NorthStar Church Blog

Digging Deeper: A God Who Satisfies

Sellers Hickman on February 16, 2026

¹Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

1 Kings 17:1 (ESV)

A GOD WHO SATISFIES

Have you ever had a moment when you were truly parched? Not mildly thirsty, but desperately in need of water. Maybe it was after a long run, sleeping through the night, or after your third cup of coffee that day. Your mouth feels dry, your head feels foggy, and your body sends clear signals… you need water to survive.

God designed our bodies that way. Thirst is not a flaw; it is a warning system. If there is one place you would not want to be when thirst hits, it would be the desert. Yet throughout Scripture, God repeatedly uses the desert and wilderness as places of spiritual clarity, dependence, and transformation.

That is not accidental.

The words desert and wilderness appear over 300 times in Scripture. While geography plays a role, the repetition is theological. God intentionally chooses barren, quiet, uncomfortable places to reveal Himself. The wilderness strips away distractions and exposes what we truly depend on. It reveals where we have been looking for life.

We see this pattern again and again. Hagar flees into the wilderness after being cast out by Sarai, and it is there that God meets her and names her pain (Genesis 16). Israel wanders in the wilderness for forty years after fearing the Promised Land, learning daily dependence on manna from heaven (Exodus 16). David hides in the desert while fleeing Saul, discovering that God is his refuge (Psalm 63). John the Baptist prepares for ministry in the wilderness, calling people to repentance and renewed devotion (Matthew 3). Jesus Himself spends forty days in the wilderness, fasting and resisting temptation, declaring that “man shall not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4). And in 1 Kings 17, Elijah enters the wilderness as well.

Elijah’s story begins abruptly. In 1 Kings 17:1, he appears before King Ahab and declares a drought over the land. This declaration directly challenges Baal, the false god Israel trusted for rain, fertility, and provision. God removes the very thing Baal promised to provide, exposing the emptiness of false saviors. And immediately after this bold moment, God sends Elijah into obscurity, into the wilderness, where water will eventually dry up.

Why? Because before Elijah can confront a nation publicly, God forms him privately.

The wilderness is not just a place of scarcity; it is a place of revelation. When everything else is stripped away, God makes Himself known. Psalm 107:5–6 says, “They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” Desperation has a way of clarifying who we truly trust.

This truth confronts us with an uncomfortable reality: our souls thirst, whether we acknowledge it or not. And we are constantly tempted to satisfy that thirst with things that cannot sustain us. Success, approval, relationships, comfort, control, even good things become substitutes for God. But Scripture is clear: created things were never meant to carry the weight of the soul.

The issue is not thirst; it is the source. We were created by God, for God. Only the Creator knows what truly satisfies His creation. Augustine famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Restlessness is often a mercy, not a mistake. It exposes misplaced trust and invites us back to the true source of life.

Jesus echoes this truth when He stands and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37). Later He tells the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14). Only God can satisfy the soul because only God is eternal. Everything else eventually runs dry.

So the question becomes deeply personal: have you been in a place recently where you can truly hear from God? A place where distractions are silenced and your soul can recognize its thirst? The wilderness does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like intentional solitude, turning off your phone, opening God’s Word, and sitting quietly before Him.

If you have not found yourself in that space recently, consider creating it this week. Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb.” Leave it in another room. Find quiet. Open Scripture. Pray honestly. And see what happens.

Because when everything else is stripped away, one truth remains: only God can satisfy your soul.

Sellers Hickman serves as College & Teaching Pastor at NorthStar Church and loves cheering on his Ole Miss Rebels. He and his wife, Hannah, live in Dallas, Ga. with their two daughters. He also serves as the chaplain for the KSU Men’s Basketball team.

