I see them dying in the streets
Their cries disturb my rest
One hundred thousand bodies lie
With thousands in distress.
The weeping children without hope
Their outstretched hands for help
Are haunting scenes that move my heart
While tremors still are felt.
Mothers lie within the rubble
Husbands dig to free a wife
Smells of death are all around them
Little hope for them in sight.
Soon supplies begin to enter
Food and water meet some needs
But the overwhelming question
Are the orphans in the streets.
Mended bones can help the wounded
Food supply for those in need
But the future of this Nation
Is far greater than these deeds.
As we give and pray together
For our friends in deep distress
Let us share the love of Jesus
The true Source of happiness.
--B. Pent
Showing posts with label hunger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hunger. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thursday, August 27, 2009
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT -- Matt. 5:6
Having played soccer in high school and college, I know a little about thirst during a 90-minute non-stop game. But after viewing the emaciated bodies of starving children in Sudan, Chad and other famine stricken Nations, I'm totally ignorant of its intensity. A starving person has one consuming passion: food and water.
As His followers were overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee, Jesus explains the final step in achieving true happiness. He states in verse 6, "blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Man wants to be filled but he seeks it in pleasure, riches, vacations, and other surface pursuits, which are only temporal. However, there is a deeper need, a spiritual hunger that only God can fully satisfy. St Augustine put it this way, "thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." The Bible teaches that true happiness comes only through God's righteousness. John MacArthurs explains it this way: "the heart of every person in the world was created with a sense of inner emptiness and need. Yet apart from God's revelation men do not recognize what the need is or know what will satisfy it. Like the prodigal son they will eat pigs' food, because they know nothing else. The reason is that men have forsaken God, "the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cistern, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). Though God has created man with a need for Himself, they try to satisfy that need through lifeless gods of their own making."
During the first three verses of His Sermon, Jesus reveals man's need before he can be filled. The poor in spirit recognize their sin and spiritual bankruptcy. They mourn at the eternal separation sin has created between themselves and God. In meekness and with deep humility they stand at the Cross receiving His salvation and are clothed with His righteousness. If you don't recognize your need, you will not want to be filled. Understanding the true nature of your need intensifies your desire to know Him. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns: we are not to hunger and thirst after experiences. There are large numbers of people who spend the whole of their life seeking something which they can never find, seeking for some kind of happiness and blessedness."
If you do not hunger or thirst after God's righteousness, you will never be filled. Jesus made that clear: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). So here's the deal: hang out with the world and you'll always hunger and thirst; hang out with Jesus and you'll always be filled. You cannot remain neutral at this point! The choice is yours!
As His followers were overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee, Jesus explains the final step in achieving true happiness. He states in verse 6, "blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Man wants to be filled but he seeks it in pleasure, riches, vacations, and other surface pursuits, which are only temporal. However, there is a deeper need, a spiritual hunger that only God can fully satisfy. St Augustine put it this way, "thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." The Bible teaches that true happiness comes only through God's righteousness. John MacArthurs explains it this way: "the heart of every person in the world was created with a sense of inner emptiness and need. Yet apart from God's revelation men do not recognize what the need is or know what will satisfy it. Like the prodigal son they will eat pigs' food, because they know nothing else. The reason is that men have forsaken God, "the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cistern, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). Though God has created man with a need for Himself, they try to satisfy that need through lifeless gods of their own making."
During the first three verses of His Sermon, Jesus reveals man's need before he can be filled. The poor in spirit recognize their sin and spiritual bankruptcy. They mourn at the eternal separation sin has created between themselves and God. In meekness and with deep humility they stand at the Cross receiving His salvation and are clothed with His righteousness. If you don't recognize your need, you will not want to be filled. Understanding the true nature of your need intensifies your desire to know Him. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns: we are not to hunger and thirst after experiences. There are large numbers of people who spend the whole of their life seeking something which they can never find, seeking for some kind of happiness and blessedness."
If you do not hunger or thirst after God's righteousness, you will never be filled. Jesus made that clear: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). So here's the deal: hang out with the world and you'll always hunger and thirst; hang out with Jesus and you'll always be filled. You cannot remain neutral at this point! The choice is yours!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
THE POWER OF TOUCH
Our skin is the most powerful of all the sense organs. A person may be blind and deaf or completely lack the sense of smell or taste, but it is impossible to survive without the function of the skin. More than a half million sensory fibers flow from the skin through the spinal cord to the brain. This giant communication system brings the signals and messages of the external environment to the attention of our internal selves. When you touch some one, the skin surface informs you not only about heat, cold and pain, but also literally about how they feel, and how you feel about them.
