I suppose i better add this: each week someone posts a friday five for responses. this week, though my answers are probably not terribly surprising, I joined in. I'd love to see your comments on this...and your responses.

Friday five...on saturday

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith?
raised catholic.
2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not?
No. became a born again Christian at 20, now "practice the faith (a funny term, imho)" as a southern baptist.
3. What do you think happens after death?
my faith "practice" will be made perfect. I'm going to heaven, by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus, the Christ. those who have no faith in Jesus as the Christ will be judged according to their works, and will be separated from God for eternity (also known as hell).
4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)?
Snake handling. Followed closely by "sleeping in the spirit." seriously -- just worshipping God -- hopefully not ritually, but relationally, and definitely in a participatory way.
5. Do you believe people are basically good?
No. I believe the only good in me is The Holy Spirit. Paul said it best, that is, "in me (my flesh), nothing good dwells."

a rose by any other name...

a couple of things before I get to "the thing."
-- kelli and I registered and voted today. Don't neglect the privilege.
-- It was on Oct. 31, 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg Cathedral door.
-- Please pray for the following: Rod, a friend and pastor, whose mother just passed away; Carrie, who continues to heal from her serious injuries; Joan, whose daughter-in-law passed away from leukemia.
-- I've added Avoiding Evil to my blogs of note. Check it out. Its worth the time.

and now, "the thing."

Yesterday, after my blog was mailed to subscribers, I received an email from a good, sweet-spirited friend who asks:
Why are you celebrating a pagan/demonic holiday at all? Why didn't you choose to do it say, next week, or last week, or not at all. Why is there a celebration inside GOD's church on the most holy and sacred demonic holy day? Why are we covering over the word 'halloween' with 'fall festival'? I am really struggling with this one! If GOD takes this stuff really seriously - why aren't we. If GOD says not to do it.....why are we doing it under a different name? It feels like we are saying.....yes, this began as 'all hallowed eve' and is a celebration of satan from thousands of years ago, it has absolutely no ties to Jesus in any way, shape or form, and is like throwing the world in His precious face and saying "its ok - its only candy, fun and 'good' costumes - absolutely nothing evil or scary allowed in". The fact that we are 'celebrating' on the same night that pagan satan worshipers are having their highest most holy holiday and celebration is immaterial - no biggy. So they don't celebrate Christmas or Easter has no bearing on this..............or does it.

Very good, very fair questions. So, I'll do my best to give my rationale.

First, I believe the best reasoning is found in 1 Corinthians 10 (verses 23-33). Ultimately, this is a matter of conscience. I've been on both sides, and I can argue both sides passionately. If we live in a reactionary mindset according to the dictates of the world, then we would never be in the world. Christmas has pagan origins (from the date of celebration, to the many traditions celebrated with it: yule log, Christmas tree, mistletoe, wassel, etc.), Easter has pagan origins ('Easter' comes from Astarte, the pagan goddess of fertility; the rabbit and eggs are both of pagan origin, symbols of fertility). If our "harvest festival" was simply a renamed "halloween celebration," but celebrated as do the pagans, then I believe we absolutely would be under condemnation for partaking in it. The responsibility of the Christian is to take every day, and claim it for the glory of God. We are to be in the world but not of the world. When you look at the first church, they engaged their culture, and they changed their culture. Last night, several churches of Eastern Fremont County gathered under one roof and under the large name of Jesus Christ, Savior of mankind, and offered ministry "unto the least of these." We didn't limit what people could wear, we just opened the doors, and shared jesus. Tracts were given out along with the candy, invitations to join worship were extended, and fellowship was shared. Long before any pagan, any Luciferian could claim Oct. 31 as their high, holy day, it was the day that the Lord had made, and accordingly, we should rejoice and be glad in it.

I'm not trying to dismiss the very legitimate concerns over what the ungodly have historically given to this day, nor am I trying to bury my head in the sand about it. I believe that what it comes down to is, regarldless of of the day and the activities that are undertaken upon that day, that we better be able to explain why we do it -- not for the purposes of justification, but for the purpose of being able to give an account before God. God knows motives and mindsets even better than we ourselves do -- If i hide in my basement with the lights turned out and not answering the door because 'the day is evil," then I believe I'll be under just as much of an indictment than if I, as a Christian, am out running amok doing horrible things on that day. I am called to be a light shining in the night. I'm called to be all things to all people, so that some may be saved. My position is, there is no more apt opportunity to open our doors and share Christ's message of eternal life then when the world dresses up to celebrate the dead.

As far as doing it on a different date, I suppose it could be done, but I don't think its practical. I think this is just as reactionary as not engaging the culture at all -- and it also hints of spiritual pride. You see, by offering ministry on Oct 31, we say, "Come on in, see what we have to offer...Jesus." And then we let the Holy Spirit do the convicting, possibly more powerfully because it is in direct opposition of what the pervasive mindset is for that day. If we wait a week, we're implying an entirely different message. If we were so consumed with not aligning with the world, we'd celebrate Christmas at a completely different time (or not at all, Since Christ tells us to only remember his death), and we'd probably have many more Christians seeking to celebrate the Old Testament holidays, because of the picture of Christ that is found in each of them.

