I Could Sure Use A Drink!

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water that I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
(John 4:13-14)

Who Could Use A Drink?
Have any of you felt like the Samaritan woman at the well? Maybe you don't have five ex-spouses and are currently living in sin, but maybe you have found yourself in circumstances that were not, shall we say, "ideal." Maybe you are in a tough situation at work, having trouble with your marriage or your children, or simply feeling distant from God. Have you ever felt that way? Just feeling empty. We all feel that way at times, don't we? Maybe you are feeling that way right now.

The Samaritan woman was someone who really needed a drink of living water. She jumped right on the offer Jesus made her. It may have sounded unbelievable, but she was at a low place in her life where she was ready to believe. She wanted to believe. The offer of eternal life in this passage, however, is not reserved for the down and out. For those who have hit rock bottom. Sometimes people who are running on empty and most in need of living water are those who from the outside, seem to be full. Do you know people like that? From the outside, they look like they have it all. A six-figure income, great job, attractive spouse, good health, and a beautiful home. If you pay close attention, however, people who seem to "have it all" are not always happy people. In fact, despite the ostentatious exterior, many well-to-do people are as desperate as the Samaritan woman at the well. If they knew Jesus, they would implore him, "Give me this water so that I won't get thirsty again!" with the same fervor as the Samaritan woman.

Everyone who seeks satisfaction from things of the world will be thirsty again. Whether they seek satisfaction through relationships, alcohol, risk-taking behavior, achievements, or by becoming workaholics, they will never be satisfied. Why go through all of that trouble when Jesus reminds us that "Those who drink the water I give them will never thirst" - how simple is that! Drinking the water Jesus gives you "will become . . . a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Don't wait until you fall upon desperate circumstances to ask Jesus for living water. Ask Him today! He is waiting to hear from you, and can do immeasurably more for you than you could ever ask or imagine! (Eph. 3:20)

Lord, please give me your living water so I will not thirst. Please remind me to keep my eyes on you and not seek satisfaction from the world or from worldly desires. Please remind me that through my faith in you I can receive satisfaction far above and beyond anything I ever imagined in this world. Only you can make me truly full so that I will not thirst. In your name I pray.

~ With thanks to Brent McBurney, Director of Attorney Ministries, Christian Legal Society. This devotional was written by CLS Member, Wendy L. Patrick, J.D., M.Div.

Running on Empty

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water that I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
(John 4:13-14)

Whether we are talking about your stomach or the gas tank of your car, it is an uncomfortable feeling to be running on empty. The same is true with our spiritual comfort level. Are we living in the fullness of Christ's love, or are we running without fuel? Interestingly, the answer to this question can have little to do with your circumstances in life, your house, or your family, and everything to do with your relationship with Jesus Christ. We may be able to become "full" temporarily, but how long will we stay fulfilled?

That question is answered in a passage that has become a favorite for many Christians, the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. This woman meets Jesus Christ at the well when she is drawing water, and He makes her an offer that changes her life. And this passage provides a great illustration of the difference between satisfying ourselves with material things, like the well water in this story, or accepting Jesus' offer of eternal satisfaction, represented here by the offer of living water.

Many people today are just like the Samaritan woman; seeking temporary fullness, temporary satisfaction. Whether it's through entertainment, relationships, alcohol, your job, or through the pride of your accomplishments. Jesus offers us something much better. He promises us that we don't have to keep searching for satisfaction in the world. Our satisfaction results from keeping an eye on Him and His promises.

Lord, please inspire us to keep our eyes on you, and not become tempted by the things of the world. Let us remember that only you can make us full, and satisfied in this world. We ask that you show us that reality this day. In your name we pray.

~ With thanks to Brent McBurney, Director of Attorney Ministries, Christian Legal Society

Privacy as a Biblical Concept

Can the Bible teach us anything about the notion of privacy? The law has been concerned with privacy quite dramatically over the past century, wrestling with questions such as: What is privacy? When does private conduct receive public protection? How does the law regulate these?

American jurisprudence has indeed based many rulings on this notion of privacy, and has expanded it dramatically over that process. The Supreme Court of the United States has relied on privacy interests to rule in Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923), and Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925) in favor of parental rights; in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965) regarding martial privacy; in Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972) regarding contraceptives for unmarried individuals; in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), regarding abortion, and Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) regarding privacy for consensual sexual conduct in one’s own home.

Consider Genesis 3:8. Adam and Eve thought they could seek privacy. But is there any privacy from God? No, He is omniscient. There is nothing hidden from Him. He knows all, then and now. So is privacy a biblical concept? Consider Romans 1: 20- 2:1. God has kept nothing about Himself private, not even His wrath (v.20) but freely reveals all He is if we seek Him. Indeed, Paul notes in v.21 that God has made it all plain to us. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” And precisely because we are without excuse, true believers do act as set forth in Romans 1, and we simultaneously have no excuse to pass judgment (2:1). So why is privacy such a mystery to lawmakers? The Bible offers great insight into this mystery of privacy. Consider Psalm 25:4-14:

Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths, guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.

Remember, Lord, Your great mercy from and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways, according to Your love remember me, for You are good, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He instructs sinners in His way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant. For the sake of Your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity though it is great. Who then is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear Him. He makes His covenant known to them.

God knows all, even if we think we can keep something private from Him; furthermore, He desires for us to know Him, and wants to afford his protection, and blessings in our lives. Privacy is something to be guarded for good. And God wishes there to be no privacy between us and Him, for “the Lord confides in those who fear Him, He makes His covenant known to them.” (v.14). There is no privacy between God and those He loves – which is every one of us. The biblical concept of privacy reveals that He knows all, and desires for us to know all through Him. And through Him, we are free from any notion of privacy that might expand into a trap. “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare.” Psalm 25:15. Yes, privacy is a biblical concept – one that can be easily twisted by human nature, but freely reveals all knowledge of Him.

~ Prof. Lynne Marie Kohm, Regent University School of Law

Who is God?

Who is God, and what is He like? Some might argue that these are questions that we cannot really ever find answers to. Yet, as Christians, we know we have in the Bible God’s own narrative of his activities, with significant information about his nature and attributes. As with anyone, we should expect that one’s own description of oneself would be perhaps a most revealing indicator – especially for God, who does not lie. In other words, when in the Bible God tells us who He is, we can rely on that.

Moses needed to know who God was, and what He was like. God had told Moses (Exodus 33) to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. Moses didn’t even want to go unless God was going to come along, and God assured Moses that He would. But Moses needed a personal experience of understanding who this God was. He asked God, “Now show me your glory” (33:18). In response, God passed in front of Moses, while Moses hid in a cleft in the rock, and told Moses exactly who He is and what He is like:

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7)(NIV).

Aren’t we glad that this is what God is like? The very first thing He says about himself is that he is “compassionate” -- he is a loving God! And it is a good thing that He is “slow to anger,” because I think we probably would provoke Him to anger a lot if he weren’t. He is faithful, and forgiveness is His preferred response to our sin.

That is who God is, and what He is like. From his own mouth.

~ Dean Doug Cook, Regent University School of Law