JESUS PROMISES WELLS OF WATER

      “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water.” John 4:14

     From Oswald Chamber’s Devotions for MORNING AND EVENING:

     September 7^th “The picture Our Lord gives is not that of a channel but a fountain. "be being filled," and sweetness of vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of the saint as lavishly as it is imparted to him. 

If you find your life is not flowing out as it should, you are to blame; something has obstructed the flow. 

Keep right at the Source, and—you will be blessed personally? 

No, out of you will flow rivers of living water, irrepressible life.

We are to be centers through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to everyone. 

Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out, because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus. 

As surely as we receive from Him, He will pour out through us, and in the measure He is not pouring out, there is a defect in our relationship to Him. 

Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? 

Is there anything that hinders your belief in Him? 

If not, Jesus, says, "out of you will flow rivers of living water."

It is not a blessing passed on, not an experience stated, but a river continually flowing. 



Keep at the Source, guard well your belief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no deadness.

Is it not too extravagant to say that out of an individual believer rivers are going to flow?

'I do not see the rivers,' you say. Never look at yourself from the standpoint of—Who am I? 

In the history of God’s work you will nearly always find that it has started from the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but the steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.” (pg 518)

    

“When we get serious about drawing upon God’s power, remarkable things will happen. 

Even if we grow listless and lukewarm, still Christ says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come and eat with him, and he with me….He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”    Rev. 3:20, 22 (pg 103)

“The one mark of a saint is the moral originality which springs from abandonment to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing wellspring of original life all the time; the Spirit of God is a well of water springing up, perennially fresh.

The saint realizes that it is God Who engineers circumstances, consequently there is no whine, but a reckless abandon to Jesus.

This should help us understand better the “well of water” that’s promised by Christ, and to desire it!

Jean's devotional book:  http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Plan-Marry-Man/dp/0984765530/

Tomorrow's post:  THE COLLISION OF GOD AND SIN

THE ROAD GETS ROUGH... # 8 IN JEAN'S BOOK

The road gets rough when two wills meet

As each one wants his way.

It's hoped that God's plan they will seek

And His Word they'll obey.

Our God through Christ does understand

What we are going through.

You'll find it's true He was a man

And walked in flesh like you.

This Jesus knows that you are there.

He'll hear your every cry.

He has a heart that's full of care

To answer every "Why?"

God's promises we are to find

Are true and what will last.

We are to learn that He is kind

But waits for us to ask.

As you pour out your heart to Him

And read His Holy Word,

Allow His Spirit to come in

So His voice can be heard.

Through faith in Christ God leads us on

To show the way to go.

For we have found that God's Own Son

can see us here below.

Father, help us learn Your ways for our marriage.

Amen. 

"Forgive a lot.

Forget even more."

Debbie Banks

jowildflowers@gmail.com  http://www.jean-oathout.blogspot.com

Jean's devotional book for brides/brides to be:  http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Plan-Marry-Man/dp/0984765530/

Tonight's post:  JESUS PROMISES WELLS OF WATER

JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES FEET *

         “ It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests, most of whom clamor for a glimpse of the Teacher. The spring sun is warm. The streets are dry. And the disciples are a long way from home. A splash of cool water would be refreshing.

          The disciples enter [the room], one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not one does.

 

          After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes his outer garment. He wraps a servant’s girdle around his waist, takes up the basin, and kneels before one of the disciples. He unlaces a sandal and gently lifts the foot and places it in the basin, covers it with water, and begins to bathe it. One by one, one grimy foot after another, Jesus works his way down the row.

          In Jesus’ day the washing of feet was a task reserved not just for servants but for the lowest of servants…The servant at the bottom of the totem pole was expected to be the one on his knees with the towel and basin.

          In this case the one with the towel and basin is the king of the universe. Hands that shaped the stars now wash away filth. Fingers that formed mountains now massage toes. And the one before whom all nations will one day kneel now kneels before his disciples. Hours before his own death, Jesus’ concern is singular. He wants his disciples to know how much he loves them...

