Brown's daily word 9-7-07

Good Morning,
It is still like summer here today. The temperature is expected to be in the nineties. Praise the Lord for the fresh fruits and vegetables of the summer season.
Some time ago I read that in the year 1820 a crowd of curious people gathered around the county courthouse in Salem, New Jersey. The county fair was in progress, and the people massed around the stage, pushing and shoving to get a good place to see what was going to happen. The crowd was filled with anticipation because they were about to witness a daring feat.
Soon a man appeared on the steps, holding in one hand a beautiful red-ripe fruit which had been part of the fair’s decorations. Members of the crowd whispered excitedly to one another as he held it up for them to see. "Is he really going to eat it?" some asked, as though they expected the answer to be "absolutely not".
The man on the stage was Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson and the fruit was - a tomato. Tomatoes were called love apples in those days and they were considered to be deadly poison. Love apples were tokens of courtship or lawn decorations. Young men gave them to their girl friends, who would afterward wear the seeds in sachets around their necks. The fruit was admired for its beauty, but no one would dream of eating it.
The crowd gasped in horror as the colonel deliberately placed the tomato in his mouth, and ate it as though it was better than candy. They waited breathlessly, expecting to see him writhing in agony, dying on the stage. But nothing like that happened. Instead - he ate a second tomato, explaining that tomatoes were delicious either cooked or raw. He praised their color and texture. Then he invited the onlookers to join him in his meal, and a few of the braver ones went forward. Soon they too were pronouncing the tomatoes good.
The news spread rapidly, and eventually tomatoes graced most of the tables of the world, an accepted article of diet everywhere. If Colonel Johnson had not eaten that tomato, it is possible that people would still be admiring "love apples" and shrinking with horror from the thought of tasting how good they are.
Living a Christian life is much the same. We seem to take what tastes good to us, such as the Love, Grace, Mercy and Provision of God, and then leave that which we deem to be bitter, such as Discipline, Commitment, Obedience and being a Servant to our neighbor. The fact is that many Christians spend all their lives claiming to love Jesus, admiring his life, accepting his work, but never really tasting of Christ personally. David, in Psalms challenged us all to "taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalms 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
Psalms 19:8-10, "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."
In Acts 17:30-31 Paul is preaching to the Greeks at Areopagus. These were highly educated people but they didn’t want to hear about the “One True God” because it required them to change their ways. Here’s what Paul said about those who thought that remaining ignorant to the Truth would excuse them from judgment to come, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
If only we will taste and see that everything about the Lord is good; even His judgment, His commandments, the fear we have for Him, all of it will cause us only to desire more of Jesus. All that He is and all that He gives to His children is richer than all the gold in the world, and has a greater and sweeter taste than even the purest of honey straight from the honeycomb.
My heart’s desire is for more of Jesus, more of his Love, more of His mercy, more of His grace, more of His presence in my life and in your lives for His honor and for His glory.
In Him,
Brown


Why, Oh Why, Oh Why . . .
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And the Number 1 - why . . .

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.