Digging Deeper – 24 Hours

Chris Boggess on February 13, 2026

³¹And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, ³²and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. ³³And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. ³⁶And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

³⁸And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. ³⁹And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

⁴⁰Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. ⁴¹And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

⁴²And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, ⁴³but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” ⁴⁴And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Luke 4:31-44

24 HOURS

Looking back at the passage we have spent this week on, the thing that strikes me is that Luke relates these events as occurring in the course of one day, one 24-hour cycle. The Sabbath ended at sundown, and maybe that is why the wave of people who needed healing started to come out of the woodwork. Jesus ends the Sabbath and goes straight to work. The work that he starts at sundown apparently does not end until the same sun rises. Jesus pours into the people who need him, and then in the morning he takes time to fill back up by spending solitary time with his Father.

I also love that the passage ends with Jesus saying he will keep preaching the good news he brought into the world.

How will you spend this day? Some of you may be reading this in the morning, some in the evening, and some at various times throughout the day. Whenever you are reading this, think about your next twenty-four hours. Will you let the day carry you like the current of a river, taking you wherever it will? Or will you go into this day with intent? I pray that it will be the latter. I pray that you will do everything today as an act of worship, acknowledging how much God has done in your life and making all that you do a chance to honor him with how you live. I pray that you will serve people around you even when it is inconvenient or difficult. I pray that you will spread the good news of Jesus to everyone you meet.

Take a moment and pray those prayers with me, and then go out into your day!

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Service Worship

Chris Boggess on February 12, 2026

And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. ³⁹And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Luke 4:38-39

SERVICE WORSHIP

Today, we are still in Simon’s house. We saw the healing of his mother-in-law and how we all need healing from Jesus. Today, let’s take a look at her response to Jesus’ healing.

The fever left her, and “immediately she rose and began to serve them.” Her response to the gift of healing is to serve. And she is not serving because she has to; she is serving as a reaction to God moving in her life. In other words, it is service as an act of worship.

So often, we view worship as something we do. We are singing, we are raising our hands, we are bowing down on our knees. But what defines worship is not the act we are undertaking, but the One the act is directed toward. The “guest” in Simon’s house makes her lowly acts of service into worship. It reminds me of what Paul wrote in Colossians 3:23: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

We do not serve because God needs our service. God does not “need” anything from us (C.S. Lewis quote incoming!).

“Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense his own already. It is like a small child going to its father and saying, ‘Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.’ It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

When we act in reaction to what God is doing by offering what we are doing back to him, that is worship. It is not what we are giving God out of our supply, but what we are giving back to him out of what he has supplied us with.

Take a moment and think about how you can worship God today by serving. Whether it is working as if you are working for Jesus, or serving someone else, as Jesus told us:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Matthew 25:34-40)

Who’s In Your Tree?

Kevin Burrell on February 11, 2026

And I will give you shepherds (leaders) after My own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 3:15

WHO’S IN YOUR TREE?

In the four major sports, great head coaches do not just lead their teams; they develop people. They invest deeply in their assistant coaches, shaping them, stretching them, and preparing them for what is next in their coaching careers. These assistants study the system, learn how to lead a locker room, manage pressure, manage people, and make decisions when it counts. Over time, a “coaching tree” is developed that forms fully trained leaders who go on to become head coaches and make an impact.

What is striking is this: the best head coaches never rush the process. They do not recommend one of their assistant coaches for a head coaching position until that person is fully trained and ready to lead. Readiness is not just about knowledge of the game; it is about character, conduct, understanding, maturity, humility, and the ability to lead others with excellence. It is a reminder that leadership is not given lightly; it is cultivated, developed, and fully trained.

In the same way, God cares deeply about the heart of a leader.

Jeremiah 3:15 says, “And I will give you shepherds (leaders) after My own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

Jesus modeled this perfectly with His disciples. He walked closely with them. He taught them. He corrected them. He allowed them to grow. And even though Jesus had all authority, He chose patience. Do not miss this:

Jesus made fully trained disciples, and then He appointed leaders.

He shaped His disciples’ character and conduct first, before He entrusted them with leadership and influence (Luke 6:40).

Listen closely: the right type of leaders are not born; they are fully trained over time. They start out as seekers, become followers, are fully trained as disciples, and then serve as appointed leaders.

