Tag: John 4

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Daily Devotion July 28th

TUESDAY 28th

NIV (42) – ‘They said to the woman, We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.’

ESV (42) – ‘They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.’

We continue with the same verses today as yesterday.

After the woman from Samaria had returned to the town and told the folk about meeting the Christ, it says in verse 30, ‘They went out of the town and were coming to him.’ The account breaks there as Jesus and the disciples have a conversation, (vv31-38) then verse 39 says that many of the Samaritans believed on him because of the woman’s testimony. All of us who are born again, saved, whatever phrase we want to use have a testimony, perhaps some of us who have been brought up in a Christian environment too often think about other individuals who have been saved from an awful life of crime, or addiction etc. and then compare what we were to them and think wow, what a testimony they have. But we too have a testimony, we all have a testimony that is worth sharing. For regardless of our upbringing, whether in a Christian environment or a non-Christian environment we were all sinners, all utterly depraved and heading to a lost eternity, But Jesus met with us, for me it wasn’t at the side of a well, it was on a wooden pew with sticky varnish in a tin Church building, but at that moment I knew I was a sinner, condemned, who needed saving, and I gave my life to Jesus. But that is only a part of my testimony, that happened 51 years ago, and my testimony has continued in that as I was saved by grace I have also been kept by his grace. And what God in Christ has done for each one of us is worth sharing, worth talking about.

There is an older hymn, which we used to sing a lot when I was growing up,

‘I love to tell the story,

of unseen things above,

of Jesus and his glory,

of Jesus and his love;

I love to tell the story,

because I now it’s true,

it satisfies my longings,

as nothing else would do.’

Do we love to tell the story, yes, perhaps to each other who are already born again and already know the story, but what about those who need to hear, just like the people of the town from where the woman in John 4 came from, so the people of the towns where we live, they also need to hear. May God help us to be more willing to share the good news, to gossip the gospel.

By the way, recall yesterday I mentioned the free coffee, I have had my free coffee, but guess what? It was not long afterwards that I wanted another coffee or tea, the ‘Costa’ only satisfied for a short while, but, thank God, the ‘Living Water’ I received 51 years ago is still satisfying and will do for the next however many years I’m spared and throughout eternity.

Finally, the verse for today says, that the towns folk also believed, not just because of the woman’s testimony, but because they had discovered for themselves. We pray that many will yet believe because we will have shared our story, but also many more will yet believe because they will have discovered Jesus for themselves.

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Devotions

Daily Devotion July 27th

MONDAY 27th

John 4

NIV (42) – ‘They said to the woman, We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.’

ESV (42) – ‘They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.’

This is a very well-known portion of Scripture, and I could so easily have spent a few days looking at it, but I have chosen to take this one verse.

The story of what we call the ‘woman from Samaria’ is a typical example of someone who had met with Jesus and as a result believed on him and therefore would have received eternal life. But it doesn’t just end at that, for she has become so excited and intrigued about what she has just experienced that she hurries of home to her town to tell the people ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’

I don’t know about you but I can hear the excitement in her voice, she was a woman of shame, the man she had met had exposed that shame, and yet she wanted to tell everybody else about him. Why, well one reason is that not only did  Jesus expose her shame, but he offered her an alternative. Either continue in your sinful lifestyle and be spiritually dry or take what I am offering, which is living water which will satisfy you not only for your present life but also for eternity. ‘. . . Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ (John 4:13-14) On going to the well for her daily water supply, she got far more than she bargained for, she got an eternal spiritual supply as well. Is not that something worth talking about, something worth sharing.

There have been some offers available after lockdown, which are not life transforming but, offers that are worth claiming. For example if you have the ‘Costa’ app on your phone, (other coffee brands are available!) or carry a ‘Costa’ loyalty card in your purse or wallet, then ‘Costa’ announced that they were going to add 300 points on to encourage a return to their outlets, enabling everyone with the card or app to get a free coffee! Now, this is not mega news, it is not life transforming news, but I can assure you I soon told others about it, and there have been other offers as well which have been shared.

We like the woman of Samaria have even better and more important news to share, we have found the source of eternal life, we have as she said ‘found the Christ’ how freely are we willing to tell others of the incredible offer he brings of forgiveness of sin and of eternal hope.

