How Do You Know God is Good?

My friend Doug went to a restaurant in England. When the waitress came to his table, Doug asked, “What would you order if you were me?” She listed off several items, along with something called “black pudding.” Then she added, “Yanks [Americans] don’t usually like black pudding.”
 
“I’m an adventurous kind of diner,” Doug replied. “Bring it on.”

She brought back a black, mushy item that had a slight reddish tint to it. When he put it in his mouth, it tasted so bad he wanted to spit it out. It was horrible!
 
When the waitress returned, she asked, “How did you like it?” Doug said, “I’ve lost my sense of adventure. I should have asked before I tasted it, but what exactly is black pudding?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? It’s cooked blood.”
 
Doug tasted and discovered it wasn’t good. Many people, in a spirit of adventure, will experiment with many foolish things thinking they will have good experiences, but are left with a bitter taste in their mouths.
 
David wrote, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” (Psalm 34:8 NKJV). Why do we taste something? It’s to decide whether or not we want to continue eating it. It may good, or not so good. Tasting has to be a personal experience. I can’t accurately describe how something tastes because my words can’t adequately explain it. The only way you will know what something tastes like is for you to taste it.
 
You must first TASTE of the Lord, and then you will SEE He is good. Your eyes will be opened to the goodness of God. Once you will experience God’s goodness, you will put your trust in Him: “Blessed is the man who TRUSTS in Him.” 

It doesn’t say God blesses those who taste or those who see, but those who trust in Him. And you really can’t trust the Lord until you believe He is good. Have your eyes been opened to the goodness of God? www.makinglifecount.net  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT  Feedburner has announced it will stop sending out emails in July, which means if you receive this devotional by email it will cease at that time. However, you can still visit www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com each week until I find another service to deliver the weekly devotionals by email.
 
Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)
 
Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Digging Up 41-Year-Old Hot Dogs

Ever wonder what happened to those hot dogs you threw out in 1979? Landfill archeologist William Rathje says he may have found them. Hot dogs are the most common food he finds when digging through dump yards. “Those preservatives really work,” he said, claiming to have found 41-year-old hot dogs in his excavation of the recent past.
 
Rathje is a University of Arizona archaeologist and author of the book, Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage. Archaeologists can reconstruct past civilizations by examining the rubbish they left behind, and Rathje claims to do the same with present-day rubbish. He says landfills are laid with distinct layers or garbage that are filled with newspapers having readable dates.
 
Many of us are also garbage archaeologists. We dig through the garbage of the past and excavate 41-year-old hurts that are just as fresh as if they were buried yesterday. We keep adding preservatives to them through continually recalling the painful memories. Do you have any hot dogs you need to dispose of?
 
The only way to be set free from the garbage of the past is to forgive, let go, and trust God to make something good of it. Paul said it this way, “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

In other words, God has better plans for your life than digging up 41-year-old hot dogs. But first you’ve got to let go of that shovel.  www.makinglifecount.net  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT  Feedburner has announced it will stop sending out emails in July, which means if you receive this devotional by email it will cease at that time. However, you can still visit www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com each week until I find another service to deliver the weekly devotionals by email.
 
Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)
 
Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

When God Does Not Heal

 
The following comes from Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals Day 35
 

Randy Frieouf was a member of our church who suffered with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. As the months passed, his health continued to worsen. He was confined to a wheel chair, and finally to a bed. Many people were praying for him during this time.
 
One day my thirteen-year-old daughter Hannah said, “Dad, I had a dream last night that Mr. Frieouf was walking.” I told her, “Let’s keep praying for him. All things are possible with God.”
 
The next week Hannah told me, “Dad, last night I had another dream that Mr. Frieouf was walking!” Again, I encouraged her to keep praying for him. 
 
Not long after this, we received the phone call that Randy had passed away. When Hannah heard the news, she got upset and hurried into the bedroom. A few minutes later, she came out of the room and said, “Dad, I asked God why Mr. Frieouf died after I had those dreams. God just spoke to me.”
 
“He did? What did He say?”
“He told me to read Psalm 1:1, but just the first part. Dad, I didn’t know what that verse said, so I looked it up. God told me to read just the first part of the verse.”
 
She held out an open Bible and read from it. “The first part of Psalm 1:1 says, ‘How blessed is the man who does not walk.’ Dad, the man who does not walk is Mr. Frieouf! Do you think He told me this to let me know he is happy in heaven?”
“Yes, that’s exactly why He told you that,” I said. “He wants you to know that he’s healed and blessed in heaven.”
 
It’s a reminder to us that Christians who are not healed on earth will receive complete wholeness in heaven.  www.makinglifecount.net  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT  Feedburner has announced it will stop sending out emails in July, which means if you receive this devotional by email it will cease at that time. However, you can still visit www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com each week until I find another service to deliver the weekly devotionals by email.
 
NEW BIBLE STUDY:  Do the gospels contradict each other when they describe events differently?
 
Receive these devotionals (free) by email: You can subscribe in the box on the right at www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com (Your email will not be given out. You’ll receive an email when the new devotional is posted)
 
Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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