Spiritual Exercise – Day 35

In John 4:1-5 and John 7:37-39, Jesus talks about “the living water.”  It is described as “a fresh, bubbling spring” within those who drink from it.  In John 7 we find Jesus teaching in the temple during the Festival of Shelters celebration.  During this celebration a golden pitcher of water was carried through the streets of Jerusalem with singing and dancing.  Then the water was poured out on the altar in the Temple, symbolizing God’s provision of water in the desert for the Jewish ancestors.  In the midst of these festivities, Jesus boldly proclaimed that He was the One who could fulfill their deepest thirst within.  He supplies “living water.”  Furthermore, it’s not just for your benefit, but it will “become like a spring flowing out of you” as you share the gospel message with others.  It’s the Spirit of God at work within the body of believers.  An explanation of the parenthetical statement in verse 39 might be in order.  The followers of God had certainly experienced the presence of God’s Spirit, but when God’s presence in bodily form (Jesus left this earth (ascension) God left His presence within each believer in the form of his Spirit.  We are promised this presence as we accept Jesus as Savior (Acts 2:38).

Answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think the people tried to take Jesus as their king by force?
2. In verses 22-29, the people continued to seek out Jesus.  What does Jesus say is the reason they wanted Him (verse 26-27)?  And what other reason do they add in verse 28?
3. What does Jesus say is the only thing necessary (verses 29)?
4. What was the reaction of the people in verses 30-42?
5. What do you think Jesus means by “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (verse 53-59)?

From John 4:1-15 and John 7:37-39:

1. How does Jesus describe the “living water?”
2. To whom is it available (7:39)? See also Acts 2:38

Spiritual Exercise – Day 34

I realized when I started today’s reading that it was a short chapter.  So there is not going to be much information in the next two days but there will be several things to look up and study.  Some of it will be a kind of review but it ties in with new information given.

Study John 6:1-59.  The first section, verses 1-15, is the story of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000 men PLUS women and children.  This was no skimpy snack!  Not only were all persons there completely satisfied, but there was a huge surplus!  The people were easily impressed by Jesus’ ability to miraculously feed their stomachs.  They knew he would be a good candidate to free them from their Roman oppressors.  Jesus truly was the long-awaited prophet and king, but not the kind of ruler they were expecting or desiring.  they were looking for someone to deliver them physically from harm’s way.  What Jesus came to deliver them (and us) from was their sin.

There were multiple reactions from the people.  First, they wanted to be able to perform God’s works, too (vs 28).  Then, they asked for further signs if JEsus expected them to believe Him (vs. 20-31).  When JEsus proclaimed Himself as the true bread of life, the people began to murmur in disagreement, saying that Jesus was merely Joseph’s son.  What was He talking about?

When JEsus says we are to eat and drink Him, He is talking about taking JEsus into our inner being, just as food and drink are taken into the body.  We are to feast on Jesus, who is the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.”  Jesus is who sustains us.  The manna that God gave the Israelites in the dessert did not sustain them forever; they still died eventually.  Living bread – accepting Jesus into our very inner self – will sustain us into eternity.

Spiritual Exercise – Day 33

“Living Water”-The Thirst Quencher

Did you know that you could become spiritually parched?  It is common to have high and low points in your faith walk and, yes, there are times when you may feel bone dry.  You may even cry out, “Where are you, God?”  This type of spiritual dehydration can have serious consequences if left unattended.  Just like the body needs water to survive, so we  are destined to die spiritually of dehydration if we don’t drink “living water.”

There is a very familiar story in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel about a woman from Samaria.  The Jews in Jesus’ day typically did not mingle at all with the Samaritans.  Besides that, it was considered disreputable for a Jewish teacher like Jesus to speak to a woman in Public.  In this story, Jesus went right through Samaria on His way to Galilee.  Weary from traveling, Jesus sat down beside a well to rest a bit.  Apparently He had no way to get water from the well, so when a woman from Samaria came to draw some water He struck up a conversation with her, asking her for a drink.

The Samaritan woman said, “Why do you ask me for a drink?”  Jesus aroused her curiosity even more when He told her she must not know who was asking her for a drink or she would be asking HIM for a drink instead, and He would have given her living water.

Obviously, the Samaritan woman did not know what Jesus Meant by living water.  Verse 15 indicates that she was looking at the physical aspect of His offer to quench her thirst.  She wanted something to permanently satisfy her physical and material needs.  Jesus was attempting to get her to understand that being “filled up” with God would be the only thing that could really quench an unsatisfied thirst.

Jesus speaks of the “Living Water” again in John 7:37-39 :

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. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. “By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Jesus’ words, “come to Me and drink,” alluded to the theme of many Bible passages that talk about the Messiah’s life-giving blessings.  In promising to give the Holy Spirit to all who believed, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, for that was something only the Messiah could do.  He used the term “Living Water” to indicate eternal life.  Here He uses the term to refer to the HOly Spirit.  The two go together:  wherever the HOly Spirit is accepted, He brings eternal life.  The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus’ followers at Pentecost and has since been available to all who believe in Jesus as Savior.

