TASTE & SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD - Experience Him for Yourself!

TASTE & SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD...

Wow! Today was an amazing day at church! God of course showed up and Holy Spirit had His way because a lot more of us surrendered to Him. We were hungry... and thirsting for MORE! Now if 100% of us did, what a time that would have been! Hard to imagine! But anyway... I knew it was going to be a good service in my spirit as we chatted with our Pastor ahead of time... and I knew what my lesson was on in Jr Church... but WOW! Nothing could have prepared us for what transpired... YES! I would have loved to continue worshipping, and staying in the sanctuary in the presence of God. BUT, that indeed went with our lesson for Jr Church. The kiddos in our church are an amazing bunch. Our Youth are finally stepping out in 'ministry' to the Body, and its awesome to see. I would like to see more of our Jr Youth doing it as well!! The power of God was so strong! Everyone in the building could EXPERIENCE God for themselves (if they chose to).

Teaching and imparting into the next generation is a call on my heart, but also a passion! I was excited to hear what the kiddos experienced in the worship service. They didn't however seem as excited as me. LOL! Most of them were colouring or chatting or just sitting, so they didn't technically experience GOD the way I was hoping. But God's presence follows us no matter where we go. Just because we leave the sanctuary doesn't mean that we leave God's presence. God was at work in the lives of our children...

So that brings me to this BLOG post... I had a lot of stuff prepared for this AM as I knew the service was going to be good... which usually meant also was going to be longer than usual. So I was prepared. (or so I thought). LOL! Anyway, I thought I would share a few of my notes with y'all here, as I got to share some of them with the kiddos and I didn't get to share the other. I may still continue for a bit next week. :)

One of our object lessons was to go with the verse found in Psalm 34:8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him."

Objects:
Strawberry Syrup
Milk
Clear Glass
Spoon

Hold up the glass and pour in milk saying this is like our lives. The glass is us, and the milk is life and love. Taste the milk and say something like, "Mmm... delicious! I love milk it tastes so good in the morning with my cereal."

Ask the children, "Did you know that I could make milk taste even better?" (Pull out strawberry syrup). Add a couple squirts in the middle of cup. (Try to make it so you can't really see it.)  Say, "Now you can't really notice anything different, but when God comes into your life and stirs in your spirit (Stir the milk), a change happens and people notice the difference even on the outside. (Now taste it again) God's love in our lives makes us sweeter."

There's an old saying (and a little VBS song we know), "A little bit of love goes a long long way!" We didn't add much syrup, but look at the effect it had.

There's another verse in the Bible, Matthew 5:6 and Jesus spoke to many people who were listening to Him teach. "Blessed are those who hunger & thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

We can't just get filled up with God once... we need Him daily (& more than once a day). Like food, we need God to keep us healthy and strong. We need to have a hunger and a thirst for God, His presence and power. When we hunger and thirst for God, He promises to fill us up. In the Bible, it tells us He gives us living water! We have a RIVER OF LIFE inside of us!

OBJECT LESSON #2:
One glass of CLEAN, FRESH, COLD water.
One glass of DIRTY, MUDDY, MUCKY, COLD water

One of these glasses of water is more 'refreshing' than the other. However if we were in a desert in the hot, hot sun walking for hours and hours we would get thirsty -- and if this (hold up the muddy water) was the only thing there, I'm sure out of desperation we would probably drink the muddy water. Now here we are thinking "YUCK!" But in a desperate situation and with that being our only option of relief, we might just do it.

Looking at our world today, they are much like that -- they are choosing the dirty worldview choices over the fresh life found in Jesus. Jesus offers us "LIVING WATER" where we will never thirst again -- meaning He has ALL we need, we don't have to look elsewhere to fill our hunger or thirst.

But I'm sure after drinking this muddy water, I would still be thirsty! So it's good to know that God will fill us with His LIVING WATER.

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Did you know that it's YOUR JOB to know God for yourself, and to share His GOOD NEWS with others? God wants His children (like you) to know the TRUTH. (Using one of my Life Verses)... Psalm 78:4-7 "We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders. For He issued His laws to Jacob; He gave His instructions to Israel. He COMMANDED our ancestors to teach them to their children, SO THE NEXT GENERATION MIGHT KNOW them, even the children not yet born, and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set it's hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands."

So I'm sharing it with you... so that you can share the TRUTH with the generations that follow you! (and if you didn't hear it from the generations before you, make sure you tell them too!)

BE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!!

He Washes me with Super S.O.A.P...

So I've been slacking a little with my devotions, and 'quality' quiet times with God... (& clearly haven't posted a blog for almost a year)... so I've been googling and Pinning different NEW and FRESH ideas on Pinterest. Checking out different devotionals, etc and came across the S.O.A.P. method. Now the idea itself isn't NEW to me, as I always try to apply what I read. Even when I teach, it needs a purpose, a way it can be applied to our lives; something that can be lived out! But it was a FUN way to jump back in faithfully...

So, for my first S.O.A.P.box Study...
S stands for SCRIPTURE... You choose a Scripture (or Holy Spirit leads you to one). I chose/was lead to a verse found in 2 JOHN 1:8&9 NLT. (I am loving the NLT version.) "Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father & the Son." I don't remember reading or studying or meditating on this verse before. So it was a good one to start with especially once I read it, as I am stepping forward in becoming more diligent and faithful in my relationship with GOD!

O stands for OBSERVATION... Write down any observations that you make from the Scripture you read. Since I haven't studied this verse before, Holy Spirit gave revelation as I read it.
* Everyone can lose salvation, faith and our relationship with God the Father, the Son (& Holy Spirit).
* We need to remain FAITHFUL and DILIGENT to receive our REWARD in Heaven.
* We need to remain in the TRUTH, and the teaching we have learned.
* Do NOT be deceived!
* Do NOT wander away from the teaching of God's Word!

A stands for APPLICATION... Now you take the Scripture (the TRUTH) and your Observations (Your interpretation of the TRUTH) and APPLY it to your life.

*Remain FAITHFUL & DILIGENT so that we don't lose any of the GOOD that the Father has for us. Keep our relationship STRONG!

P stands for PRAYER... Now putting it all together, you make a prayer to GOD, reflecting on each of the above and how He can help you APPLY what you OBSERVED from the SCRIPTURE! A cleansing S.O.A.P. where God can make you NEW as you grow in your relationship with Him! Talk to God like you are talking to your Best Friend ('cause really He is just that)!

*Thank you Lord that You remain faithful in those times when we feel unfaithful. Help us to remain diligent and faithful in our relationship with You. Keep us strong and give us more/greater discernment spiritually so that we will not be deceived and that we will receive that which You have promised. I will SPEAK THE TRUTH! LIVE THE TRUTH! SHARE THE TRUTH! In Jesus' Name, AMEN!

Now as well in my studies I also love LEXICONS or word studies... The Greek or Hebrew meaning behind words. For this one I just chose FAITHFUL and DILIGENT...

FAITHFUL: Pistos (Greek) -- Trustworthy, faithful, reliable, believing, loyalty to faith, fullness of faith. Steadfast!

DILIGENT: Charuts (Greek) -- Diligent & Sharp; Conscientious hard work and perseverance, particularly with regard to a relationship with God. In Scripture diligence is highly commended.

Be blessed to be a blessing!! Why not take your own 'BATH' with Jesus, and use S.O.A.P. in your own life too! :) It's super easy and quick to do! Plus you get new revelations each time!