The Bible is the Word of God--divinely inspired, written by God through the minds and hands of men, and preserved by the mighty power of God through the ages right up to this present day.

God speaks to us through His Word. He will not and does not bully us into submission; He has a gentle touch. He is ever there, closer than our breath, providing and protecting. But, He waits for us to respond to Him.

We are not without encouragement or challenge from God. In Psalm 34:8 He says, "Taste and see that [I am] good."

Taste is a sense that takes deliberate action on our part. Seeing, hearing, and smelling are generally automatic, in that those senses take in what is around us. Touch and taste are different. We have to do those.

Taste is usually preceded by seeing and smelling. It also involves selecting a bite-size portion. Tasting some aspect of life, as a means to checking God out, will involve giving Him a chance in some area of our life. That is, if we are going to taste God, we're going to have to take a step or two into His area.

We might begin with a new look at everything around us. In times past, scientist after scientist began on a serious quest to disprove God and, in that process, became ardent believers in God. God's creation has a way of drawing you in as you see the wonder and the design of everything God has made.

Another way to taste God for who He is is to invest ourselves into relationships according to His formula. God says, "A friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17). "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly" is a principle from the Old King James Bible (Proverbs 18:24). Investing in people turns our heart to them. That is a "God thing" and can happen no other way.

Tasting God by giving away what we have to others will turn our hearts to the divine. Giving something away with no thought of return is diametrically opposed to the human condition. Nothing is more God-like than giving.

We taste the goodness of God in giving by, first of all, receiving a great sense of joy and pleasure in choosing against ourselves. Giving also releases the power of God in our lives to trust Him to take care of us, especially when our giving is sacrificial.

God is so adamant about tasting Him in giving, that He throws down the challenge: "'Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room  enough for it'" (Malachi 3:10).

God is saying over and over again, "Come on, taste."

Another way of tasting God is to look at t people live their lives and the result. In Psalm 73, the psalmist looks at those who are apparently rich and successful. They seemed to have everything going for them.

But then he takes a closer look and concludes, "Surely you [O Lord] place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!" (Psalm 73:18). True peace and contentment only come from God as we follow Him and live His way.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good." It's only a taste--what do you have to lose?