Countless sermons have been shared on the Samaritan woman. In reading the story recently, I noticed something new to me.
“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10, NASB)
In this exchange, we see that Jesus was telling the woman:
- who He was
- what He had to offer her
- and how she could receive it
Do we miss or overlook who Jesus is? Do we forget the gift of all He has to offer us?
The study asks such a good question: What have you substituted in your life and heart for living water?
May we all take a few minutes this morning to think on this. It’s not only thought provoking, but it is a very convicting question. May we take time to confess this to the Lord so that He alone is the One we come to for living water.
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In the the parable of the persistent widow and the judge (found in Luke 18:1-8), Jesus was telling the people a parable to teach them two things:
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to pray at all times and
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to not lose heart
The widow did both of these things. She kept on praying and did not lose heart until finally, she received her request.
In focusing on the qualities of the unjust judge, I began to see how our heavenly Father is not at all like the judge. Our God is a loving Father – generous in His gifts to us, concerned about those things that concern us, and always ready to answer when we call on Him.
Do you focus on the widow or the judge when you read this parable?
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This second week closed with reading Philippians 3:8-16. May we all read these verses slowly and more than once.
Reading the verses caused me to ask myself a few questions:
- from verse 8 – Do I view knowing Christ as having surpassing value over all else?
- from verse 12 – Do I remember that every day I must press on to lay hold of Jesus and all that He has for me?
We make progress in our walk each and every day, yet we will not achieve perfection in this life. But Paul challenges us with this in verse 16:
“However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.” (NASB)
We keep ourselves from losing ground by holding firm to the growth we have already made. Each day we can gain ground and move closer to perfection in Jesus.
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As we are filled with the Living Water,
and pray at all times,
we hold firm to the growth in Christ we have already made.
Photo 1: by Jacalyn Beales on Unsplash
Photo 2: by Claudio Pantoni on Unsplash
Photo 3: by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Today I am joining …
That question about the living water is very challenging – it’s easy to drift into looking for fulfilment in other things.
Glory be to God, for his living water.
Joanne, such good thoughts on all three passages. I liked your question on whether we think about the judge or the widow in the Luke 18 passage. I generally go with the widow, but you are right, seeing God here is most encouraging!