          You can be sure Jesus knows the future of these feet he is washing. These twenty-four feet will not spend the next day following their master, defending his cause. These feet will dash for cover at the flash of a Roman sword. Only one pair of feet won’t abandon him in the garden. One disciple won’t desert him at Gethsemane—Judas won’t even make it that far! He will abandon Jesus that very night at the table…

          What a passionate moment when Jesus silently lifts the feet of his betrayer and washes them in the basin!

          Jesus knows what these men are about to do. He knows they are about to perform the vilest act of their lives. By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, he wants them to remember how his knees knelt before them and he washed their feet…

          He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.

 From “This is Love: The Extraordinary Story of Jesus”

Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2009) Max Lucado

Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com 

                     “Jesus, Knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.”

Tonight’s post:  JESUS PROMISES WELLS OF WATER

jowildflowers@gmail.com   http://www.jean-oathout.blogspot.com

Jean’s book:  http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Plan-Marry-Man/dp/0984765530/

Tomorrow’s post: THE COLLISION OF GOD AND SIN

BE STILL AND KNOW

 

    Sharon Jaynes shares with us,  "I pressed the send button on my latest manuscript, What God Really Thinks about Women. 

     For twelve months I had spent night and day with Jesus and the women he encountered while he walked the earth.

      I was going to miss them. Miss walking in their sandals. Miss breathing their air. Miss crying their tears. Miss carrying their water jugs. 

     And while I wasn’t going to be in their lives and in their business every day, their imagined faces were etched in my mind and they had become part of me for eternity. But it was time to move on.

      I grabbed a cup of coffee, snuggled up in my favorite overstuffed den chair, and opened my Bible in my lap. ‘OK, God,’ I began, ‘that project is finished and tied securely with a bow. So what do you want me to do now?’

      I wondered if I should get into a Bible study group, take a class at the local seminary, or finally write those magazine articles I had been putting off.

      Should I start a small group, volunteer at a charity, or start a new book project? I asked the question and waited.

      God surprised me. Acts 17:28 came to my mind. I believed He put it there. In him we live and move and have our being.

      Learn what that means, He seemed to say. Let’s just spend time together. No agenda. No goal. No deadlines. I want to rekindle the romance. Will you let me?

      His answer startled me. I hadn’t even realized the fire had died down. Wasn’t I working for Him? Wasn’t I doing God’s will? Wasn’t I busy about my Father’s business? 

     And then I began to see what He meant. He began turning the lens of my mind’s camera and the fuzzy image grew clear. I wondered how I had missed it before. 

     In the middle of all my busyness for God, I had neglected my relationship with God.

      I was made for goals, or so I thought. Sitting still wasn’t in my nature, and perhaps that was what God was trying to tell me.

     My ‘nature’ or natural bent of work was standing in the way of worship. 

     My natural bent of activity for God was getting in the way of my communion with God. My daily routine of sanctioned quiet times was getting in the way of divine romance in which He wanted me to engage.

      Like the men caught on the stormy Sea of Galilee, I felt I had been reeling in the waves for years – never in danger of truly sinking – just reeling from one rolling wave of work and deadlines to the next.

      But on this particular morning, I began to see the cast of characters in this Galilean scene in a different light. I was definitely in the scene, but I wasn’t in the boat at all.

      I was the storm.

      I love how Eugene Peterson describes Jesus’ words to the wind and the waves as his friend stirred him from his sleep to calm the squall: 'Quiet! Settle down! The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass.' (Mark 4:39  MSG).

      What does God really want from me? I’ve pondered that question since the day I first came to Christ. 

      It was one of the two questions Saul asked when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus: "Who are you? What shall I do?" (Acts 22:8, 10).

      I think I’ve made my relationship with Jesus far too difficult. I have spent so much time striving to get closer to the heart of God. And all the while God has been whispering to me, "Cease striving and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10 NASB). ‘It’s not that hard. Settle down. Be quiet.’