Take some time to study the following scriptures and reflect on on them to give you further understanding into the living water of the Spirit that is within you.

• Romans 8:9-11
• Mark 1:6-8
• Luke 11:11-13

If you have accepted the fact that Jesus Christ, God’s only unique Son, loved you so much that He paid for your eternal salvation with His blood on the cross, there is never any reason to doubt that He will fill you up to the brim with His Spirit.  The Spirit provides the power within you to walk a victorious, loving Christian life.  So go ahead, walk in victory!

Spiritual Exercise – Day 32

Satisfy Your Hunger With The Right Bread

The sixth chapter of John begins with the famous story of Jesus feeding a huge mass of people with a small amount of food from a young boy’s lunch.  Jesus knew that the folks who had been crowding around Him were drawn to Him by His miraculous healings and His intriguing words.  He took full advantage of a teaching moment and gave them great advice regarding their spiritual diet.  He told them to spend their time and energy seeking the eternal life that He could give them, not for miraculous appearances of food for the body.

When Jesus referred to Himself as the “Bread of Life” He was drawing on a rich symbol of Jewish life.  Bread played an important role in Israel’s worship.  It was an essential part of the sacrifices offered during the celebration of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17).  Also, twelve loaves of unleavened bread were placed before the Lord in the tabernacle each week to symbolize God’s presence with the twelve tribes (Exodus 25:30).

Lets take a look at the following passages.

John 6:26-40  ²⁵When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ²⁶Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.” ²⁸Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” ³⁰So they asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will You give that we may see it and believe You? What will you do? ³¹Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ³²Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” ³⁵Then Jesus declared, “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. ³⁶But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me.³⁹And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day.”

In Verse 26 Jesus criticized the people who followed Him only for the physical and temporal benefits and not for the satisfying of their spiritual hunger.  Many people use religion to gain prestige, comfort or even political votes.  But those are self-centered motives.  True believers follow Jesus simply because they know He has the truth and His way is the way to live.

He goes on to say in vs. 27 that we are not to labor for food that would perish, but rather to seek the food that would have lasting qualities.  How do we acquire that food?  He tells us in verse 29 all we have to do is believe in the One whom God has sent.

Many sincere seekers of God are puzzled about what He wants them to do.  The religions of the world are mankind’s attempts to answer this question.  But Jesus’ reply is brief and simple:  we must believe on Him whom God has sent.  Satisfying God does not come from the work we do but from whom we believe.  The first step is accepting that Jesus is who He claims to be.  All spiritual development is built on this affirmation.  Declare to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, and embark on a life of belief that is satisfying to your Creator.

The people were eager to receive this bread that would cease their hunger.  After finding out how to receive this gift (verse 29) they said to him in Vs. 34: “from now on give us this bread.”  We eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ.  No wonder He called Himself the Bread of Life.  But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life.

At the conclusion of this passage Jesus makes yet another mystifying statement:  ”unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (verse 53).  When Jesus made the statement about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, He was making the point that intellectual belief is not enough.  He calls each of us to go further than that.  We are to base our entire lives upon Jesus.  To eat and drink JEsus is to allow Him to permeate our very soul.

How is your spiritual appetite?  Do you eat until you are satisfied?  If you are filling up on things of the world (personal pleasures, material goods, etc.) you will have little appetite for spiritual food.  The problem is you will never satisfy your hunger with things of this world.  Jesus says that if you fill up on the “Bread of Life” you won’t ever hunger.  The perpetual dissatisfaction and discontent you once felt will be gone.  In its place will be real lasting peace, contentment and deep, satisfying joy!  So go ahead and eat all you want.  You can never get too much!

Excerpts on this blog have been taken from the book “Spiritual Exercise.”  Permission has been given by the author Helen Krudop.  they appear in italics.

Spiritual Exercise – Day 31

The Importance Of Diet

In this lesson you will be looking at your spiritual diet.  How do you go about feeding your spirit, and just what things do you allow it to feast on?  Everyone experiences spiritual hunger.  Prior to one becoming a Christian this hunger can manifest itself in a feeling of discontent or experiencing an unsatisfied need that we attempt to fill with “something” other than spiritual food.  This is the very thing that leads to things such as alcoholism, drugs, sex, food, or “stuff” in some people.

Proper nutrition is a very important part of any exercise program.  It makes no sense to devote yourself to physical fitness through rigorous exercise and then waste all the efforts by feasting on the wrong foods.  There’s a lot of truth in the old saying, “You re what you eat.”  We could probably um up most of our eating habits in one or more of the following categories.  Which one(s) are characteristic of you?

• Sorry, I’m not hungry
• I’m starved, but I’m trying to stick to this new diet.
• In a hurry…!  Fast food, that’s for me!
• Rushed or not, I’m a “junk-food-aholic” through and through.
• Give me balance — “three squares” a day, please.
• I’m a “nibbler.”
• Oh how I love a good meal in a relaxing atmosphere where I can savor every bite!
• I’m going to keep eating until I’m thoroughly satisfied!

