Water for our Thirsty Souls

Bryson, my youngest grandson, and I were sitting on the deck overlooking the Sea of Cortez. We were talking about a tsunami and the devastation that it can cause. Then he asks me: "What is it that you can’t live without, but it can also kill you?” My “thinker” kicked in and I said: “WATER!” He pondered out loud: “Wonder what it feels like to be drowning?” Me: “Well, have you ever been stuck underwater and couldn’t get a breath?” Without hesitation, Bryson replies: “Oh, yes, it’s called brothers!”

Oh, that boy! The fact is water makes up about 70 percent of our body. It’s a crucial ingredient that helps our brain think, blood flow, and our muscles move. But what happens after we sweat through an aerobics class, spend a day at the beach, or simply ignore our thirst? Dehydration, and it's different for everyone. It depends on how much we’re exercising, the temperature around us, and how much we sweat, but it can get dangerous quick. Suddenly, I’m very thirsty. I just paused to get a bottle of water!

No matter if it comes from a bottle with a brand name or the faucet in our home or mountain spring, water can improve our physical health. But, it can't grant us peace and joy in this life, as well as eternal life. Jesus brought a whole new meaning to water – it is essential in the natural and it is essential in the spiritual. In John 4:5-42, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Referring to the actual well of Jacob, Jesus says “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.” He was referring to every well, stream, lake and source of fresh liquid water. But to the woman and to you and me, Jesus tells us where the real, true fountain of “youth” (the joy and peace that spring up from within) and eternal life is, by saying, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give, you will never thirst. The water that I shall give will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus calls the water that He gives living water.

Unlike bottled water at the convenience store, we can't just go and buy the living water of the Holy Spirit. Something more is required. That something is becoming clean and pure by the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. We put so much emphasis on keeping things clean in our homes. We wash everything: our clothes, dishes, hands, bodies, even our water. It’s not enough that it gets purified at the water treatment plant, it has to be filtered and purified again.

So, we ask, “Do I give as much attention to the cleansing and purification of my soul as I do with my body from germs?” Let's return to Jacob’s well for a moment – perhaps your well is represented by your church or a small group or even in your daily devotions – the places to go to encounter Christ and drink of the living water of the Holy Spirit. And most beautiful, are the waters of baptism that represents the old man and all his sins are washed away and a new man arises to abundant life in Christ here and for eternity.

Don’t be fooled, those cheap imitations in fancy brand-named bottles can quench a thirst in the heat, but nothing compares to drinking at the springs of living water that only Jesus can provide!

Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."

That Police Officer DEPRIVED Me of my Sleep

: To keep something away from someone. Those who live in poverty are kept from having enough food or shelter. Plants experiencing water deprivation will shrivel up and die. If a teenager is grounded, their parents might impose video game or cell phone deprivation. And if someone has trouble sleeping, they are sleep DEPRIVED.

I had only a very few hours of sleep, when I had to get up early for my drive to Tulsa again. Sis and I are still working on the Estate Sale for Mom and with our busy schedules, we've had to carve out time almost every other week to get it all wrapped up. We're getting closer each time I make my trek there again. Wednesday morning, I headed out early after those very few hours of sleep and by the time I hit the Indian Nation Turnpike I could hardly keep my eyes open. In fact, I did have moments where I nodded and caught myself. I slapped my face, chewed gum -- all to keep me awake. There are no rest areas on that stretch of the turnpike so I was pleased when the turnpike ended and I saw a motel and thought I'd just drive around to the back of it and stop to shut my eyes for just a few minutes. That few minutes turned into 20 minutes and it would have been longer, but the tapping at my car window by a police officer woke me and startled me.

I did my best to regain composure because I must have looked like I was on a stiff drink or drugs because he was eyeing my car in the front and back to see if I had anything in it to prove it. He said, "Ma'am, are you okay? We received a call from the motel owners and they said they saw a woman slumped over in her car." I replied: "Oh, I'm fine. I was so sleepy on that stretch of the turnpike and nowhere to pull off to rest, that I just had to shut my eyes for a few minutes at the first place I saw." By then I was WIDE AWAKE! I asked him to thank the motel owners for letting me take a snooze, and I was on my way.

I realized that I MUST get a good night's sleep before I head out on these road trips. Sleep DEPRIVATION could lead to real trouble in so many ways. It was a WAKE UP call for me for sure.

As I was typing my post for today, I thought about the word DEPRIVATION -- particularly as it applied to my sleeping habits, but I also thought about how we DEPRIVE ourselves from being physically and spiritually healthy. We deprive ourselves of water which is our main source of life. If we continue to deprive ourselves of getting the H2O we need, it can have severe repercussions on our health. Not getting enough water can result in fatigue and lack of blood flow to our tissues. Not getting enough physical activity and exercise will deprive us of good health and normal organ function.

In the same way, when we DEPRIVE ourselves of the refreshment of a close, abiding relationship with our Heavenly Father, we'll become spiritually sluggish, weak in faith and poor in spirit. Like the officer who gave me a WAKE UP knock on my car door yesterday, God is knocking on our heart's door and announcing -- drink up of this water that I give you and you'll never be DEPRIVED of water again." His love is FREE for the taking. We are never DEPRIVED of His peace, joy, hope and overflowing blessings. Those gifts are ours for the taking.

"Happy are those who listen to Me, watching for me daily at my gates." (Proverbs 8:34)

"Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28:

The Purer the Vessel, the Greater the Flow

Think about those who must have Coronary Artery Bypass surgery because one or more blocked coronary arteries are preventing normal blood flow. Then on a less physical note, consider a kitchen sink pipe that becomes clogged because of an abundance of grease or other substances. But, most important are our vessels (our spirits) that become filled with kunk and junk that prevents a free flow of God's joy, peace, love and all the other Fruit of the Spirit from flowing in our lives.

We all desire God's ultimate "stamp of approval" on our lives. There are times when it's easy, and even seemingly harmless, to make little compromises in doing the RIGHT thing. You know... when we lose our patience with the cashier who is taking FOREVER to check out customers because she talks so much or when we falter in our ability to love those who are so unlovely to us, or watching "dark" and "immoral" movies or TV shows, or gossiping or telling little white lies. It's the little things, that over time, that cause our consciences to become seared, and what was once a clean, pure vessel, now starts getting clogged and that free flow of God's blessings with a joy-filled, peace-filled life, and God's "stamp of approval" seem to be held back.

Again, this is that "tweaking" and "course correction" time, when we realize the LITTLE THINGS do matter. Don't we want the flow out of us to others to be abundant in encouragement, comfort, joy and love? And, don't we want God's flow back to us to be the same?

It just makes sense to get out God's roto-rooter to clean-out and purify our vessels -- our pipelines -- because, "The purer the vessel -- the greater the flow!" Oh how I desire that flow -- freely flowing -- in and out of my life! How about you?