Draw from this well!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 9-12; Psalm 111

TO CHEW ON: "'Behold God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For YAH the LORD is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.
Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation'" - Isaiah 12:2,3



Water was a valuable and much-sought-after commodity in the parts of the east where the events of the Bible played out. The New Bible Dictionary says of Bible wells: "In the arid parts of the East, water may become as precious as gold. Wells were and still remain the subjects of fierce disputes and even strife. They became heritable and were exploited by human monopolies at an earlier date than land." The New Bible Dictionary, p. 1325.

We can gain a fuller appreciation for the "wells of salvation" picture in our focus verses today, when we review the key role that wells played in Israel's history.

- Hagar's life was saved when God opened her eyes to the well at Beer Lahai Roi (Genesis 21:14-19).
- Later Isaac settled at that same well (Genesis 25:11).
- Isaac had to dig many wells before he was finally able to make peace with his enemies and settle down in the land (Genesis 26:15-22).
- Jacob met Rachel at a well (Genesis 29:1-2; 9-12).
- Moses' desperate flight from Egypt ended at a well in Midian (Exodus 2:15).
- Three of David's men risked their lives to get David a drink of water from the Bethlehem well.(2 Samuel 23:15-16).
- Jesus offered living water to a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4:1-13).

Likening our salvation to drinking from a well yields some interesting comparisons.

• Like the well was a life-saver for Hagar and Moses, the wells of salvation are just that -- salvation -- for us spiritually. 

• What we know about wells generally (that they access water that is underground) and Isaac's experience with them tells us that finding those wells of salvation may require effort on our part. For some it is the culmination of years of searching. 

• Like wells were the hub of community life in Palestine, the "wells of salvation" are the center around which relationships develop as we meet God and get to know Him and each other in the community of believers, the church. 

• Should we stray, hopefully we would be like David hankering after water from the Bethlehem well, as we remember and long for the sweet living water of the salvation wells that satisfied like no other.

Let's drink from the wells of salvation today — the water of forgiveness and cleansing, the assurance of eternal life, the comfort of God's presence in the indwelling Holy Spirit who is our comforter, counselor, teacher...drinking deep from all the things that salvation means.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for salvation and what it means for me in everyday life. Help me to never view it casually or take it for granted. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 111

MORE:  Isaiah 12:3 - illuminated

"A kneeling figure looks up to Christ and points at a man who draws water issuing from the foot of the crucifix. Christ looks out from Heaven towards a lamb and crucifix. The crucifix and lamb are not mentioned in the text, but are an interpretation of the word "Savior". (From Biblical Art on the WWW.)

"You shall draw the waters with joy from the Saviour’s fountains" -Unknown illustrator of St. Alban's Psalter' - England first half of 12th century.

"You shall draw the waters with joy from the Saviour’s fountains" -Unknown illustrator of St. Alban's Psalter' - England first half of 12th century.

*********************
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cisterns or fountains?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 2:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters and hewn themselves cisterns — broken cisterns that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:13

This passage speaks of where we find our satisfaction. Actually it's more than satisfaction because it speaks of finding water. That's something we not only like to drink but we must have for life. While a human body can survive up to five weeks without food, it can only survive days (three to four) without water.

Given a choice, wouldn't we rather drink water from a sparkling fountain that flows fresh and in an endless supply than from a cistern? Such man-made water storage systems contain water that is stagnant. Over time the water is used up and needs to be replenished.

Here Jeremiah contrasts the two water sources as a way to describe where the people are getting their spiritual needs met. His word picture prompts me to ask, where do I go to get my spiritual needs met? To cisterns of my own making?

Is my work a cistern? Is my family? Are my friendships?

Perhaps one way to find out is by taking all the stuff that fills us up—the ability to work and find pleasure in it, our enjoyment of relationships, the pleasures of the sensory world—and imagining them absent. Would we still have something?

And how do we keep the good, legitimate things in life from becoming cisterns?  Perhaps one way is to drink long and deep from the living water at the beginning of each day. Then with our bellies full we won't be craving the other kind.

PRAYER: Dear God, I think of all the things I enjoy -- potential cisterns. Help me to make them secondary to finding my most vital satisfaction in You. May my satisfaction from the living fountain make the enjoyment of everyday things keener. Amen.

