Greetings in the name of King Jesus (John 12:12-13) – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! What a beautiful morning in the Kingdom! This kind of morning energizes you and makes you long for more…creates a ‘hunger’ and a ‘thirst’! What is true in the natural world is true in the spiritual world. I trust that you have a blessed week and your lives were touched by God’s grace and mercy. I am going to be praying for you today, asking Father to “create a hunger and thirst” for his holy presence, so that when you arrive at Sunday worship in your church you will be expecting “MORE” from Him!
I have been watching the broadcasts from Jerusalem as the crowd worship with great bands/singers and listen to words of teaching / challenge / encouragement from speakers from different countries who are relaying God’s voice. This morning I watched and listened as John Francis spoke to the assembly. As he neared the end of a very inspiring and animated message, the people began to respond and with hands raised they praised and prayed and expressed their “hunger and thirst” for Holy Spirit power. It was a powerful moment and I must confess that I wanted to be there instead of here in St. Thomas…and into that moment God released a vision.
I saw not the scene on the computer screen but a bird’s nest sitting in an intersection of tree branches. In the nest were four or five hungry little birds ‘cheep-cheeping’ away. Their eyes were bright and their mouths were open and they cared not about their surroundings…they wanted food! I watched mother bird come with a ‘beak-full’ of food and begin to give each mouth a taste of what she had…and they still wanted more, so off she flew to get more nourishment. As she left, the image on the screen came back into focus and I saw this crowd of people with hands reaching up, eyes glistening with tears, mouths open with praise, and with no concern about their surroundings. No mother bird here, but the Holy Spirit distributing nourishment to satisfy the “hunger and thirst” – even as the cry for “more’ went out.
And yet, strange as it may seem, there were some who seemed to be unmoved by what was going on, enjoying watching the others – but, not participating. The speaker, John Francis, made a very pointed observation: “God cannot fill a closed mouth!” and neither could mother bird in my vision. A little bird who won’t open his mouth is not going to receive. God’s word says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled…You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat”…Matthew 5:6 NIV/The Message — “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit..” Acts 2:4a NIV — “…Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” — Ephesians 5:18b NIV. I think it is interesting that we are not told to get “full” but to get “hungry and thirsty.”
Have a great weekend and be blessed with a “hunger and thirst” for God!