think that since He is way up there and we are way down here that He does not care about us. Let me tell you that He always cares and always has. It does not matter what you are going through right now, He will always be there to meet whatever your need may be. There is nothing too great or too small for Him. If He cares about the sparrows that fall from the Heavens, He certainly will take care of anything that we face day by day.

At one point, I was really struggling in my life. We had been through some very horrific things which resulted in distrust of people and caused us a lot of great deal of overwhelming pain. 

God brought a friend into my life who loved me unconditionally. She showed me that I could be rid of the things that caused the hurt and pain. She did not try to preach at me, but fervently prayed for me and gently dealt with me...showing me through her actions that there was a better way than to live than I was living. Her approach was the, "taste and see approach". She lived such an attractive life that it made me want to have what she had. 

"Taste and see that God is good," she said. 
Taste and see that God loves you unconditionally.
Taste and see what it feels like to let go of all of the hurts and live in peace.
Taste and see that you can have a song in your heart even in the darkest of times. It may be as black as midnight, yet God is right there beside you knowing the future steps that you will take.
Taste and see that His grace is sufficient for all situations...

As I began to act on what God was telling me, tasting and seeing, changes began happening in my life, in my marriage, and in other relationships. Because I learned to let go of things that bothered me and let God take away the hurt, He began His marvelous work in me. People began to see the difference in me. My family noticed the changes. My church family noticed that God was doing something in my heart. My friends noticed my attitudes were different. I was much more at peace in my life as God was transforming me. 

As I tasted, I saw that God is good! The hurts began to melt away and God began to pour out His healing balm into my soul. Relationships changed. Where there was misunderstandings and hurt, there was healing and restoration. Trust began to develop in people once again. Forgiveness became easier...even toward my enemies! 

The wellspring in my heart began to bubble up again. The song came back to my heart. Things look so much different than they  once were.

Why don't you taste and see? He transformed my life and He can do the same for you. You won't be disappointed and your soul will be satisfied when you taste and see. 

Thanks for reading,
Donna McHugh 

Don't Be Afraid

I was thinking and spending a little time with God today when He brought this verse to mind.

" John 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

In the light of the recent tragedies in Boston and Texas this week, I think it was a very appropriate verse that He gave me. If we see the headlines or listen to the news, it is filled with violence, pain, suffering, and unimaginable wickedness.  There is no peace, no comfort, or no rest!

The world cannot offer you peace because they don't possess it! They have never been able to offer any peace because they do not know the Author of Peace. They can't offer what they do not have. But, Jesus can give peace!

He said, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid..."  We do not have to be afraid of the terror by night nor the arrow that flieth by day. There is not one thing that can happen to us unless God allows it.  What a comforting thought!

One of my favorite passages that I turn to when things are unsettled is Psalm 91: 1-7.
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1.  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

2.   I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 

3.  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 

4.  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 

5.  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 

6.  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 

7.  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 


Just because we have God's protection does not mean that difficult times and tragedies won't touch our lives. We all face things that are hard to go through, but we do not need to be afraid. We can face life with confidence knowing that as a child of God, we rest under the shelter of His wings. We are sheltered from the storms of life when we trust in our Heavenly Father.

Some may argue, but where was God when all the tragedies were happening? Didn't He see what the bombers were doing?  Why didn't He try to stop them? 

Sometimes He allows tragedies to happen to awaken His children.  Just like with the Children of Israel in the Old Testament,  He is  trying to get our attention.  Time after time Israel turned their backs on Him. He would send plagues, and troubles their way to turn their hearts back to Him. He wants America to turn back to Him, too.  Our nation is headed the wrong direction and He is  trying to awaken us and bring it back. 

He wants individuals who are troubled to turn to Him as well. He is the only One who can give us peace in the midst of turmoil whether it may be national, global, or personal. The peace can be there in the midst of the hard times. Nothing can take it away from us. No threat can undermine the peace that He gives. 

My son pointed out last night in our family devotions that there have only been 259 years of world peace since the beginning of this world. So violence is not new to the face of the earth. We live in a fallen world, but we are citizens of another place.

So, don't be troubled. Rest in Him today..under the shadow of His wings.... There you will find comfort and there you'll find rest.

Thanks for reading.  I would love to read your feedback.

Donna McHugh

Unbalanced Scales

Romans 4:5  People cannot do any work that will make them right with God.

In other words, the scales will always be unbalanced with our works. We can't work our way to heaven. There is nothing that we can do on our own to impress God with our righteousness. 

• We can attend five Bible Studies per week.
• Attend church every time the doors are open.
• But, that does not make us good enough to make it to Heaven!

•  We can serve in soup kitchens.
• Volunteer in food pantries
•  We can work in homeless shelters,
•  We can do all kinds of good works,
• But, it won't be enough to make it to Heaven. 

• We can give to the poor.
•  We can support all of the right causes
•  We can do any number of good things. 

