Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Dear Faithful and Fearless Seed-Sowers,
It is my prayer that we come to know the deep, deep love of God as we endure this pandemic.  I pray we grow in the outrageous grace of Jesus and that God uses you to go out into your world (your family, workplace, schools, neighborhood, community) sowing seeds of faith. If this world ever needed living water, it needs it today.

We are still sitting with Jesus and the woman at the well. Picture the scene. It’s high noon, it’s hot.

There is a gold mine of pearls of wisdom to glean from this story.  Read John 4:1-26 and let’s see what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.

Last week, we spent our time looking at the woman at the well and her response to the surprise she had that a Jewish man would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink.  We saw how surprised she was that Jesus knew everything about her yet still responded in love to her. Stop for a moment and ponder that probing thought.  Jesus knows everything about you and still responds with love to you! This very thought humbles me, how about you?

Listen again to Jesus’ words, “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

This reminds of a passage that God gives to the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah. Listen to Jeremiah’s words found in chapter two, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder? Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted.” Jeremiah 2:13-15 The people have forsaken God, the spring of living water and have dug their own wells instead. Sounds familiar.

Broken Wells
Here we are at an old well, or cistern, where Jesus finds this Samaritan woman. So many of us are like this woman; we have been digging our own cistern for years and we return there daily. We have dug wells of fame and fortune, wealth and health, power and prestige, sexuality and sensuality, alcohol and drugs, sports and academia, politics and popularity. The truth we find here in this story is that the wells of this world will never fully satisfy.  The wells of this world will never be enough.  The wells of this world hold stagnant, sluggish, and muddy water.  We are like the people in Jeremiah’s time.  We have turned away from the one, true spring of living water and we have built our own wells. The world’s wells will never completely satisfy; they will always shout, “More!”

Here’s a crazy idea:  Does Jesus wants to meet you at your well? You know the well, well.  You go there often, if not every day. Take a look around. Is that Jesus sitting there? Waiting for you to offer Him a drink of your polluted spring? I ask you a second time, Does Jesus want to meet you there today? (Stop and ponder that question.)

Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”   When Jesus says “everyone” the Greek word “pas” means “all, the whole, the total, anyone or anything.”  Jesus includes us all; He is not just speaking to one, outcast, Samaritan woman. Jesus is speaking to everyone, the total of all people who come to drink from the well. This means YOU and it means ME. All of us at some time in our life are drinking from a well that will never parch our thirst.

The Greek verb for “drinks” — “pino” is a present active verb which means that this action of us drinking is ongoing, unending, and continuous.  It makes great sense then that every single one of us has a well that we visit and drink from continuously. Jesus wants to give us a drink HIS well of living water. This water will quench our thirsty hearts, minds and souls. Maybe we should be thinking about it.

Everyone who drinks this water from this broken well will be thirsty — the word for “thirsty” — “depsesei” is a verb and it is in the future tense which means that we will be continually parched, thirsty, having strong desires.

What is that wakes you up with a strong desire?  What do you thirst for each day?

Jesus is telling us that if we will only ask Him for a drink, He will give us a drink of living water that will satisfy our desires. I don’t know about you but I can testify to the truth of this eternal, living water of Jesus Christ.

Bubbling Springs
“How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Psalm 36:7-9

Have you ever seen an artisan well?  The artisan well is a well or a spring that does not require a pump to bring water to the surface. The living water is continuously pumped to the surface because there is enough pressure contained within the aquifer to force the water to the surface without any sort of assistance. The water is alive.  The water is in never-ending supply.

The so what questions of the day are:
What well are you going to drink from? 
Will you drink from the broken wells of this world? 
Will you drink from the spring of living water that bubbles up to eternal life?

So What?
Jesus offers each one of us the same drink that He offered the Samaritan woman.

You know, Jesus could have shown up at the well at 6 a.m. when all the popular kids got their water, but he did not. Jesus went to the well in the heat of the day because Jesus knew there would be an outcast who was too ashamed to be seen at the well at 6 a.m. She was a sinner—she had lived with five different men—and was not married to the one she was living with now. And everyday she made the long trip to the well. Alone. Hot. Tired.

“All you have to do is ask me and I will give you living water, a spring of water welling up, an artisan well of water…and you will never be thirsty again.”  Please notice Jesus didn’t make her state her credentials. He simply said, “All you have to do is ask.” 

The choice is ours to make. Do we want to return to the wells we have dug in the heat of the day? Or are we thirsty enough to ask Jesus for living water?

I understand that we are living in unprecedented times. No one has canvassed this season and written a book about surviving COVID-19, the world-wide pandemic. There’s hundreds of thoughts and ideas out there for us to ponder; from the far right to the far left and all in between.

Here is what I know: (Grab your Bible and hold it up) This is an artisan well. Come here daily and drink your fill. I started reading my bible in October of 1997. I have not stopped. God’s word is new to me every morning. (Lamentations 3:22)  Every day when I open this book up, I am filled with hope, peace, insight and wisdom. During my 66 years on the planet, I have been to countless other wells. They have all left me thirsty.

This week I want you to be honest with yourself. Are you drinking from the well of living water or are you drinking from a polluted well?
John Ortberg has written a most excellent book (and a bible study dvd) entitled, “Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You.” Check it out. He gives a great illustration of how we are to go check out our stream, our wells. Are they clear and free? Or are they stagnant, filled with the trash of our life?

This is exactly what Jesus is saying to the Samaritan woman. “I don’t care who you are.  I don’t care where you’ve been. If you will simply ask Me, I will give you LIVING WATER.”

