John 7:37-39 Refreshing Water
“On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me in this way, just as the Scripture says.’ (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)” (Message)
Doesn’t that glass of ice water look refreshing among the rocks and sand of the Arizona desert? If I touch the glass, I will feel the film of condensed water on it, and I can feel the coolness of the water through the glass. I could even stick my finger in the glass and feel the coolness of the water and the ice cubes. I can just imagine how good it will taste, but until I actually taste it, it will do nothing for my thirst no matter how thirsty I might be. It won’t satisfy my thirst until it is ingested—taken into my body. Then I can taste it, and I can feel it cooling me down. Then, and only then has my experience with the glass of ice water become completely satisfying.
The same can be said for the Holy Spirit—the rivers of living water promised by Jesus for those who come to Him and drink of His presence. Only when we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord will we receive the Holy Spirit. We can read about Jesus, we call talk to people about Jesus, we can think of Him as a great man who did much good, but that’s not enough. We must drink of the living water He offers—to accept His sacrifice for us and claim Him as ours and ask Him to claim us as His. Then He will see that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and that we will spend all of eternity with Him. We will be filled and satisfied for eternity.
Hebrews 13:15 Sacrifice of Praise
“Through Jesus, then, let us keep offering to God our own sacrifice, the praise of lips that confess His name without ceasing” (VOICE).
There’s a song that has been continually going through my mind for the past several weeks, and it comes from the verse quoted above.
“We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving;
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of joy.”
This song was written by Kirk Dearman in about 1980 after hearing a sermon about the sacrifice of praise. As he and his wife were driving home from church, he thought that a worship song could be written from the message. Within five minutes the tune and words came to him. When they got home, he played and sang the song for his wife and introduced it to his church the following Sunday. I’m glad he did.
Should we ever come into the house of the Lord without praise? Isn’t that one of the main reasons we gather—to praise the Lord? Thanksgiving should certainly be part of our worship every time we gather, and is joy really a sacrifice? In any case, singing praise, thanksgiving, and joy has been a part of my life for the past several weeks. Praise, thanksgiving, and joy are often written within the praise and worship songs we sing frequently. Here we have all three of them in one short chorus. The Scripture verse above says that we should bring these sacrifices to God without ceasing. I don’t have to go to church to bring the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and the sacrifice of joy to my Lord. I can bring them every day. We all can, so let’s join in the sacrifice of praise every day.
An oldie from a year ago. I hope you don't mind me repeating it.
Matthew 11:28-30 Unequally Yoked
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (NLT).
The double looped contraption hanging on the wall is a yoke for oxen. We saw it at a farm in Iowa where they demonstrate farming methods from the past several hundred years. In fact, we saw a yoke of oxen walking around the grounds. They did everything together. If one walked, they both walked, and if one wanted to eat, they both ate. It is interesting to know that in every yoke of oxen, one is dominant and the other generally follows his lead. Farmers who use oxen usually yoke together an experienced ox with a younger ox that is subservient. In a short period of time, they work together as a strong team. They have learned to work together for the better of both of them.
In the Scripture above Jesus invites us to become yoked with Him. Being omnipotent and omniscient, He is obviously the leading member of the team. We know that because He asks us to “take my yoke upon you.” He says He will teach us and give us rest. He states that He is “humble and gentle at heart.” Finally, He says, “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” As the omnipotent member of the team, he will take the larger of the burden, and as the omniscient member of the team, he will direct us in the best way to go. Because He is humble and gentle at heart, He will not demand that we follow Him exactly, but He will show us the way that is best, and then allow us to actually choose whether to stay yoked with Him or not. As time goes on, and we learn from Him, we will follow His lead. One important difference between this yoke and the yoke used by oxen is that there is no outsider who decides when our yoke with Him is broken. Jesus gives us the opportunity to leave His yoke at any point. He is saddened if we do leave the yoke, and He always gives us the opportunity to rejoin His yoke at any time in the future. Why would I not want to partner with the creator of the universe, who is both omnipotent and omniscient? Being yoked with Him means that I will always have the best direction from the strongest. Sign me up!
Psalm 139:1-6 God Knows Me
“O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am. You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again. Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking. You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming, and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know. You know what I’m going to say long before I say it. It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone. You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me, and you have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder. It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out; the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it” (VOICE).
I know Kenneth Copeland; well, I know about Kenneth Copeland. I’ve heard Him preach, and I’ve read some of his books, but I don’t know him the way I know my friends Bill and Adam. I don’t know what Kenneth Copeland likes for breakfast. I know what both Adam and Bill like for breakfast, and I know that they appreciate the natural beauty that God created in the USA. So I can say that I know Bill and Adam better than I know Kenneth Copeland. I’ve eaten many breakfasts with Adam and Bill, and I know what they like to talk about over breakfast. But I don’t know Bill and Adam as well as I know my three sons. I’ve known them since they were born, and they grew up in my presence. I know much about their likes and dislikes. I know that they don’t enjoy my wife’s baked haddock as much as I do. When they became teenagers, they spent more time away from me, and when they got married, they spent even more time away from me, as they should. I know them pretty well, but I don’t know them as well as I know my wife. She has been my constant companion as my wife for over 61 years, and I know almost everything about her, and I know her. I can predict what she will say, and I know how she will react to certain things. We have grown very close during our marriage, and we have many similar interests that we enjoy together.
But I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me as well as God knows me. He was there when I was born, and He knew me even before I was born. He has been with me every second since I was born. I don’t mean that He was aware of me every second. I mean that He knew what I was doing; He knew what I was thinking; He knew my feelings; He knew my ups and downs; and He knew me even before I accepted Jesus as my Savior. He is a closer friend than Bill and Adam; he is a closer family member than my sons, and He loves me more than my wife does.
I love David’s statement in verse five, “…and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder.” God knows me best and He loves me most. He is available to me 24/7. He is never too busy for me. He thinks of me and anticipates my needs and is ready to satisfy them when I ask. The important thing is that I must ask Him for particular things before He will grant them. He wants me to acknowledge that I need Him and that I trust Him to watch over me, provide for me, and grant me those things that will bless me and draw me closer to Him. I look forward to an even closer relationship with Him throughout eternity.
Matthew 7:7-12 Therefore
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him? Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (NKJV).
I’ve heard from many pastors that when the word “therefore” is found in Scripture, we need to find what it is there for. In this case, it comes directly after the discussion of getting answers from God—ask, seek, knock. We are told in this passage that if we ask correctly, seek fervently, and knock expectantly, we will receive from God what we ask. “Therefore” comes right after we are told that our God in heaven gives good things to us. There is no transition between the discussion of receiving from God and the Golden Rule—Do unto others as you would like them to do to you, except for the word, “therefore.” “Therefore” means as a result of the preceding. So as a result of God giving good gifts to His children, we are to treat others well—do unto them as we would like them to do for or to us.
I never noticed that before. They seemed to be two separate ideas, two different thoughts. But, no, they are not separate thoughts. They are combined by the word “therefore”—give unto others because God gives us good gifts. That makes the Golden Rule more imperative. It is important that we treat others well. After all, God expects us to do that. God gives because He loves us, and He wants us to treat others well because we are acting in His love. In John 13:34,35, Jesus tells us “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). The Golden Rule, asking seeking, and knocking, and being known as followers of Jesus are all completely involved in who God is. God is love, and those who love Him are to just naturally show love to others. So let’s “just naturally” show love to everyone. Yep, everyone!