For me, the heart of the matter is to take it all seriously, but also joyfully. When Kelli and I struggled about whether to put Kaylyn in public school or Christian school, it was the conviction that Kaylyn belongs to God and she (and all our children) are consecrated to Him that led us to enroll her in public school. She is saved -- heaven is her destination. We have placed her in an environment where God can use her to impact the lost. When we decided to open the doors for a harvest festival, it was done with the intent to glorify God with our words and our deeds, and I believe that was accomplished. I don't judge those who disagree with me. I'm not upset at those members of my church family who chose to stay home -- that's between them and God, and I'm not their Holy Spirit. But as for me, I believe we Christians have already given too much over to the enemy. Each day, we should get up out of bed, claim the day for and in the name of Christ, and enter the battle for His glory's sake.

Happy....Thursday.

Several churches in the community have gathered in our gym tonight to offer a community-wide harvest festival.. With the inclement weather we've got draped over the Royal Gorge valley, we're expecting a large crowd -- upward of 1000 kids. If that be the case, each child will receive about 2 peices of candy. Kaylyn is a ballerina today -- the first time we've dressed her up since she was an infant. Cotter will be a Denver Bronco football player and Kelsi will be an 8 month old baby girl dressed in a peach onesie (how do you spell some of these words we've made up?) and blue jean overalls. It's pretty original.

My parents and aunt Nancy are flying back to Denver today from spending the week with Jamie and Lissa in New York. I haven't heard from them, but I'm sure they had a good time.

We got Cotter's pictures taken this morning. I've determined that this is one profession I'd never be able to pursue. This guy was so good with Cotter, making our surly little boy happy with stuffed animals and goofy sounds. I'd probably last 10 minutes on the job before I'd crack and say something like, you better start smilin' you spoiled little runt or else I'm gonna start crackin' some skulls! We're hopeful the pictures turn out well, though.

Anyway, back to Halloween, yesterday, I was in Scripture and went to 1 Sam. 28 to read about Saul's encounter with the witch at En Dor. Aside from sounding like a chapter in a Star Wars Novel, it is an incredibly interesting account. It shows just how seriously God takes this witchcraft stuff. Here's the incredibly deep theological lesson I learned from that passage -- when God says don't do something...it's smart to not do it. I think this is one reason we can tell that so many of the "seers" of this day are frauds (aside from the tired joke that Mistress Cleo should have seen the prosecutors coming) -- they only really have good news to give. When the witch saw Samuel, though, she got scared! Then Samuel said, "Saul, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me in Sheol. The good news is...oh, wait, I guess I don't have good news after all."

Clear back in chapter 2 of 1 Sam. God says, I will honor those who honor me, and those who dishonor me, I will lightly esteem. Look how true this turned out for Saul. This man was given everything by God -- the very kingdom of Israel. But he constantly turned his back on God, apart from giving offhand gestures of gratitude. He hunts down a witch because he's afraid of this Philistine army, and gets an unhappy message. Then, we see the fulfillment of this promise of God (that Saul is lightly esteemed) because he has to watch his three sons die (including his dear son Jonathan), his own servant disobeys his last command, and he kills himself by falling on his own sword. Furthermore, the enemies come and cut his head off, display his armor in pagan temples, and hang his body on a wall for all to see. Happy Halloween, Saul.

Poor Saul, we say, but are we any better? The other night on Survivor (which I really don't watch. Really. I promise), the host -- who I just figured out is the same guy who hosts "Rock-n-Roll Jeapordy" (4 seasons after everyone else knew it) -- tells them they all had a deeply spiritual experience for booting off the guy from their team. And they all nod their heads in agreement, like they're closer to God because they conspired against this guy. Mistress Cleo didn't commit fraud in a vacuum. People are hungry for this. And what about this crossing over dude...What a racket. After a little examination, this is my basic evaluation of his scam.

C.O.D.: I'm getting someone coming through...Dave, Donna, Dominique, Dingo...Something with a D...
Woman in Third Row (Jumping Up): That must be for me -- My daddy starts with a d
C.O.D.: What was his name?
WITR: We called him daddy!
C.O.D: Then I thnk we're onto something here...He's saying....Don't worry....
WITR: Hmmm....
C.O.D.: He's saying...Be happy
WITR (WIth astonishment): He bought me a Bobby McFerrin tape when I was 13!

And on it goes....and later, she has this interview where she says one of three stock statements:

Option 1: "He said things about dad that nobody else knew. This was a deeply spiritual experience"
Option 2: "We were so suprised to discover that dad really didn't much care for me, and that we should quit bothering him because the whole 'crossing over' thing is a lot like getting a call from a telemarketer at supper time."
Option 3: "What is all this? This was the biggest con job I've ever seen! The host was 'getting readings' from cue cards!"
Unfortunately, Options 2 & 3 often get edited out before airing.

