Scripture for Today:  Hebrews 5:14  “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

It is that time of year here when mushroom hunting is in full swing!  My French friends go to the local forests and gather their favorites, knowing the best areas to find them.  When you see the prices in the stores you can understand the motivation to hunt one’s own!

I would not be a good guide to the safe mushrooms.  I know nothing about it.  And even the most experienced can sometimes make a mistake, even a fatal one.  The way it works here is that if one is unsure, the mushrooms are checked by the staff of the local pharmacy.  They are trained to discern which mushrooms are poisonous.

Our verse talks about another kind of discernment that should characterize the mature believer.  Those believers who have finished with “milk” and have progressed to solid food are those who are experienced and skilled in living righteously.  Their spiritual senses are trained to know good from evil. Because they have been in the Word they know how to choose what pleases the Lord.

Those poisonous mushrooms can look so edible.  Satan is an angel of light and a liar.  He knows how to make something lethal look real good.  If we think that on our own we can tell the difference between what is good and what is evil than we are deceiving ourselves.  It is only through knowing God’s Word that we have any discernment at all.

I do not want to be deceived.  I never want to feel I have been fooled by the enemy.  I want rather to have senses sharpened by His Word.  Today, may I recognize even the smallest nuance of evil and avoid it like a bad mushroom!

Scripture for Today:  Psalms 19:10  “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.”

Honey-making is a big deal around here!  There are little roadside stands everywhere selling honey.  There is even a Honey Fair in our town this month!  I am no connaisseur but I do appreciate the differences in taste.  There are so many varieties!  I just received a hostess gift of honey from the wildflowers in the Alps!  Yum!  But one thing they all have in common, sweetness!

The verse for today compares God’s Word to the sweetness of honey.  But just as the bee keeper has to make an effort to harvest the honey, so I need to make an effort to read and study God’s Word!  The bee keeper has protective gear to avoid the bee sting but I am sure he still gets a few.  Even with pain involved the bee keeper stays motivated to reach that honey!  The Bible can be difficult sometimes to understand.  There is effort involved to dig and study.  There are times when God’s Word convicts me and like a bee sting, that is not comfortable!  But the sweetness of relationship with my Creator makes every effort worth it!

How do I feel about the Bible today!  Do I regard reading it as an obligation?  Or do I run to it with anticipation for what God may communicate to me today?  The sweetness of His love for me is there in its pages.  The assurance of His care and control is a reminder that is sweet to taste.  Psalms 34:8 says to taste and see that the Lord, He is good!  I sometimes complain that I have too much of a “sweet tooth” but when it comes to reading God’s Word, that’s a good thing!