Water for Our Wilderness

Monday, January 20, 2014         Water for Our Wilderness

John  7: 31-39

Two thoughts captured my attention in today’s passage. First, the chilling words of Jesus to the Pharisees: “you cannot go where I am going” (John 7:34b). Jesus’ words to the Pharisees stand in sharp contrast to the encouragement he provided his disciples a few months later: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going” (John 14:1-4).

Today’s reading begins by telling us that many among the crowds at the Temple believed in Jesus. (John 7:31a) Many, but not all believed, and so it is today. Pray that your faith in Jesus will become an inviting witness in your environment, especially to those who may be in danger of hearing Jesus’ chilling words, “you cannot go where I am going.”

Secondly, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Festival of Shelters, which was a memorial to honor the time the Israelites spent following Moses through the wilderness. The wilderness was arid and there was always a desperate need for water. The liturgy of the Festival included many prayers for water. Those in attendance certainly would have been intrigued by Jesus’ offer: “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!” (John 7:37-38). The more we own the truth of our own wilderness experience apart from being reconciled to God, the more we are desperate to drink from Jesus’ well of living water. As we own our own wilderness experiences, let us recall with gladness Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman at the well: “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.