The only person who has a bigger scam going is that gal who calls herself the Pet Psychic (and just so you know -- finding her website for this link freaked me out!). What a gig! I'd love to be able to invite people over and look deeply into their cat's eyes and say...."Fluffy is mourning the loss of Mr. Squeaky her catnip mouse....she wants to be understood as she grieves. That'll be $500. No checks, cash only, please. Oh, and she wants to meet with me weekly, to help her get through the 36 stages of kittycat grief. No, small bills only, please." A while back, I saw this lady talking with a camel! A camel! What could possibly be bothering a camel? Aside from the fact he's a camel. I want to go on to her show with big giant cockroach (except for the fact cockroaches make me scream like a teenage girl). I'd tell her, "Mr. Filthy just isn't the same little pest that he was when I first met him trying to scamper out of the trashcan so long ago. I think that he feels like nobody likes him, like he's horribly misunderstood. Maybe he has an inferiority complex, like everyone's out to get him. How would you feel if a whole line of products were made just to erase you from the face of the earth? Come on Pet Psychic lady, work your mojo. Spare no expense. Give him invertebrate psychology. If its an oedipal complex, I want to know. He's willing to do group therapy -- he lives in my basement with about 5000 of his closest relatives -- but don't listen to his sister Wanda, she's always been jealous of the extra attention I've given him, and I've caught her in a lie more times than I can even count. If we bring in the whole group, you better watch out, though, they won't wait long before they act like they own the joint, hiding in the crooks and cracks, climbing into your sandwich and nibbling on the warm mayo, laying their eggs in your hairbrush. But don't take it the wrong way...they just want you to know they appreciate you and all your deep spiritual insight into their complex, confusing cockroach world. Do whatever it takes....this is a deeply spiritual experience.

Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. 2 Timothy 2:7

another update

Leah just called right after I posted. Carrie had a CAT scan in the night. No severe damage to skull or vertebrae -- just small fractures they expect to heal. She goes into surgery today at 1 PM to remove all internal packing. The next 24 hours are vital to see how her lungs respond to the trauma. Also, she may still have brain damage from the several times her blood pressure fell to dangerous levels. Please continue praying for Carrie, for her son AJ, and her daughter Casey and Carrie's sisters as they travel from Oklahoma tomorrow morning.

update

Just a quick note that Carrie, Leah's sister-in-law is in ICU. She is still in very fragile condition. Yesterday, she was driving her son to the bus stop and hit a patch of ice, and slid into oncoming traffic, where she was broad-sided by a semi. The doctors removed the bottom lobe of her left lung, removed her spleen, and repaired her diaphragm. Every rib on her left side is broken, as is her left arm and leg. She went through 22 units of blood. Please continue to pray for her, her husband Eric, and their 5 children.

Thanks and Blessings.

sorry to change the tone so suddenly

but just received news that the sister-in-law of a dear friend and church member, Leah, was in a very bad car accident in the Springs. Her name is Carrie and she's in surgery right now. Leah's in CO Spgs. with the family. Kelli has driven to Penrose to pick up Leah's children. Please pray for all of them. Thank you so much.

Spring Forward...Fall Back

On Saturday nights, I use my cell phone as my alarm clock. I do this because the alarm clock I have is basically a big giant annoyance to me. It has these huge numbers on it, so I can see the time in the middle of the night without my glasses. This is nice, except for the fact that I largely don't wake up once I fall asleep. On one of those rare occasions I actually am aroused from my hibernation, looking at the clock only upsets me because I am made aware of how soon I'll have to actually get up. Furthermore, the enormity of the LCD display gives explanation to the small aircrafts landing on our little street in the middle of the night. Ours is the only home with windows glowing a pale green, from the unhealthy eminations of my high quality $4 clock.

Anyway, back to the original stream of thought....I've been using my cell phone to wake me up on Sunday mornings and Monday mornings, when I have to get up before God's alarm clocks (my small children) do the job instead. The problem is, when my cell phone rings at 4:00 a.m., I invariably (for at least 12 weeks running, now) lunge out of bed, knock over anything on my night stand, yank the phone out of its charger base, and attempt to have a conversation with nobody.

"Hello? Hello? Why won't you talk to me?"

My wife then lovingly rolls over and says, "That was your alarm, Alexander Graham Bell. Go take a shower," and returns to her last two hours of slumber.

"Oh, yeah..." I say, apparently for my own consolation. I then proceed to the shower, mentally scolding myself for falling once again to Sprint's clever pranks. I'm obviously so consumed by my feeble-mindedness that I turn off the shower, step out, and begin to dry my hair.

"Oh man!" I say a llittle too loudly.

From the bedroom, I hear, "You forgot to wash out the conditioner again, didn't you, Paul Mitchell?"

I say nothing as I return to the shower....to wash out the conditioner.