********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Living for what lasts

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ecclesiastes 2:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I didn't withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And this was my reward from all my labor, …
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:10,11

In case we're tempted to look for satisfaction, fulfillment, and a sense of significance in humor, alcohol, creative work, gardening, building and managing an estate, or music, we needn't bother. Solomon has done the experiment for us. His conclusion: "… all was vanity and grasping for the wind."

Jesus' words come to mind as we ponder what does truly last and satisfy? Jesus agrees with Solomon: earthly treasure won't do it, but laying up treasure in heaven leads to a lasting legacy - Matthew 6:19-21.

Some additional thoughts on what this means (emphases added):

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever - 1 John 2:17.

But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you - 1 Peter 1:25.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love - 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Wherever we are at in our quest to live meaningful lives, let's let these scripture perspectives probe our motivations and actions, showing us where we're looking in the wrong places and putting our hopes in the wrong things.


PRAYER: Dear God, I want to live a life that ends with no regrets; that achieves things that outlast me. Help me to see where I'm trusting in the wrong things to achieve this. Amen.

 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Soul food

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 31:23-40

TO CHEW ON: "'For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.'" Jeremiah 31:25

Jeremiah hears the voice of God declaring, '"For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.'"

The guarantee of that sweet satisfaction runs through the Bible.

• The psalmist  promises it to those who fear God (Psalm 145:19) and who enjoy being in His house (Psalm 36:8).

• Isaiah promises it to those who are spiritually thirsty (Isaiah 44:3; 55:1) and go to God as their Saviour (Isaiah 12:3).

• Jesus promises filling to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).

• He proclaims that He is the source of living water (John 4:14; 7:37) and the bread of life (John 6:35).

• We are invited to His feast at the culmination of all things (Revelation 7:16; 21:6; 22:17).

Then, in the next verse, Jeremiah wakes from his vision: "After this I awoke, and looked around..." But the beautiful atmosphere of blessing lingers on "…and my sleep was sweet to me" - Jeremiah 31:26.

May we too live today in the atmosphere of these promises, bringing our wearinesses and sorrows to Him now for temporary relief, knowing that a day is coming when God will forever satiate all our lacks with His plenty!

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to look to You to satisfy my deepest thirsts and hungers—even as I anticipate the time when this will happen perfectly. Amen. 

***********

New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Does it satisfy?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Amos 4:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water. But they were not satisfied. Yet you have not returned to Me." Amos 4:8

If there is one thing we can know for sure, it is that for our whole healthy lives we will need to turn to food and water again and again for physical satisfaction. Here, Amos draws a parallel to the perpetual lack of physical  satisfaction and Israel's spiritual state. They too are continually seeking satisfaction, but seeking in the wrong places. And despite the fact that God is raining the consequences of their sins on their own heads, it's not bringing about the desired spiritual changes.

He sent famine, withheld rain, appeared preferential (sending rain on one city but not another), troubled their gardens with pests and disease, allowed their own children to fall to the plague. But it was all to no avail. "Yet you have not returned to Me."

Amos tells them what will bring lasting satisfaction. It is the destination to which all his doom-filled predictions are meant to drive them - to God Himself. "Seek Me and live (5:4); Seek the Lord and live (5:6); Seek good and not evil that you may live (5:14); Let justice rain down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream (5:24).

We are not so different from these Israelites. Our search for satisfaction takes us down paths of overwork, shopping, too much food and drink, sex, sometimes even drunkenness and addiction. But we're looking in the wrong places. Because only God can once-and-for-all satisfy the gnawing hunger that creeps back when we feed in other places.

The way the prophet Jeremiah describes what we do is so right-on:


"My people have committed a compound sin:
   they've walked out on me, the fountain
Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns—
   cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves." - Jeremiah 2:13 (Message)

God's invitation to come to Him for lasting, spiritual thirst-quenching is clear. Jesus promised that those hungering and thirsting for righteousness would be filled. He promised He would be water that would be like an artesian fountain flowing from within, and forever satisfying bread.

Do I come to Him to be satisfied? Do you?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to look for satisfaction in You. I confess I don't always go to You first when I'm 'thirsty.' Teach me how finding satisfaction in You looks in my day-to-day life. Amen.

MORE: "This is the Air I Breathe" music and lyrics by Marie Barnett
(Sung by Hillsong)

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.