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"Slogans that awakened the church: Everybody everywhere" by Howard Culbertson
"If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere.[Edward Lawlor, Nazarene General Superintendent]
Read More"Slogans that awakened the church: Everybody everywhere" by Howard Culbertson
"If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere."[Edward Lawlor, Nazarene General Superintendent]
Lawlor’s declaration about “everybody everywhere” evokes a bunch of Bible verses. For starters, it calls to mind the “whosoever” of John 3:16.
“Everybody everywhere” also reminds me of Romans 10:13-15: “For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?”
In that passage, the Apostle Paul’s progression from the prophet Joel’s words “everyone who calls” to his own logical question, “How can they hear?” is clear. Those rational, systematic steps which Paul took with Joel’s words need to taken with Lawlor’s words as well. If Lawlor was right and the Gospel is for everybody everywhere, then don’t we believers need to say, “Okay. How do we get the Good News to everybody everywhere?
Edward Lawlor’s walk certainly matched his talk. He was an untiring evangelist and church planter who had spent some time evangelizing among the indigenous peoples of Canada. He eventually became a Nazarene district superintendent and then was asked to form a denominational “Department of Evangelism.” In 1968 he was elected as a Nazarene General Superintendent which meant he had responsibilities for Nazarene outreach in several world areas.
"Slogans that awakened the church: Everybody everywhere" by Howard Culbertson
"If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere.[Edward Lawlor, Nazarene General Superintendent]
Read More"Slogans that awakened the church: Everybody everywhere" by Howard Culbertson
"If God's love is for anybody anywhere, it's for everybody everywhere."[Edward Lawlor, Nazarene General Superintendent]
Lawlor’s declaration about “everybody everywhere” evokes a bunch of Bible verses. For starters, it calls to mind the “whosoever” of John 3:16.
“Everybody everywhere” also reminds me of Romans 10:13-15: “For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?”
In that passage, the Apostle Paul’s progression from the prophet Joel’s words “everyone who calls” to his own logical question, “How can they hear?” is clear. Those rational, systematic steps which Paul took with Joel’s words need to taken with Lawlor’s words as well. If Lawlor was right and the Gospel is for everybody everywhere, then don’t we believers need to say, “Okay. How do we get the Good News to everybody everywhere?
Edward Lawlor’s walk certainly matched his talk. He was an untiring evangelist and church planter who had spent some time evangelizing among the indigenous peoples of Canada. He eventually became a Nazarene district superintendent and then was asked to form a denominational “Department of Evangelism.” In 1968 he was elected as a Nazarene General Superintendent which meant he had responsibilities for Nazarene outreach in several world areas.
Lawlor’s saying about the Gospel being for “everybody everywhere” evokes what pioneer Nazarene leader P.F. Bresee (photo left) had said about the time of Lawlor’s birth: “We are debtors to every man to give him the Gospel in the same measure in which we have received it.”
We must not nod in agreement with Lawlor’s saying and then turn around and excuse ourselves by saying, “Reaching people at the ends of the earth is not what I’m called to do. It is not my responsibility.” We must accept our Lord’s call to be involved in some way so that “everybody everywhere” can indeed hear the Good News.
"Mission poetry" by Ted Voigt
A missionary to Republic of Ireland uses his love for poetry and the arts to minister to people in the local community where his family moved in 2013.
Read MoreTed and Sarah Voigt are missionaries serving in the Republic of Ireland since January 2013. They are volunteer missionaries who are involved in their local neighborhood by helping to build community by reaching out through every day activities such as town clean-up events, assisting with local festivals and joining community groups. They also organize gatherings and trainings for parents, family members and their children through parent-and-toddler groups, first aid classes and parenting courses.
Ted shares a reflection on how he has found a place in the community through the arts.
I am a Poet.
I know because I have a bumper sticker on the back of my car that says I am a Poet.
I’m also a missionary.
I know because my town is my church, and my work is a series of volunteer positions.
