This may serve as a secondary application, and I am going to take advantage of it. Get your calendars and planners out and block out a section of time each day where you are devoted to the Lord in prayer. Partner with the Lord in this. Prayerfully consider what time you would really be able to commit to Him and make prayer a priority. Take that time where you are deeply invested in Him. Don't make...

As I weigh the questions from yesterday, I consider something serious. I find that I do thirst, but that it has been increasingly easier for me to quench that thirst with things other than Christ. They are not inherently sinful things, but they certainly are not Christ-centric. So the question to follow is how do I satisfy my thirst in Christ? I cannot emphasize enough how critically important pra...

Just as the invitation was extended to them, so the invitation is also extended to me. A convicting question occurs to me. Before I share the question, I want to highlight the prerequisite that Jesus establishes. He does not say, "Anyone who comes to me will flow rivers of living water." He gives two strong requirements. First, they must thirst. Second, they must come and drink. We live in Flagsta...

A mentor of mine helped me to see something extremely important throughout the Gospels. Jesus extends a simple invitation. He does not make demands and insist. He invites. And here, we see that invitation as clear as day. The readers would have followed John's connection here with the Spirit pretty clearly as John comments on it. Jesus is extending the invitation to believe upon Him and there are ...

Bible scholars have long made the connection with Jesus' statement with what is occurring at that time with the Feast of Tabernacles. It has been well established that the Biblical feasts give strong reference and inference of Jesus in His first and second comings. One of the traditions that was adopted during this was a water drawing ceremony. It would have been during this ceremony, as all are b...

Jesus is continuing in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles. In this passage, it is now the final day of the feast and Jesus stands and announces prophetically something about Himself.37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow r...

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified...

As we discussed, the most important thing for us to do in this matter is to humbly submit ourselves to the Lord. Let us first do that and then let us pray for those that we have a hard time with. Maybe they've hurt you. Maybe they irritate you. Maybe you just don't really know them. Consider those people that you have passed quick judgment on and instead of judging, resort to praying for them. And...

Given the fact that I do have a natural tendency to quickly pass judgment, I have two things that I practice to get past the surface. First, I challenge my position. Second, I ask a lot of questions.For the first, let's say I see someone driving poorly. Maybe they're speeding. While my instinct is to say, "That guy is a terrible driver and has no consideration for others," I challenge it and inste...

We have all heard the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." What is the saying trying to get us to do? It is wanting us to look beneath the surface. We may see an individual who is upset and just write them off as an angry person. We may see someone who looks paranoid and think that they must've done something bad and need to hide something. We can assume all kinds of motives just by looking ...

It is essential in our reading not to just look upon the connections and the contexts, but actually analyze what the texts were saying. At the heart of this passage, there is a lesson that is incredibly important to the reader of the time. Naturally, it was all the rage to reject Jesus. Many would look as the Jewish leaders did and simply write Jesus off. They would look at poorly contrived circum...

There is a very important connection to the broader context as a whole. Coming out of John 6 and this earlier section in John 7, we have seen a lot of rejection of Jesus and very little belief taking place. In the section we are studying this week, John makes a couple of distinctions. One of which is the nature of who believes and who doesn't. We had the crowd that was fed by Jesus in the feeding ...

Jumping right in from the previous section, Jesus now is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. He makes His way up into the temple and begins teaching. This led to the Jewish leaders to marvel at Him, but it also enabled them to begin contending with Him. And that is the main theme of this weeks passage.Jesus ultimately defends Himself in three regards. He defends His authority. He defends Hi...

14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speak...

Take 15 minutes and praise the Lord for how you have suffered with Him. Turn that mourning into dancing and rejoice in Him. Let today be a time of praise unto the Lord.......