Today is GOOD FRIDAY. Is God is good? How does He define “good”? How do you define “good”? We use the word good in abstract form. “That was a good meal.” “What she said was good.” “I had a good time tonight.” Our statements are opinion based and abstract. What you think is good may not be what another concludes as “good”. God has a very concrete definition behind the word “good”. It is rooted in His character as Creator and divine provider. You will not see that explicitly said if you look up the word “good” in our dictionaries. We can take a deeper look through some fascinating pictures that define the word "good" as God intends. To do so, we have to look deeper into language beginnings, to ancient language and ancient culture that originally used pictographs, also known as hieroglyphics, to write down their stories. When you look at the pictographs that were combined to communicate the word “good”, a mind-blowing definition is revealed! This is what you will meditate upon today. You will see God’s giving heart to supply all that is needed for an abundant life! Know that pictographs eventually evolved into letters. And that the meanings of the pictographs stayed tied to the words they spelled. The example today is “good”. In ancient language of Hebrew, the word “good” is spelled with 3 letters, not 4 as in the English language. If we look at the pictograph that originated behind each letter, we discover the definition of good. Consider these 3 images in your mind’s eye: A basket, made of clay. A tent peg. A tent. Why these three images to spell the word good? Look closely at the purpose of each image.
Now let’s look at the activity behind each object’s purpose. In ancient times, God’s people went out daily with their baskets to fill them up with things they needed. They went back to their homes with all that they needed to satisfy their family. They were secured by bringing in all they needed and surrounded by God’s protection. When filled, secured, and satisfied at home, they functioned as God designed. When filled, secured, satisfied and functioning as designed, this is good. Therefore, God’s meaning of good is: Being surrounded and filled in such a way that you are secured and covered. Your dwelling is secure because you have a supply of all that is necessary for you to function as designed. Is the word “good” as God intends starting to have a very concrete meaning to you? It is not opinion based. It is a state of being that is based upon a supply of all that is needed to function as God designed, which is all based upon His provision and supply. Jesus promises that all of our needs will be satisfied according to His riches. He promises to surround us with His favor. He promises to fill us to overflowing with His Spirit and life. He promises to secure our souls and fill our temporary dwelling with Himself. He promises to give us our daily needs as we seek first His Kingdom. This is good and pleases God. With the Lord as your Good Shepherd, you are to lack no good thing. Meditate: Take time to view your life through the 3 images of the basket, the tent peg, and the tent.
their hands were set free from the basket. Matthew 11:28- “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay (basket) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
May you take time now for quiet in the presence of the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for you!
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Fear and anxieties prevent rest. God knows all about it because He experienced it before going to His death. He worked through it in prayer. Please reference this post from last Thursday to read in detail what He experienced physically and emotionally in that time of prayer in the garden. Knowing Jesus experienced such trauma on your behalf is meant to soften your heart towards Him. He is not a God of words only; but action. His actions prove His love. We respond to His love by getting to know Him and spending time with Him. May you find 9 minutes to process your fear and anxieties with Him. As the Good Shepherd, He alone has the power to still and quiet you. He made a way for you to have access to Him, honor His sacrifice and respond to His invitation. "Come all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest!" (This meditation is silent and is clearly timed for you to know transitions. Pause anywhere if more time is needed. Find a quiet place without interruption. Blessings!)
Read detail below on the medical condition Jesus experienced that caused him to sweat blood. Ponder if you have ever experienced in just a small way Jesus’ extreme distress.