Well, this is the normal course of action for the past three months. This past week, I came to the office to spend time in prayer, and I noticed on the computer that I had forgotten to "fall back." And moreover, my telephone hadn't made an adjustment either (Ha!, Take that, cruel PCS jokester!). So, I had an extra hour to pray and prepare.

At 7 a.m. (by now adjusted for daylight savings), one of my most faithful Sunday school teachers came in. I knew it was Pauline without seeing her. She is an 84 year-old widow who is always the first teacher in the building. She came in after a while and asked where everyone was. So, I smugly asked, "you didn't fall back, did you?" She answered, "No, I forgot all about it. I didn't have my television on last night, and went to bed reading. Oh well." I confessed my own lapse to her, and we had a good laugh about it.

To me, the spring forward...fall back thing is a lot like feed a cold...starve a fever. I'm not really good at remembering the 'helps' that are supposed to trigger a flood of information. For example, Kelli does this thing where she counts off the months on her knuckles to determine whether or not a month has 30 or 31 days. I'm in awe of her the when she pulls that one off. But then again, I'm the guy whose watch currently reads October 17, because I constantly forget to adust for the different days.

Whether or not this has anything to do with anything, I'll let you decide...the other day, when we were driving, our dashboard lights went out. I hit the top of the dash, and they came back on. I never felt more like Arthur Fonzarelli in my life (Sit on it, Potsy!).

Something just came up....will write more later.

In the year 2000, Americans spent an estimated $325 billion (that’s billion with a ‘b’) eating out. That is an increase of almost $100 billion over the past ten years, and an increase of almost $275 billion over the past 20 years. Let me put it this way: we eat enough to feed every man, woman, and child six McDonald’s value meals a year. And we do this in a time where eleven million people a year die from starvation. And while our fast-food spending has increased over 600 percent, our expenditures for overseas food aid has increased from $1.4 billion in 1980 to roughly $2 billion in 2000 (a 25% increase). And right now, there are approximately 20% of adult Americans on a diet.

Now, I’m not sharing these statistics to make you feel guilty about looking forward to that pot roast that warming in the oven right now. I’m not even trying to make you feel bad about your plans to go to Chile’s today after worship. That’s another sermon for another day (most likely after I’ve begun exercising regularly). The main reason I share these ‘bloated’ figures with you this morning is to illustrate that America is indeed a nation of indulgence. We don’t know what it means to go hungry. That’s not to say we don’t have segments of our populations that know hunger, but by and large, we are a nation of abundance.

In doing my research on this, I discovered that ConAgra Foods, which owns Monfort Meat in Greeley, is the number one global producer of beef, sheep, flour, turkey, French fries, frozen foods, and is a leading producer of chicken, pork, feed, seed, and agricultural chemicals. From the falling from the womb to the feeding to the fattening to the frying, America is wholely self-sufficient in the stuffing of our faces. At the same time, 1 in 5 in both Ethiopia and the Sudan are continually hungry. In Mozambique, that number is closer to 2 in 5.

And our indulgence goes so far beyond food. We live in a country if we want it, we buy it. If we can’t afford it, we charge it. If we can’t pay what we charged, we just claim bankruptcy. Homes costs average $161,000 nationally. Car sales boomed so much following post 9/11 that we now have a glut of “quality pre-owned automobiles.” We see these headlines that say, 0% interest, and we think, “I must have one!” And we feel like we’ve done our patriotic duty to keep the economy rolling. Video game sales, DVDs and VHS tapes, and pornography are all at all-time highs!

Despite all this, there is a gnawing in the soul of many Americans. They continually strive to feed this beast whose appetite knows no limits. Indulgence after indulgence, purchase after purchase, extreme after extreme, and still the beast hungers for more. Americans, we have become a nation of overweight, addicted, isolated, lost, rich-but-poor, full-but-famished individuals.

I believe it is this hunger, this dilemma that God Himself addresses when He asks the question, “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?” Truly, we fit the proverb that says, “a sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire,” or even more graphic of a conviction, like 2 Peter 2:22 that says, “a dog returns to its own vomit.”

I also believe it is the heart of this problem that is addressed in the beatitudes where we continue our time in the Word. Remember, over the past few weeks, as we’ve looked at the first three beatitudes, we’ve seen that God promises blessings upon those who are poor in spirit, upon those who mourn over their sin, and for those who are meek. We’ve seen that these three beautiful attitudes are related compounded. It is impossible to be meek if you cannot mourn over your sin, and you cannot mourn over your sin if you are too proud to beg for the Lord’s intercession, healing, and forgiveness. Now, we continue to see that atop of these, the Lord tells us this: blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

As we have in previous weeks, let’s look first at the audience. To whom is Jesus addressing this promise? To those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Let’s take a minute to look at that more closely. First of all, the terms are to those who hunger and thirst. The word hunger comes from a Greek root that literally means “to famish, or crave.” It is extreme hunger. It is a condition where it is a consuming hunger. It’s not the kind of hunger that I get when I’m watching a movie at home and think, “Hmm, I’d sure like some popcorn right now.” And its not the kind of craving that Kelli had when she was pregnant with Kelsi that led me to make several trips to Baskin Robins. Rather, it’s the kind of hunger that is the result of starvation. No food for an extended period of time. No nourishment. No sustenance. No filling. It means to have a hunger, a craving, a gnawing, aching, need for something to fill the huge void in your body.