Who has trained you? Who has developed you? Better yet, whom have you trained, developed, and equipped to become fully trained disciples of Christ? What does your “disciple tree” look like?

When you become a leader after God’s own heart, with the right heart, the right knowledge, and the right understanding, you will always get the right results.

Love God. Love People. Live Sent.

Be Worth Being.

Kevin

Kevin Burrell has worked in professional baseball as both a player and MLB scout for the past 45 years, and currently serves as an area scouting supervisor. Kevin was drafted in the 1st round of the 1981 free agent amateur draft (25th selection overall), and played ten years of professional baseball with four different organizations. He and his wife, Valerie, live in Sharpsburg, Ga.

Digging Deeper – In Need of Healing

Chris Boggess on February 11, 2026

Luke 4:38-39

IN NEED OF HEALING

In the city of Capernaum, there is a ruin of an eight-sided chapel that marks the traditional site of the home of Simon Peter. Octagonal buildings were often used in the early church to mark sacred or historically significant sites in Christianity. Eight was meant to reference the resurrection of Jesus on the “eighth” day of the week, a new day of worship for Christians. This octagon marks the traditional ancient home of one of the giants of the early church, but not on the day that Jesus comes to the house.

On that day, Jesus is not coming to see a spiritual leader, but a lowly fisherman. Though Simon will prove to be one of Jesus’ strongest supporters and a dear friend, at this point he is not yet a disciple. Jesus is not going to the house of a friend; he is going to a home where sickness dwells. He comes because people “appealed to him on her behalf.” I think this is a beautiful thing.

Jesus comes to the sick woman and “rebukes” the fever, and it leaves her. Matthew describes the scene this way: “But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her” (Matthew 8:15).

There are two things in this account that I think we all need. First, we need people interceding with God on our behalf. Prayer has power. So often we pray for ourselves, but praying for others, or having others pray for us, I believe is especially powerful. It embodies the commandment to “Love the Lord your God” because we acknowledge that he must act in our lives. It also represents the command to “love our neighbor as ourselves,” because in interceding for someone else, we turn the prayer outward.

Second, we need healing. You may not have a fever right now, but I do not think it would take you very long to think of things in your life that you need God to heal. H. A. Ironside said it like this: “We are all distracted and disturbed by existing conditions. What a blessed thing it is when Jesus comes to the bedside, when Jesus draws near, when he rebukes the fever, and when he touches the hand, the fever dies away.”

Take a moment and pray for someone else who needs the Lord’s healing. Think about what you need God to heal in your life, and find someone to pray for you.

Digging Deeper – Demons in Church

Chris Boggess on February 10, 2026

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. ³⁶And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

Luke 4:33-36

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

Matthew 16:15-17

DEMONS IN CHURCH

So, how lax do your synagogue standards have to be to let a man who has a demon into your Sabbath gathering? I mean, didn’t they notice before Jesus showed up? The demon in their midst was good at hiding, but when Jesus came around, the demons could not help but acknowledge who he was.

When the demon, through the man he indwells, shouts out who Jesus is, Jesus responds by telling him to “Be silent and come out!” Jesus does not want the demon even to speak about him.

This contrasts with the conversation later in Jesus’ ministry with Peter in Matthew’s Gospel. When Peter rightly calls Jesus the “Son of the living God,” Jesus calls him “blessed” and tells him that this is a spiritual revelation, not of the flesh.

So, the demon and Peter both have a spiritual revelation of who Jesus is, and both of them verbalize that revelation. So why is one silenced and the other blessed? I know some of you are saying, “One of them is a demon, Chris, duh!” But I think it is more than that. I think that is what makes the demon a demon in the first place.

A demon is a spirit that knows exactly who Jesus is and yet, even with that knowledge, refuses to submit to his rule. I know it sounds wild that they would see the truth of who Jesus is to the point that they shout it out, but do not live in accordance with his ways.

Wait.

We see this all the time in church. Maybe we are even guilty of it. We know exactly who he is, but we do not submit to his rule. Jesus said it this way: “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus also quotes Isaiah, saying, “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew 15:8).