The similarities between these two vocations are striking. Neither pays well, for example. Both are conversation killers when someone asks you what you do. But at their core, they are both essentially manifestations of creative communication.
When we came to Ireland three years ago, we weren’t coming in to an existing church. We had to find a place in the community where we fit, where our interests and passions could be put to use. For me, that has meant joining a writers group, helping with the arts festival, and teaching creative writing.
We must not nod in agreement with Lawlor’s saying and then turn around and excuse ourselves by saying, “Reaching people at the ends of the earth is not what I’m called to do. It is not my responsibility.” We must accept our Lord’s call to be involved in some way so that “everybody everywhere” can indeed hear the Good News.
"Mission poetry" by Ted Voigt
A missionary to Republic of Ireland uses his love for poetry and the arts to minister to people in the local community where his family moved in 2013.
Read MoreTed and Sarah Voigt are missionaries serving in the Republic of Ireland since January 2013. They are volunteer missionaries who are involved in their local neighborhood by helping to build community by reaching out through every day activities such as town clean-up events, assisting with local festivals and joining community groups. They also organize gatherings and trainings for parents, family members and their children through parent-and-toddler groups, first aid classes and parenting courses.
Ted shares a reflection on how he has found a place in the community through the arts.
I am a Poet.
I know because I have a bumper sticker on the back of my car that says I am a Poet.
I’m also a missionary.
I know because my town is my church, and my work is a series of volunteer positions.
The similarities between these two vocations are striking. Neither pays well, for example. Both are conversation killers when someone asks you what you do. But at their core, they are both essentially manifestations of creative communication.
When we came to Ireland three years ago, we weren’t coming in to an existing church. We had to find a place in the community where we fit, where our interests and passions could be put to use. For me, that has meant joining a writers group, helping with the arts festival, and teaching creative writing.
This week I will perform some of my poetry with my writers group at a local arts night. People will come to the Sailing Club, order a pint, and along with dancing and plenty of music, they will hear some of my work read aloud. There are people who only know me through my work as poet, and none of them would be surprised to learn of my work as missionary.
Poetry has the power to explore the eternal without frontiers and without prejudice. Art, I have found, can get people talking in ways nothing else can, and so my involvement in the arts in my town is integral to my work as missionary. Faith is not a topic of conversation on a daily basis, but it is the topic of poems, stories and songs, and those become the vehicle for sharing thoughts on faith.
We don’t broadcast the word missionary, we find it carries too much baggage. People have ideas about what a missionary is, and we seldom fit that box.
I like to say I’m a poet because no one seems to know quite what that means, and so I can become the definition of a working poet for them.
May we all as missionaries become for others a living, working and faithful definition of Christian.
"Learning Irish" by J. Ted Voigt
My daughter is learning Irish in school, and we thought
it would be nice if we learned some along with her.
And we had no idea what we were doing.
Irish is a beautiful language, unique and fascinating.
Music in Irish sounds somehow more musical.
Sport broadcasts in Irish sound more triumphant.
Even the train stops sound more filled with potential
When the automated voice on the Luas announces them
In Irish.
“an chead stad eile, Raghnallachd”
Yes please!
Oh, that just means I can get off in Ranelagh? never mind…
My first thought was to get a book
An Irish book
Something that would teach me Irish
While I was on holidays.
The Idiots Guide
But there’s no such thing.
There is no such book because that’s not how it works.
You can’t, I’ve been told now
Many times,
Learn Irish from a book.
Your accent would be diabolical
Someone actually said to me
Because as it turns out,
Irish is social.
You have to be taught
By a person
Even if it’s just one word at a time,
Here and there.
On the train.
In the shop.
I once learned the word for “elbow” while walking around in the woods.
Irish is shared, it’s practiced,
It takes time and patience and work
You have to want it, you can’t pick it up by accident.
