Dear friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
You are welcome to share this and include in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
John 7:37-39 (NRSV)
37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Devotional Thought:
Are you thirsty? What or Who are you thirsty for? These are two great questions to ask ourselves regularly. We live in a world with many people and things vying for our attention; the appeal of “drinking” from a worldly cup in order to find satisfaction, worth, approval, fulfilment, or identity is something we are all faced with daily. Yet, most of us have also experienced the shame, guilt, and general dissatisfaction that comes from partaking in these various “drinks” apart from Christ.
So why don’t we drink from Christ more often? Maybe the answer is found in Jesus’ warning to James and John when they asked him if they could sit at his right and left in his glory. Jesus responded: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38, NRSV). Jesus reminded them, and he reminds us, that drinking the cup of Christ is not always easy; it often comes at great cost. Nevertheless, in our passage, Jesus also reminds us that it comes with great reward. In fact, it is Christ who enables us to walk this path with him by pouring out the Holy Spirit upon us and through so that we can become “rivers of living water” to others. As we drink of Christ, he transforms our desires for him and for his mission so that we may share in his Glory. So, drink long and often and find fulfillment for each day.
Prayer:
Gracious and merciful Father, we are so grateful for your daily provisions in our lives. Lord, grant within us a desire to drink of Christ more often, no matter what the cost. Transform our lives that we may become more like Christ and may share in your mission in the world, for your glory. Amen.
Rev Dr Rob A. Fringer, NTC Principal
Nazarene Theological College
40 Woodlands Drive
Thornlands QLD 4164