Have you ever broken a sweat in prayer? Probably not, and even more unlikely you ever sweat blood in prayer. But Jesus has, look up Luke 22:44 on Google. The reference from the book of Luke was written by a disciple named Luke who was a doctor. His account of Jesus alone states that Jesus’ sweat was like drops of blood, falling to the ground when he prayed about what was about to happen to Him. There are 3 other books (Matthew, Mark, and John) with accounts of Jesus praying before his suffering, with Matthew and Mark also referencing his severe anguish. He himself said that his soul was overwhelmed to the point of death. All accounts describe what a severe panic attack would look like, someone under traumatic internal distress. If you look more closely at what Jesus was experiencing in the garden of Gethsemane, you will see the extreme mental and emotional pressure overwhelming him. To assist with this, I've included some detail from a renowned chief medical examiner and forensic pathologist, Dr. Frederick Zugibe. He detailed what it takes for a human being to sweat blood in his book “The Crucifixion of Jesus”. Here are some summarized excerpts and other thoughts to ponder- • There is a rare medical condition called Hematidrosis which is defined in Stedman’s medical dictionary as excretion of blood or blood pigments in the sweat. • It is associated with a severe anxiety reaction triggered by fear. • One study of 76 cases showed individuals experienced extreme psychogenic factors of acute fear and mental distress as precipitating reasons for hematidrosis. • It is a reaction from the nervous system’s “fight or flight” response. How can we know Jesus wanted to “flee” what was about to happen to him? Consider Jesus’ prayer of, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will but as you will.” • In a threatening situation, the body responds with the “fight or flight” reaction via the sympathetic nervous system. Pupils dilate, heart rate increases, sweat glands activate, blood vessels constrict to raise blood pressure, blood is diverted away from the skin to the brain and muscles for focus and rapid response, blood sugar is released to provide additional energy. • In a threatening situation, it is not just the physical body alerted but also the psychological systems of the body. Specifically, the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. When the emotional center is reacting, a person experiences breathlessness, a choking sensation, heart palpitations, muscle tension, chest tightness, trembling, sweating, pallor, and overwhelming feelings of acute panic, as if having a heart attack. • Combine the physical and psychological symptoms and you have what Jesus was experiencing when he says his soul was overwhelmed to the point of death. It explains why he fell to the ground in prayer, falling to his face, emptied of strength. Dr. Zugibe states that Jews normally stood to pray as a sign of honor to God, so it is important to note the Gospels detail Jesus falling to the ground while in prayer. He says it is detail to support the extreme distress Jesus was experiencing. • Dr. Zugibe also explains in detail the tiny blood vessels that surround 2 million sweat glands in the skin. He explains how the blood would have been diverted from the glands during Jesus’ mental and emotional trauma, but how the blood would have rushed back to the delicate capillaries that surround the sweat glands when the angel came and strengthened Jesus, Luke 22:43. Yet Jesus was still in anguish, even after being strengthened, and he prayed more earnestly. It is at this point Luke notes that Jesus’ sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. • Dr. Zugibe summarizes Jesus distress in the garden of Gethsemane by stating the following, “The severe mental anxiety due to a profound fear of his prescient sufferings stimulated the fear center of the brain (amygdala), which sent out a general alarm to all centers of the brain, invoking a full scale fight or flight reaction. This reaction lasted for hours resulting in a total state of exhaustion, only to end abruptly in a severe counter reaction after the angel came and ministered to him, and he accepted his fate. This caused severe dilation and rupture of the blood vessels into the sweat glands, causing hemorrhage into the ducts of the sweat glands, and the subsequent extrusion onto the skin, exactly as St. Luke described it.” • A Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jesus clearly says He is the Good Shepherd who dies for his sheep, John 10:11. What does his suffering mean to you? • Take time to see in your mind’s eye Jesus’ praying in extreme distress in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let yourself feel some of his panic and sense how He would feel overwhelmed to the point of death. See the tremendous cost the Good Shepherd contemplated as He wrestled with His fate to die for the sheep, for all who would call on His Name. • “If there is any other way”, Jesus vulnerably