It can’t simply be plucked from a shrub by the river
You cultivate Irish,
You turn the soil by hand
And then someone who speaks it
Must sow the seeds for you
And it reminds us that the things really worth learning can’t simply be googled;
Some knowledge has no wikipedia entry
No amount of youtube tutorials
Not even a book will do
It reminds us that that there is knowledge in each of us
Which we have to teach others,
The valuable things in life cannot be passed along easily
On the night before she started the naionra
As I packed my little girls very first lunchbox
I wanted to say I love you in Irish
But what I found
Of course
Rather than a translation
Was an article titled “Top Ten Irish phrases that mean “I love you”
And I closed the lap top
And I cut her jam sandwich
With a heart shaped cookie cutter
And hoped she’d get the idea.
"Vídeo: Cristo es mi protector" by Nazarene Stories
En México, un pastor vio que el abuso de sustancias estaba destruyendo familias, comunidades y bloqueando el progreso económico. Así que la iglesia comenzó el ministerio de rehabilitación. Ahí es donde Artemio, que había estado en rehabilitación 11 veces, finalmente encontró la libertad y la vida nueva.
Leer más
Read More
"Q&A: Missionary talks refugee crisis in Croatia" by Gina Grate Pottenger
"A woman had been traveling by herself with her 3-month-old. Her husband is still in Syria. I think of her every day: the kind of strength it would take for a woman to travel this far with just her baby and no husband. And yet, they press on."[Missionary Betsy Scott]
Read MoreHundreds of thousands of people fleeing the Middle East have trudged across southeastern Europe for weeks, buffeted by the rapidly changing policies and politics of various European governments, as they try to make their way to Germany or Austria.
When Hungary shut its border on the 15th, Croatia threw open its borders and welcomed the travelers with open arms.
In Croatia, resident Nazarene missionaries Dave and Betsy Scott, and Ashley Huber, now find themselves with an overwhelming, unexpected opportunity as so far 35,000 people have entered Croatia in the last week. According to Betsy, Croatian authorities estimate another 80,000 refugees are on their way. (Read more about the latest developments in this Eurasia Region Snapshot.)
Poetry has the power to explore the eternal without frontiers and without prejudice. Art, I have found, can get people talking in ways nothing else can, and so my involvement in the arts in my town is integral to my work as missionary. Faith is not a topic of conversation on a daily basis, but it is the topic of poems, stories and songs, and those become the vehicle for sharing thoughts on faith.
We don’t broadcast the word missionary, we find it carries too much baggage. People have ideas about what a missionary is, and we seldom fit that box.
I like to say I’m a poet because no one seems to know quite what that means, and so I can become the definition of a working poet for them.
May we all as missionaries become for others a living, working and faithful definition of Christian.
"Learning Irish" by J. Ted Voigt
My daughter is learning Irish in school, and we thought
it would be nice if we learned some along with her.
And we had no idea what we were doing.
Irish is a beautiful language, unique and fascinating.
Music in Irish sounds somehow more musical.
Sport broadcasts in Irish sound more triumphant.
Even the train stops sound more filled with potential
When the automated voice on the Luas announces them
In Irish.
“an chead stad eile, Raghnallachd”
Yes please!
Oh, that just means I can get off in Ranelagh? never mind…
My first thought was to get a book
An Irish book
Something that would teach me Irish
While I was on holidays.
The Idiots Guide
But there’s no such thing.
There is no such book because that’s not how it works.
You can’t, I’ve been told now
Many times,
Learn Irish from a book.
Your accent would be diabolical
Someone actually said to me
Because as it turns out,
Irish is social.
You have to be taught
By a person
Even if it’s just one word at a time,
Here and there.
On the train.
In the shop.
I once learned the word for “elbow” while walking around in the woods.
Irish is shared, it’s practiced,
It takes time and patience and work
You have to want it, you can’t pick it up by accident.
