Master of Your Soul

Although my grandmother was a magnificent cook, I never took lessons from her.  She was completely famous in my hometown for her meals; she worked several restaurants throughout her life.  Besides cooking for the town, she was married for nearly fifty years with eight children to feed.  So, it wasn’t only mouth-watering meals she served; it was with a speed of light.  How could she make a meal so fast?  Her secret is deep within the grave; I will never have the opportunity to learn from the master.  All I have left is precious memories, two of her famous recipes, and regret.  What I could have learned! When my husband proposed to me, I could only cook spaghetti.  We couldn’t live on love and only spaghetti, so I shared our dilemma.  My husband responded, “Honey, can you read a book?”  “Of course, I can.”  I replied.  “So, I guess you will learn how to cook.” He said.  As I grabbed a Betty Crocker cookbook, my precious husband would taste some “magnificent” meals.  God was very gracious to him; he survived my early dishes.  Now he teases me, “You can make me any meal from scratch but not a box of mac and cheese.”  If I only learned from the master; instead I had to teach myself.  Cooking or baking has truly become one of my favorite hobbies but it’s also a vital necessity to survive.  Beside my daily survival; my family depends upon me to feed them. 

 
Yet, how important is it to feed our soul?  Besides feeding our soul; we are to invest in the lives of others.  So, why does the church seem to miss this?  Is it the lack of nourishment?  Or is it the lack of hunger?  Our source of nourishment can only be found in Christ; He is the only one WHO holds eternal life.  Outside of Christ, we have no salvation.  As Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” John 6:68 (KJV) God’s Word is sufficient to guide, guard, and satisfy our souls.  It’s not lacking in the ability to sustain us.  We have to open our mouth, so we can receive.  If we are truly hungry, God will supply the substance.  “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.  OPEN WIDE your mouth and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10) As this passage states, God provided for Israel’s deliverance but He also wanted to sustain them completely.  It’s not about God’s ability to nourish us; He is completely ready, willing, and able to supply. 

What’s very troublesome to me is the lack of personal study or growth for Christians.  Sadly, so many rely on getting nourishment from the pulpits on Sunday’s and Wednesdays.   Yet, the Word of God isn’t study on a daily basis.  Not only is this depleting one’s spiritual growth; we are opening ourselves to be deceived.  If we don’t know the Word, we can’t stand upon it.  Besides standing upon it; we can’t stand firm when the enemy attacks.  Understandable, it’s vital to get the preaching and teaching of the Word but it doesn’t mean we don’t personal study ourselves.  Our relationship with Christ is a PERSONAL relationship, so it has to be developed through our involvement.  Yet, if you are a new Christian, I would strongly encourage you to have the support a discipleship class or through accountability with a strong believer.  As questions arise new Christian needs someone to nurture their soul and guide them.  We are to “make disciples” so they can follow Christ.   Elijah invested in Elisha, Moses invested in Joshua, Christ invested in the disciples, so it’s a scriptural principle to be followed. When our Savior called the disciples to follow Him, He was investing in their lives.  Christ didn’t just dine with the disciples for one meal, teach one lesson, and leave them.  It was a daily opportunity to teach, develop, allow questions, and personally being involved in the ministry of Christ.  So, if Christ took such a personal involvement, we must do the same; it’s the commission we have been given. (Mark 16:15-18) 

On this earth, we have to daily nourish our bodies to make it productive.  Likewise, we need to daily nourish our souls, so we are productive.  Christ said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)   At this moment, how is your personal time with God?  Is it out of duty or a delight?  If it’s out of duty, we miss the opportunity of the relationship.  It’s a loving relationship draw with desire, transformed with intimacy, and sustained with love.  It’s what He wants.  We can’t rely upon our feelings; so we must be faithful.  We will not always “feel” like praying.  Sometimes, we will feel as if our prayers don’t pass the ceiling.  During those moments, I encourage you not to give up!  If you desire God; He desires you more. 

When the Word of God is our DELIGHT; 
we will be fruitful.  (Psalm 1:2-3)  Our hunger for God will be satisfied but it should also be longing to go deeper; we should desire growth.  We can’t live off yesterday’s meals; we need to prepare to receive our daily bread.  God provided manna in the desert, so the Israelites could finish the journey.  Christ is the bread of life; He longs to feed our souls.  If He truly is the master of our souls; we will long to be taught by Him.  We can either be Mary or Martha; whatever is mastering our devotion will be mastering our lives.  It's time to learn from our Master; He has so many wonderful truths to teach us.  If you are hunger; He will fill us.