      And that is what Jesus was telling me that frosty January morning. 

      But I realized I didn’t really know how to be quiet and settle down. I had never mastered the idea of ‘be still and know.’ I knew that God was God. It was the "be still" part that stumped me every time.

      Now don’t get me wrong. I can be still for a few minutes, maybe even an hour if need be. But much longer than that and I’m undone. 

     Restless spirit syndrome begins to shake my soul, and the urge to get up and get moving wrestles me from worship.

      So on this January morning, as I share this with you, I’m asking…will you be still and know that He is God with me? For a moment?

        

Let’s Pray

      Dear Lord, Help me to learn what it means to live and move and have my being in You. Thank You for a New Year. I am excited to see what You have in store.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.”

Sharon Jaynes on Crosswalk.com   www.girlfriendsingod.com

     (Acts 17:28 NIV)“In him we live and move and have our being.”    

   (Matt. 116:7 AMP)“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”   

   (Is. 30:15 AMP)“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning {to Me} and resting {in Me} you shall be saved; in quietness and in {trusting} confidence shall be your strength…”   

Ps. 46:10  "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Jean's devotional book: So You Plan to Marry a Man  (my book with new title and cover for women contemplating marriage):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1938499999/ Link to Granny’s Guide to Marriage in Verse 

Tomorrow's post:    JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES FEET

DOING WHAT'S DIFFICULT

          

  The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.   (Acts 10:22-23 a)

"As I read our passage today, I thought about how hard it would be for these men of Cornelius to travel to Joppa, seek out Peter who was staying in Simon's house (it must have taken some time to find the right house), then tell Peter the story of the angel who had given Cornelius his direction. I'm sure they had no idea how Peter was going to react.

The other night, as I got home from work, my daughter Amanda met me at the front door. She is usually really happy to see me, but this time I could tell something wasn't quite right. I asked her what was wrong and as she looked down at the floor—with big alligator tears in her eyes she proceeded to tell me in great detail how she had disobeyed her mother.

So here is my little girl standing before me (and because I'm her dad you know that inside I am complete must)—but I gathered myself enough to ask her a few questions and talk with her about what she had done wrong before I grabbed her and hugged her tight (I love that little kid so very much). I then asked her if she had apologized to her mother. Amanda ran up to her mother, but before she apologized—she looked her mother in the eye and said with great emotion, ‘See, I told him!’ I'm sure you can imagine what a difficult afternoon Amanda had that day as she counted down the hours and minutes to when I would enter the front door and she would have to say the words she didn't want to say—then wait for my reaction.

Questions to Ponder:

Has God given you a mission you are reluctant to complete? What are you afraid of—ridicule, embarrassment, persecution? Have you ‘wronged’ someone recently, yet instead of asking for forgiveness you have found ways to avoid the person? The Spirit speaks to us all of the time — what are you avoiding? Rather than carry around with you the burden of some unfinished task — wouldn't it be nice to instead be able to say like Amanda, ‘See, I told him!’ What do you need to do today to complete what God has given you to do?

New Testament League   www.ptl.org

            “Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding….Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.”   (Prov. 4:5-7, 13, NKJV)

Tonight’s post:  BE STILL AND KNOW

Tomorrow’s post: JESUS WASHES THE DISCIPLES FEET

RECONCILIATION AND RESTORATION CONTINUES +

Letter from Benny Hinn:

It all began at Christmas when we were together at Suzanne's house in Orlando, Florida. Suzanne and I and all of our children and grandchildren were there. It was a beautiful day I will never forget, and that is when the Lord began to do His mighty work.


Suzanne and I want to thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for praying for us and our family. The Lord has surely answered your prayers! Suzanne and I are more in love with each other than ever before.


The covenant we made with God more than 30 years ago was never broken in His sight. Both of us believe our greatest days are ahead and the best is yet to come.


The last three years have been very painful for Suzanne and me and for the children—more painful than we can ever explain or describe. Suzanne and I will share much more with you in a future letter and soon on This Is Your Day. Please be watching next Thursday and Friday, June 7–8.