It can’t simply be plucked from a shrub by the river
You cultivate Irish,
You turn the soil by hand
And then someone who speaks it
Must sow the seeds for you
And it reminds us that the things really worth learning can’t simply be googled;
Some knowledge has no wikipedia entry
No amount of youtube tutorials
Not even a book will do
It reminds us that that there is knowledge in each of us
Which we have to teach others,
The valuable things in life cannot be passed along easily
On the night before she started the naionra
As I packed my little girls very first lunchbox
I wanted to say I love you in Irish
But what I found
Of course
Rather than a translation
Was an article titled “Top Ten Irish phrases that mean “I love you”
And I closed the lap top
And I cut her jam sandwich
With a heart shaped cookie cutter
And hoped she’d get the idea.
"Vídeo: Cristo es mi protector" by Nazarene Stories
En México, un pastor vio que el abuso de sustancias estaba destruyendo familias, comunidades y bloqueando el progreso económico. Así que la iglesia comenzó el ministerio de rehabilitación. Ahí es donde Artemio, que había estado en rehabilitación 11 veces, finalmente encontró la libertad y la vida nueva.
Leer más
"Video: Christ is my fortress" by Nazarene Stories
In Mexico, a pastor realized substance abuse was destroying families, communities and blocking economic progress. So the church began rehabilitation ministry. That's where Artemio, who had been to rehab 11 times, finally found freedom and new life.Read More
"Q&A: Missionary talks refugee crisis in Croatia" by Gina Grate Pottenger
"A woman had been traveling by herself with her 3-month-old. Her husband is still in Syria. I think of her every day: the kind of strength it would take for a woman to travel this far with just her baby and no husband. And yet, they press on."[Missionary Betsy Scott]
Read MoreHundreds of thousands of people fleeing the Middle East have trudged across southeastern Europe for weeks, buffeted by the rapidly changing policies and politics of various European governments, as they try to make their way to Germany or Austria.
When Hungary shut its border on the 15th, Croatia threw open its borders and welcomed the travelers with open arms.
In Croatia, resident Nazarene missionaries Dave and Betsy Scott, and Ashley Huber, now find themselves with an overwhelming, unexpected opportunity as so far 35,000 people have entered Croatia in the last week. According to Betsy, Croatian authorities estimate another 80,000 refugees are on their way. (Read more about the latest developments in this Eurasia Region Snapshot.)
On Monday, Betsy explained what their team in Zagreb have been doing and what the current situation is for the refugees in Croatia.
What have you been doing to respond to the refugees needs?
Betsy Scott: Such a variety of ways, from helping to coordinate mobilization in Zagreb and eastern Croatia, being proactive in partnering with people and learning the up-to-date needs on the ground. Just that alone has been a 24-hour job. We’ve also been able to help by
Betsy Scott: The stories and images shatter stereotypes. They are not pushy, but afraid, tired and exhausted. Maybe there are dangerous people in the mix, but I have to tell you, it didn’t matter, none of it mattered. My heart is completely broken. I’ve never seen such desperation, such heartache, such determination, such bravery, such sadness, never. They have walked over 1,200 km (750 miles) just from Greece to Zagreb, and many are families with really young children, ranging from 3 months old to teenagers.
We met a woman who had been traveling by herself with her 3-month-old. Her husband is still in Syria. She found security traveling with another family. We noticed that she needed shoes, and we were able to get her a stroller for her baby. I think of her every day: the kind of strength it would take for a woman to travel this far with just her baby and no husband. And yet, they press on.
What have you been doing to respond to the refugees needs?
Betsy Scott: Such a variety of ways, from helping to coordinate mobilization in Zagreb and eastern Croatia, being proactive in partnering with people and learning the up-to-date needs on the ground. Just that alone has been a 24-hour job. We’ve also been able to help by
- picking up trash
- helping shut down a refugee camp
- buying and delivering much needed tangible material things, like providing tents when there were only 10 tents for a group of 1000 people,
- helping set up a mobile Internet hot spot station for refugees to connect with their loved ones,
- buying hygiene products, baby food, food, water and other supplies.