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 14th

THURSDAY 14th

Reading – John 4:1-54

In our devotion on Monday, we looked at the parable of the Good Samaritan, I mentioned a verse from our reading today (v9) that says that the Jews do not associate with Samaritans. In this chapter today, we discover that Jesus practised what he preached in that he was willing to associate with those who his kinsmen would refuse to associate with.

We probably know the story well, having just read it, I don’t need to recount it all but what we will have discovered is that as a result of Jesus being willing to associate with this woman, it led to many more Samaritans coming to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (verses 39-42)

Now this woman was not just a Samaritan, but she was an adulterer, a serial adulterer, that is why she had to come alone to the well, she shouldn’t even associate with her own people, let alone a man who was a Jew! But in God’s plan she had a divine appointment, that would take place, regardless of the protocol or prejudice of the time. It wasn’t by chance that Jesus had to go through Samaria, it wasn’t by chance he sat at the well at the time when this woman would come, it wasn’t by chance that the disciples were not around, it wasn’t even by chance that Jesus was weary, thus needing at that moment to stop and rest. It was all because of a divine timetable. The woman did not know it at the time when she arrived at the well, but she soon discovered that this was a moment that was going to change her life forever. An encounter with Jesus. She went to the well to get her daily supply of natural water, but got far more than she had bargained for, she came away with living and eternal water.

Thinking back to the parable of the good Samaritan, we saw how the Samaritan, who according to the culture of the time, should have walked past the beaten up Jew, but he threw protocol or prejudice out of the window and went to his aid and actually went above and beyond. (Luke 10:34-35) Continually through the life and ministry of Jesus, we read that he also did the same, he was willing to associate with the publicans and sinners, he went to the outcast, he reached out to the helpless and hopeless, he listened to the cry of the beggar, he answered the call of those who were of the upper strands of society or the lower strands, he was willing to go to anyone who called out to him for his help.

Another Scripture we used on Monday, was from the book of James, which reminded us that we should show evidence of our faith by our works, in this same letter James also says that we shouldn’t show prejudice toward anyone, in the ESV I use, the heading is ‘the sin of partiality’ the NIV heading is ‘favouritism forbidden’ the text is James 2:1-9 ‘My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”  have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called? If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.’

We are living in a multi-cultural society and we are living in a depraved society, and although we would not accept so much that comes from other cultures, such as religion and practise etc, and we would not accept the lifestyle of many in society, and although there is so much going on around us that we as the redeemed of the Lord do not like and cannot embrace, we should never be prejudice against individuals, the gospel is for the whosoever, Jesus loves the whosoever, Jesus came to die for the whosoever, and he wants us who are born again, to be the conduits of his love and the demonstrators of his compassion in the world around us to day. It doesn’t mean we should overlook the sin, Jesus didn’t, remember he told the woman taken in adultery, to go and sin no more, but we should seek to love them, and pray for them and look for opportunities in sharing God’s love and compassion, to point them to Jesus, the only One who can enable them to know their lives turned around and to bring their lifestyle in harmony to what the Word of God reveals.

The days are long gone where we could think that we are all chips off the same block.  There is so much variance amongst us in our communities, lifestyle, religion, race, culture, behaviour, but there is still only One true and Living God, there is still only one way to eternal life, there is only one source for eternal hope, and it is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we who know him, need to reveal Jesus to the people around us that together, as they come to believe we will become one in Christ Jesus.

As I close this devotion, we will look at Revelation 5:9-10 as you read it, imagine how different it would read if Jesus had been prejudiced to any who were not a Jew! ‘And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’

Thank God, he found me despite who or what I may have been and that he is no respecter of persons. Thank God he found you and thank God he is still finding. We who are saved know a Man who is the answer to the communities around us, his name is Jesus. Acts 10:34-35 ‘So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’ In the KJV ‘Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.’

I can’t take a heart that’s broken

Make it over again

But I know a man who can

I can’t take a soul that’s sin sick

Wash it white as the snow

But I know a man who can

Some call him Saviour, the Redeemer of all men

I call him Jesus, for he’s my dearest friend

When you feel no one can help you

And your life is out of hand

I know a man who can

I can’t walk upon the water

Calm the dark and raging sea

But I know a man who can

I can’t cause blind eyes to open

Or make the lame to walk again

But I know a man who can

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