At the same time, the word for thirst has a root to it that means to yearn. It is the type of thirst you experience when you’ve nothing to drink for days – your mouth feels as though you just ate a dirt sandwich on melba toast. Your head throbs. You get faint, weak, delusional. Tongues swell inside the mouth, thick from dehydration. Lips chap, blacken, then split. It is the yearning for a quench to this thirst, and if it be not answered, death looms nigh.

You see, this is the condition mentioned. This is the condition of starvation. I’d like to give you a definition here, because we use this word in so many ways, and most ways that it is used are mis-uses. The word starvation means this: it is the absence of a necessity for life. You see, we can probably think of people that we’d identify as being “attention-starved,” or “affection-starved,” and when we hold them up to this template definition, it doesn’t quite fit, in most circumstances. How many times have your children come to you and said, “Mom, I’m starving!” When you hold their claim up to the definition, it probably doesn’t fit, regardless of their drama. Starvation is only starvation if there is an absence of something necessary for life. So, let’s look at that definition in two different ways:

First, there is the most commonly understood manner of starvation –physical starvation. To eliminate physical starvation, you have to supply what feeds the body. You need to introduce two prescriptions. Food and water. You give a person food and water, even small amounts, but on a consistent basis, that person will not starve. But the reality is, a person must constantly eat and drink, lest they starve.

Second, the uncommon, but much more prevalent manner of starvation – spiritual starvation.
To eliminate spiritual starvation, you have to supply what feeds the spirit. The only prescription for this starvation is God Himself. Nothing else will satisfy this starvation. And this is why I say spiritual starvation is more uncommon, but more prevalent. We live in a day that Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, New Age, Mormonism and other world religions and cultic practices ‘feed’ over 2/3 of our world’s population. We claim to be a very ‘spiritual people.’ Only 1/3 of the world is Christian (and I think that is an over-estimation). So the vast majority of people recognize that they are spiritually starved. We all recognize we have what one philosopher calls “that God-sized” hole in our hearts. But, despite all our spirituality, we keep trying to stave off this starvation with everything but God. We try to feed it with relationships, with lusts, with addictions, with toys, and with hobbies, and yet we are still hungry.

We need to understand that it is this starvation – spiritual starvation – that is referenced here. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. That word righteousness literally means ‘to be justified,’ or ‘to have right standing’ with God. You are not promised blessing if you are anorexic or bulimic. You are not promised blessing if you are living on Top Ramen noodles and pine floats (a glass of water with a toothpick). You are only blessed if your hunger, your thirst, your starvation, is for God Himself. If you are hungry to have a right standing with God, then this blessing is for you.

But friends, this is also where we see most often the confusion of starvation. We recognize we are hungry, that our very spirits long for the God who created us, but our spirits are empty. Why are we spiritually empty? Well, at the risk of repeating something I taught just a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday night, I’ll tell you.

The reason why we are spiritually starved is because we were born spiritually dead. When Adam and Eve fell in their sin, at the garden, God told them, if you eat of the fruit, you surely will die. Well, they ate of the fruit. But they didn’t physically die – they still lived long lives, had children, toiled on the earth. They also didn’t experience a “soul” death. They still were able to think, to feel, to emote, to reason. But when they ate of the fruit, they lost their unity with God, and thus experienced spiritual death. This is why the Bible says the wages of sin are death, and that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and spread to all men, for all men sinned.

Friends, we were born spiritually dead. The Bible says we are born dead in our trespasses. And because we are born spiritually dead, we are born to die a defeated life. When our spirits are dead, we are powerless to respond to the assaults of this world in a spiritual manner. When temptation hits, we respond with our body our with our soul (human reasoning, emotions, etc). We recognize we are under assault, and we recognize the only way to fix it is if we are alive in our spirits. And friends, it is impossible to feed spiritual starvation with anything material. And make no mistake about it – Romans 1 tells us that gods of our own creation are material items, and will never satisfy our spiritual starvation.

So here is the cure for spiritual starvation. There is only one cure, given in three stages (inasmuch as we experience it). First, the cure is found in salvation. Look at what the scriptures say, continuing in Romans (Read 5:13 through end of chapter). Jesus told Nicodemus that to experience life, you must be born again! This puzzled the old Pharisee, because he didn’t understand that the rebirth about which Jesus spoke was spiritual in nature, not physical. In fact, when someone receives the salvation of God, their very spirits have been quickened – brought to life. Upon salvation, the spirit of God dwells within man, and only then is man complete, as God has designed Him to be – able to take every thought captive, able to fight the spiritual battles, able to accomplish all things through Him who gives us strength.