We cannot just acknowledge who he is; we have to submit to him. When we are obedient, it shows that we trust him. We trust that he is good and that his ways are right.

Take a moment and examine your heart. Where in your life do you need to submit to Jesus? Ask him to show you.

Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Cease

Chris Boggess on February 9, 2026

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, ³²and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

Luke 4:31-32 (NLT)

CEASE

The first part of Luke chapter 4 addresses Jesus’ visit to his hometown of Nazareth. He ends up frustrated by their reception and responds with that famous quote: “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown” (Luke 4:24). The reception was so bad that it nearly ended with Jesus being killed.

As we continue to read, we see that, starting in verse 31, it is a week later and Jesus has traveled about 16 miles, as the crow flies, to Capernaum. This little seaside village will be a “base of operations” for Jesus.

We are told that he is in Capernaum on the Sabbath. We are so used to the idea of a weekend in our culture that we read right over the Sabbath. We do not understand how unique this was in the ancient world. No society before them had anything like it. No god had ever asked his people to stop and rest one day in seven.

The word “Sabbath” is often translated “to rest,” but a better translation would be “to cease.” God wanted his people to stop striving, pushing, gaining, and struggling for a day. The creation account in Genesis revolves around the idea that God created for six days, then he ceased for a day, modeling what he wants from his people.

The Jews of Jesus’ day took this “ceasing” seriously. How many times does Jesus get accused of violating the Sabbath rest? At least six. And when he is accused, he does not just blow it off; he defends himself, because the Sabbath is serious for him too.

In her book Holy Days, Lis Harris recounts spending Shabbat (Sabbath) with a Hasidic family and asks why God cares that they rest. Her host, Moishe, responds, “What happens when we stop working and controlling nature? When we don’t operate machines or pick flowers or pluck fish from the sea? When we cease interfering in the world, we are acknowledging that it is God’s world.”

When was the last time you stopped? We are not under the covenant that commands us to keep the Sabbath, but maybe we all need to take some time to cease and to acknowledge the One who created all that we enjoy. Take a moment now, look at your calendar, and make some time for Sabbath.

Digging Deeper: Responding to the Truth

Larry Grays on February 6, 2026

“When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.”

Luke 4:28-30 (NLT)

RESPONDING TO THE TRUTH

In 1848, the physician Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that doctors could drastically reduce the death rate in maternity wards simply by washing their hands. Instead of being hailed as a hero, he was mocked and eventually driven out of the medical community. The idea that “gentlemen” doctors could be carrying “unseen particles” of death on their hands was too offensive to their pride. They chose to reject the life saving truth because the truth implied they were part of the problem.

The people of Nazareth responded even more violently. When Jesus confronted their pride and their “insider” mentality, their admiration instantly turned to rage. They could not handle the truth that God’s grace was for everyone, including their enemies, and that their own hearts were hard. They tried to “push Him over the cliff” to silence the conviction they felt, but Jesus simply “passed right through the crowd.”

You cannot kill the Truth, but you can miss out on the Savior. As we finish this week, we have to decide how we will respond when the words of Jesus confront our pride. We can either get angry and try to silence Him, or we can surrender and let Him transform us.

Reflection Questions
● When was the last time the truth of God’s Word made you feel uncomfortable or “furious”?
● Are you currently trying to “push Jesus away” in some area where He is calling for your obedience?

Suggested Prayer
Jesus, thank You for the truth, even when it hurts. Do not let me be like the crowd in Nazareth. When Your Word confronts my pride, help me to respond with repentance and trust rather than resistance. Amen.

Dr. Larry Grays is passionate about helping churches grow and reaching people in fresh, creative ways. He launched a church in a Midtown Atlanta movie theater and later served as an Urban Church Planting Strategist with the North American Mission Board. Today, he speaks, writes, and coaches pastors and leaders. Larry has degrees from UCF, Southeastern Seminary, and Southern Seminary—but more importantly, he loves Jesus, good coffee, and seeing the next generation step into their calling. He and his wife Lori love raising their incredible kids and love doing life and ministry together.

