Daily Scripture:
John 4:4 This meant that he had to pass through Shomron.
5 He came to a town in Shomron called Sh’khem, near the field Ya‘akov had given to his son Yosef. 6 Ya‘akov’s Well was there; so Yeshua, exhausted from his travel, sat down by the well; it was about noon. 7 A woman from Shomron came to draw some water; and Yeshua said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” 8 (His talmidimhad gone into town to buy food.) 9 The woman from Shomron said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for water from me, a woman of Shomron?” (For Jews don’t associate with people from Shomron.) 10 Yeshua answered her, “If you knew God’s gift, that is, who it is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink of water,’ then you would have asked him; and he would have given you living water.”, 13 Yeshua answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again! On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!”
15 “Sir, give me this water,” the woman said to him, “so that I won’t have to be thirsty and keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 She answered, “I don’t have a husband.” Yeshua said to her, “You’re right, you don’t have a husband! 18 You’ve had five husbands in the past, and you’re not married to the man you’re living with now! You’ve spoken the truth!” (Complete Jewish Bible)
Prayer Tip:
In this week’s sermon we will study Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus took time to speak to this woman and show care and love even though culturally in this time Samaritans didn’t associate with Jews. When speaking to this woman, Jesus brings up the five husbands she’s had and the fact that the person she is living with is not her husband. He doesn’t shame her for any of this, though. He only shows her love, and gives her the opportunity to share her encounter with others from her town.
This is very different from the way some churches treat divorced people. The church I grew up in would not allow a person who had been divorced to lead in any capacity. When we only look at each other’s mistakes or failures, we miss all the other wonderful things God has woven into our souls. Psalm 139 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our mistakes or past decisions cannot diminish our value as God’s children. We have all been equipped with spiritual gifts and given something beautiful to offer to this world. You are a child of God; you have worth. May we all use the lens of grace for every person we encounter this week.
Dear Jesus,
We are all guilty of judging others. This keeps us from connecting with others in loving, healthy ways. Please help remove this tendency from our hearts. Help us to see our brothers and sisters the way you see them. Amen. (Ashly Cooley, Counseling & Support Ministries)
Ashly supports the Congregational Care ministry at Resurrection Leawood. She works primarily with our Counseling and Support ministries.
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like:
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
***
No comments:
Post a Comment