Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

January 17
Saturday


LEAVING IT
BEHIND

READ:
John 4:9-14,27-29
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
The woman then left
her waterpot [and said,]
"Come, see a man who
told me all things that I
ever did. Could this be
the Christ?"
_John 4:28-29
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the year or so after our teenage son got his driver's license and started carrying a wallet, we got several calls from people who had found it somewhere. We cautioned him to be more careful and not leave it behind.

Leaving things behind, though, is not always a bad thing. In John 4, we read about a woman who had come to draw water at a well. But after she encountered Jesus that day, her intent suddenly changed. Leaving her water jar behind, she hurried back to tell others what Jesus had said to her (vv.28-29). Even her physical need for water paled in comparison to telling others about the Man she had just met.

Peter and Andrew did something similar when Jesus called them. They left their fishing nets (which was the way they earned their living) to follow Jesus (Matt. 4:18-20). And James and John left their nets, boat, and even their father when Jesus called them (vv.21-22).

Our new life of following Jesus Christ may mean that we have to leave things behind, including those that don't bring lasting satisfaction. what we once craved cannot compare with the life and "living water" that Jesus offers.
__Cindy Hess Kasper

``````````````````Now none but Christ can satisfy,``````````````````````
`````````````````````None other name for me;````````````````````````
````````````````There's love and life and lasting joy,````````````````````
`````````````Lord Jesus, found in Thee. __McGranahan`````````````````
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Christ showed his love by dying for us;
we show ours by living for Him.

********************************Today's Bible Reading __ John 4:9-14,27-29**********************************

9 Then the woman of
Samaria said to Him, "How
is it that You, being a Jew,
ask a drink from me, a
Samaritan woman?" For
Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said
to her, "If you knew the gift
of God, and who it is who
says to you, 'Give Me a
drink,' you would have asked
Him, and He would have
given you living water."

1 The woman said to Him,
"Sir, You have nothing to
draw with, and the well is
deep. Where then do You get
that living water? 12 Are You
greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us the well, and
drank from it himself, as well
as his sons and his
livestock?"

13 Jesus answered and said
to her, "Whoever drinks of
this water will thirst again,

14 but whoever drinks of the
water that I shall give him
will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him
will become in him a
fountain of water springing
up into everlasting life."...

27 And at this point His
disciples came, and they
marveled that he talked with
a woman; yet no one said,
"What do You seek?" or,
"Why are You talking with
her?" 28 The woman then left
her waterpot, went her way
into the city, and said to the
men, 29 "Come, see a Man
who told me all things that I
ever did. Could this be the
Christ?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

First-century Jews avoided traveling through Samaria. When making the
journey from Galilee to Judea, they would cross the Jordan River and
travel the east side before re-crossing to make their way to Jerusalem
once they had passed Samaria. The reason for this was that Samritans
were seen as ceremonially unclean. Jesus, however, had no such
qualms, breaking tradition to connect with a Samaritan woman in need.