Betsy Scott: The stories and images shatter stereotypes. They are not pushy, but afraid, tired and exhausted. Maybe there are dangerous people in the mix, but I have to tell you, it didn’t matter, none of it mattered. My heart is completely broken. I’ve never seen such desperation, such heartache, such determination, such bravery, such sadness, never. They have walked over 1,200 km (750 miles) just from Greece to Zagreb, and many are families with really young children, ranging from 3 months old to teenagers.
We met a woman who had been traveling by herself with her 3-month-old. Her husband is still in Syria. She found security traveling with another family. We noticed that she needed shoes, and we were able to get her a stroller for her baby. I think of her every day: the kind of strength it would take for a woman to travel this far with just her baby and no husband. And yet, they press on.
I wondered: What must their lives have been like for them to endure something like this, to put their family through this type of journey? They’ve endured such low living conditions, depended on food handouts; their children have sores, are sick, dehydrated, hungry, so exhausted … and yet, this life is better: They are safe.
One woman said she was disgusted by her own smell. Many are given water and food, but the truth is they need another level of care. They desperately need a shower and want to feel human again.
Many saw things they needed in front of them, but they didn’t ask for it. So we began to bring it directly to them, and then they would take it. They didn’t feel they could go to the table and ask for something, but when it was offered, they smiled gratefully and said “Thank you.”
Is there a standout visual memory of what you have seen this week that stays in your mind?
Betsy Scott: A group of men kicking around a soccer ball in the middle of the camp and passing it to volunteers and back. I realized then that we focus so much on providing the “level 1” basic needs – food and water – that we often overlook the soccer ball purchase that reminds them of who they are, what they love, where they’ve come from.
One man, Mohammed, asked if he could help us, and put on a yellow vest and began carrying crates and sorting things. In that moment, we didn’t have separation of “us and them” – of the giver and the taker; we were both helping, both caring. It was lovely.
What is the nation of Croatia or the city of Zagreb doing at the moment — political, civilian, nonprofits, Christians, etc.?
One woman said she was disgusted by her own smell. Many are given water and food, but the truth is they need another level of care. They desperately need a shower and want to feel human again.
Many saw things they needed in front of them, but they didn’t ask for it. So we began to bring it directly to them, and then they would take it. They didn’t feel they could go to the table and ask for something, but when it was offered, they smiled gratefully and said “Thank you.”
Is there a standout visual memory of what you have seen this week that stays in your mind?
Betsy Scott: A group of men kicking around a soccer ball in the middle of the camp and passing it to volunteers and back. I realized then that we focus so much on providing the “level 1” basic needs – food and water – that we often overlook the soccer ball purchase that reminds them of who they are, what they love, where they’ve come from.
One man, Mohammed, asked if he could help us, and put on a yellow vest and began carrying crates and sorting things. In that moment, we didn’t have separation of “us and them” – of the giver and the taker; we were both helping, both caring. It was lovely.
What is the nation of Croatia or the city of Zagreb doing at the moment — political, civilian, nonprofits, Christians, etc.?
Betsy Scott: At the moment, part of Zagreb doesn’t know refugees are on their doorstep (or that’s what it feels like when you’re in the city) and part of the city has dedicated their time and resources to helping people. Often, it has felt that these refugees are just game pieces in the bigger political picture: close the border here, open it there, don’t let them pass here, bus them there, put them in a camp there, go now – it’s open.
But, given the political tension, there are so many organizations working together. We have personally had the privilege to partner with local non-government organizations, Protestant churches, the Red Cross, friends and colleagues, and other missions organizations who have come to help, and keep coming, from Youth With a Mission to Intervarsity to others.
We have not just served with local Croatian entities, but also with Austrian, Hungarian and Slovenian volunteers, and the cooperation has been a beautiful thing.
The Red Cross has been a great way to partner with others. We knew right away we needed to register because many places were only allowing Red Cross volunteers to help. So Dave signed up and that first night worked with the director of the Red Cross in Zagreb, setting up a facility with 1,000 beds. From there, broader networks formed, and as of right now, he’s been working with the organizer of one camp we helped set up on one of the borders between Slovenia and Croatia. That border was closed tonight, and they had to move the whole camp elsewhere.
