As our physical bodies are unable to survive without the proper nourishment, so our spiritual bodies can not endure without proper spiritual food. We must be "as newborn babes " who "desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby' (I Peter 2:2).

It would be preposterous for a person who was starving not to eat food that was set before him. But this is exactly what the world is doing in the spiritual realm. Many are starving spiritually while spiritual nourishment sets before them. The Lord has provided us with a spiritual banquet, and yet, many refuse to partake. There is indeed a great and terrible famine in the land!

It is terrifying to realize that this spiritual famine even extends, in many cases, to those in the Lord's church! Many in the Lord's church have taken a few bites of nourishment in order to enter the kingdom, but once they have become Christians, they stop eating, or eat very little. The words of the Hebrew writer describe many in the Lord's church today, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of Godand are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat" (Hebrews 5:12).

When people are undernourished physically, disease becomes a terrible problem. Why? Because the weakened body is unable to fight off germs and disease. The same holds true in the church. When there is a famine in the church, disease soon follows. When the church lacks the proper strength from spiritual nourishment, the "disease of error" creeps in. When Christians do not have a good knowledge of God's Holy Word they are unable to distinguish between Truth and error. Therefore, the words of Hosea still hold true today, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6).

We need to harken to the words of Jeremiah, "Thy words were found, and l did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, 0 L ORD God of hosts" (Jeremiah 15:16). Here also the cry of the Lord, "But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee" (Ezekiel 2:8). We need to eat the Word of God and thoroughly digest it. We must open our minds and receive its nourishment.

I have great sorrow for those who are starving physically. But the sorrow I feel for them can't compare to the sorrow that I feel for those who are starving spiritually. There is a great famine in the land, but what are we going to do about it? Hear the Word of the Lord, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned' (Mark 16: 15-16) and "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15). No doubt there is a famine in the land, but we can and must do something about it!