The woman at the Well

One of my favorite encounters with Jesus in scripture is in John 4 when He meets the Samaritan woman at the well. For one of many reasons: 1) I would have been her apart from the work of the living water of Jesus in my own soul. In fact I really was just like her in so many ways looking for a man to fill me and determine my worth. Had Jesus not saved me from myself and also had I not cooperated with Him to be free...I'm convinced that I would be on my 5th husband by now give or take a few but would have been one big relational disaster of a train wreck. 2) I've coined the phrase: the

Woman at the well syndrome... When I see myself or others who have looked or are looking for love in all the wrong places, only to come up thirsty still 3) I am a woman. She was considered unclean to the Jews because she was a Samaritan. Samaritans were despised because when the 10 tribes of Israel were taken captive to Assyria, the Israelites intermarried with their great enemies and thus were despised because of the evil Assyrians and their wicked idolatry. And she was an outcast however Jesus met her in her sin. I'm so sure she felt branded like she wore a scarlet letter but tried to at least wear it well, living up to her reputation as it was all she knew. I wonder if she thought she was just meeting the next man she could move onto? 4) I love how Jesus probes and cuts straight to the heart of the matter with her, being the great Soul-ologist that He is! He speaks to this Samaritan who is a woman, He exposes her sin yet doesn't condemn her but clearly gives her dignity. When we face God over our sin, He clothes us with robes of righteousness and removes our filthy garments...we can't face man, without facing Him first, and walk away with a shred of dignity. 5) she like us can't cut the bull with Jesus. He told her everything she'd ever done! By having our sin exposed to the light we can receive forgiveness for our sins and repentance. Shame is satans game. Jesus doesn't shame us. He shows us our need and offers salvation found only in Him. There is something so freeing that we can't keep it to ourselves after encountering Him. Especially, if we realize the quarry from which we have been hewn and how destitute we are in are wandering. How thirsty we've been searching for something or someone or anything that will fill us up, but never being satisfied. We sometimes think that maybe this is it...this is the thing that's going to do it for us and by the time we are in deep we realize we've wreaked even more havoc on ourselves and are as empty as ever. 

I love though that He is still the lifter of our heads. I wonder if she was able to look Him in the eyes? However, she met the Messiah at that well and I wish I could go into the geographical part of it and this not be even longer ;). He was tired and thirsty with the physical limitations of an earthly tent. He was still fully God but fully man. He was tempted in every stinking way that we are yet was without sin. Yet He pursued her and pursues us still. He meets us in our sin and great need. I'd like to suggest something to those of you with unrealistic expectations of men. Jesus is the Rider on the White Horse not your man or the man you think you are looking for. Drop some of your expectations that are so lofty and put them in Christ. No one can be Jesus to you but Jesus. Let others off the hook and I'm not talking about settling or abuse but only Jesus ruling from the seat of your emotions. He will not share His glory with another. 

Finally, I love that where the spirit of The Lord is there is liberty. She faced Him and was able to run and tell others because of the freedom of knowing someone knows you fully, forgives you, loves you unabashedly, and longs for you to come to Him. 

Jesus knows me this I love! 

Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts

 This would take teaching or a blog post but I was reading this morning about all of the evil of King Manasseh and how King Josiah comes out of the evil dark tyranny that had reined and starts issuing reforms and ridding the nation of it's idolatry and how the book of the law is found and there is reform and some stability under the reign of Josiah. However, he dies and so the story goes. The people of God are taken captive and return to their evil idolatry. I'd like to suggest a few things: 1) a nation like America doesn't look to a president for moral stability. Don't expect change if you aren't going to change from within. We must seek His Face Only and as people decline morally so does that nation. 2) If you have long standing addictions or idols, removing them from your life outwardly still doesn't change the inside. We must have The Lord eradicate the yeast that leavens the whole batch of doe. To the porn addict, removing the tv and computer won't retrain your heart and mind, it won't solve your problem even though you've taken steps. You must replace the old with the new and with any sin or addiction ruling over you...if you stay running around a proverbial pit of I will not see, I will not taste, I will not touch, you will jump back in the pit of whatever or just find a new one. 3) change or transformation takes place over time and following after Christ. Not just focusing on what you aren't supposed to do. The law can't save only the blood of Christ and being washed by the water of His word. We are made clean positionally in Christ but I'd like to suggest that we have to continually be washed by the water of the word.  Not unto salvation but for purity. Until we taste and see that He is good we won't know what we are missing and will be more and more conformed to this world and may have gained some temporary victory but nothing lasting. None of us come to Christ and get it together. We assume we are supposed to and it's to our own detriment. The Lord doesn't need us to play fake it til we make it. We aren't fooling Him. We can only pose so long and be good at it before we are the dog returning to his vomit. Jeremiah had desires for love and a mate and those were never met this side of eternity but the desires didn't go away either. He had to make choices and trust the One who is able to keep us from falling and present us without spot or blemish. I have my own struggles and temptations and carnal desires and even today I have to make a choice to say no to the flesh and yes to obedience. Satan will lie like a dog to you and me and make us doubt Gods goodness and we too will question at times if He is just holding out on us or justify our own sin. That's why we must be hearers and doers because that lie will be whispered and sometimes shouted at us but departing from Gods path has always meant suffering harm. If we suffer it's not to be for doing evil. We are to be good soldiers and not get entangled in civilian affairs. I have been the biggest fool ever to my shame and yet God calls and woos us to come to Him. To bring the heavy weight of sin and to return. Change has to come from the inside out. Not just outward manifestations that produce nothing. We must bring words with our repentance and have faith with deeds. His word is the only thing that's ever held my attention or freed me from myself. There are none like Him, I know not one.

Don't ever forget

Please don't ever ever for one second forget that as far as your fleshly desires, satan promises much and delivers so little. He has no heart and is out to destroy you. Don't forget it. He will kiss you on one cheek and then betray you. Always!!! You can take it to the bank. Gods word and His ways can be trusted. Anyone who has ever gone their own way and yet loves God will testify to this. The enemy has a plan for you and so does Christ. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in this world. This world and all that is in it and the lust of the flesh will all pass away but His word stands firm, fixed in the heavens and will never pass away. Gen 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."

He never grows tired or weary

It's so freeing to know that while we may wear others out or at times feel so needy... that we can go to the One who never grows tired or weary. We are never to needy for Him. In our finite minds we can't comprehend how One can be so vast and need nothing and no one to sustain Him...and be so attentive to each one of us at the same time. Oh the depths of the riches and knowledge of God how unsearchable are His ways...they are beyond tracing out. I'm so glad that I worship and serve a God that can't be explained away and yet He is so real and evident. Please hear it from one who knows. Don't spill what is so precious to you or your self so cheaply before people who can't fill you or redeem you or even begin to understand you. Get before Him and cry and groan and let His spirit intercede when you don't even have the words to pray.  I'll say it again: You'll never be to needy for Him. Most likely you will walk away full and not depleted. Confess, cry, repent, and return. 

"indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. (Psalm 121:4-6 NIV)

Self-centeredness

One thing I've noticed about our human inclination is how some people are so focused on what someone else wasn't to them, and live in the past carrying around dead bones and yet they are also usually the ones that don't recognize what's in front of them or just how blessed they really are. I mean how long do you live in the past and let it rob you of current or future blessing? It's also very narcissistic as far as being so centered on yourself, and as long as you are looking to the well of human flesh and blood to fill you...Newsflash: that well is dry in terms of deriving any lasting worth or confidence.  You can only build someone up so much and you can't be Jesus to them. You can't maintain someone else's happiness or personhood or worth. And usually you will be discarded easily so guard your heart like proverbs 4:23 talks about. It's the word for guarding or tending to a garden. People that are so centered on themselves and the past or on who wasn't what to them can't have room enough in their hearts to care about others and usually are never satisfied. They are robbed of contentment and have nothing to give. It really is a thief like Unforgiveness when we won't look to The Lord to deal with our past or present. 

Psalm 105:4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.