Have you ever been hungry? I mean – really hungry?  I mean so hungry that you can’t think about anything else?  The Bible says in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? Before we talk about what it means, lets take a few moments to look at what it does not mean.  It is not about gratifying lust, accomplishing goals or satisfying ego.  Now stop for just a moment to realize and admit that this is exactly where we expend most of our energy on most days.  We have some lust that we are trying to gratify, some goal that we are trying to accomplish or an ego that we want to satisfy.  And the big problem is that day after day we give ourselves to the pursuit of gratification, accomplishment or satisfaction only to come up short and still looking for the something that is missing!  Come on and admit it – a lot of days we feel like a rat running on a spinning wheel inside of a wire cage!

God has something better! He wants to provide us with satisfaction, but it requires something on our part.  It requires that we be hungry and thirsty.  A hungry/thirsty person has an all-consuming passion for food and drink and that is it – nothing els matters!  A spiritually hungry person has an all-consuming passion for the right stuff of God and everything else is icing on the cake.  A spiritually hungry person is a person who has come to the realization that nothing else in life will do, if I don’t pursue God and His plan of blessing for my life.

What are you hungry and thirsty for today? Be honest with yourself and with God.  You may not be hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God and that is okay if you will admit and do something about it.  If you are not really hungry and thirsty for the right stuff of God, then take some time to ask God to help you to get hungry and thirsty.  Seriously – take some time right now to ask God to help you to be hungry for more of Him.  Pray this prayer: “God help me to be hungry and thirsty for you!” Keep praying this prayer all day long!

Join me back here tomorrow and we will take a look at three steps that we must take to hunger and thirst for righteousness!  We can do this!

It’s easy to say that you are a Christian! If everybody was a Christian that says they were a Christian, then this world would be a very different place!  I believe that this world can be and should be different!  And this is why we have to stop playing games and get real!

Jesus challenges is in Matthew 5:1-12 to be different from the rest of the world. He challenges us to be:  “Poor In Spirit” – this is humility that flows out of the realization that we are nothing without Jesus.  “Mournful” – this is sorrow for my sin because I realize that my sin gets in the way of everything good that God has for me and this world that I live in.  “Meek” – This is the gentle practice of allowing the Holy Spirit to control the power of God that flows to and through me.  Power without control is very damaging!

We can do this! You and I can move out of the natural and into the supernatural.  We need to take a vital step and it flows right out of the next Beatitude.  Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled! We will take some time this week on this blog to try and grow our hunger and thirst for the things of God.  I hope to see you back on this page tomorrow.  Until then, enjoy the journey and keep it real!

I love Fridays! Friday is the day that I use for catch up.  Friday is typically the day that I use to do anything that I needed to do during the week that I did not get done.  It is also the day that I take a final major look-over at what God has for us on Sunday.  This Sunday we are going to continue to work our way through Matthew 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes!)  We will be looking at “Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled!”

I am about to be as up front with you as I possibly can be. As I look at what God has for us this coming Sunday, I just want to say:  If you are not serious about being a Christ Follower, then you may not want to be at Northwood on Sunday.  If you have anything in your life that is getting in the way of your being a Christ Follower and you are not willing to face it and deal with it, then you may want to stay at home or go somewhere else.  It will not be a pleasant day for people who are playing a game that they call Christianity.

If you are serious about your relationship with Christ and if you are ready to follow Him in a greater way than you ever have before, then you will want to be at one of our two campuses on Sunday morning. If you come hungry and thirsty, then you will have the opportunity to leave satisfied and filled.

Remember to read through Matthew 5:1-12.  Take some time to think about what it means in your life to “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  And join me on Sunday morning for an awesome and incredible time with the God who loves you more than you could ever begin to dream or imagine.