Blog

Aug 28, 2024 06:00am

Taste and See

742 Views

Have you ever seen someone do injustice to a steak?

They wanted to grill for you and brought that thing in charred and past well done. It was an atrocity! But that’s all they know. It’s the only way they’ve ever had it or seen it done, so therefore, that’s how they do it.

But they are missing out on something incredible! The flavor, the tenderness, the texture – all of it cooked to a hard, tough, chewy piece of tasteless meat.

You offer to grill for them.

“Let me show you.”

Not to prove you’re better. Not to show that they are less than or incapable. No – it’s to help them experience steak the way it should be. You want them to taste and see how good it is!

And the moment they take that first bite, and their eyes light up, and then close in pleasure as they taste the true depths of flavor for the first time… magnificent!

Acts 8:26-35

“And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

This man was in charge of the treasury in Ethiopia, a position with great authority to the Queen. Ethiopia is in Africa, so this was a long way for this man to travel to worship in Jerusalem. He was a gentile convert, but he was lacking understanding.

And God made a way.

He sent Philip to show him the truth.

Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit and went to him. When he listened to the eunuch reading out of Isaiah, he simply asked “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And the answer from the man wasn’t harsh or defensive.

“How can I unless someone shows me?”

And that’s exactly what Philip did. He allowed this man to taste the truth of that scripture. He expounded on the depth of the meaning that centered on Christ and the eunuch experienced Christ like never before.

This, my friends, is a beautiful picture of discipleship. You may have the Word, but unless someone helps to guide you through it, you might be clueless as to the depths of its riches.

That was me.

I had read parts of the Bible, but I had never really understood it. Until someone came alongside me and helped me to grow. And just like Philip – she started where I was.

She invited me to her Sunday School class and it was there when I realized I truly had no idea what I had been missing out on. I had my first taste of the true meaning within the words of this text and I wanted more. She asked me to walk with her every week as we studied and led a young girl’s group on Wednesday nights. But I wasn’t leading, I was learning. She invited me to take part in a Bible course called Faith Bible Institute, and she took it right alongside me, even though she had already done it before. I asked questions and she didn’t just give me an answer but allowed me to think through it, and showed me how to search it out.

And I’m still hungry for more! That’s the beautiful thing about God’s Word. It is so rich and delicious, but you can never get full!

Are you looking for a deeper understanding? Are you needing a “Philip”, someone to guide you so that you can understand what you read? Let me help you.

We’ve created this free tool just for you. It’s easy to understand and navigate, works with your time frame and schedule and will help you learn more about how to follow Jesus and teach others to do the same.

It’s called FOLLOW.

Go to follow.lifeword.org and let me show you what it means to walk with Jesus every day. And Tuesday nights at 7 pm central, go to Facebook.com/lifeword as we dive into God’s Word together to continue that growth.

Will you join me? It’s time to taste and see that the Lord is good!