LEARNING DAILY

John 4:14, “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus

Not long ago, I wrote on John 7:37-38 where Jesus said at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles that anyone who thirsts should come to Him and drink. On a different occasion He spoke to a woman at a well in Samaria, saying the same thing. I use this verse of Scripture to discuss thoughts spoke in Church this weekend. The verse spoken in church was 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ [anyone who drinks the water He gives] is a new creation. Old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new” (from the Listener Guide).

 A guest speaker, Pastor Danny Sinqufield, talked about the nature of the Gospel. If it is okay, I want to present the gospel as the living water that cleanses and purifies every Believer, through the Holy Spirit. Pastor Sinqufield said it is important to see that the Gospel includes “whosoever” as written in John 3:16 and elsewhere in Scripture. “It does not matter about your past – everyone is welcome to come to the table and partake of the salvation Jesus offers”; to drink the water He gives! Let me add here, that this water is only given by Jesus. Not one person can obtain this living water in any other way.

He brought out an important thought about the nature of the Gospel – it is relational. This blog has tried to emphasize the importance of developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. By spending time in the Word of God and spending time in prayer one gets to know Him in a personal way, like one gets to know each person he/she wants to know better, to draw closer to. It is trying to please that special person in your life; the only way to do that is to know him/her better.

Hebrews 4: 12 describes the Word as living and powerful. As it is read/studied/meditated on it begins to change the believer into the person Jesus wants them to become. The big word for this is sanctification. It is a process as one walks the narrow way, being obedient to the Word and the Holy Spirit. By accepting the salvation offered by Jesus, one is a “new creation”; “the power of the chains of sin and past sin is broken” (Pastor Sinqufield). He added, “once the goodness of Jesus is tasted, one will not want to go back to being that old self”.

He made one other statement I thought was excellent, “This is no time to play religious games. We must allow Him to transform us to be like Him”. The days are perilous, and evil seems to be growing every day. Deception is all around causing us to find trust difficult when it comes to our leaders and even those close around us. All the warnings and signs the Lord Jesus gave us regarding His return for His faithful followers and His return to establish His kingdom are more and more apparent as they grow in frequency and in intensity. Allow the living water to flow in and through you, transforming you into who God wants you to be! By doing so, we can fulfill the purpose of serving and worshipping Him as He desires.