prays, “please take this cup from me, yet not what I will but what you will Father.” • This reading is a pre-cursor to tomorrow’s meditation that will be posted on Into the Waters’ Facebook page. The focus is on Jesus calming our circumstantial fears and crippling thoughts. Those are the 2nd and 3rd of 4 fears that the Good Shepherd alone can calm. The first one was relational upset, and it was the focus of last Friday’s meditation. Please visit Into the Waters Facebook page and listen to it. And tomorrow’s meditation will be about circumstantial fears and mental attack you imagine threaten your livelihood. Praying you carve out quiet time with the Good Shepherd! Hello, hope you all are well within. May you have curiosity and listen to the audio posted this week. Note that you make take issue with 4 reasons people are like sheep; but it was done with purpose. Those who may take issue will probably be Christian. Most people who receive the blog via email are Christian. This is not necessarily so for those who read it right off our website. The typical reason so easily quoted by Christians for why God calls us sheep is because, we all like sheep have gone astray. And this is true; but that is just one similarity. So in the audio, you will hear 4 commonalities mentioned that have more to do with fears, anxieties, mental warfare, and physical/spiritual hunger. (Sheep have mental warfare? Yes through pests that attack through their nose and lay eggs in their brains! It drives them crazy!) These 4 things are referenced in circumstances of Psalm 23 and reveal the character of the Good Shepherd. Take a listen by visiting the post here. And I pray you will carve out some time to steal away with the Good Shepherd via the Easter audio meditations that will be posted on Into the Waters Facebook page. (This is a public page, you do not have to be a member of Facebook to see it.) The first audio meditation on the Good Shepherd will be posted on Friday, April 5th by noon. You will be able to access it at your leisure, so make a date with God! And please be praying for those who would access the meditations over the coming weeks, that God would heal people; and people would experience the love of God though it is too great to understand fully. That they would be made complete by all the life and power that comes from God, by the Lord, who is the Spirit. I am praying this for you too! How do you define success? If you were to write down your definition, what would it say? Before you watch the video, write down your defintion. Then watch the video below (also posted on our FACEBOOK page) to hear how God defines success. Compare what you wrote to his definition for success (Strong’s concordance H7919). Notice the depth and breadth of the meaning! He promises that those who meditate continually upon His Word and follow Him will prosper and have good success, Joshua 1:8. Do you need more of what He offers? Today ask God to help you make biblical meditation a spiritual discipline. Ask God to tranform your pursuits of success in any way it doesn’t align with His definition. Blessings! SABBATH PRAYER EXERCISE- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy... One of the things God intended for this commandment was celebrating and resting in His finished work. When God created and filled the earth in 6 days (Gen 1:31, Exodus 20:11, 2 Peter 3:5), He rested from his works.
God called his people to remember His awesome power and divine provision by also resting on the 7th day of the week. Before Christ, it was a 24 hour mandate from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. No labor of any kind was allowed in order to cease and rest and celebrate God‘s divine provision and care and holiness. In a radical expansion of sabbath rest, God sent his Son to complete the final creative work, paying for human rebellion with His own blood and life breath. After Christ‘s sacrifice, the 24 hour definition of sabbath was expanded to eternity! No longer one day of remembering rest, but possessing eternal rest, continual celebration of God’s holy provision for our imperfect souls through Jesus! For those who believe, we are to celebrate our Sabbath rest ALL the time, knowing there is no end (Hebrews 4:3, 10). For those who remember the Sabbath, we keep it holy by remembering Jesus. We celebrate His finished work on the cross. His final breath was, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Saved by grace, not by works so no one may boast. Today remember the Sabbath by remembering Christ’s invitation, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest...” (Matthew 11:28). PRAYER EXERCISE- Take a minute to go back and forth with clenching your fists and then completely releasing them so they fall open in a relaxed way.
Drudgery. Ugh. How to get through it? The repetitive, the boring, the whiny, the weak, the difficult, the demeaning jobs. In these places, we look for ways of escape. I've been there lately, impatient about an assignment and wanting out.