In fact, many times in the Old Testament, salvation is a synonym for righteousness. The Lord says through Isaiah, “My righteousness is near, my salvation has gone forth.” This means, as John Macarthur points out, that only when a person abandons any hope of saving themselves, of devising their own way to be “right with God,” can that person be blessed. Now we see the connection, and establishment of another rung on the ladder here of the beatitudes. The only way you can be spiritually hungry is to be meek enough, poor in spirit enough to realize that you cannot feed your own spirit. Your salvation is a gift from God. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t create it. You didn’t do anything but receive it because the Father on His own initiative offered it. And the only way you receive it if He extends it.

Now, the second stage of the cure is experienced thusly – through sanctification. While sanctification typically means being made holy by God, for our purposes here, we’ll say that sanctification is growing in the righteousness we receive from God. The whole reason we hunger and thirst for righteousness is to get more of it. Have you ever seen a baby eagle – an eaglet – when mama eagle brings in the supper to the nest? Those little birds go to town! They gulp it down and squawk for more! That’s how we should be with the righteousness of God! In fact, this is proven by Scripture where Jesus says, “therefore you shall be perfect, just as your father in heaven is perfect,” and where God says in 1 Peter, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” Now, we won’t be experience this in its fullness until we arrive in heaven, but we should be continually growing in our righteousness. We should never be content with ‘some’ righteousness, the way we get satisfied with ‘some’ food or ‘some’ water when we physically hunger or thirst. Rather, we should seek ‘all righteousness,’ for that’s what being holy—being sanctified is about.

Friends, that brings us to the third stage of the cure, which is also where we come to the assurance. The third stage of the cure is also the promise given by God in this beatitude. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled! You can quote God on this – If you hunger and thirst for the righteousness that God imparts, you will be satisfied! This word literally means ‘to gorge.’ God intends to satisfy you, no matter how much you hunger and thirst. This is amazing to me.

Just last week, my parents met us for dinner at the Broadmoor hotel. We had a feast. I had prime rib, asparagus, and potatoes. Kelli had this huge crab cake. I sampled a little from everyone’s plate – a large prawn here, a couple bites of tuna steak there. It was incredible. Then we all had a desert. Kelli had selected chocolates. I had strawberry consommé (which is really just chopped up strawberries in its own sauce – don’t let anyone try to tell you different), and again, I sampled from other plates as well. Kelli had to apologize to the table next to us when I pointed to them with my fork and asked if they were done with their Pineapple tort. Anyway, I ate a big meal, and I was stuffed. I couldn’t have eaten another bite. I was satisfied. But I tell you this – the next morning, there I was in the buffet line at the Raddison, eating cold scrambled eggs while I thought wistfully about my strawberry consommé. You see, that satisfaction didn’t last. God, on the other hand, promises that no matter how starving I am for righteousness, I will always be satisfied. This is a paradox that I cannot fully comprehend, but I know it to be true by experience. For every time I enter the scripture with a question, I discover a satisfactory answer. Yet, at the same time, ten new questions arise in its place. Thus God creates a relationship where I am in a pool from which I drink freely and continually that is safe enough for a mere child to enter, yet deep enough that I can never touch bottom. Truly, this is what God means in Psalm 23 where we proclaim, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” and “He prepares a table before me and my cup overflows.”

If satisfaction is the promise, the quote, the guarantee, then we must close today by asking ourselves a few questions. First of all, are you self-satisfied? Do you try to fill the void of your spirit with your own self-sufficiency or self-satisfaction? Are you one who never really hungers because you are satisfied with your self? Are you proud of your self? Are you pleased with your own efforts? Your own abilities? Your own goodness? Or, are you like Paul, who – at the climax of his monologue of despair over his sinful nature – cried out, “Oh wretched man that I am, who wil free me from this body of this death?”

Let me also ask you – are you surroundings-satisfied? Are you trying to fill the void of your dead spirit with the things of this world? Your spouse? Your children? Your accomplishments? Your possessions? Your hobbies? Just as a starving man cannot be fed with the smell of a roasting chicken, and a thirsty woman be quenched by the sound of a flowing stream, nothing external can satisfy a person’s hunger for the righteousness of God!

If you have answered positively to either of these questions, I want to tell you this truth – friend, you will starve to death unless you change your diet today. If you find your self hungry for more of God’s righteousness, let me ask you this question – are you scripturally satisfied? The Word of God is the basic spiritual food that God provides for His children. Just as Jeremiah shouted, “Thy words were found and I ate them, and they words became for me a joy and a delight in my heart!” Feeding on God’s word increases our appetite for it! Why do I memorize Scripture? Not because I have to; not because it’s my job. I learn Scripture and hide it in my heart because it feeds me when I need nourishment from heaven. And all you have to do is read John 6 and discover how important it is to God that we understand the satisfying capacity that His Word possesses for those who partake in it!