What difficulties are the refugees facing in getting through Croatia? Where are they heading?
Betsy Scott: One huge danger is that if they don’t stay on the road, from Tovarnik they will run into many landmines still in the fields and forests. Many were also taken to an old army barracks in Beli Manastir (half an hour north of Osijek) for “holding,” which is close to the Hungarian border. But, in what seemed like one day, they had some 7,000 refugees in a camp that was outfitted for 1,000 people, so that became a dire situation.
Other difficulties include people taking advantage of refugees by charging them an absurd amount of money for transportation, or taxis bringing loads and loads of people to the Slovenian border before Slovenia had agreed to open it. These bottleneck situations then formed at two borders, and that’s where most of our efforts have been in the last few days.
How can Nazarenes globally help you?
Betsy Scott: Please learn about this situation, and be open to hearing stories that will keep you from stereotyping or being directed by your fear. And allow it to challenge your thinking. Many of us have giant needs in our back yards that we can choose to be aware of and do something about, or we can keep living our lives as if they aren’t there.
"Bucket living" by Gavin and Jill Fothergill
The day after Engage published this blog from Gavin and Jill Fothergill on their emergency need for water seven weeks before the rainy season was due to start, Nazarenes around the world prayed. And the very next day...
Read More
But, given the political tension, there are so many organizations working together. We have personally had the privilege to partner with local non-government organizations, Protestant churches, the Red Cross, friends and colleagues, and other missions organizations who have come to help, and keep coming, from Youth With a Mission to Intervarsity to others.
We have not just served with local Croatian entities, but also with Austrian, Hungarian and Slovenian volunteers, and the cooperation has been a beautiful thing.
The Red Cross has been a great way to partner with others. We knew right away we needed to register because many places were only allowing Red Cross volunteers to help. So Dave signed up and that first night worked with the director of the Red Cross in Zagreb, setting up a facility with 1,000 beds. From there, broader networks formed, and as of right now, he’s been working with the organizer of one camp we helped set up on one of the borders between Slovenia and Croatia. That border was closed tonight, and they had to move the whole camp elsewhere.
What difficulties are the refugees facing in getting through Croatia? Where are they heading?
Betsy Scott: One huge danger is that if they don’t stay on the road, from Tovarnik they will run into many landmines still in the fields and forests. Many were also taken to an old army barracks in Beli Manastir (half an hour north of Osijek) for “holding,” which is close to the Hungarian border. But, in what seemed like one day, they had some 7,000 refugees in a camp that was outfitted for 1,000 people, so that became a dire situation.
Other difficulties include people taking advantage of refugees by charging them an absurd amount of money for transportation, or taxis bringing loads and loads of people to the Slovenian border before Slovenia had agreed to open it. These bottleneck situations then formed at two borders, and that’s where most of our efforts have been in the last few days.
How can Nazarenes globally help you?
Betsy Scott: Please learn about this situation, and be open to hearing stories that will keep you from stereotyping or being directed by your fear. And allow it to challenge your thinking. Many of us have giant needs in our back yards that we can choose to be aware of and do something about, or we can keep living our lives as if they aren’t there.
- PRAY for the strength of these individuals and families to keep going, for healthy babies, for those who are sick to get the help they need, for fewer infections, for better living conditions. PRAY for the volunteers who are giving all they have to help complete strangers. PRAY for new volunteers to help, to come alongside what others are already doing, to seek new creative ways for a long-term plan.
- PRAY for the love of Jesus to reach these refugees, and that they would feel loved and cared for.
"Bucket living" by Gavin and Jill Fothergill
The day after Engage published this blog from Gavin and Jill Fothergill on their emergency need for water seven weeks before the rainy season was due to start, Nazarenes around the world prayed. And the very next day...
