Hey guys, just in case you've missed it. The comments for the devotion is at the end of the posting(white strip). You've got to click on the comments link to see it. If you want to post on the page itself, you'll have login with your gmail account(go subscribe one if you don't have). Only gmail acc holders have access to postings, others will only have access to comments.
Yinghan has given insightful comments, please do take a look at it. At the same time, I encourage all of you to do some reflection and share your thoughts or even question or doubts, if there's any on your mind.
This blog can be used for any other church issues, sharing and feedback you have. I encourage all of you to share openly.
Paul
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
NWC Devotion - Have you been Hungry and Thirsty lately?
Since we are focusing into building up our spiritual well being, I would like to carry forward the topic we've discussed over cell yesterday: Being hungry for God.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled
Most people I have known, who have given their lives to a pursuit of happiness, have never really attained what they would call true happiness. Perhaps it all hinges on how we define the word. Or perhaps the things we thought would make us happy are not the things which make people happy. What would it take to make us happy? What would it take to make us truly satisfied?
Are you satisfied with your life, your marriage, your work, your relationships with others, your relationship with God? What have you been doing to improve your level of satisfaction? Is there anything you can do that will make a difference?
One the problems we face is that we have been willing to settle for less. We have lost our passion. We also see this problem in the church. All too often we have been willing to settle for less in our spiritual lives than what God desires for us. Perhaps it is because we live without persecution in a country where we enjoy religious freedom. That very freedom often causes people to take for granted things which should be held as very precious. It can cause people to take lightly their Christian commitment. It fosters a casual Christianity, one in which we serve only at our convenience.
Perhaps we need to consider that our search for happiness or satisfaction has been misguided. It could be that we have been seeking the wrong object. The reason why the things we have sought have not made us happy is because they cannot make us happy. Things do not satisfy, only God satisfies. It has been said that within every human being is a "God shaped blank" and we are never satisfied until we are filled with God.
Jesus said it this way: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Perhaps the reason we are not satisfied is because we have lost our passion for God.
When Jesus uses the words hunger and thirst, He is speaking of real hunger and thirst. Most of us have a very hard time identifying with what Jesus intended to communicate. We have never really experienced true hunger or true thirst. Jesus was speaking of starvation and the intense hunger which it brings. Generally, when we say that we are hungry, we mean that it has been several hours since we last ate. But this is not hunger. The kind of hunger of which Jesus spoke could not be satisfied by a mid-morning snack. The kind of thirst of which He spoke could not be quenched by a brief trip to the water cooler. He was speaking of people who are in desperate and dire circumstances, like those who are suffering from famine.
There have been famines throughout history. In 436 BC, Rome experienced a famine so severe that thousands threw themselves into the Tiber River. They desired to drown rather than starve to death. Severe famine struck England in 1005 AD. Great famines enveloped Europe in 879, 1016, and 1162. We have seen famines spread throughout the third world countries where tens of millions have died of starvation.
We have never experienced starvation. I would suppose, however, that a starving person has only one desire. That person is possessed by a single, all-consuming passion. Only food and water has the slightest attraction or appeal to that person. Nothing else is important. Nothing else has even the slightest appeal.
Could it be that what Jesus is saying is that:
Until we come to the place where we have such a single-mindedness in our passion for God that we will never experience true satisfaction?
As a matter of fact, that is precisely what I think He is saying! The question to you then becomes: "Do you have a passion for God?" Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Is this your desire? Is this what you want above all else? Are you starving for God? You will find nothing else which will satisfy that hunger. In Isaiah 55:2, God asks, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what is does not satisfy?"
Only God satisfies. So, we need to come to the place where we are hungry for God. We must desire Him so passionately that our desire causes us to do something about it. Nothing less than that passion will cause us to act properly. When Prodigal Son was hungry he turned to the husks that he was feeding the pigs. When he was starving he turned to his father.
What brings us to this place of passionate hunger for God? Many things can. A true realization of our own sinful condition can cause us to desire release through the power of God. When we are suffering, we may look to God for help. If tragic events overtake us, God may be the One to whom we turn. Whatever the means God uses, He desires to bring us to the place where we come to the end of ourselves. This is where we must be in order to discover a real hunger for God.