Her response is more than amazing! I hope ours is, too.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’”  John 4:10

Dear Faithful and Fearless Seed-Sowers,

It is my prayer that as we live and walk through this world-wide pandemic that we do not get lost!  Have you ever felt spiritually lost?  Do you feel a little spiritually lost now? My prayer is that God’s word will be our guide and that we won’t get lost.

We have been taking time to sit at the well in Samaria with Jesus and the woman at the well. I encourage you to read John 4:1-26 this week.  Allow the Holy Spirit to speak life and light to your heart and mind.

Last week we looked at the fact that the woman at the well was spiritually empty  The woman at the well missed the real living water at first. Why?  She was spiritually empty and spiritually lost.

SPIRITUALLY LOST
What I find interesting in this story is that Jesus speaks seven times in the conversation and the woman speaks six.  Jesus begins with a question, “Will you give me a drink?”  Jesus, the living water, asks for a drink of water. The woman replies with a tirade of prejudices.  “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)  Jesus challenges her with the statement, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Don’t you find it interesting that this woman misses Jesus’ invitation completely?

I wonder how many times you and I have missed these encounters with Jesus.  Jesus offers us himself and we question and doubt Him just like the woman at the well. “Hey, Mr. Living Water, where’s your bucket? Where are your containers? You think I’m going to do all the work and give you a drink of my water?  What are you doing here, coming to the well in the middle of the day? There is never anyone here…but me. And you expect me to fetch you a drink? Mighty bold of you, Mr. Living Water.”

Jesus asked a question. That is all. “Will you give me a drink?”

One hundred years ago, The Student Volunteer Movement for Missions met in Des Moines, Iowa, and they voted to drop the traditional aspects of its program which had focused on Bible study, evangelism, and foreign missions. Instead they voted to choose to focus on racial injustice, imperialism, and other social issues. Within fifteen years the movement was dead.[i]

Thirsty people need more than optimism, confidence, self-will, and self-worth.  They need good news and that good news centers in the only one who can say, “The water I give [you] will become in [you] a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”’

The problem is that when a person is spiritually empty and spiritually lost—it is easy for us to miss Jesus at the wells of our lives.

SPIRITUALLY FULL — SATISFIED
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Look for a moment at what Jesus is saying to the woman in verses 13 and 14.  Jesus tells her that nothing will ever satisfy her longing and dissatisfaction…except for a continuous long drink of God’s living water. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”

Don’t miss the word, “Never!”  (Say that verse again.)

Jesus saw the woman for who she was: God’s creation.

Jesus sees us for who we are: God’s creation.

Are you spiritually empty? Are you spiritually lost? This story is put here for us! Can we read and come to know and understand that Jesus offers us this same drink of living Water? This drink will satisfy our thirsty soul forever. Do not miss what Jesus offers the woman and what Jesus offers us: a drink of living water that will completely satisfy and permanently satisfy. Once we have tasted this living water of Jesus Christ, we will never be thirsty again. Once we have tasted the living water of Jesus, the ways of the world lose their hold on us.

SO WHAT?
So what do these ancient words mean to us today as we are shut-in, shut-out, or essential workers? What about our relationships, our families, our church and our friendships?  I am here today to tell you that God wants to speak to you of a living water that will fill you and bring you eternal life.

When we were in Zambia, Africa, with our mission team I was struck by the life-giving wells that have been dug in the compounds.  The people of the area go daily to these wells for water, 365 days a year. Do you know that the human body is made up of 60% water? Do you know you could go without food for about 3 weeks but you could only go without water for 3-4 days? Every cell in our body needs water. Water is a lubricant for our joints, regulates our body temperature, and flushes out waste. Water acts as a shock absorber for your brain and spinal cord. Water is needed by your brain to manufacture hormones and your neurotransmitters. Water helps to deliver oxygen throughout your body.

Now, can you understand why Jesus met this outcast Samaritan woman at the well, in the middle of the day? “Will you give me a drink?”

Why didn’t she just give the guy a drink? Because she was spiritually empty, and spiritually lost. She needed a spiritual refilling and Jesus knew that. I am going to be really bold here: When Jesus meets you at the center of your emptiness and lostness, it’s an invitation for you to never thirst again. It is an invitation for your hot, dry well to become a SPRING of life-giving water. A spring has an underground source. Much of the bottled water that we pay good money for today comes from SPRINGS of underground wells!

Are you hearing what the Holy Spirit is saying? Are your ears open? Are your eyes open? Is your heart open? Jesus wants to trade us: our stagnant, worldly well for His, our shallow, empty well for His, our dried up, lost well for His.

“I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me, makes the lame to walk and the blind to see, opens prison doors, sets the captives free. I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me. SPRING UP, O WELL, and fill my soul! Spring up, O well, and make me whole! Spring up, O well, and give to me: THAT LIFE ABUNDANTLY!”

Here is a link to the song on YouTube … https://youtu.be/ytGCFLK3KtU

Here we are, Jesus is standing at your well and asks you a simple question, “Will you give me a drink?”

Here’s your answer. “Jesus, thanks for meeting me here at my empty well. Why don’t you give me a drink of your living water instead?”  I promise you: HE WILL! And you will never thirst again. Keep drinking from the life-giving well of Jesus Christ and from the words of Scripture; living words for parched souls: acronym for BIBLE–Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!

“Jesus, meet me at the wells I visit that never seem to satisfy my soul. I want the life-giving water that springs up eternal life. Amen.”
See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.