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May 25, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Living Water, by Tom Norvell
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will
you give me a drink?"(His disciples had gone into the town to buy
food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a
Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not
associate with Samaritans.)
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." "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing
to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living
water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well
and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and
herds?"
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."
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get
thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water"
(John 4:7-15 NIV).
The woman Jesus encounters at this well is just one example of so many
who have a thirst for living water.
On a weekly basis, searchers come to a place where we hope we will find
living water. From early childhood, we have been assured that the
assembly hall is the place where God can be found. In more recent
years, we have been convinced that the bigger the assembly, the more
likely we are to have our thirsty soul satisfied. At the same time, we
are being told that smaller assemblies are the source of living water.
So we come. We gather. We study. We sing. We pray. We watch. We listen.
We hope. We search.
Sometimes our thirst is quenched. Some days we find what we are looking
for. A message touches our heart. A conversation encourages us. A
prayer reflects our deepest feelings. A song brings us to tears. We
leave feeling refreshed. We tell others of the experience and we
encourage them to join us for the next gathering.
Sometimes we go away empty. The singing is dull. The message misses our
heart. The children are too noisy and distracting. We do not connect on
any meaningful level with anyone. The prayers that are prayed sound
very similar to the prayers that were prayed the week before, and the
week before that, and the week before that. We wonder why we came. We
wonder why anyone came. We wonder if we'll come back for the next
assembly.
Is there a solution?
Is there a place where we can find this living water?
Thirsty?
Is there a well from which we can draw living water that will satisfy
the thirst of our soul?
Jesus gave the woman the answer:
"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).
Jesus is the one for whom we thirst. Jesus is where we should go. Jesus
is the one whom we should seek. Jesus is the well from which the living
water flows.
Assembly halls filled with people may meet our needs on certain levels.
Gatherings of people may satisfy our longing for fellowship and
connection. But, only a genuine encounter with the giver of living
water will quench the thirst of our soul.
Perhaps our thirst has not been quenched and our souls have not been
refreshed because we have been going to the wrong well. This week,
let's try something different. Let's seek Jesus. I'm not advocating
that we "forsake the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25).
Nor am I suggesting that we continue with tired and worn-out traditions
that have lost value. I am encouraging us to search for Jesus. Go to
Jesus and make the same request the woman at the well, "Sir, give me
this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to
draw water."
Thirsty?
Jesus is waiting and ready to offer you a drink that will satisfy your
thirst. Accept the offer. Drink of the living water.
---------
(c) 2008 Tom Norvell <tomnorvell@mac.com>. Used by permission. A
Norvell Note <http://www.anorvellnote.com> is a weekly email
message from Tom Norvell. Check it out!
RELATED LINKS:
* The Abandoned Water Jar
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200207/20020717_jar1.html
* Sweetwater
http://www.heartlight.org/justforwomen/jfw_990721_water.html
* Thirsty in the Rain
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200105/20010511_family1156.html
* A Norvell Note
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200805/20080525_livingwater.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
CAPTIVATING: UNVEILING THE MYSTERY OF A WOMAN'S SOUL, by John & Stasi Eldredge
Many Christian women are tired, struggling under the weight of the
pressure to be a "good servant," a nurturing caregiver, passionate
lover, or capable home manager. What Wild at Heart did for men, this
book can do for women.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?251
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
each purchase you make, you're helping to support Heartlight's
ministry. Thanks SO MUCH for your help!
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