Today's Readings: New Testament -
John 4:15-26
2 Corinthians 11:1-15
Old Testament -
Psalms 106:1-23
1 Samuel 26-28
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: John 4:23-26
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."
Insight:
Jesus not only proclaimed, "The Kingdom of God is near," he also proclaimed salvation and hope for all people. In his interaction with the Samaritan woman, he stepped past many cultural barriers. Not only did he choose to travel in Samaria, he stopped to eat and drink. Not only did he converse with a Samaritan, he conversed with a woman. Not only a woman, but one who was an outcast among Samaritans. Not only did he speak to her, he drank water she had collected. He crossed the lines that divided people from each other and God.
The conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman was at a well dug by the Patriarch Jacob (Israel). The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had made a covenant promise to bless all people through their descendants. Jesus openly claimed to be the promised Messiah who would be the Savior of the world, the source of eternal living water, and the fulfillment of God's covenant promise.
Response & Action:
I am thankful for Jesus' direct claim to be the Christ. I believe him and accept his claim as truth. I acknowledge him to be Savior; I believe he is the source of living water that never runs dry. I will worship God in spirit and in truth by embracing Jesus as Lord and Savior. I will follow him and tell others about what he is doing in my life, and as I do, be ready and willing to cross cultural barriers.
O God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the living water you pour out on all who believe in him. Give me the honesty and courage to face the things Jesus exposes in my life. Give me a humble and responsive heart and make me ready to believe and follow. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead and transform me, and make my life a witness of Christ's power to save. I pray in his name. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Ephesians 2:13-14
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility..."
Resources:
A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race
by Brenda Salter McNeil
