Day 125 Bible Reading - John 4:34 (ESV)

Judges 2: 6-23, Judges 3, John 4: 27-42, Psalm 70

John 4:34 (ESV)

“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Verse 34 from John 4 is a teaching from Christ I wish I had. In this verse, Jesus is saying that doing the will of God and finishing the work is like eating food that satisfies him. When I first read this interpretation of this verse in a bible commentary, the first thing that came to mind was I never think of doing God’s will and completing the task as satisfying as food. Doing God’s will has always been a chore to me, something I know I have to do because of my faith and obedience to God. But it has rarely even been as satisfying as a good meal. I don’t get that kind of satisfaction. I think I feel a sense of relief that I was able to do God’s will, and maybe even a sense of pride in myself that I did it and finished it. But satisfying? Very rarely.

But I think I need to change my attitude about doing God’s will. My pastor preached this Sunday that we need to try to live our life as Christians and become more like Christ. If I want to be more like Christ, I think I need to try to find satisfaction in doing God’s will and completing whatever that task requires. I don’t think this is going to be an easy lift, but I’m willing to try. I will probably have to pretend that doing God’s will is as satisfying as food at first, until it does become satisfactory. I think I can at least start with doing 10 minutes of God’s will every day with the attitude that what I am doing is as satisfying as a good meal. It’s a small amount of time, but I think it’s a good start.

Day 124 Bible Reading - John 4: 13-14 (ESV)

Judges 1, Judges 2: 1-5, John 4: 1-26, Psalm 69: 29-36

John 4: 13-14 (ESV)

“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In verses 13 and 14 from John 4, we see Jesus talking to the woman he met at the well in Samaria. I love these verses where Jesus compares himself to water, and that what he had to teach and offer would give a person lasting satisfaction so they would never by thirsty again. The water from Jesus will also turn into a “spring of water” that will give the person eternal life. I love the image of the water of Jesus coming into a person and never running out. Or, perhaps there is water or light within us, and we just have to let Jesus into our hearts and he will open us up and find the light, the well of faith within us so we will never be without water or faith or light.

Other bible commentaries remind us that we as human try to satisfy our inner thirst through many things except what Jesus has to give us. Only the love and faith in Christ can ever satisfy our inner thirst to the deepest levels of our soul and spirit. And when we sometimes feel empty again, we just need to continually sip from God’s water by praying to him, reading his words in the bible, and feeling our inner connection with him. God’s water is always there for us and will never run out for those who believe in him.

Day 123 Bible Reading – John 3: 34 (ESV)

Joshua 23 and 24, John 3: 22-36, Psalm 69: 13-28

John 3: 34 (ESV)

“For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.”

Verse 34 from John 3 is what John the Baptist said about Jesus. Bible commentaries have said about this verse that John the Baptist is saying that Jesus has in himself the Holy Spirit without measure and that John was also speaking prophetically about the New Covenant which will come by the death of Jesus. This New Covenant will feature an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for those who are joined to Jesus. We will read about this outpouring of the Holy Spirit after the resurrection of Christ later on in the Book of Acts. The Bible commentaries also mention that in the Rabbinical books, the Holy Spirit was only given to the prophets by measure.

We are so fortunate that unlike the prophets in the Old Testament, the resurrection of Christ brings to us the Holy Spirit from God “without measure” which means we have the Holy Spirit in us all the time and as much as we need it. The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity which included God and Christ. The Holy Spirit is our helper, our bridge to God and Christ. The Holy Spirit enables me to hear the word of God when I read the Bible, and when I pray to God.

Day 122 Bible Reading – John 3: 5-6 (ESV)

Day 122 Bible Reading – John 3: 5-6 (ESV)

Joshua 21: 20-45, Joshua 22, John 3: 1-21, Psalm 69: 1-12

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

I like verses 5 and 6 from John 3, because I interpret this line as Jesus talking about baptism. When I joined the church I belong to currently, they strongly advised all new members to be baptized with water. I grew up Catholic and I was baptized as a child, something which I do not remember. I must admit I thought it was a little silly to be baptized again, but I agreed to it.

I am so grateful that I made the decision to be baptized. Getting baptized at my church is a huge event. Many people participate and the church members gather and applaud you afterwards when you come out of the water. I loved the whole experience, because I kept thinking of John the Baptist and how he baptized people. Agreeing to be baptized was also my choice and not something that was forced on me as a baby. There is something so primal in coming out of the water because when you are in your mother’s womb, you are floating in water. When you are physically born, you are pushed from womb where you were floating, happy, and fed and brought into world with a slap on your bottom usually.  You didn’t ask to come out, you were pushed out because it was time for you to be born. When you are baptized as an adult, you made the choice to come out of the water / womb and instead of a slap on the bottom you hear applause. My church has live music during the baptism, so there is music as well that you hear. I felt the spirit of God descend on me and feed me as soon as I came out of the water. I didn’t have to wait to be fed or cry because I needed a hug. Holy Spirit was there as soon as came out of the water to feed me and comfort me.

If you haven’t been baptized as an adult, I recommend the experience. It was amazing, primal, and so kinesthetic. All of your senses are engaged in a baptism in water as well as your heart and mind. My one tiny criticism is I wish I could have been baptized in a river or a natural body of water, because that would have felt so biblical. But how many churches are near a body of water? I was baptized in a pool of warm water, which at least created the womb feeling.

Get baptized! You will not regret it.