Made to Crave - Week 1 - Day 1

Made to Crave


Week 1 - Day 1

This study is a bit different than others because not only does it have a Participants Guide but also a book to read.  The homework from the guide says to read the introduction (already done - yeah me) and Chapter 1 of the book and note any insights or questions.  Sounds pretty easy to me!

Chapter 1 - What's Really Going On Here?

In chapter 1 we learn that we were "Made to crave...God. Only God"  and gives a Bible verse to show this. 
Psalm 84:1-2 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

So the question is then, if we crave anything other than God where do those cravings come from?  The answer is simple...Satan!   Wouldn't that be nice if it really were that simple, if we were aware that it was Satan tempting us then we would have the power, through God, to overcome that temptation.  Guess what, it is that simple - isn't that simply amazing!!!  Don't take my word for it - it is supported with scripture!
1John 2:15-16 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

Every time you crave something other than God, whether it is food, possessions, love from others, selfish pride or anything else - it is Satan tempting you. Satan is blinding you...
2Corinthians 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
okay so perhaps I took that verse slightly out of context because it is really saying that Satan blinds those who do not yet believe in God so that they cannot understand His message.  But what I wanted to point out is that the Bible says that Satan is the god of this world - so it really is as simple as saying that craving anything other than God is Satan tempting you.

Satan tempted Eve and she gave in to that 'craving'.  Satan also tempted Jesus, but Jesus refused to give in. Why? Because Jesus fought back with the Word of God.  The Word of God is our weapon against everything of this world that we crave.

Are you working on memorizing scripture? The book had a suggestion for a memory verse - you can start with this one...
1Corinthians 10:23a "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial.


Excuse me while I go work on my memory verses!