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Also by Jon L. Dybdahl
A Strange Place for Grace:
Finding a God of Love in the Old Testament
Exodus (Bible Amplifier series)
Hosea-Micah (Bible Amplifier series)
Old Testament Grace
Mission: A Two-Way Street
Books Jon L. Dybdahl has edited and contributed to:
Adventist Mission in the 21st Century
Andrews Study Bible
Praise for Hunger
Those who think that being a Christian is confessing a set of doctrines need to read this book. Dybdahl will convince them that Christianity is a way of being in a joyful relationship with God. Because of the secularization of our culture, the absence of God has sparked a hunger for God in the soul, and this book will show its readers how to satisfy it. As such, it is a most helpful guide.
Herold Weiss, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies emeritus
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana
I tremendously enjoyed reading Jon Dybdahl’s book Hunger: Satisfying the Longing of Your Soul and ways to satisfy this hunger. I am confident that any reader will find themselves described within these pages. I had never previously heard of Jon yet we have traveled similar paths and pursued similar interests, demonstrating the truth of the phrase “many paths, one center.”
We all have spiritual hungers, longings, questions; spirituality is an innate part of our humanity. We are not simply human beings having a spiritual experience, we are indeed spiritual beings having a human experience. To be whole and balanced, we need to meet those very real spiritual needs within us. With the care of a loving heart and the wisdom of a well-traveled soul, Jon describes the reality of our spirituality and then a wide range of practices and experiences by which we can nurture our spirituality, enjoy the richness and fullness it offers and mature as truly complete persons, in mind, body and soul.
I encourage anyone who feels there is something lacking in their life to give this book a careful reading. Mark it freely as you intellectually understand it and reflect on it slowly, that it may seep into your spirit.
David Moffett-Moore, D.Min., Ph.D.
Pastor, Portage United Church of Christ, Portage, Michigan
Author of Pathways to Prayer, and
Creation in Contemporary Experience
Deep is the hunger for God. In a time in which many preachers provide religious fast food, Jon Dybdahl provides healthy soul food. Cooking soul food, whether on a stove top or in the spirit, takes time and dedication and Dybdahl invites us to take time for spiritual transformation. The time we spend will be the important time of our lives. Dybdahl’s text is profoundly theocentric. Our hunger is for God, for knowing God intimately, and experiencing God’s guidance in our daily pilgrimages. Only God can satisfy our deepest hungers for well-being and joyful living.
God’s grace abounds, but often we fail to experience the depths of God’s love simply because we aren’t looking, or see faith as a matter of Sunday worship or a spectator sport best left to gurus and experts. Often we don’t take the time to cultivate spiritual depth. Dybdahl challenges each person to become spiritually grounded. Dybdahl asks us to embrace traditional spiritual practices of the church in new ways appropriate to the twenty-first century. He urges us to shape our lives around worship, confession and repentance, prayer and meditation, study and scripture, fasting, community, and simplicity of life.
Deeply biblical and evangelical in spirit, Dybdahl’s book can be helpful to persons across the theological spectrum, including progressive Christians like me. Dybdahl creatively discusses the role of personality type in spiritual experience, and recognizes the importance of honoring a variety of spiritual experiences and pathways. A personal God addresses us personally as well as in community. I commend Dybdahl’s text for personal and group spiritual formation.
Bruce Epperly, Ph.D.
Pastor, South Congregational Church, Centerville, Massachusetts
Author of more than 30 books including
Finding God in Suffering: A Journey with Job
and Process Theology: Embracing Adventures with God
HUNGER
Satisfying the Longing of Your Soul
Second Edition
JON L. DYBDAHL
Energion Publications
Gonzalez, Florida
2015
Copyright © 2008, 2015, Jon L. Dybdahl
Unless otherwise indicated, Bible texts in this book are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Bible texts marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible texts marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover Photo: John Friedrich, Glacier National Park, 2015
Electronic Edition:
ISBN10: 1-63199-213-9
ISBN13: 978-1-63199-213-1
Print Edition:
ISBN10: 1-63199-211-2
ISBN13: 978-1-63199-211-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015950575
Energion Publications
P. O. Box 841
Gonzalez, FL 32560
850-525-3916
energion.com
Dedication
To Kathy
Beloved wife, wise confidant, compassionate nurse,
and spiritual teacher.
50 years seems like a day.
Introduction
This