• But... We can never be good enough on our own merits to make it to Heaven!

The scale will always show our efforts as insufficient. It will always weigh lighter on our side of God's scale because only He can make the scales weigh evenly.

However, there is a way that was provided for us....through Jesus Christ, the righteous! The only way to become righteous is to allow Jesus to come into your life and dwell inside of you. 

Romans 8:33-34

33.  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

34.  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

So, you see we can be righteous! But does that mean that we should not do good works? NO!

James 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 

Out of our lives of faith comes the good works as a result of following the example of the Master, Jesus Christ. He went about doing good wherever He went. However, He did take time away to pray and to rest. 

In the busyness of our lives, our scales can so easily become unbalanced. We are tempted to fill our lives with the good works part and forget the time to get away to pray and rest. I have found that in my own life. If I do not take time to care for myself physically, I will suffer in every other area of my life. If I do not take care of myself spiritually, then everyone else suffers along with me. I cannot be an effective servant for the Master if I am too weary doing good things...ministry related things...and my batteries get drained.

So, what do we need to do?   

                       

Seek balance.

• Look at your schedule. If you are over-committed, your scale will be out of balance.
• Learn to say, "no" to what others want you to do when you know it would be something that could take you away from what is important.
• Learn to relax and laugh.
• Apply what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

That is the key to balance in every area of our lives! Seek Him first...and everything else will fall in place with the right balance.

Thanks for reading.

Donna McHugh

Song In The Night

Some time ago my husband and son were working late into the night to get one of the vehicles repaired. They had struggled for hours and were tired and frustrated, grimy, and greasy, and most of all uncomfortable, yet  they needed to get the job done. Suddenly, one of them stopped and listened for a few moments and began to chuckle.

Up in the trees somewhere across the road came the sound of birds' songs...one right after another came. When one song ended, the bird would sing another one. He did the Chickadee song, the Crow's song, the Warbler's song... He even mimicked the Frog's song and any other song that he heard during the daylight hours.

Evidently the mockingbird had been listening all day long to others sing so beautifully. Their songs became his song in the night.

My guys began to laugh at the little imitator. It wasn't long until they didn't feel quite so tired any more. Their spirits lifted and they were able to finish the job more quickly because some little bird sang to them in the darkest hours of the night.

The Bible gives an account of Paul and Silas singing at midnight in the prison...and things really happened that night!

Act 16:22-26
22.  And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 

23.  And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

24.  Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 

25.  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 

26.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 

You never know what your song in the night may mean to someone else. There are always people watching your life. If you can sing the song that Jesus gives you, it would surprise you how many lives you touch.

So, this is my challenge to you. Regardless of what song you sing, do it for the glory of God. Even the mockingbird copied the crow and the frog's songs...and they both were an encouragement in the night.

There is a song that says,"You can have a song in your heart at night.  After every mile, after every trial...."

Sing from your heart to the Master because He gave you the song.

Thanks for reading. I would love to read your comments. You may encourage someone by your thoughts. 

Donna

The Hands of Jesus

Yesterday in Jr. Church something happened that really touched me.
We were doing some activities with the children and had hidden some
plastic eggs that had little slips of paper inside with one or two words that 
described something about the Easter story. One little boy who has
some physical challenges had the word "Nail" in his egg. When he 
read the slip of paper, the director explained how the Roman soldiers
nailed Jesus' hands and feet to the cross. He looked up at her with
a stunned expression and said two words over and over. "Oh NO!"
He caught the significance of the word. 

These were the same hands that healed the blind, the deaf, the dumb and the lame. The same hands who touched the children and held them close to Himself as He blessed them. Those same hands broke bread and fed the five thousand men plus women and children. 

In Jesus short ministry thousands of people were touched by Him. Lives were changed by the touch of the               Master's Hands. 

Since He has gone back to Heaven, we as His followers, are to be His hands and feet. We are to go about doing good and touching lives because He lives in us. We are His body.

• It doesn't matter if we get splinters in our hands from something that we are called to do. He had nails pounded into His hands!

• It doesn't matter if the one that we are reaching out to bites the hand that feeds them. Jesus ministered to those who ultimately rejected Him.

• It does not matter if the hand that we touch is dirty and worn, but it matters to Jesus.  He touched the unclean lepers and others who had diseases. 

What matters the most is that we stand on the Judgement Day with clean hands and a pure heart. 

Showing Him our hands that served others even though at times it was risky.... We lovingly touch others with our hands because it is what the Master would have us to do. 

What do your hands look like? Are they soft and fleshy or are they scarred and worn from years of ministering to the sick and afflicted, lonely and sad, widows and orphans and those in need. Hands of service to the King are beautiful in His eyes! One day He will take a look at our hands and say, "Thou good and faithful servant, enter into the rest that I have prepared for you..." 

Thanks for reading,

Donna