Water is a picture of the Spirit of Jesus working in us. He’s not working to save us, mind you; that work is done. He’s working to change us.
From John 7:37-38: “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.'”
Max Lucado (born 1955) is an American pastor and Christian author.
The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.
From Isaiah 9:6-7: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon His shoulders, and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Great will be His authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Jan L. Richardson (born 1967) is an American writer, artist, and ordained minister. Her reflections come from her Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas.
We are always looking for justice; the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is–Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
From Matthew 5:39-41: “But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher. Following his death from an illness while in Egypt during World War I, his wife took on the task of transcribing the detailed notes she had written from his lectures and sermons. Gertrude Hobbs Chambers’ efforts resulted in the publication in 1924 of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST. I frequently read from this devotional, and it has greatly deepened my faith and understanding of God’s Word.
An unschooled man who knows how to meditate upon the Lord has learned far more than the man with the highest education who does not know how to meditate.
From Psalm 77:12: “I will meditate on all your work and muse on your mighty deeds.”
Charles Stanley (1932-2023) was an American pastor and Christian writer. He was dedicated to leading a teaching ministry.
We shall not benefit from reading the Old Testament unless we look for and meditate on the glory of Christ in its pages.
From 2 Corinthians 3:9: “For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory!”
John Owen (1616-1683) was an English Puritan church leader and theologian.
The point of life was to press on, to do the best you can, to make the world a better place.
Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change.
Tom Clancy (1947-2013) was an American author who pioneered the techno-thriller genre.
Honor and good faith and justice are equally due from this country toward the weak as toward the strong.
Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character.
Henry Clay (1777-1852) was an American lawyer and statesman. He served in both houses of the American Congress. He spent his adult life in the state of Kentucky.
If you love Christ, never be ashamed to let others see it and know it. Speak for Him. Witness for Him. Live for Him.
From Isaiah 43:10: “You are My witnesses, says the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after Me.”
John Charles (J. C.) Ryle (1816-1900) was an Anglican bishop in the United Kingdom.
The following people were born in the State of Washington.
In every moment there is a reason to carry on. (From “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend'”)
I look in the mirror through the eyes of the child that was me. (From “Trust Your Heart”)
The time is right to mix sentences with dirt and the sun with punctuation and rain with verbs.
You are not alone, and your prayers won’t go unanswered. The answer will be time, gentle time.
From Ecclesiastes 3:1: “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.”
Raquel Franco is a Venezuelan-born poet who writes from her adopted state of Ohio in the United States.
Big Sky Buckeye 