Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
April 10, 2024
John 4:4-24
4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food. 9 The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.) 10 Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.” 17 The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.” “You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered. 18 “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.” 19 The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. 24 God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.”
Good Morning! The time is here to worship God in spirit and truth.
Through our baptism, we are saved by the water and the spirit. In that moment, the living water becomes part of us. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”
Let’s consider the water this morning. I have always been fascinated by springs. When I was young, there was a spring on my friend’s farm. On a hot summer day, there was nothing more refreshing than the cool water that bubbled up in that spring. The coolness is derived from the depth of a spring. The deeper the source, the cooler the water.
Through the Holy Spirit, we are given this bubbling spring of water. When we first receive it, the source is close to the surface, which means it is free-flowing but perhaps lukewarm to the touch. If we mature in our faith by reading the Bible and spending time with God, the source deepens, and over time, the water becomes the refreshing, cool water of which Jesus speaks.
When we accept and nurture the living water that Jesus offers us, we will learn to worship God in spirit and truth.
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. We wish to be refreshed. Help keep our source nourished. We thank you! In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: God knows us and loves us anyway.
Are you thirsty? Pastor Liz