Read More
As the Democratic Republic of the Congo waits for the rainy season to start, many, including missionaries Gavin and Jill Fothergill, are struggling to find water for their daily household needs. The Fothergills have been without running water in their house for seven weeks, and it is seven more weeks until the rainy season would typically start. They wrote recently about how God provides when we are in need.
Currently, we are in the middle of the desert, figuratively speaking. Seven weeks without water in our house has left us relying on “bucket” living, meaning a constant stream of filling up buckets from a back faucet and carrying them inside our house. We “bucket” flush, we take “bucket” baths and the dishes get a “bucket” rinse. I’d like to think we are pros at “bucket” living now.
Three days ago, we found ourselves without even the small trickle of water coming in our back faucet. “What are we going to do for water?” was my first thought. “Where are we going to get it from?”
Currently, we are in the middle of the desert, figuratively speaking. Seven weeks without water in our house has left us relying on “bucket” living, meaning a constant stream of filling up buckets from a back faucet and carrying them inside our house. We “bucket” flush, we take “bucket” baths and the dishes get a “bucket” rinse. I’d like to think we are pros at “bucket” living now.
Three days ago, we found ourselves without even the small trickle of water coming in our back faucet. “What are we going to do for water?” was my first thought. “Where are we going to get it from?”
I’m reminded of a woman in the Bible. A Samaritan woman going to draw water at a well, Jacob’s well. I can picture the scene well in mind after seeing women draw water from wells here. In John, chapter 4, we read about this Samaritan woman going to fill her “bucket” with water and meeting Jesus. He asks for a drink from her, breaking a Jewish law. Jews were not supposed to talk with Samaritans. And, being a man, He was not supposed to talk to a woman without her husband present. But, that day, that life-changing day for this woman, Jesus wasn’t concerned with the law. He was concerned with offering grace and a chance to know Him. This Samaritan woman, whose name we never know, got to fill her “bucket” with much more than water to quench her thirst. She was offered living water.
“Everyone who drinks this water (from the well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life," he says. (John 4:13-14)
I want that water. I want to fill my “bucket” with living water from the Lord. Where am I placing my trust? In what am I placing my faith?
Yesterday, as I used the last drop of water we had in the house, I closed my eyes and prayed to the Lord, “Please provide water for us.” Not a second later, I heard a loud knocking at our front gate. I put on my shoes and went to see who was there. A neighbor down the road was there and said, “If you need to fill up with water, you can come to our house and get what you need.” As I held back tears, I thanked him and went to get our buckets. I praised God and smiled for His perfect timing. I asked and He immediately provided.
“Everyone who drinks this water (from the well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life," he says. (John 4:13-14)
I want that water. I want to fill my “bucket” with living water from the Lord. Where am I placing my trust? In what am I placing my faith?
Yesterday, as I used the last drop of water we had in the house, I closed my eyes and prayed to the Lord, “Please provide water for us.” Not a second later, I heard a loud knocking at our front gate. I put on my shoes and went to see who was there. A neighbor down the road was there and said, “If you need to fill up with water, you can come to our house and get what you need.” As I held back tears, I thanked him and went to get our buckets. I praised God and smiled for His perfect timing. I asked and He immediately provided.
This is where my hope is found. In Him, I put my hope all day long. He is a God who provides.
So, do I recommend “bucket” living? No, not necessarily. But, if it means getting to be reminded of the provisions of my Savior, who offers living water, yes![Gavin and Jill Fothergill are missionaries serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are coordinate Nazarene work in the DRC, including field Work & Witness, church development, pastoral and lay education, and conduct administration. Reprinted with permission from their ministry blog.]
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So, do I recommend “bucket” living? No, not necessarily. But, if it means getting to be reminded of the provisions of my Savior, who offers living water, yes![Gavin and Jill Fothergill are missionaries serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are coordinate Nazarene work in the DRC, including field Work & Witness, church development, pastoral and lay education, and conduct administration. Reprinted with permission from their ministry blog.]
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