And I close by asking this question – are you spiritually satisfied? God’s word in Proverbs says “to a famished man, any bitter thing is sweet.” In this regard, the person who is famished for the righteousness of God is able to find satisfaction in every detail of life – even those things that are disastrous and horrible. Why was Horatio Spafford able to cross the ocean, and on the very spot where his wife and four daughter drowned when the boat they were on ahead of him had sunk, write the hymn It is well with my soul? Because he was satisfied with the righteousness of God in the Spirit.

Spiritual satisfaction is marked by unconditionality. It means we accept God’s righteousness in whatever manner He chooses to dispense it. Whether it be in good experience or bad, in the refiner’s fire or on the victory podium, the spiritually satisfied person hungers for God’s righteousness in all situations and conditions. This person’s void is filled only with the Spirit.

One final note. It is impossible to be filled with Christ, and anything else. Christ has no fellowship with the flesh. You cannot be spiritually hungry and ask for ‘some of Christ’ and ‘some of self.’ You cannot ask for ‘some of Christ’ and ‘some of the world.’ To be spiritually hungry is to cry out like the prophet Isaiah, “And night my soul longs for you, indeed, my spirit within me seeks you diligently (Is. 26:9).”

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

A little introduction to what follows -- It's early Sunday morning, and I have a little extra time because I forgot to "fall back." This actually is good because it gives our baptismal an extra hour to heat up (brrr.....like dippin' 'em in the Arkansas River in October!). I was looking for a file, and came across this -- one of the first things I wrote as a believer. I don't remember exactly, but I think I wrote this to a friend to explain the basis for the changes taking place in my life, so this is circa 1993 or 1994. Basic apologetics, I suppose.

