MILK
INVITATION TO THE THIRSTY: Isaiah 55:1
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
SIP: Milk – what comes to mind when you see or hear this word?
Perhaps its colour - white and clean or a recollection of the rich, creamy flavour coating your taste buds? How about the chill on lips and teeth and the cool cascade in your throat, as you guzzle an icy cold glassful? Or the fresh, frothy, mouth-filling feel that is oh so quenching? Or maybe, in seasonal contrast, the comfort of adding heat and chocolate to it for sustenance on a wintery afternoon?
Do you picture, a bottle, a churn, a cow? Maybe a baby suckling at the breast?
From the day we are born, we experience milk via the physical senses God has built into our bodies. As adults we can make choices about if or how we consume our dairy products. But for babies it isn’t an optional extra they can take, or leave, it is the fluid of life. The nourishment needed for survival, health, and growth.
However, as grown-ups, we are more than our bodies, so what of spiritual nourishment?
Cows’ milk, goats’ milk, even mothers’ milk, will feed us physically and nudge you with delight and thanksgiving towards spiritual well-being. But to truly nourish you in spirit you need pure, un-diluted spiritual milk - to eat and drink of God’s goodness.
DRINK:1 Peter 1:22-2:3 Newborn Babies
22 Once your lives have been purified by obeying the truth, resulting in a sincere love for all your fellow believers, love one another eagerly, from a pure heart. 23 You have been born again, not from seed which decays but from seed which does not – through the living and abiding word of God. 24 Because, you see –
All flesh is like grass
and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, and the flower falls
25 but the word of the Lord lasts for ever.
That is the word that was announced to you.
2 So put away all evil, all deceitful, hateful malice, and all ill-speaking. 2 As newborn babies, long for the spiritual milk, the real stuff, not watered down. That is what will make you grow up to salvation – 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
*Read also Psalm 34*
DRINK DEEPLY: Meditative Prayer
Reflect, ponder, think, consider, deliberate, muse, wonder, mull over, meditate upon:
Take time to spend alone with God, drinking of his goodness. Have a two-way conversation as you deliberate together, holding God’s word before you. But let God do most of the talking! He is the one giving you a drink!
Drink the spiritual milk of Jesus’ presence and his grace as he speaks to you and the Holy Spirit guides and teaches your mind, heart, and spirit. LISTEN! And write down anything of significance you may wish to remember.
You may find one or more of these helpful to facilitate your quiet time with God:
· Go and find a quiet spot inside or outdoors to listen to God. You can sit or wander.
· Reflect on the words and phrases that stood out for you from the 3 Bible passages. Ask God to speak further with you about them and their significance for your life.
· Reflect on your state of being a child of God, of being spiritually re-born, of your new life in Christ. How do these realities affect your daily living and priorities?
· Pray that you may keep on longing for and tasting God’s goodness
· Pray for specific people you know to come drink and taste of Jesus and life in him
· Pray that you may find ways of being a vessel from which others may taste and see this goodness
