Monthly Archives: August 2019
God’s Hourglass
“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” Luke 12:20
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14
Photo by Adrien King on Unsplash
The other day I was perusing the news and came across a tragic story of a young man who was coming out of an elevator in a luxury building in NYC and was suddenly crushed to death.
I’m sure that young man didn’t think he would die that day. It was an unexpected freak accident.
Sometimes we forget we’re not immortal or promised tomorrow. We are all subject to God’s eternal hourglass. When the sand runs out, that’s it. Our time is up.
This is why each day is a gift.
Unfortunately, sometimes we take our life for granted or we complain about our lives. But we never know what the next minute, hour or day will bring.
Even with all the problems and issues we contend with on a daily basis, there’s still much to give God thanks for.
I came across a verse that I’ve read several times, but for some reason this time, it stood out. It’s Romans 1:21.
“ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
The “neither were thankful” part jumped out at me.
Even in the midst of our suffering, there’s still something we can give God thanks for.
Life is precious and short. We are here today and gone tomorrow. God is who gives us breath and life. He blesses us with each day.
Yes, we can find a multitude of things to complain about. However, God is still worthy of our thanksgiving, praise and worship despite the suffering, hardship and difficulties we face in this life.
When we don’t give the Lord thanks, we are basically not acknowledging Him.
Are you giving thanks to God? If not, it’s never too late today.
His Eternal Well
“And he must needs go through Samaria.” John 4:4
This verse jumped off the page recently. I thought about how Jesus went out of his way to meet the Samaritan woman.
Samaritans were mixed; half Jewish and half Gentile. The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans, they were rejected. So, not only was Jesus going out of his way to meet a Samaritan, but he was also going to meet a woman. And not just any ole woman either.
Image: “Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Martha at Bethany” by J.J. Tissot – Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/13433
In verse six, we see Jesus is weary from his journey and sits on Jacob’s well. When the Samaritan woman appears to get water.
In verse seven, Jesus asks her for a drink.
She responds in verse nine, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”
He responds to her in verse ten, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
He goes on to say in verses thirteen and fourteen, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
She asks him for some of this water. And then the zinger comes in verse sixteen when he says, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither.”
She stops dead in her tracks and tells him she has no husband.
He responds by saying she’s correct, that she has had five husbands and the one she is with now isn’t her husband either.
I chuckled at verse nineteen, when she tells Jesus, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.”
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I absolutely love the fact that Jesus didn’t allow the customs or prejudices of that time stop him from changing His course to go speak to her. It was a divine appointment. He didn’t judge or shame her. He basically let her know that these men she keeps sleeping with aren’t going to satisfy her. They aren’t going to be able to nullify the emptiness or fill the void she feels with sex. Jesus knew her pain and made it a point to go out of His way to help her; a Samaritan, woman and prostitute.
The religious folk couldn’t understand Him. They judged him for talking to sinners like her. But it didn’t matter what they said to Him or accused Him of, He knew her heart and He wanted her to know that He is what she’s searching for.
Today many are thirsting and trying to fill their void without Jesus. They are rejecting God which is why things are getting worse in our country and around the world. The more society shakes their first at God and rejects His Son Jesus Christ, the worst things will get.
Like the Samaritan woman, He comes to all of us offering living water, the question is will we drink from His eternal well?
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