The thing I want out of is a part-time position that not only wearies me; it challenges any and every part of my pride. It has been inexplicably hard at times to do a job that is "way beneath my pay level" so to speak. Me wording it in that way should give you a sense of my pride and resentment of the assignment. At times it has not bothered me; but mostly I didn't think it would last this long. I do a good job and am liked; but too often of late, I am offended and feeling impatient. This week, first thing Tuesday morning, I was sitting at my desk stewing. I knew this was not a way to start the day, so I decided to look at Oswald Chambers My Utmost devotional for that day. I know if I need a "good talking to" so to speak, I can find it with Oswald Chamber's spiritual writings. He speaks directly, cuts me right to the quick. I love it. Sure enough, from the very first sentence of the devotional, I am convicted. But it feels good because I sense God's presence and know He is right there bringing my darkness into His light for spiritual transformation. I keep reading and the words become ever more convicting within. "Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. " - Oswald Chambers Owwwweeeeee. Drudgery. As clear as day, there it is. I am rejecting what I perceive as menial, tiresome, and dirty work! With words so directly applicable to my current state of mind, suddenly the fog clears. It's crystal clear God is lasering in, joining me in my pity party, but only in order to shift my focus. I am to reflect on my spiritual genuineness. Direct hit. I said a quiet prayer asking for His mercy and power to serve genuinely, John 13:4-5,12-17. This type of prayer and reflecting took all but 3 minutes; but it turned my whole day around! And don't ya know that right after I got a call from a very unhappy woman who was short tempered, cold, aggressive, and at the same time sounded very defeated. How would I handle it? By God's grace and freshly filling me with His power through that little 3 minute prayer and reflection, I found myself impervious to her ill nature and easily focused on the defeated part of her that I heard. I couldn't believe it in the moment. But was almost giddy within as I listened and rose above her difficult ways. I encouraged her that her frustration could and would be addressed and not to give up on getting some medical direction for a family member. She spewed some things; but praise God I didn't react. She didn't soften towards me despite my way towards her; but she agreed to let me elevate the situation. About 45 minutes later she called again; but this time she was in tears, sobbing deeply, and extremely apologetic. I could barely understand what she was saying through her tears. Her repentance moved me deeply , so much so that I felt tears well up in me. She was so remorseful! She just kept saying "I'm so sorry I was so mean. It's not right. I know better". Again, I was amazed knowing that God did something in her. He was helping her release pent up emotion, frustration, heart ache, loneliness, fear, etc. I "got it" and was able to stay with her in that moment and speak gently and help calm her down. Turns out she is terrified of what is going on with her family member and in a state of total dismay, feeling trapped, defeated, and very alone. She continued to profusely apologize for how aggressive and mean she was to the medical person who called her back and for how she was towards me. I thanked her and told her she was forgiven. I let her know she wasn't alone. I shared tears with her. I shared some of what I have experienced in helping a senior family member, reminding her again that she wasn't alone. I told her about local resources for social work help, a grief group at my church, and told her I would pray for her. I'm not sure what impact it had beyond her quieted countenance and "thank you"; but I know the impact it had on me. God rose up in me. His love and knowledge of that woman and her need for that morning was "my lowly assignment". He wanted me to be Him to her. And before that could happen, I needed a heart check. Praise God for his intervention in me so that I could be an offering of His grace and comfort to her! This is the necessity of prayer that does a hard stop. It is a prayer that steals away for a moment (the difficult ones); and cries out for divine intervention and wisdom. He is near. He will give wisdom. He says, "Ask and it will be given to you..." But be open to his reply. Because in those moments He will show us some difficult things about our hearts. But if we do not avoid those moments, if we have eyes to see, the door is wide open to divine power and supernatural life and BLESSING! There was a supernatural joy that refreshed my heart and mind after those 2 conversations with a broken and weary woman. I could have stewed in my own emotions, kicked and screamed within, resisted the day and had