Our marriage died for two reasons. One, I, Benny Hinn, was married to the ministry, not realizing it was killing my marriage. And two, Suzanne became dependant on certain prescription medications that made her behave erratically at times. As her husband, I did not know what kinds of medicine she was taking or realize what they were doing to her.


The truth of the matter is that Suzanne filed for divorce because she was crying out for help. The divorce most certainly woke me up, and the Lord used it to show me—as a man of God and as a man—that I cannot function properly without my wife and family.


Not only did our family suffer as a result, but the ministry also suffered greatly. Many partners walked away, not realizing or knowing what took place and why. But I believe that the Lord is restoring not just my family but also the ministry.


I need you as my partner today more than ever. And I promise you I will continue to preach the Gospel with all my heart and with Suzanne at my side. She and I will travel the world together, ministering the Gospel and the power of God. And we both believe that God will not only save lives and heal bodies but will also heal families. God is no respecter of persons, and if He did it for us, He will do it for others.


Because of our experience, God will do more with us in the future.


I need to hear from you today. Again thank you, from the depths of our hearts, for your prayers and financial support. And I'm asking you again today to help Suzanne and me to continue serving the Lord as we must. We have many crusades planned oversees and in the U.S., and we must keep the ministry strong through television, crusades, and helping the needy around the world.


I await your response today and pray the Lord will bless you and keep you as the apple of His eye, hiding you under the shadow of His wings, meeting all your needs—spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially—and blessing your family and home, bringing glory to His name,



Benny Hinn
Click here to send Pastor Benny and his family your prayers and words of encouragement.
DONATE NOW & send your prayer requests.
Send your prayer requests.


jowildflowers@gmail.com  http://www.jean-oathout.blogspot.com 


Jean's devotional book:  http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Plan-Marry-Man/dp/0984765530/

Tonight's post:  FUELED BY THE SPIRIT

WHEN THE JOURNEY GETS TOUGH

        
Dave Branon shares with us, “In August 2009, Blair and Ronna Martin lost their energetic 9-year-old son Matti when he was dragged to his death by a family cow.

I had a chance to meet this Kenai, Alaska, family and share in their grief.

And I know how tough this tragedy has been for them.

I also know that they are seeking God’s care and comfort for their pain.

An observation made by Batti’s mom is valuable for anyone walking through one of life’s valleys.

During one of her down times, Ronna was reading 2 Corinthians 1:9, which says that “we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”

She felt as if Jesus were telling her, ‘Ronna, I know the journey has been too much for you, and you are bone-weary.

Do not be ashamed of your exhaustion. Instead, see it as an opportunity for Me to take charge your life.’

When the journey gets too tough to navigate, 2 Corinthians 1:9 is a reminder to us that we don’t travel alone.

We have the help of the One who showed us His power in the resurrection, and who will demonstrate His power again when He rises believing loved ones of all generations to eternal life.

‘My strength and my hope have to be in Christ alone,’ Ronna said.

That’s a truth we all need as we travel the journey God has for us."
 

"When life’s journey gets so difficult
That it feels too much to bear,
Just remember, we don’t walk alone—
Our almighty God is there—Sper

The storms of life remind us to take shelter
in the loving arms of our Savior."

                           >INSIGHT<

"Paul describes the deliverance of God in a way that sounds
repetitive. In 2 Corinthians 1:10, we read that God is the one “who
delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we
trust that He will still deliver us.”

The Greek word translated deliver means ‘to draw to one’s self, to rescue.’ Here, Paul uses the word in the past, present, and future tenses. He had seen how God provided deliverance in the past and could see His deliverance in the present.

This gave him confidence that God would continue to provide rescue in the future.”

OUR DAILY BREAD   (4/13/12)

“We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us.

As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom.

And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.” 2 Cor. 1:8-11, MSG

Tonight’s post: FUELED BY THE SPIRIT

Tomorrow’s post: DOING WHAT'S DIFFICULT