WATER OF THE WORD
(I wrote this before leaving for India. Currently we are arriving in India and settling in. I’ll send a blog about our trip and arrival as soon as I can.)
My second trip to India, in 2007, was in the summer. How bad can the heat be, right? Well, it was BAD! I remember once being gone speaking in various villages. I was riding on the back of a motorcycle for the whole trip so couldn’t take much water, but I seriously underestimated quickly I would become dehydrated in the scorching heat. I was seriously concerned for my health and thought of nothing but getting somewhere to get a drink of clean water. I’ll never forget how good it tasted when I finally drank water again.
The Bible uses physical thirst as an example of how we are to thirst spiritually for God (Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 5:6; John 4:13-14; Revelation 7:16-17). Some things quench thirst better than others. That is true spiritually as well. Nothing quenches the thirst of a dry soul like the truths in God’s Word. The world offers all kinds of ‘solutions’ for man’s needs, but none satisfy like Jesus (John 7:37-39). We learn about Him in the Bible, so as we take the Bible and its truths to the people in India their spiritual thirst is quenched as they partake of this “water of life” (John 4:10, 14).
Have you ever been thirsty? I mean REALLY thirsty, so much so that you are desperate for a drink of water? Come to Jesus as revealed in the living Word of God. Do you thirst for Him each day, knowing that only He can meet your inner needs of peace, joy, security and love? Do you drink from His Word each and every day, savoring its life-giving power? Take some time now to do so. (January 13, 2018 Hyderabad, India)
Psalm 42 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
INDIA UPDATE & PRAYER REQUEST:
Pray for us as we take the water of God’s Word to those who are thirsty in India. Ask God to help us train and encourage the pastors and Christians there so they can better offer this life-giving flow to those around them. Pray God would bless His Word so many would better understand and apply it to their lives.