"Living Water"

  "He the believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38 KJV)

  "In that day you will sing: "I praise you, O LORD! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory." With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!" (Isaiah 13:1-3 NLT)

 Something I was thinking about this morning, as I was preparing for this post: There is nothing on this earth that can replace the peace and the joy that comes from knowing that I am saved! I believed it then, and I still believe it now; as much as I feel the pressure of living in this world, even the worst situations this world might place upon me, nothing can take my salvation from me, absolutely nothing! 

 I know some people that have suffered through certain tragedy and have stopped believing as they should. They might still profess to be a Christan, but they stay away from church, do not share anything about the goodness of God, and act as if God hates them. They do not celebrate the victory of the cross, because they did not have victory over the tragedy they went through. 

 Talking to them, I was being as sincere as I could, saying, "If not for the eternal salvation that I hold onto so dearly, this life I am living would not be worth anything at all. But because there is more to come, that is so much better than this, I suffer less, because of what I am looking forward to live, being with Jesus." It was not all that convincing, but I prayed it would somehow take root and grow in their heart. 

 I believe that somehow God is working in this, somewhat strange and sad situation. I might not have my prayers answered for healing, but I can still see God working from time to time; and if I can see anything happening, imagine all the things that are happening that I don't see! We must never give in to the suffering of this world, because this is no longer our home; our home is now with Jesus, and that is the place we need to be focused upon and sharing about; letting that reality shine within us! 

 Anywho, this is something we need to pay attention to, because this is a choice that we make within our hearts: Will I choose to celebrate what the Lord has done, or will I act as if I am still waiting for Him to do something? The choice is all yours...

"For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." (Philippians 3:18-21 NLT)