SPIRITUAL CRAVINGS

MATTHEW 5: 1 - 12

    Shopping, even for basic foods, can be a patience - testing experience in Germany, I have heard from some older couples. I was talking to this German couple that at the time was expecting a baby and the wife Gerda craved peanut butter. Dieter the husband said he dutifully ventured out into a storm to find some. He said he looked in every store and ask every vender, but there was no peanut butter to be found. He was told it would be another month before the stores would have any in stock.

    This story caused me to think about our spiritual needs. We all have a deep spiritual longing that can't be satisfied by anything the world has to offer. It's a heartfelt desire to know GOD. HE along can fill our lives with hope and meaning.

    In the Sermon on the Mount, JESUS promised that," those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled."(MATTHEW 5:6) The prayerful, humble person who seeks to know and please GOD will always find what he truly needs.

    There's no reason to let our hunger for spiritual nourishment go unsatisfied. All that we need is abundantly available in JESUS. Only CHRIST the Bread of LIFE can satisfy our spiritual hunger.

    On the other hand many of us live in a country where food is abundant and people are well fed. That's why we may not be familiar with the symptoms of starvation. At the outset, victims have an insatiable craving for nourishment. As time passes, however, the body weakens, the mind is dulled, and the desire for something to eat ceases. In fact, starving people actually reach a point when they don't even want food that is placed before them.

    Spiritual starvation follows much the same course. If we have been feeding daily on GOD'S word, it's natural to feel "hungry", when we skip our quiet time. But if we continue to neglect it, we may lose all desire to study the scripture. In fact, we may be starving ourselves.

    How much time do you spend reading the BIBLE and meditating on its truths? Do you miss the word when you neglect it? If you find yourself loving any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than your BIBLE, any person better than CHRIST, or any indulgence better than the hope of HEAVEN - TAKE ALARM !

    If you've lost your taste for the "Bread of Life", confess your negligence and ask GOD to revive your appetite for HIS word. Avoid SPIRITUAL STARVATION ! A WELL - READ BIBLE IS A SIGN OF A WELL - FED SOUL.