- Exodus 17: 3-7
- Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
- Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
- John 4: 5-42
- Up against the wall
- The Israelite people were watching their flocks and herds slowly die of thirst, they knew that they would be next. Two questions doubtless came to mind: surely a loving God would not want His people to die needlessly, and where did we go wrong? Or more deeply: what kind of God would let his "beloved" people suffer this way? Moses was just a convenient whipping boy.
- Has God ever treated you badly?
- What sort of questions did that raise in your heart at the time?
- How did you pray through that?
- How did that experience change you?
- Give me a soft heart, and the courage to listen to it
- It's so easy to get attached to our own thinking. The longer that we believe something, the more other beliefs come to be based on that core set of beliefs, the less likely we are to think critically about why we feel the way that we do.
- How has God softened your heart through the years?
- What sort of reluctance/resistance did you have while that was going on?
- Was the process worth it?
- Peace with God
- I believe judgement day is going to be healing if we let it. Instead of a stern magistrate seated high on a lofty bench, I imagine God sitting next to me as He shows me His Presence through all that I have experienced, where I missed the chance to live in that Presence, and to find healing and peace if I'm willing to accept it.
- How do you know when you are not at peace with God?
- How do you restore that peace? What is your prayer practice?
- How do you think God responds to that work on your part?
- Drawing closer
- Jesus has a knack for moving from the here and now, and gradually leading to everywhere and eternity. The here and the now, like Jacob's well and the heat of the day, become a starting point for conversion, a seed bed for relationship.
- How would you characterize some of your most important relationships?
- What makes those relationships special to you?
- What does God give you in those relationships?
- How do you nurture those relationships?
- How do you know when those relationships need more attention?
- How do you know when God needs more of your attention?
- Preparation for Reconciliation
- Do I resent God for anything going on in my life?
- Where might God be calling me to listen more?
- What am I doing today to become more peace filled?
- Where is God calling me to deeper trust and obedience?
The Abandoned Water Jar
I had wanted to leave Sychar for years.
The knowing looks that friends and family gave me
The children who would point me out to their friends
The rabbi who looks the other way when I walk by,
All of these remind me of my past,
My failed relationships,
The wreckage of my heart
Mocks me in their eyes at every street corner.
Yet I cannot leave this place,
It has been home for all of my life.
What would I do in some foreign village?
At least here, I have a name.
I look forward to drawing the water.
It gives me a little rest from the others.
This simple task eases my heartache
And gives meaning to my life.
My young children are grateful when I return.
Looking at me with tenderness.
At least for now, until they, too, grow old enough
To take scandal from me, their own mother.
He startled me when He spoke.
Clearly He was a Jew.
Yet he did not despise me
Even though He knew me well.
He offered acceptance, respect,
And most of all, faithfulness and relationship.
And suddenly, I saw my village
The same way that He did.
We all thirsted for relationship,
Proud though we were
All of us more alike than different.
And suddenly, I knew to forgive.
Running through the town square, I was a sight.
This time, I didn't mind the stares, the pointing fingers.
As I told person after person to come to the well,
To meet He who before our father Jacob is I AM.
The walk to the well is just a long.
The sun is just as hot in the sky.
But I draw joy from that day,
And a new name -
They call me "Bringer of Jesus".
Shalom!
No comments:
Post a Comment