Are You Thirsty?

My son came into the kitchen from a long day of working in the summer heat.  He needed a shower.  He needed food.  But at that moment he desperately wanted something cold to drink.  He chugged a bottle of water from the fridge and then headed off to get cleaned up.  When we all sat down to supper, he had a glass of iced tea at his place.  He took a few drinks from it but left the glass half-full when he finished the meal.  His thirst, so intense just an hour before, had been satisfied; he didn’t have the same desire for a drink.

David was running for his life through the desert.  It was Dry.  Hot.  Dusty.  He was desperately thirsty with no water in sight.  But even more than a physical thirst, David was experiencing a desperate desire for God. “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You, my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps 63:1).  Do you hear the intensity of his need?  Earnest. Thirsty.  Longing.  Nothing would satisfy but his God.

The Sons of Korah (think temple worship leaders) had the same passion for God: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Ps 42:1-2). It makes me wonder – when was the last time the church desperately panted for God?

Sometimes our lives take a hard turn and we find ourselves dry and desperate for relief.  I believe God allows those times to stir up a thirst for Him.  Just like my son at supper, when we are satisfied with our lives, we don’t drink Him in as deeply as we do when our thirst is intense.  We don’t sense our need for Him.  We don’t pant for Him. But when we’re in the desert we long for Him. That’s when we earnestly seek Him.  Is your heart dry and weary today?  Let that desperate need turn you back to God.  Be refreshed by His grace.  Be satisfied by His love.  Jesus said that whoever drinks from His spring will never thirst again (John 4:14). Come, Beloved, drink deeply from the Living Water.

This is My Passion

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly hands the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV)

I’m taking a writing course and the first lessons are on understanding my “writing style” and my passion. As I’ve pondered the passion question: “What burns in my heart?” the answer always comes back to “rightly dividing the word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

In the modern Western church, we are taught the Christian faith in “soundbites,” a story here, a parable there, Noah and David and Jesus. But those disjointed Sunday School lessons fail to teach the beautiful continuity in the Bible and the seamless work of God throughout human history. Worst of all is a verse pulled from it’s neighbors, sitting out all alone. It makes for a nice wall plaque, but do we know why this verse matters. What is its context? What is its backstory? What is the heart and principle within?
Jeremiah 29:11 is the “graduation verse” in every church, but do we understand its context? Do we know why God spoke those words and to whom? Do we understand the history of Israel and how that verse was such a source of hope to them and how it can be for us as well? It’s a great verse, but it’s even better taken in its full context.
John 3:16 speaks eloquently of God’s gracious love, but the greater context in chapter 3 also speaks powerfully of the condemnation of the human race and the reason why God sent His one and only Son. It’s the breadth and width of the gospel and it makes the truth of His love shine as brightly as a diamond on black velvet. We need to know the whole Bible, not just a verse here and a passage there.
That is my passion. That is what I long to give to the church. That is the seed God planted in my heart. It’s why I write and teach. It’s who I am.

Fill Me Up Lord!

“Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.  I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods, with singing lips my mouth will praise You.”   Psalm 63:3-5

I had a conversation recently with my chiropractor, about trying to get off the couch and get moving.  I argued with him, “But I have no energy!”  He told me that when we only use a small amount of energy every day, our body gets accustomed to that and eventually doesn’t demand any more of us.  That is how a “couch potato” is created.  But if we push past that bar we have set, our body will begin to respond to the demand for additional energy and will build a greater energy reserve.  We have to be determined to break the low-energy barrier.

I said, “You know, there is a spiritual application here.” I rolled that thought around in my mind, and this is what God showed me:  If we allow ourselves to become satisfied with just a little bit of God, we will never want more of Him.  But if we push past that bar we have set, our hearts will begin to respond to Him more and more, and we will find that we can never get enough of Him.  We will be filled with His love, and His Spirit will give us new life.

How do we push past that low-level desire?  God has shown us the way in Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will seek me and find me when You seek me with all your heart.”  The terminology that is used to “seek” God speaks of an intense desire to know Him, and a passionate and determined pursuit of Him.  The wonderful truth is that God promises to reveal Himself to us when we do.  In fact, the original Hebrew says that He will cause us to encounter Him – if we seek Him with all our hearts.  As He reveals more of Himself to us, our love for Him deepens, and our search for the heart of God intensifies more and more.

Jesus tells us “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Listen to His promise: “For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)  We often claim this verse for the needs and pursuits of our lives, but I believe this promise has a greater purpose: If we pursue God with this kind of faith and determination, what we ask-more of Him-will be given to us.  You can be assured that if you seek Him, you will find Him.  You have His word on it.

Are you “satisfied” with your relationship with God, or do you long for more?  Turn off the T.V., push yourself up from the couch, and begin to pursue Him.  Get involved in a local church, with faithful attendance.  Join a Sunday school class or Bible study group.  Find a Christian mentor you can learn from.  Establish a daily habit of reading your Bible and praying.   When you make knowing God a priority in your life, He will show you truths you never dreamed of.  Jeremiah 33:3 says “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  This is God’s invitation to know Him, and His promise to reveal things you never even thought to ask about.  This is your invitation to go deeper with God.  Will you seek Him?

 You have said to my heart, “Seek my face!” Your face Lord, I will seek. (Psalm 27:8)