a really bad attitude. But instead, I chose to let God in, to let him search me, and to seek out His wisdom. His wisdom was served on a silver platter carrying words hard to swallow but covered with grace. I turned. The result was blessing and spiritual transformation in me, a temple of the Holy Spirit. You too, if you know Jesus as Lord, are a temple of the Holy Spirit. And you need the inspiration of God in your drudgery. "The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it. Our Lord takes our human flesh and transforms it, and now every believer’s body has become “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). " - Oswald Chambers , My Utmost Break away and pray. He sees what is done in secret and will reward you. Give Jesus the thoughts of resentment about the day-to-day drudgery assigned to you. What is your drudgery? Unending piles of laundry, everyday referee of bickering children, an ill tempered spouse, unthankful bosses, smiles that betray, work that is "beneath" you? Let Him enter those moments. It's so transformative if you do! He is right there willing to help with the state of heart and mind if you ask. Accept the hard word He might give about what needs transformation in you to get through the drudgery. Surrender. Go back in with His power humbly serving at the feet of another. Divine transformation and untold blessings await your heart! John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Yesterday, I asked a question on a public forum, "What is a tormenting thought you want God to take away?" I've gotten two answers that are heaven and earth apart. Both answers are from men. This was the first one I got-
Man #1- "Here is one of the damages wrought by religion. A life long dependence upon a placebo parent phantasm. Atheists, they put their grown up pants on every day, and sort out their own issues. Atheism, it requires strength and maturity. It may not be for you." Here is the 2nd answer- Man #2 -" I used to be tormented by the thought of going through life alone. I prayed and asked God to take this away from me. Instead, He sent me my wife. Turns out God knew what was best for me better than I did, and the years I spent single and celibate were setting me up to meet my wife and to love her... Now when I have difficulties in life, I ask God to help me see the purpose behind them. God is not a cosmological vending machine to pop a 25-cent prayer into and get whatever you want out of it. He's a real, living, thinking, feeling being with unlimited power, resources, and knowledge and a real, vested interest in our well-being..." The 2nd half of his answer was giving an example of he and his wife taking their son to get his first shots. He recalls their little boy knowing they were holding him down so a strange man could poke a needle in him. His point is that their little boy did not understand what was happening to him, but as his daddy, he did. And that it is the same with God. He went on to say, "God's knowledge and wisdom far surpasses our own." And then he quoted the apostle Paul and affirmed his trust in God's knowledge. "The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. So I put my trust in His purpose and plan for me, even and perhaps especially when it causes me pain, because though it hurts me now, I know that this is nothing compared to the joy that is coming (such as meeting my wife)..." Pretty radical in terms of the chasm separating the perspective of each man isn't it? Before I got that first answer, I was meditating and praying through some verses in Psalm 32. And I see the radical difference of each man in those verses. Psalm 32 talks about a man who talks openly with God which it appears man #2 does. He admitted loneliness and trusts in God. It sounds like he knows Jesus pretty well based upon his references of Christ's foolishness referenced in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. So my bet is that he also openly talks to God about big issues referenced like transgression, sin, and iniquity. Big and often intimidating words, but good news for those unafraid of God. The author of Psalm 32 uses those 3 words repeatedly in Psalm 32, the New King James Version. What are the differences? Let's explore them, the blessing that comes through them, and do a prayer exercise at the end. According to biblical concordances, transgression is rooted in rebellion, sin is a crime or offense, and iniquity is a bent or warped nature (perverse, depraved). So to describe it to another, it would be in context to say, that each is born rebellious, so each commits offenses/crimes that are perverse and depraved. How in the world does God bless us as a result of these? Wildly, the psalmist claims there is blessing for those! It's conditional of course. But radical none-the-less! So think of man #1 above. There is blessing awaiting him. Radical blessing! IF man #1 would see God as good, not as a