Living Waters

“Jesus said, ‘If a man is thirsty let him come to Me and drink; Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow within him ”(John 4:13-14).

Hey Gang: I was out cutting up a tree that did not survive the latest wind storm, probably not a good idea for someone as old as dirt to be doing that when the temperature was hovering in the mid-nineties, but patience is not one of my greatest attributes. As I have grown older, I find it necessary to take more and longer breaks to recharge my burners – like work fifteen minutes and take a half hour break.

As I was sitting under a tree drinking ‘cool clear water,’ my thoughts once again returned to those very happy days when I was getting my hands dirty digging in the sands at Tel Tamar in the desert of the Wilderness of Zin, Israel.

There are three basic sources of water in the desert: cisterns, wells and springs. The cistern system consisting of aqueducts to funnel water into basins for storage and is ingenious. Masada had cisterns capable of holding millions of gallons of water. At best this is a temporary way of storing water. Most water is obtained from wells.

To the Bedouin finding water is a simple thing. It is said that the desert sand to the Bedouin is like the morning newspaper to the Englishman, only with fewer misprints. He knows how to track and where to find water.

Again, we see the analogies between our physical walk through the wilderness and our spiritual lives. A sign of our entrance into the Promised Land is adequate spiritual nourishment that comes with our covenant relationship to God through Christ Jesus; but to secure this we must dig a well deep enough to assure adequate water.

Surface water is dangerous and folly. We cannot live on intermittent blessings. We need a much deeper source brought on by showers of blessings; a source to be drawn upon when there is no rain for long periods of time.

David wrote about the spiritual man who “… was like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruits in season” (Psa. 1:3). Jeremiah warned: “The people have committed two sins, they have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and they have dug cisterns that cannot hold water.” (2:13)

So, my young friends, "Jesus said, “If a man is thirsty let him come to Me and drink; Whoever believes in Me, streams of living water will flow within him.” (John 7:37) How’s your water supply this morning. Are you relying on a cistern? or a spring? or have you sunk your well into the living waters, Jesus as your Lord.

Blessings,  

Gramps