DEVOTION - SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012

“Living Hope”

BY

RON MOORE

1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The first year Lori and I were married, we lived at 1-1 South University Place, married student housing at Oklahoma State University. I had graduated from college and was teaching and coaching. Lori was finishing up her last year. A couple miles from our little apartment was a Braum’s Ice Cream store, where cones were 50 cents a scoop. I won’t lie…there were nights we craved, longed for, yearned for a Braum’s Ice Cream cone. We would scour our apartment for coins until we scrounged up a dollar and two cents and then happily head to Braum’s. With a cone in our hand and a smile on our face, we sat on a bench by the front door and determined if those entering really needed the calories. “Ding. Ding. Ding.” meant the person could handle the cal’s and a buzzer sound, “Neerrnnt,” meant the person should probably head back to the car. Admittedly, it wasn’t a very nice thing to do, but we sure had fun doing it.

As we yearned for ice cream, believers should long for the nourishment that comes from the Word of God. But the sustenance that comes from Scripture is nothing like a sugar high that comes from a 50 cent cone. We don’t open the Word to find a quick fix that temporarily meets our fleshly needs. God’s Word is real spiritual food that allows us to grow up in our salvation and mature as followers of Jesus.

When, by consistently reading you develop a taste for the deep truth, no-nonsense challenges, and desired promises of Scripture, you can say with the believers through the ages—“This is really, really good!!”

Lord, encourage those who regularly read your word. Convict those who do not. In Jesus’ name. Amen.