Today was an interesting day in understanding God's goal for me...."remaining in Him" because nothing significant can happen when I don't. Yes, our charisma (if we have any) can take us to a certain level but before we know it, we will be running on "empty".
Jesus is both the BREAD OF LIFE and the LIVING WATER, who satisfy our hunger and thirst. His Word and His Spirit will take us through all of life, if we consume enough of these essential diet needed for our lives. Two examples of when Jesus discussed these ingredients are highlighted below.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil after having fasted 40 days and nights, He answered satan by quoting the Scripture He studied throughout His living existence (30 years). He too as a Son of God needed to read and memorize Scripture, the Old Testament, the Bible of His time. He then when tempted could say to the devil the following reply, as it is outlined in the Message version of Scripture:
Mat 4:1 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it.
Mat 4:2 Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger,
Mat 4:3 which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread."
Mat 4:4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth."
If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to do that it became obvious to me years ago that I too needed to be in the Word.
The next example was when He dialogued with a Samaritan woman at the well. She came there at an odd hour to have a divine encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Filled with "guilt" she wanted to receive from Jesus "living water" so that she need not come to the well again to draw water. This conversation is captured in the gospel of John below, for our observation:
Joh 4:13 Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again.
Joh 4:14 Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst--not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."
Joh 4:15 The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!"
This woman filled and empowered with both the Bread of Life and Living Water returned to her village and shared the good news with them. She got all them to meet Jesus and receive eternal life as she did. Revival came to a whole village,
My day just ended after our prayer meeting an hour ago. We had a speaker, who like this woman, is totally convicted to proclaim the name of Jesus at all costs! The question I must now ask myself is, will I do the same? In other words, do I have the same convictions to follow after...... the heartbeat of the Living God?
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