Bible League: Living His Word Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink."— John 7:37 ESV Just as people get thirsty for physical water, so they get thirsty for spiritual water. Indeed, apart from the satisfaction of spiritual water, people remain in a permanent state of spiritual thirst. The false religions of the world do not have the right kind of spiritual water. Neither do the secular, atheist alternatives. Anyone who drinks from the water they have will never be satisfied. Just as anyone who drinks physical water will be thirsty again (John 4:13), so anyone who drinks their water will be thirsty again. What does it mean to be spiritually thirsty? It means that the deepest needs of the soul are not being met. It means, for example, that the soul's search for meaning and purpose, its search for love and acceptance, and its search for empowerment and enablement, has not been successful. Although the searching soul may get tired of searching and may stay with whatever putrid form of water it has at its disposal, it doesn't follow that it has found the spiritual water that will actually quench its spiritual thirst. Only the spiritual water of the Holy Spirit can do that. How do you get the spiritual water you need? You have to come to Jesus. You have to believe in him. If you do, then you will receive the Holy Spirit. You will receive, in other words, all the spiritual water that you will ever need. Indeed, you will have so much that it will flow from out of you to those around you. Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive." (John 7:38-39). If you're tired of being thirsty, if you're tired of searching, then it's time to come to Jesus. It's time to receive spiritual water and time to share it with the thirsty souls around you. It won't cost you a thing. The Bible says, "let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price." (Revelation 22:17). Come, then, and receive. Come and receive the spiritual water you've been searching for your whole life. You will never be spiritually thirsty again. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJudges 10, 11 Judges 10 -- Tola; Jair; Jephthah; Philistines and Ammonites Oppress Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Judges 11 -- Jephthah's Covenant with the Gileadites NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 9:1-36 Luke 9 -- Jesus Sends out the Twelve, Feeds 5000, Heals a Boy; Transfiguration; Cost of Following Jesus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion O LORD, what are human beings that you should notice them,mere mortals that you should think about them? For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. Insight Life is short. David reminds us that it is “like a breath” and that our “days are like a passing shadow.” Challenge Because life is short, we should live for God while we have the time. Don't waste your life by selecting an inferior purpose that has no lasting value. Live for God—he alone can make your life worthwhile, purposeful, and meaningful. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.Here a confession of sin common to all the elect people of God. They have all fallen, and therefore, in common chorus, they all say, from the first who entered heaven to the last who shall enter there, "All we like sheep have gone astray." The confession, while thus unanimous, is also special and particular: "We have turned every one to his own way." There is a peculiar sinfulness about every one of the individuals; all are sinful, but each one with some special aggravation not found in his fellow. It is the mark of genuine repentance that while it naturally associates itself with other penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness. "We have turned every one to his own way," is a confession that each man had sinned against light peculiar to himself, or sinned with an aggravation which he could not perceive in others. This confession is unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its force, nor a syllable by way of excuse. The confession is a giving up of all pleas of self-righteousness. It is the declaration of men who are consciously guilty--guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse: they stand with their weapons of rebellion broken in pieces, and cry, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Yet we hear no dolorous wailings attending this confession of sin; for the next sentence makes it almost a song. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." It is the most grievous sentence of the three, but it overflows with comfort. Strange is it that where misery was concentrated mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax weary souls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See how the lowliest penitence gives place to assured confidence through simply gazing at Christ on the cross! Daily Light on the Daily Path Amos 4:11 "I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.Isaiah 33:14 Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?" 2 Corinthians 1:9,10 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; • who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hebrews 10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. Jude 1:23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Zechariah 4:6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. 1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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