What would you like to drink?

“…for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 21:3

I have recently finished reading the major and minor prophets in the Bible. Their content is largely calling God’s people back to Him. They were written because God’s people had sinned; they had forsaken Him, the One who made them and loved them, and they were serving false gods, doing horrible deeds, and living for themselves.

I am struck by the fact that these messages constitute a significant and powerful section of the Old Testament. The prophets spoke with striking boldness! They did not dumb it down or translate God’s message in a way to appear friendly to the culture. They said what God said! They said it without compromise and they said it with powerful imagery. (As a teaching pastor, I pray that this would be true of the ministry God has given me.) God was trying to get the attention of those He loved. He wanted change!

The passage cited above is particularly descriptive. God offers living water. For many Bible readers, this passage in Jeremiah will bring to mind Jesus words in John 7:37-38. “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”Jesus

The reason much of the church in ineffective and unproductive today is because we are hewing out cisterns for ourselves. We are looking to men and organizations to find success, satisfaction, and power. But there is no living water.

If I find myself spiritually thirsty, or even emotionally thirsty, the only place of true satisfaction is in drinking from the fountain of living water. This is becoming more and more true in my life. Jesus really is all that satisfies.

Let’s spend time at His feet, abiding in His Word, and worshipping Him and loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

How have you experienced His living water in your life? What do you do to abide in His presence? Please feel welcomed to share in the comments section.

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