Having given Holy Spirit permission to whisper loud enough for me to hear Him, I find He’s quite intrusive. He meddles in very personal areas such as holiness, prayer life, my checkbook, my affections, relationships and my appetites. Since “we are what we eat,” this intense Holy Spirit-MRI inspection is quite sobering.

I’m preparing for my next sermon and it’s entitled: “You Are What You Eat.” Before we even make personal selections in any of the above categories, it’s important that we read what Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.” [Matthew 5:10]

First of all, ‘blessed’ means something like ‘you are to be envied.’ Physical hunger and thirst are seldom experienced in Western society, so we just have to either travel to a third-world country, watch the sad reports on the news, or look under a few bridges.

The definition of ‘righteousness’ has been so over-simplified that it’s lost its punch. I’ve understated it myself for years: “right standing with God.” Then I’ve quickly moved on as if to subconsciously avoid the conviction of what ‘right standing’ might mean. The simplest way to define it [while avoiding another over-simplification] is: a change from the inside out. Since there’s only one opinion in this life that truly matters, that being our Lord’s, then we must first check in with Him regarding our “insides.”

He commands us to “be holy.” He taught us how to pray. He instructs us in how to use our checkbook. He changes our affections as we learn His ways. He commands us to love one another. And then…we eat what we want to. {Ouch!} My body is as much a testimony as my soul; therefore, I’m honestly quite far from being ‘envied.’

I’m filled alright…but filled with what? He strongly suggests righteousness!