Coming to the end of ourselves brings us to a place of desperation. And in our desperation, after we have exhausted all other possibilities, we turn to God as the only hope for our lives.
Are you there? Have you come to the place where you are ready to allow God to have His way in your life?
February 26, 1995
J. David Hoke
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled
Most people I have known, who have given their lives to a pursuit of happiness, have never really attained what they would call true happiness. Perhaps it all hinges on how we define the word. Or perhaps the things we thought would make us happy are not the things which make people happy. What would it take to make us happy? What would it take to make us truly satisfied?
Are you satisfied with your life, your marriage, your work, your relationships with others, your relationship with God? What have you been doing to improve your level of satisfaction? Is there anything you can do that will make a difference?
One the problems we face is that we have been willing to settle for less. We have lost our passion. We also see this problem in the church. All too often we have been willing to settle for less in our spiritual lives than what God desires for us. Perhaps it is because we live without persecution in a country where we enjoy religious freedom. That very freedom often causes people to take for granted things which should be held as very precious. It can cause people to take lightly their Christian commitment. It fosters a casual Christianity, one in which we serve only at our convenience.
Perhaps we need to consider that our search for happiness or satisfaction has been misguided. It could be that we have been seeking the wrong object. The reason why the things we have sought have not made us happy is because they cannot make us happy. Things do not satisfy, only God satisfies. It has been said that within every human being is a "God shaped blank" and we are never satisfied until we are filled with God.
Jesus said it this way: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Perhaps the reason we are not satisfied is because we have lost our passion for God.
When Jesus uses the words hunger and thirst, He is speaking of real hunger and thirst. Most of us have a very hard time identifying with what Jesus intended to communicate. We have never really experienced true hunger or true thirst. Jesus was speaking of starvation and the intense hunger which it brings. Generally, when we say that we are hungry, we mean that it has been several hours since we last ate. But this is not hunger. The kind of hunger of which Jesus spoke could not be satisfied by a mid-morning snack. The kind of thirst of which He spoke could not be quenched by a brief trip to the water cooler. He was speaking of people who are in desperate and dire circumstances, like those who are suffering from famine.
There have been famines throughout history. In 436 BC, Rome experienced a famine so severe that thousands threw themselves into the Tiber River. They desired to drown rather than starve to death. Severe famine struck England in 1005 AD. Great famines enveloped Europe in 879, 1016, and 1162. We have seen famines spread throughout the third world countries where tens of millions have died of starvation.
We have never experienced starvation. I would suppose, however, that a starving person has only one desire. That person is possessed by a single, all-consuming passion. Only food and water has the slightest attraction or appeal to that person. Nothing else is important. Nothing else has even the slightest appeal.
Could it be that what Jesus is saying is that:
Until we come to the place where we have such a single-mindedness in our passion for God that we will never experience true satisfaction?
As a matter of fact, that is precisely what I think He is saying! The question to you then becomes: "Do you have a passion for God?" Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Is this your desire? Is this what you want above all else? Are you starving for God? You will find nothing else which will satisfy that hunger. In Isaiah 55:2, God asks, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what is does not satisfy?"
Only God satisfies. So, we need to come to the place where we are hungry for God. We must desire Him so passionately that our desire causes us to do something about it. Nothing less than that passion will cause us to act properly. When Prodigal Son was hungry he turned to the husks that he was feeding the pigs. When he was starving he turned to his father.
What brings us to this place of passionate hunger for God? Many things can. A true realization of our own sinful condition can cause us to desire release through the power of God. When we are suffering, we may look to God for help. If tragic events overtake us, God may be the One to whom we turn. Whatever the means God uses, He desires to bring us to the place where we come to the end of ourselves. This is where we must be in order to discover a real hunger for God.
Coming to the end of ourselves brings us to a place of desperation. And in our desperation, after we have exhausted all other possibilities, we turn to God as the only hope for our lives.
Are you there? Have you come to the place where you are ready to allow God to have His way in your life?
February 26, 1995
J. David Hoke
New Wave Blog
Hey guys, I've got the blog up and running. Will be posting our devotion soon.
So stay around and have fun sharing!!
Paul
So stay around and have fun sharing!!
Paul
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