fantasy made up in imagination. Please stop and pray for him to intersect with the love of God, to go in the way of blessing. What kind of blessing? Blessing in biblical Hebrew terms has a literal picture of one kneeling down to offer an undeserved gift that brings joy, that satisfies the receiver. I have blogged about blessing God in this way a couple of times prior. But, in God's highest terms, blessing is His supernatural offering. He reaches down. He bends down and offers undeserved gifts that wholly satisfy in ways no other gift can. Man #2 wanted strength to endure loneliness and celibacy. Yet God knew better and sent him a gift of help in a wife, Genesis 2:18-25. God is always wanting to send undeserved help. But far too often, we are like man #1. Maybe not in the same degree, but like him none-the-less. Maybe we are stubborn like the horse or mule referenced in Psalm 32. Maybe we steel ourselves, and talk to ourselves saying something along the lines of, "Today is another day, man up, be strong, you can do this." Or, "Don't be such a baby. Grow up. God has bigger issues and doesn't care about all your little problems. You screw up anyways, so why should He bother with you?" Or we ignore God's assist. We prefer to ignore the whispers. Assess yourself. What is your self-talk telling you? Is it your voice or God's? If it has any form of condemnation it is not from God. Is it a voice from your past? A disapproving parent? Yourself as a rebellious teenager? Pay attention to your self-talk. Does it push you to rely on self or God? We are not to carry burden alone. That takes us totally off the path of blessing. The most radical blessing God can offer is forgiveness. Each time we talk to God we have opportunity to acknowledge our rebellion, our crimes of offense in thought and deed, and openly share our perverse and imperfect nature to God. All without rebuke, to receive mercy in our time of deep need! Psalm 32 promises that approaching God this way, without deceit, confessing our offenses brings supernatural assist in big ways. Great flood waters that destroy do not come near! There is a perpetual hiding place that preserves from trouble! There is a supernatural surrounding of song, songs of deliverance! He promises to instruct and teach the way to go, to guide you with his loving eye you! As you trust in God and not rebel against His guidance, mercy surrounds you! You are glad and rejoice! This is the blessing of those receiving undeserved forgiveness. You shout for joy, for you know that when God looks upon you, despite yourself, you are upright in heart because of Jesus! Forgiveness is the center of all blessing from God. Forgiveness is lifting up, carrying away, taking the burden, bearing the cost. The only one who is strong enough to take away the twisted nature of the heart is Jesus. Contrary to man #1 who thinks he has to put on his grown up pants on and be strong and mature. Man #2 gets it, the foolishness of God is wiser than any man's wisdom. He has received the undeserved gift and approaches God not as a vending machine, but as a Holy and Sovereign good God who knows better than he does and trusts Him. Who do you have more in common with today, man #1 or man #2? Take some time with God and unburden. Below is a prayer of confession for followers of Christ. It will help you put to memory and pray through the differences of transgression, sin, and iniquity. It expounds on each word as it appears in verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 32 NKJV. Getting the definitions clear inside your heart and mind, will help you be able to talk about human nature to another. It will also help you work with God as you pray and confess, to position to receive the multitude of blessings and healing He promises! Blessings! PRAYER EXERCISE (expound on definition): Read through Psalm 32 first.
Started this year with 21 days of prayer, as I write this, today day 12 was posted (all can be found on either our Instagram or Facebook page. Creating 1 minute prayer meditations and distributing them on various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Quora. Above is an example of 1 minute video based prayer meditation. It is day 10 of 21- Jesus is waiting for you. The most interesting response to this activity right now is happening on Quora. It is a secular site with international reach. I was introduced to it through working with Focus on the Family to reach people with messages of hope from God. (Please consider supporting Into the Waters' reach by praying for us and making a donation.)
Here are some of the questions I have answered since 1/4/19 that have had 3,140 readers. One question on sleep has had 981 views. People are indeed anxious and restless. You can learn a lot about what people are struggling with by noticing what they read. It's also opportunity to reach and share Christ for those not familiar with God or his promises.