Digging Deeper: Humbled and Healed

Larry Grays on February 5, 2026

“And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

Luke 4:27 (NLT)

HUMBLED AND HEALED

In 1947, a multimillionaire named Howard Hughes was involved in a horrific plane crash. Despite his wealth and power, he was completely helpless as he lay in the wreckage with crushed lungs and third degree burns. All the money in the world could not knit his bones back together or heal his skin. He was forced to rely entirely on the skills of doctors and nurses whom he would normally never have acknowledged. In that moment of crisis, his “status” was irrelevant; only his need mattered.

Jesus gave a second stinging example to the crowd: Naaman the Syrian. Naaman was a high ranking military commander, an enemy of Israel, and a leper. Like the widow of Zarephath, he was an “outsider.” Many lepers in Israel thought they had a “claim” on God, yet only the foreigner who humbled himself and dipped in the Jordan River was healed. Jesus was pointing out that the people of Nazareth were “insiders” who were spiritually blind, while “outsiders” like Naaman were finding healing through humility.

God’s power flows toward humility, not toward those who think they have Him figured out. If we want to experience the healing power of Jesus at Northstar, we must first be willing to humble ourselves and admit our need.

Reflection Questions
● Is there a “Jordan River,” a place of humility, that God is asking you to step into right now?
● How does the story of Naaman challenge your view of people who are “outside” the church?

Suggested Prayer
Lord, I humble myself before You. I admit that I need Your healing touch in my life. Help me to set aside my pride and trust in Your way, not my own.

A Mic Drop Moment for One

Kevin Burrell on February 4, 2026

Jesus told the lame man, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk! Instantly, the man was healed!”

John 5:8

A MIC DROP MOMENT FOR ONE

Have you ever witnessed a “mic drop” moment? Jesus had many of them. Here is one.

For 38 years, the lame man sat by the pool of Bethesda, watching, waiting, and hoping. Thirty-eight years of seeing others step into the water while he remained confined to his mat.

Thirty-eight years of disappointment rehearsed into belief: If only I could get into the pool, then I would be healed. The problem, he thought, was access. The solution, he believed, was the water.

However, Jesus saw something deeper.

When Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” it was not because Jesus lacked compassion. It was because 38 years of long-term brokenness can quietly reshape our expectations. After decades of pain, the man no longer imagined wholeness. He only imagined better odds. His answer revealed where his faith had settled, not in God’s power, but in a process. Not in a Person, but in a place. And yet, Jesus did not correct him with a sermon. He healed him with a word.

“Stand up. Pick up your mat. Walk.”

No water stirred. No ritual followed. No assistance arrived. The healing did not come from the pool he had trusted for nearly four decades. It came from the voice standing right in front of him. In an instant, muscles strengthened, bones aligned, and hope was restored. What 38 years could not fix, Jesus resolved in a moment.

Then comes one of the most striking “mic drop” moments of the story: Jesus turned around and walked away.

Wait. What?

Multitudes had gathered, waiting and hoping Jesus would heal them, knowing death was likely imminent if He did not. Yet Jesus healed this one man, turned around, and walked away.

I can only imagine the anger, confusion, frustration, and disappointment that countless people felt in that moment. Why only that one man? Why not me?

Listen closely. Jesus leads under priority. He never leads under pressure. The same holds true for your life today. Jesus does not need optimal conditions to work. He does not need you to be first in line, strong enough to move, or articulate enough to explain your pain. He only asks that you listen when He speaks and respond in obedience when He asks, even when it feels impossible.

The man stood up before he had proof. He carried the mat that once carried him. His obedience became the evidence of his healing.

Jesus still walks into crowded places today. He still sees individuals overlooked by systems and worn down by waiting. And He still speaks life with authority, power, and compassion.

The question is not whether Jesus can heal what you are currently going through, but whether you are willing to release the false sources you have trusted in and believe that Jesus alone is all you need.

Love God. Love People. Live Sent.

Be Worth Being.

Kevin