DRAWING NEAR
April 11
How's Your Spiritual Appetite?
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6).
David was a man after God's own heart. In Psalm 63:1 he writes, "O
God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; my soul thirsts
for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where
there is no water." He communed with God and knew the blessings of
His sufficiency: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. . . . He
leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in
the paths of righteousness. . . . Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort
me" (Ps. 23:1-4). He endured unjust persecution for the Lord's sake:
"Zeal for Thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who
reproach Thee have fallen on me" (Ps. 69:9).
David's zeal for God illustrates what Jesus meant when He said,
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt.
5:6). The words translated "hunger" and "thirst" speak of intense
desire. They are present participles, which imply continuous action.
The idea is paradoxical: the believer's continuous and intense desire
for righteousness is continually satisfied by Christ.
J.N. Darby, an early leader of the Plymouth Brethren movement, said,
"To be hungry is not enough; I must be really starving to know what
is in [God's] heart towards me. When the prodigal son was hungry he
went to feed upon husks, but when he was starving, he turned to his
father" (quoted in Martyn Lloyd-Jones's Studies in the Sermon on the
Mount, vol. 1, p. 81). When you have that kind of desperation, only
God can satisfy it!
Does your desire for righteousness drive you to Christ for
satisfaction? I pray that the words of the psalmist will be yours as
well: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be
satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (Ps. 17:15, KJV).
Suggestions for Prayer:
Ask God to use the events of today to increase your hunger and thirst
for righteousness. Look to Him in all things, knowing that He alone
can satisfy.
For Further Study:
Read Philippians 3:1-14.
What does it mean to place confidence in the flesh? How did
Paul define true righteousness?
Drawing Near, Copyright c 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Philippians 3:1-14 (NKJV)
3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the
same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit,
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else
thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for
Christ.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the
righteousness which is from God by faith;
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I
press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also
laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching
forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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