May God bless you today through the fullness of riches in Christ Jesus!
***
Jesus Christ. Everything about the Christian faith rises and falls on Him. If He is not all that is claimed about Him, then Catholics, Protestants, and Messianic Jews are all without a Savior, and their faith is a sham. Incredible claims are made both by and about Jesus Christ. If they be not true, He is no more than a liar. As the Narnian Chronicles author CS Lewis states, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool…or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”
These are words written by a man who was himself an agnostic, until in intellectual honesty, submitted to Jesus as his God and Savior after studying the overwhelming evidence of his history. Of course, I am limited with the amount of that evidence that I can present to you, but I am confident that I can at least present a convincing sampling.
Perhaps the place to start is to present a bit of history. First, historical evidence does agree that a man named Jesus existed. “Christ” is a label attributed to Him, not actually his surname. It means “anointed” in reference to Him being the Messiah for the world. Jesus was a man of influence and prominence, and also of controversy. His period of activity lasted only three years and He never left His home region - never traveling to Egypt as an adult or Greece other distant lands. Despite this, His impact is global and undeniable, through the testimony of millions in the years from then to now. Historical documents, dating to within 30 years of His death, record that He existed, that He led a great number of people, and that He was killed under the order of Pontius Pilate, Jerusalem’s Roman procurator (governor).
Flavius Josephus was a Jewish historian of antiquity. He commented on early Christianity, but himself was not a Christian. He wrote: “About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if it be proper to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works,--a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the instigation of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him at first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive again on the third day; the divine prophets having foretold these and many other wonderful things concerning him. And the sect of Christians, so named after him, are not extinct to this day.”
You didn’t seem to deny His existence, just the claims of His activity. Josephus, a contemporary yet no ally, affirms his “wonderful works,” as well as the miracle of his return appearance, fully alive though three days had passed since He had been buried and sealed in a borrowed tomb, dead.
Now, to get a bit more into detail about Jesus, inasmuch as He was more than a man, or a prophet, but in fact, He was the Son of God. First, prophecies of the Jews’ Messiah had been promised for hundreds of years, most prominently from the prophet Isaiah. His first mention of the coming Messiah is in Isaiah 4:2-6, referring to Him as the “coming branch (a reference to Jesus lineage through the well known King David).” In chapter 7, Isaiah goes into further prophecy, saying the Messiah would be born of a virgin, and would be called “Immanuel (which means ‘God with us).” In chapters 11-12, Isaiah speaks more about the Messiah’s kingdom. In chapter 32, he discusses the Messiah’s reign. More about the Messiah follows, but you get the idea that the Messiah had been promised for quite some time.
If you “fast-forward” to Jesus’ birth, you see these promises become realities. Some skeptics have tried to discredit the testimony that Mary was a virgin, saying she was really impregnated by Joseph. This slander, though, is purely supposition and is groundless. Human logic seems it impossible to believe that God is mighty enough to give a pure woman His pure son. The fact is, if Jesus is who is claimed, a virgin birth is necessary and plausible. Without it, he is just another man, a descendant of Adam. Divine conception is necessary to maintain Christ’s holiness and deity, for Him to truly be the Son of God. Moving on, Jesus’ name is the Greek form of Joshua, which means, “the Lord saves.” Obviously, something is lost in modern translation, but they equated the two terms (Immanuel & Jesus) at the time (see Matthew 1:22-24).
The point is then made that, even at the moment of Jesus birth, the world knew the Messiah had been born. The three wise men went to worship him, responding positively. Herod, the ruler at the time, had all the males babies killed, feeling a threat to his lordship and leadership over the land. Little is spoken of until His adulthood, except for a passage where His parents find Him in the Jewish Temple, baffling the Rabbis. Even at that age, though, Jesus knew who He was, saying to His mom, “Did you not know I would be in My Father’s house?”
Moving on briefly to His adulthood, history affirms that He performed miraculous works. History affirms He was unjustly murdered on a cross, accused of crimes He did not commit. History affirms He was buried in a borrowed tomb. History records that the tomb was sealed with a giant boulder and guarded by a large group of Pilate’s men, because Pilate feared Jesus’ followers would steal his body to make outrageous claims. Yet, history affirms that the testimony is true: three days later, when two women went to the tomb to remember Him, they found the tomb open and Christ’s body missing. Here it may be simple to say that Jesus’ followers were successful in the heist of His body. Yet, as Josephus records, Jesus reappeared later that day, and later on to a crowd of 500. His resurrection was witnessed not by a group of a few, but by hundreds.
The resurrection is the keystone miracle of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, Christianity is a farce, and Jesus is nothing more than a purely evil being set out to deceive. Despite efforts to disprove it, Christ’s bodily resurrection from death has yet to be disproven. History agrees it happens, from believers and skeptics alike.
I suppose I should make the completing thought of “great. .so what?” The fact is simple. If Jesus’ resurrection did happen, then He must be everything He and others said about Him. He must be God. All His claims must be true, even the claims that He lives today, loves today, and saves today.
Christological history aside, let me make brief mention of proof born out in the lives of believers. Every single one of Jesus’ disciples died an unpleasant death simply because of their faith in Christ. Matthew was slain in Ethiopia. Mark was dragged to death through the streets until dead. Andrew was tied to a cross. James was beheaded. Philip was crucified and stoned. Bartholemew was flayed alive. Thomas was pierced with lances. James the lesser was thrown from the temple and beaten to death. Jude was shot to death with arrows. Matthias was stoned to death. Peter was crucified upside down, because he felt unworthy to be crucified as Christ was. Finally, Paul was beheaded. The persecutions continued. The Roman emperor burned down Rome and blamed the Christians, so he would have a reason to round them up and torture and kill them. Christian persecution continues around the world even today, especially in China and the middle and far east. Would the first disciples have pursued their work in Christ if the testimony was false? To do so would be ludicrous and would defy logic. The early Christians were a threat to Roman government because they worshipped God, not Caesar. Today, Christians are persecuted-murdered-because unbelieving people of this world hate His message; it’s human nature to do so. Let me digress for one line to say I know many Christians have persecuted others and it is sad. We can get into that more if we discuss human nature compared to divine nature, sound good?
Let me close this discourse with not my own words, but a collection of the words of others. This is what others have to say about the man, the being, the One God, Jesus Christ:
Ernest Renan, a French Infidel: “Repose now in Thy glory, noble Founder. Thy work is finished! Thy divinity is established…Between Thee and God there will be no longer be any distinction…Whatever may be the surprises of the future, Jesus will never be surpassed.
Rt.Hon. W.Lecky, a Dublin historian of rationalism; “Christ has exerted so deep an influence that it may be truly said that the simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosphers, and all the exhortations of moralists.”
Lord Byron, profligate poet: “If ever man was God, or God was man, Jesus Christ was both.”
Spinoza, apostate Jew: “Jesus Christ was the Temple; in Him God had most fully revealed Himself.”
J.J. Rousseau, atheist: “If the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus Christ were those of a God.”
Robert Ingersoll, atheist lecturer: “For the man Christ…I have the highest admiration and respect. Had I lived in His day I would have been His friend.”
Napoleon Bonaparte: “From first to last, Jesus is the same, always the same-majestic and simple, infinitely gentle….I know men; and I tell you that Jesus is not a man. Everything in Him amazes me. His spirit outreaches mine, and His will confounds me. Comparison is impossible between Him and any other being in the world….I see nothing here of a man. Near as I may approach, closely as I may examine, all remains above my comprehension-great with a greatness that crushes me. It is in vain that I reflect-all remains accountable. I defy you to cite another life like that of Christ!”
To end, I present the following, written by a man named Bill Bright: “Who is Jesus of Nazareth to you? Your life on this earth and for all of eternity is affected by your answer to this question. Take Buddha out of Buddhism, Mohammed out of Islam and , in like manner, the founder of various other religions out of their religions and little would change. But take Jesus Christ out of Christianity, and there would be nothing left, for Christianity is not a philosophy or ethic, but a personal relationship with a living, risen Savior.”
Look forward to hearing from you.