HUNGRY?

Over the past few weeks the LORD has been leading me on this journey as I have been compiling texts and writing lesson plans for our fall retreat at the end of the month.  I started on this journey as I have many times, thinking about what aspect of the christian way of life would be most beneficial to share with my students.  I always wonder how much "sinks-in'' and is recieved in these lessons, I hear comments and praises from my wife and leaders, and sometimes students, but the real beneficiary, I'm sure, is me.  The theme this year is called 'Hungry?'  because I am convinced that we are pretending to be hungry for God when we really are so stuffed to the gills with all kinds of other junk.  When it comes to the true bread of life in our community, there is a Famine even though church and church events are everywhere to be seen.  I think that we have invited God to come along if he wants a part of us and we will fit him in when it's convienient.  The funny thing is, God doesn't work that way and we wonder why we don't see the powerful representation of God in our world.  God doesn't come along with us, He makes that very clear.  He says to murder ourselves so that He is all we have and we can partner with him in what He is doing in the world. 

It takes a courageous person to make stomach room for the body and blood of Christ, to remove the things that we have always tried to satisfy the stomach pangs.  The LORD calls us to a Fast, a sacrifice of what we have known to acknowledge our true sustenance.  It's in these moments that we realize how silly our attempts to satiate our hunger with "things" really are.  We begin to understand the unsurpassing wealth of resource we have in Christ.

And then we Feast on the plenty from heaven.  We inhale the aroma of righteousness and drink deep the cool water of life.  Pslam 36:8 They feast on the aboundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.  Jesus even says BLESSED are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be FILLED. (Matt. 5:6) What a promise. 

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to find more junk to remove so that my hunger will grow for the things of God.  I'm starting to realize that these youth lessons are just an overflow of what the Lord wants to teach me.  I'm ready to feast.