The hunger for touch and recognition is universal. It is the swiftest and most direct form of communication. Infants will not grow normally without the assuring touch of others. At birth the mother's breast is the physical and emotional supply line for a child's well being. Medical science terms it "bonding." As the child grows older, this primal hunger for actual physical touch is changed to recognition hunger. A smile, nod. frown, word or other gesture eventually replaces some of the touch strokes necessary in human development. Like touch, these forms of recognition, whether negative or positive, stimulate the brain of the person receiving them and serve to verify the fact he is alive and accepted as a person.
While studying the gospel of Mark, I was struck by the number of times Jesus touched people: the blind, the lame, the leper, the deaf and dumb, the demon possessed and little children. In this series of vivid pictures Mark portrays Jesus ministering to people as a true Servant: "the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45), thus, modeling the characteristic qualities of authentic Christianity. If our faith cost nothing perhaps it is worth nothing! "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).
When Jesus met His disciples by the shore of Galilee after His resurrection, the true motive for service became the main topic. Three times Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" Striping away all superficiality Jesus seemed to infer: "tell me what you love and I will tell you what you are!" The proof of love must go deeper than mere human affection. Service motivated by agape love needs no law to impel him to action. The man who loves righteousness will do right; law or no law. St. Bernard of Clairvaux put it this way: "the true measure of loving God is to love Him without measure."
Each time Jesus asked Peter "Do you love Me?" He concluded with a command:" feed my lambs; feet my sheep." The nature of love is to give. "God so loved the world that He gave." When the Spirit of God inflames love He inspires courage. That is why Peter was able to serve faithfully and die courageously.
The ultimate proof of agape is whether or not we are reaching out to others. The "great commission" is the mandate of agape. If we claim to be His, then agape love must flow from our lives as we reach out to the sick and lonely, the poor and the dying, the orphans and widows in distress, the heaven-bound and the hell-bound. We simply can't remain silent while claiming to love Him. Jesus was busy touching other lives. Involvement is not a choice. It is a command! "Do not merely listen to the word, do what it says" (James 1:22)
The power of touch is at our disposal. For Jesus' sake, let's just do it!
The hunger for touch and recognition is universal. It is the swiftest and most direct form of communication. Infants will not grow normally without the assuring touch of others. At birth the mother's breast is the physical and emotional supply line for a child's well being. Medical science terms it "bonding." As the child grows older, this primal hunger for actual physical touch is changed to recognition hunger. A smile, nod. frown, word or other gesture eventually replaces some of the touch strokes necessary in human development. Like touch, these forms of recognition, whether negative or positive, stimulate the brain of the person receiving them and serve to verify the fact he is alive and accepted as a person.
While studying the gospel of Mark, I was struck by the number of times Jesus touched people: the blind, the lame, the leper, the deaf and dumb, the demon possessed and little children. In this series of vivid pictures Mark portrays Jesus ministering to people as a true Servant: "the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45), thus, modeling the characteristic qualities of authentic Christianity. If our faith cost nothing perhaps it is worth nothing! "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).
When Jesus met His disciples by the shore of Galilee after His resurrection, the true motive for service became the main topic. Three times Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" Striping away all superficiality Jesus seemed to infer: "tell me what you love and I will tell you what you are!" The proof of love must go deeper than mere human affection. Service motivated by agape love needs no law to impel him to action. The man who loves righteousness will do right; law or no law. St. Bernard of Clairvaux put it this way: "the true measure of loving God is to love Him without measure."
Each time Jesus asked Peter "Do you love Me?" He concluded with a command:" feed my lambs; feet my sheep." The nature of love is to give. "God so loved the world that He gave." When the Spirit of God inflames love He inspires courage. That is why Peter was able to serve faithfully and die courageously.
The ultimate proof of agape is whether or not we are reaching out to others. The "great commission" is the mandate of agape. If we claim to be His, then agape love must flow from our lives as we reach out to the sick and lonely, the poor and the dying, the orphans and widows in distress, the heaven-bound and the hell-bound. We simply can't remain silent while claiming to love Him. Jesus was busy touching other lives. Involvement is not a choice. It is a command! "Do not merely listen to the word, do what it says" (James 1:22)
The power of touch is at our disposal. For Jesus' sake, let's just do it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)