Feed Me!

Our stomach growls and aches when it's hungry ... and we generally give it the attention it demands. But what about our soul?

Our soul doesn't growl, but it does ache for true spiritual food. True spiritual food - God's Word; the fellowship of praise between us and the Father facilitated by the Holy Spirit; the fellowship of suffering; corporate and private worship; that abba, daddy, relationship; the magnificent wonder of revelation - brings a wholeness and fulfillment found nowhere else this side of heaven.

Yet, paradoxically, for all the "high" of soul food, we are "prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love." Prone to let the empty allurements and enticements of the flesh draw us to the worldly for satisfaction by that which never can. Like a child testing its independence, we wander away from our Father until the soulish ache-pangs of depression, despair, and disillusionment cause us to cry out as Paul, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" (Rom 7:24)

I must confess: I'm a professional wanderer (as I suspect many of us are). But how do we stop the unending replays of our role as prodigal son?

The solution to every problem starts with the first step of acknowledging the problem is us. God already knows. We need to come into agreement with God.

We ask God to help us where we are weak.

Then we intentionally set out to routinely feed our soul with what it craves.

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Mat 4:4)

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'" (Mat 26:26)

"O taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psa 34:8)

Feed your soul.

Tempted to Do It Your Way

Saw the connection last Sunday between the insults hurled at Christ on the cross

Mark 29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. (KJV) 

and those hurled during His wilderness temptation by the devil

Matt 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (KJV) 

 Even on the cross, the devil tempted Jesus to accomplish the mission of salvation in his own way rather than according to God's plan. Jesus refused. So should we. When human understanding is lacking, stand on the certainty of God's Word.