Now for those more familiar with the bible and for a longer devotional and challenge, consider Jesus and his pursuit of the unsavory woman at the well. Take a look at the account in John 4:1-30, consider how the woman resisted him, calling him "Sir"; and how he challenged her back to reveal he was no ordinary man, He was promised Messiah. John 4:6– Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. In this account, it was he and she alone together. He starts by asking her for a drink of water from the well. She rebuffs his request on the basis of expected prejudice from Jesus. He replies with a challenge that she has no idea who He is and the gift he has to offer if only she would ask. She asks for the living water welling up to eternal life and then Jesus throws a curve ball. He asks her how many husbands she has had! How rude of Jesus! He told her he knew that currently she had no husband, but previously had 5 husbands (and that the man she currently was with was not her husband, John 4:18). Quite a hard hitting truth for her to face from a complete stranger, and a Jew besides! What was Jesus doing? He was at the well of her heart showing her it was empty. She was thirsty. He was offering her living water that would quench and deeply satisfy. She needed to be awakened to her need, so Jesus used some shock value by putting her on the spot. Do you expect shock value when you are with Jesus? She didn’t seem to appreciate his prophetic revelation about her sexual indiscretions, and gave a saucy, argumentative reply starting with “you Jews...” She picked an argument with Jesus over where the true holy place of worship was. He challenged her back with a “you Samaritans” reply and told her that as a “Samaritan” she worshiped what she didn’t know, and that salvation was from the Jews, seemingly excluding her from salvation as a Samaritan. Again, how rude and heartless of Jesus! She pressed argument further, letting Jesus know that she did in fact know that there was a promised Messiah who was coming, and that she would wait for him, because he would explain everything. In other words, “Enough from you prophetic man at the well, I will wait for the Messiah.” Jesus uses this opportunity to tell her He was the promised Messiah; her wait was over if she believed. She didn’t leave his presence angry or defensive. Instead it appears she left his presence with joyful and hopeful expectation. She leaves her water jar, and rushes off to tell her whole community, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did, could this be the promised Messiah?!” Yes, he was the Messiah coming for his sinful bride! He was offering to roll the stone away from the well within and rain down living water to satisfy her forever. That is what a Good Shepherd does, he rolls away the stone from the top of the well, so he can give his sheep living water from the well, Genesis 29:3. She just needed to ASK for the living water. It is the same with you, you must ask for him to satisfy your soul’s deep thirst. Jesus is waiting at the well for you. He wants to be alone with you and satisfy your deep soul thirst by His Spirit. He may bring up difficult things, but if you stay there with him and let him reach in, He will cleanse, forgive, and fill afresh. He desires you to be set free from guilt and shame and argument through the Spirit and truth. He offers himself and wants you to ask and keep on asking for the living water he gives, Matthew 7:7. In spirit and in truth, come to Jesus and ask for a drink of living water. What is dry? May the 1 minute meditation above help you ASK for living Water to satisfy the deepest places within. Ask for a greater awareness and flow from the eternal spirit of Christ. Sit in his presence and wait for the living water he promises. Matthew 7:7 Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will [instead] give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will [instead] give him a snake? 11 If you then, evil (sinful by nature) as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him. Start 2019 positioning your soul in hope! Follow along in this 1 minute prayer inspired by Psalm 62:5-8. The background video comes from my visit to Glen Eyrie retreat center last year. Repeat the video to practice praying the scripture and to hide it in your heart. God is a refuge and fortress to all who call on Him! Note, follow me on Quora or follow the ministry on Facebook to pray through the 21 days of meditation. A Youtube channel is also being set up, link to follow soon.
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1- Sign up to receive blog and email announcements 2- Search on Facebook and join our private Facebook group> Peace Be Still Daily Prayer Download Prayer is Gift!Hi my name is Gina; and I'm the founder of the ministry. My 25 year journey with God has been centered on immersing myself in the safe relationship God offers, learning about the power of surrender, and praying for His life in greater measure! Categories
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