Thirst Be Gone!

 

 

On average, I drink at least four 24 ounce bottles of water a day. Most of us, if not all, can turn on the faucet and pure, clean water will come out. In a few seconds of change we can have this water hot or cold. If we're on the go, most buildings have a drinking fountain. If you sit down at a restaurant, typically they will give you an ice water to start for no fee. If you go through a drive through you can have a free water with your order. So basically everywhere you go you can have a drink of water with no hassle. Sure, some of you might have gone to the beach on a hot day and forgot your water bottle, but most likely you did not get dehydrated. As Americans we have it pretty good when it comes to having water readily available. You probably have never been thirsty for too long.

 

There is another type of "thirst" that we experience that water can not quench. In John 4, Jesus tells the woman at the well about "living water". In verses 13 and 14 Jesus explains this living water that He gives, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water 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.” Later in John 6:35 Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." And even again in John 7:37, "On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." So how do you keep from becoming spiritually parched? Just like your doctor would recommend you drinking water throughout the day we also need to be going to God throughout the day. We need to stay hydrated daily by reading His word, worshipping, and praying on a consistent basis. If you didn't have anything to drink for a few days you surely would be able to tell. Stay fueled in Him. Like Gatorade's slogan "Gatorade, is it in you?" Ask yourself, is the "living water in you?" If you're feeling thirsty today, go to the only one that can quench the thirst of your soul.

 

Some additional references: Psalms 107:9, Isaiah 58:11, Jeremiah 2:13, Matthew 25:46, John 7:38, Revelations 7:17

..................................................................................................................................................................

This week I will be traveling to Haiti, up in the mountains of Seguin, where my team and I will be building "rain catchers". In Haiti people experience real thirst daily. On average, Haitian women spend a forth of their lives walking to muddy, disease infested water holes. Please be keep me and my team in your prayers as we go to bring the Haitians water and the love of Christ. My lovely sister Evie will guest author next week's devotional. Talk to you in 2 weeks!

 

Love,

Kari

Get in the Game

 

 

If you play sports, or have in the past, you know that before a game/match/race it is critically important that you get focused. Many times athletes listen to music to get "pumped up" or "in the zone". If you have other things on your mind distracting you, your performance most likely will suffer. As Christians, many of us are often distracted by the things of this world. We often just live a lazy Christian life and don't spend time talking with God or reading His word. Just like your coach would hate it if you spent little time practicing your sport, preparing for your game, or even worse, went into the game and gave minimal effort, God also hates it. In the book of Revelations God speaks of His disgust for lukewarm living. Rev. 3:15-16 says, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth".

Even if you do not enjoy the rap music style, the song "Go Hard" has some powerful lyrics. Part of the first verse goes, "If you didn't know em would ya life look the same, Can they tell you value Jesus by the way you rep His name? Man, whats the point of living if I'm living for myself, Lord empty out my life before I put you on a shelf. So for God I go Hard, I don't want to die to tonight, there's too many people living who ain't hear about my Christ. Go Hard or Go Home. Lord use me up." So what can you do to "get in the game"? Like anything that is worth it, it takes sacrifice. It might mean that you give up your favorite t.v. show to spend time in His word. It might that you don't sleep in Sunday morning but get up early and go to church to worship, learn, and fellowship. It might mean that you give up shopping for a new outfit so that you can give more money to your church or a mission. It might mean that you sacrifice vacation and money to go on a missions trip this summer. It might mean that you get out of your comfort zone and witness to a friend you know who needs the Lord. In the book Crazy Love (which I highly recommend), Francis Chan writes "We should not be trying to find as much pleasure as possible in this life, because we believe that the best is yet to come. What we do in this life matters, and our lives should reflect our belief about where history is headed". Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Flowers, Chocolate, and Kisses...and the Ultimate Gift

Flowers, chocolate, and kisses are all amazing gifts that many of you will probably receive this week. These gifts make us feel special, loved, and maybe even “twitterpated” like in the movie Bambi. The owl describes this perception to Bambi, Thumper, and Flower as “You begin to get weak in the knees. Your heads in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it you’re walking on air.” As wonderful as these gifts might make us feel, the greatest gift of love was given to us many years ago.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus came to live on this earth, died on the cross, and rose from the grave to make a way for us to spend eternity in Heaven. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. This is not a gift we can earn. We can not work hard enough, be sweet enough, be pretty enough, sing beautifully enough...to acquire this salvation. As a matter of fact, none of us (Rom. 3:23-For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God) are good enough. He died for us despite anything, (yes ANYTHING) no matter how terrible, that you may have done. We might be able to put makeup on our secrets so the world doesn’t see it, but God sees right through. And He STILL loves us! So what do you have to do to get this free gift? Romans 10:9 tells us, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior already, what is stopping you from doing that today? Confess your sins, accept the gifts of forgiveness, love, and eternal life in Heaven that only He can give.

God wants to complete us like no crush, boyfriend, or husband ever can. 1 John 4:16 tell us, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” Give God residence in your heart and let His love fill you. Ephesians 3:17-19 says, “Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.”

Heart of the Sparrow

In my opinion, birds are one of God’s most beautiful creations. Don’t get me wrong, if i were trapped in a room with an uncaged bird flying around my head, I’d probably freak! But there are also many situations when I really enjoy birds. I miss the days where I’d sit with my grandma (who’s now in heaven) by her big window that overlooked her feeders and would scramble through the “bird book” every time a new species flew in. I also love warm summer mornings when the windows are open and you awake to a chorus of birds chirping their lovely morning songs. It’s also fun to watch birds effortlessly fly overhead and wonder what it would be like to fly. Even one of my favorite necklaces I wore quite often in college was a golden flying bird.

In the Bible there are many verses about birds we can learn from. One type of bird -surprisingly not one of God’s beauty contest winners- a sparrow, is mentioned quite a few times. Matt. 10:29-31 says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” God’s eye is on the things we think are insignificant. From the life of every sparrow to the number of hairs on someone’s head, He is infinitely attuned to the details of His creation. If God is concerned about a little sparrow, how much greater must His concern be for you, who is immeasurably greater than a sparrow. Sometimes we feel like the “sparrow alone” in Psalm 102:7, like no one understands the hurt we are feeling. God does. Psalm 44:21 says, “For He knows the secrets of the heart”. Find comfort and refuge in Him like the sparrow, in Psalm 84:3-4, that made her nest in the safety of His house. Look at Matthew 6:25-34. God does not want us to worry about our life. Again, God brings up the birds of the air that He feeds and asks us a question we already know the answer to, “are you not much more valuable than they?” Give God your worries, your concerns, your thoughts, and your heart.

A song my grandma used to sing to me when I was a little girl and still brings me so much comfort is, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. The story behind the song is very inspirational. The songwriter, Civilla Martin, tells of a visit to the Doolittles in 1904. Deeply impressed by the joyful spirit that the Doolittles maintained in spite of severe adversity, Mrs. Martin asked the woman if she ever got discouraged because of the her physical condition. Her friend responded quickly saying, “Mrs. Martin, how can I be discouraged when my heavenly Father watches over each little sparrow and I know He loves and cares for me.”