Saturday, November 1, 2014

November 2, 2014

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6

The words hunger and thirst in Matthew 5:6 suggest a deep, profound, even painful desire that increases with desperation until it is fed.

That's how the kingdom citizen pursues righteousness should be both recurring and ongoing. When you eat a sandwich at lunch, it may hold you for a while, but it doesn't satisfy your hunger for the rest of our lives, Your appetite for righteousness should keep growing. When you lose your appetite for the Lord and His kingdom, when you're just as content with the world's junk food as you are with the Word of God, something is wrong.

Kingdom hunger is:

  • an unquenchable desire to know Him;
  •  a desire to be free from sin because sin separates us from God;
  • a desire to be free from the power of sin and controlled by God's Spirit;
  • a desire to be free from the desire for sin and eager to please the Father;
  • a desire to be like Jesus.
How do you seek righteousness? We let God show you who you really are. You do away with the pretense. As long as you think you're better than most, you are not hungry for righteousness. Spiritual fulfillment begins with an awareness of your spiritual bankruptcy. You must remove anything that dulls our spiritual appetite, whether it's overtly sinful or not. It might be NFL football, or boating, or a harmless hobby, but if it gets in the way of your pursuit of righteousness, it needs to go. Kingdom hunger demands it.

This requires real sacrifice, but it results in real satisfaction because those who orient their "hunger and thirst" in the direction of righteousness are guaranteed to find themselves "filled". When was the last time any sin left you feeling that way?

Are good things in your life keeping you away from the best God Has to offer? 

Seek His righteousness.