Living water [ John 4 v 10 ]

Not only does Jesus promise that He will give water that can satisfy a person thirst,but he also promised living water.There are places in this water
where people only have polluted water the result is they die.So it is that the vast majority of people are drinking water that cannot satisfy,not only that
but it will destroy them. Malcolm Muggeridge wrote the following,
/I may,I suppose,regard myself,or pass for being,a relatively successful man. People occasionally  stare at me in the streets-that's fame. I can fairly
easily earn enough  to qualify for admission to the higher slopes of the
Inland Revenue- that's success. Furnished with money and a little fame even the elderly,if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions-that's pleasure. It may happen once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently heeded for me to persuade myself  that it represented a serious impact on our time- that's fulfilment. Yet I say to you,and I beg you to believe me, multiply these tiny triumphs by a million, add them all together, and they are nothing- less than nothing,  a positive impediment- measured against  one draught of that living water Christ offers to the spiritually   thirsty,irrespective of who or what they are./
                           I heard the voice of Jesus say
                            Behold,I freely give
                           The living water,thirsty one
                            Stoop down,and drink, and live.
                            I came to Jesus, and I drank,
                             Of that life-giving stream;
                            My thirst was quenched,my soul revived,
                              And now I live in Him.
                                    [Horatius Bonar]

Are you thirsty? [ John 4 v 4- 13 ]

In John 4 we read of Jesus meeting a women at a well,I want to highlight
the character of this woman,she was a woman with thirst that was not being satisfied. She had been married 5 times,but at that time she was cohabiting
with a man. Things have  not changed much,I suppose they never will,men and women are seeking for that which satisfies,and alas  they still thirst.
Jesus knew all about this lady,He did not come to that well and to this lady by chance.  No he came to bring her an answer to her great need,let me ask ,are you thirsty?,well listen to what Jesus has to say.She had come to the well to draw some water,something she may have done hundreds of time.So
Jesus says,/Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again,indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water well up to eternal life v13/
                                          A prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus we thank you that can satisfy the thirsty soul  Amen.

He must take the highest station. [ 1 Corinthians 3 v 1 - 9]

Johns gospel is different than the other gospels,the miracles are seen as signs,yes they where miracles,demonstrations of Gods power.According to
Bruce Milne while John used the word sign,the writers of the other gospels
use  a different word with one exception,one the word they used was dynameis,meaning an act of power.So let us consider the turning of water into wine,in John 2 v1-11.Jesus is at a wedding,yes He was sociable,while there, they ran out of wine,this did not happen by chance,for it would be an opportunity for His glory to be seen. For the Christian the unexpected is not by chance,and can be for us likewise an opportunity to glorify our Lord. Wedding celebrations could last up to a week,it must have cost a lot ,and for whatever reason they ran out of wine.It is then we have Mary intervening,by going to Jesus with the problem,am I wrong in thinking that we have no other recorded incidences,of Mary speaking[other than at the time of  Jesus birth] it is so sad when it seems in some circles Mary is elevated to be none other than a goddess.While we should honour her,we must see Mary as a lovely believer. As B.Milne,writes,/ Mary approached Jesus as his mother,
is reproached .....she responds as a believer,and her faith is honoured/.
                                     A   prayer.
Dear help us to see that all times your Son Jesus will take the highest station
Amen.

It is not a do it yourself job. [Philippians 3 v 1-10 ]

