Drink the Water and Live

Isaiah 55:1 (NIV)

"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.
I am remembering the story of the woman at the well, and her conversation with Jesus. He told her to drink the living water and she'll never be thirsty again. The book of Isaiah often foreshadows Jesus coming. The prophet, Isaiah, is lifting up a coming Messiah and what hope will be filling His people, the people who seek him, who forsake their evil ways and turn to Him.

Jesus' salvation is free to all. Just embrace His love and let God's grace flow over you in the warmest of hugs.

Isaiah 55:6-7 (NIV)
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.   Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

There is still time, change is yet a possibility. God is near, turn to Him while you still can, while He still hears our prayers. As we wait for Christmas and for the birth of our Savior, we have more time to turn our lives around. What a perfect time for a new beginning.

Isaiah 55:8 (NIV) 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
God's ways are sometimes puzzling and often they don't make sense to us mere mortals, but we can count on the fact that they are always the best. So, as we wait for Advent to bring us to the stable to welcome a tiny baby who will and has changed the world, think about these things and seek the Lord with all your might.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or email me personally.

Isaiah 55:1-11

The Samaritans worship what they don’t know

 December 6

Scripture Reading

Read John 4:19-24 and reflect on the passage.

Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well as she filled her water jars. This was no chance encounter. Jesus and the woman began a deep conversation. He told her things about herself He should not have known. With gentleness and honesty, He planted a seed of faith into her heart. Did she wish she chose a different time to fill her water jars? Perhaps, but the wheels were in motion.

Imagine a different time, thirty years prior. The woman isn’t at the well but at the manger. What if this same woman approached the stable when the sky lit up and the bright star pierced the dark night? What if the incredible birth is celebrated by angels and shepherds, and witnessed by the woman at the well. What if her first encounter with Jesus began at the manger, would anything be different?

In each instance, a Holy Presence is felt. Kneeling before the baby, taking in the unbelievable scene, she knows something special happened. Her doubts are beginning to melt as she stares at the baby. She feels something, she just doesn’t quite know what.

Questions

1.      Where did you first meet Jesus? At the manager? Was it the birth of Jesus, the Christmas observance that first stirred your heart?

2.      Did you meet years later at the well? Did Jesus love on you in your misery and speak truth into your heart?

Prayer

Dear God, this Advent season fill our jars with Living Water, teaching us how to taste Your love and grace and mercy every day.

—Judy Webb  

Comfort Food and Living Water

I love fall. That is one of the things I miss most about living in Florida.  We don’t get seasons here and I miss fall the most. In the Midwest, fall has a special smell.  The leaves as they change colors look amazing and the crisp fall air is refreshing to breath in.

I also like foods that come back in season.  Chili, pumpkin pie, pot roast and so many other foods that have been categorized as “comfort foods”.  I would call fall as my “comfort season”.

We are always looking for things that give us comfort or satisfaction.  Whether it’s the people who surround us, the house we live in, or the job we have we long for satisfaction. 

In today’s scripture, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman gathering water from the well.  Jesus knows immediately that this woman has been seeking satisfaction with men.  He offers her living water, ultimately though he is offering her himself.  He is saying that if she looked to him for satisfaction she would not have to look any place else.

Jesus message is the same today. We try to find satisfaction in so many things when Jesus is the only thing that can satisfy.  I am not talking about salvation. Christians can be totally dissatisfied if they accept Christ as their Savior and then distrust him for everything else in life.

Christ came that we might have life and have it to the full, but if we don’t turn to him for our satisfaction we lose out.  So drink in the living water daily.  Consume scriptures teaching of Jesus and talk to him whenever you feel the need to be satisfied. He will not disappoint.

Read today's passage here John 4:4-26

Life on Mission - Witness

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)“is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”(John 4:25-26)

The story of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well has always fascinated me.  To some degree is frightens me too. Can you imagine talking with someone who, with a matter-of-fact attitude, tells you of your sins? This stranger who talks in riddles about drinking living water just as boldly points out my sinful living arrangements. Are you struck by how well this woman took this?

The story just gets more and more interesting. This same woman leaves Jesus and heads to town and she tells everyone what this man said to her. She is possibly the first witness to tell of Jesus and His teaching. Instead of feeling embarrassed or afraid, she seems to be excited to spread her news.

Now, how can I do the same? What will inspire me to announce to my little part of the world, all about this man who knows everything I ever did, and every thought that ever entered my mind? What will it take?  Why don't I take my witness to the world?

Jesus has certainly made an impact on my life.  He has changed my life, my everyday living. It is Jesus who saved me from myself and saved me from eternal destruction. Why don't I tell my story more? What will it take?
 
Back to the woman at the well. That chance meeting was anything but chance. Jesus set out to change her life if she would just listen and believe. She did and then she spread the word. She wasn't bragging about her sinful life but proclaiming to have heard Good News. She shared her story. She was on a Mission.  I must do no less.

John 4:25-38