NCBC Family Blog

Hunger Pangs

As I am sitting here getting ready to write this post about “Hunger Pangs”, I hear meowing outside of the window of my makeshift home office. Apparently, there is a kitten who is trying to get our attention for some food. She is not apologetic or embarrassed. She knows that we are the source of food. She feels hungry and she knows the actions that she should take. 

Then I think about myself. I am often the type of person that if I am focused on a task that I will completely forget about eating lunch.  Ignore the pangs and when I finally slow down, it can sometimes be too late.  Because I failed to eat when I was supposed to, a headache grows that I will continue until I lay my head on the pillow.

I had the hunger pangs. They were telling me it is good to eat. But I suppressed them.

Often in our walk with Christ, you may find yourself doing the same thing. You need daily interaction with Christ more than food.  You need to go to the source of truth and receive the spiritual nourishment for the day. Yet, so often you may find yourself in the midst of mounting responsibilities and pressures, failing to go to the one place that you need to go – to the feet of Christ.  To open His Word and spend time with Him in prayer. 

You and I need to be more like the kitten who feels the hunger pangs and responds by going to the hand who provides food.  Our Heavenly Father desires to provide nourishment to you.  And often, like the hunger pangs in our stomach, if you are in tune with your spiritual health, you will feel the Spirit prodding to spend time with Him.

Do you respond by going to the door?  Or by suppressing the feeling?

I would challenge you each day to take time to open His Word.  Grab a journal.  Write down what God is saying to you. I would even encourage you with an accountability partner or with your family, to read through a book of the Bible and then have discussions of what His Word means and how it impacts you personally.

For families a great suggestion is to take the next month and read one chapter in Proverbs each day.  Ask them, which of the proverbs stands out to them and why.  Or if you are reading with another person, work through the Epistle of James or 1 John.  There are some great thought provoking passages to wrestle with.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8 (ESV)

Let's Make a Deal

In the game “Let’s Make a Deal”, the contestant – usually selected because of an amazing outfit or costume which catches the eye of the host – is offered a series of choices.  They can either keep what they are holding in their hands or turn it in for the mystery behind the curtain or what might be hiding under the box. They are choosing between what they “know” and the “unknown”.  Making a choice about the value of what they have in their possession.

In many ways, you and I treat life in a similar fashion.  There is a willingness to trade our time, to get money, to turn over for enjoyment. You do not know if you face obstacles, emergencies, or get a generous windfall. One thing is certain though, the riches you gain here, will stay here when you pass from this earth.  Yet, the decisions we make can have an eternal result.  The charge is that you live your life for that which is known, rather than the unknown.

And here is the real kicker, when you live your life with an eternal perspective, you consider what it means to know and be obedient to the Creator.  This means to love what He loves and to show the same forgiveness and mercy He has shown us. It means living your life selflessly and to care deeply for others. In other words, your life here will become so much more rich because your focus is on eternity and His plan for you.

So why don’t you plan to join us for the next few weeks as we how we may live our lives with eternity in mind.

Deal or No Deal?

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10, ESV