All Israel have a portion in the world to come,as it is said,Your  people are
all righteous,they shall inherit the land,they are the shoot that I planted. My own handiwork, in which I glory[Isaiah 60v2]. Such reads the Jewish
authorised daily prayer book, now contrast this with what we read in John 1 v13, which clarifies how one is classed as a child of God,/Children born not
of  natural descent,nor of human decision or a husband's will,but born of God./ We see how the latter flies in the face of what the Jewish prayer book says,it rules out natural descent.Recently  I spoke to a young man who I know how to pray,as the conversation went on ,it appears that's to him that this is what most important,but its not.Many people when they think of England as  a Christian country,but living here I know its not. When a person says that they are C of E,or RC, or whatever, it can be  meaningless . John in his statement is seeking to clear a way the dead wood,and  help us to see what is vital to our spiritual well being.That we are not resting on a false hope,that would be folly and disastrous,the new birth is the work God,
which comes about,when we seek forgiveness for our sins ,and believe in the Lord Jesus as our Saviour.
                                   A    prayer.
Dear God, open the eyes of men and women to what it really means to be a child of God, in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Becoming His child. [John 1 v 12-14]

We have considered the worlds ,and Israels treatment of  Christ,that of indifference,to brutal antagonism,which culminated on His death on a cross.
Yet says John,to those who receive him,to those who believe in his name,
he gives the right to become children of God[ John 1 v12 ]The situation is
sad ,when we consider the millions who to this day,fail to recognise,or accept Christ, yet there are those who do by the grace of God,believe in Him. Bruce Milne writes that/ John's purpose in writing his gospel is evangelistic,he writes to produce decisive commitment to Christ./ Yes things have not changed ,the vast number of people in this world,remain indifferent to the claims of ,and often antagonistic,In spite of this we are to be faithful witnesses to Christ,note what John writes it is only those who accept Christ ,become children of God.If a person has not accepted Christ they are not a child of God,that may be hard to accept,but it is true. Yes God is our creator,but that does not mean that He is our Father that only comes about as John tells us, when one accepts Christ.
                                          A  prayer.
Dear God we thank you that we when we accept Christ,we can look up and call you Father. Amen.

Israel [John 1 v 10]

John has stated that the world did not recognise their creator ,Jesus,but then he goes on to say,/He came to that which was his own,but his own did not receive him[ John 1 v10]. In Luke 12 v48,we read,/From everyone who has
been given much,much will be demanded,and from the one who has been entrusted with much,much more  will be required/.In Romans 3 v2,we read
of the great advantage the Jews had,/that they had been entrusted with the very words of God./The witness of the prophets was part of their history,the Torah was a vital witness to them,every Sabbath it would be read and
expounded in their synagogues.To them Gods word was everything ,they
diligently searched the scriptures,this is to be commended,do we?,but Jesus
points out that the scriptures in themselves do not save,For the scriptures are a revelation about Jesus,they testify about Him[ John 5 v39] Bible reading,praying,church attendance does not save,only childlike faith in Jesus,saves .The result was the Jews did not accept the one the Bible spoke of,and refused to come to Him[John 5 v40],and so it continues to this day.
                                       A   prayer.
Dear God have mercy upon Christ rejecting Israel in Jesus the Messiahs name.Amen.

The great Creator. [Revelation 3 v20]

In John 1 v 10 we read,/He [Jesus] was in the world,and though the world was made through Him,the world did not recognise Him. The first thing to grasp is the clear statement of Jesus as creator,in Genesis 1 v1 we read ,/In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth/,how did He do it?,by speaking,v3 And God said. and so the word ,God the Son,went forth and made all things. Yet in spite of this,the world then and now fail to recognise and accept,their maker. Humanity fails to acknowledge Him,for many hundreds of years Rome persecuted His followers,likewise the nations in the 20th century,remember those who persecute Christians, persecute Christ
[Acts 9 v5 ].Studdert-Kennedy wrote a poem called indifference, stressing
the fact that if Christ came again today,would it be different?
    /When Jesus came to Birmingham they simply passed Him by,
     Then never hurt a hair of Him,they only let Him die,
     For men had grown more tender,and they would not give Him pain,
     They only just passed down the street,and left Him in the rain/
The claims of Jesus still go unheeded,so few never give Christ a first thought,never mind a second.Yet Christ still knocks at peoples hearts door,saying ,can I  come in?can I come in?.
                                             A  prayer.
 Dear God we thank you for sending Jesus,who continues to seek an entrance into peoples lives,Amen