October 22 – Rivers of Living Water Flow

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet." Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. John 7:37-43

People get so hung up on details—but then God is in the details, so maybe it’s not so wrong to focus on the details. In this passage above some of the people knew that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem, but they didn’t do their research and didn’t know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He just grew up in Nazareth in the Galilean region. Details!

Are you thirsty? Spiritually thirsty? Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? That is just what Jesus is looking for in a person—someone who is seeking, who is truly desiring more in their life, who wants to believe in Him. I believe in Jesus as my Savior and have experienced that river of living water flowing from the innermost being of my soul. Once you have tasted that new life you want more. Trust me. No matter what you think you have to “give up” it is worth it to have Jesus Christ as your Messiah and to be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Read in the Book of Acts how Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for what the Father had promised, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then they would receive power and become witnesses for Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:4-8. Feast on those words. Red letter words that are encouraging even today. Keep reading in Acts for the details of what happened to the disciples.  

What does it mean to be a witness? Well with that river of life flowing out of you it is hard to keep the good news of Jesus quiet. You’ll want to tell everybody about Him…His miracles, His forgiveness, and His return someday to take all of His believers to Heaven. It is exciting to share Jesus with others—what an opportunity He has given us. Sometimes we get so caught up in the world, in being entertained and involved in our own stuff, that we get our eyes off our mission in life: our service to Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Focus.   

Dear Jesus, forgive me for my sins today and fill me anew with the Holy Spirit—that I would continually be a witness for You—in my home, my neighborhood, my community, and the world.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).