Monday, June 22, 2020

WATER, WATER


But whoever drinks of the water
that I will give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I will
give him will become in him a
well of water springing up to
eternal life.
John 4:14


Water is something we take for granted. It has been a lifelong friend and necessity for all of us. While we may drink it in various forms, we also have water in the foods we eat. When it rains, we benefit from it's moisture even to the point of humidity in the air that we sometimes don't care for. We have fun with water. If you are a boater, fisherman, water skier, swimmer or just a wader in a stream, water can be most enjoyable. We bathe in it for cleansing and doctors scrub in it prior to surgery while some folks have to have it for various forms of therapy.

Water is prominent in Scripture beginning with it's creation in Genesis 1. Not too far into Genesis we meet Noah and his family who are living in a time where civilization was evil to the core. God made a decision to wash it all away and begin again with Noah building an ark in preparation for a massive flood that would destroy everything except for those harbored in the ark.

In Exodus we meet Moses leading a very ungrateful people out of slavery in Egypt. Along the way, rations dwindled and there was a need for food and water. Amazingly along with manna from Heaven for food, God also provided water from a rock. Amazing....water from a rock. They had already crossed the Red Sea where the power of water was shown in it's fullest, but no fuller than the power of God who controlled it.

An important use of water was/is for baptism. John the Baptist baptized people in his day and had the privilege of baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River. Jesus saved His disciples from drowning in the Sea of Galilee during a storm. He also washed His disciples feet using a basin of water. So water has been down through time vital for many reasons, especially keeping a human body hydrated.

When droughts come bringing a desperation for water, people do any number of things to encourage rain. There has been seeding clouds, praying for it and even digging for it. Many farmers I recall had wells near their houses. I remember drinking well water while at the farm of a relative. It tasted so different, so good and so cool.

Jesus, in John 4, sat down at a well in Samaria and spoke with a woman who came mid-day for water. There were two things wrong with this as the Jews of that day would see it. First Jesus was in Samaria. Jews would walk many miles around Samaria without entering it. Next, he spoke with a woman at the well, especially with no one else around. He had sent His disciples for provision. All this was put to one side because Jesus had a message for this woman and the same lesson that would come down through the centuries to us.

When Jesus saw this woman, He engaged her in conversation on the subject of water. She was thinking of physical water that would have tasted good at that time in the heat of the day. However,, Jesus had a different kind of water in mind. He spoke to her of spiritual water, a water that would never run dry. It would flow from the inside of a believer and hydrate that believer in ways physical water could never do. She appeared to be fascinated with what He was teaching and became a believer almost on the spot. She couldn't wait to tell others of this experience and many of them too sought that spiritual water Jesus spoke of.

So how does anyone experience that filling spiritual water Jesus spoke of then and still makes available to people in our day?

*Without a salvation experience, spiritual water isn't available. This point cannot be ignored.
*Once saved, we will stay refreshed by being in God's Word, drinking from it in abundance.
*Prayer is that connecting water hose available to us that keeps us refreshed and blessed in so many ways. Prayer is our lifeline to our Heavenly Father.
*This spiritual water needs no well, will never become scarce, but is available constantly no matter where we are or the circumstances.


Just as Jesus spoke to that Samaritan woman that day, so He extends the same information and invitation to people today. Sometimes while pouring a glass of cold water  into a glass, we might want to reflect and thank Jesus for that spiritual water available to us with no well or faucet required

Father, thank You for Your Son Jesus, the giver of that water to every believer from Him that is always available to us. Thank You for it's strengthening and sustaining power in our lives. Thank You too for the refreshment we find in You every day. Keep us close and in Your Word daily. Forgive us of our sin and keep us close in these days of evil and confusion. Amen.





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