Food For Thought — You “Spiritual” Diet

We grow up with the knowledge that our bodies require food and water to survive.  Without fluid intake dehydration occurs.  If a person goes for a long period of time without fluid it can even cause death.  By the same token if we don’t eat our body decreases in size and in strength.  We become malnourished and more susceptible to disease.

Often we fail to realize that our spirits need daily nourishment.  Spiritual food is essential for spiritual healthiness just as physical food is necessary to sustain physical life.  Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your symptoms of spiritual hunger?
• In what way do you react to your spiritual hunger?
• Do any of the categories listed above describe your spiritual hunger and eating habits?  If so, which one(s)?
• What “spiritual food” do you take in?
• Is your spiritual hunger satisfied or are you still hungry and thirsty?

Tomorrow we will look at satisfying our hunger with the “right” bread instead of “unhealthy” food.

Excerpts in this blog have been taken from the book “Spiritual Exercise.”  Permission has been given by the author Helen Krudop.  They appear in italics.

Comments Welcome!!

I just wanted to take a minute to say “Thanks You” to those of you who have posted comments as we have moved through this study.  I want to encourage all of you to post comments when thoughts jump into your head about the daily lessons.

It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with what is written or an opinion given, the discussion is welcomed.  You never know when you may offer an encouraging word to someone who might not understand the material, or you may miss a word of encouragement that someone has posted.

I love reading your comments and I try to answer from time to time to let you know I read each and every one of them.  I think that is what makes for a good bible study.  When we discuss our interpretations of the scripture, it gives us a chance to glean something from it that we may have passed up at an earlier time.

Just as a Bible study that were taking place in person, where we would be discussing scripture and chapters in the book, I feel it is equally important to “discuss” those same attributes on here.  That can only be done through the comment section.  So I encourage you to comment as much as you like.

Christmas Break!!

Not sure when this will post.  Hopefully it will post the beginning of the week.  We will be taking a break for the Holidays.  The week of Christmas and the week of New Years.

I am sure that with the Christmas season and family get together this will benefit everyone.  I know I am feeling a little overwhelmed during this time of year, as always, and I thought it best to not try to fit too much into my schedule.  This frees up some time to get last-minute things done.

My mother just had heart surgery, and my husband has been sick, so I have been running up and down the stairs checking on and taking care of both.  I have enjoyed having them both “needing” me so much.

We will resume our Bible study on the 4th of January, where we will begin talking about our Spiritual Diet.

Thanks to all who have followed along up to this point.  I hope and pray that you all have a very Merry CHRISTmas and a blessed new year.

Jeannie, Richard, Kelsey, and the rest of the Davis clan!

Spiritual Exercise – Day 30

Check Your Pulse Regularly!

Love is expressive, but we can’t give away what we do not have.  We must first accept the gift of love from our Lord before we truly and consistently are able to “pass it on.”  Continue to reflect on God’s love for you and check the pulse of your love for God as you study these additional scriptures:

John 3:16 – God’s love is so great that He gave His only unique Son that we might be saved.

John 12:1-8 – Mary expressed unrestrained love for Jesus.  Do you?

1 John 4:7-21 – Love reaches out through each of us.

John 13:34-35 – Loving is God’s “new” commandment.

Galatians 5:22 – Love is the first “fruit” that is produced in us by the Spirit.

1 John 4:18 – Perfect love cast out fear.

1 Peter 4:8 – Love covers a multitude of sins.

Romans 8:35-39 – Love links us permanently to God!

I want to take a moment to encourage you to post comments in the comments section after each daily entry.  It is good to glean insight from others opinions.  I enjoy reading your comments and different opinions on the daily readings.

Excerpts in this Bible study have been taken from the book “Spiritual Exercise.”  Permission has been given by the author Helen Krudop.  They appear in italics.

Spiritual Exercise – Day 29

Falling “In Love” … With God!

It is possible to fall head-over-heels in love with God.  Is that a new concept for you?  REmember, love is a relationship.  God loves you.  If you are not consciously aware of it, or if you don’t receive it and return the love, you won’t be able to enjoy it.  So go ahead and choose to fall in love with God.  The results may astound you!

Do you remember the first time you fell in love?  When I was 14 I lived in a small town and went to a high school that had about 450 students total.  I remember walking down the stairs to the bottom floor and seeing a boy leaning against my locker.  He was cute and he had the most deep, emotional eyes.  I was in love before I ever knew his name.  He was constantly on my mind and I couldn’t wait for class to get over every hour to maybe catch a glimpse of him between classes in the hall.  I would constantly think about what I wanted to say to him and then when he would appear in front of me I wouldn’t know what to say to him.  We became best friends all throughout the next two years.  I was afraid to tell him how I felt for fear it would ruin our friendship.  We both went our separate ways when he graduated high school and joined the Navy.  We both got married and had children.  20 years later, both of our marriages had ended in divorce and we ended up living back in the same town.  We met and confessed our love for each other when we were younger and now we are married, and have a marriage in Christ that neither of us had experienced in our first marriages.

Until 6 years ago, when God brought this Godly man back into my life, I never knew that I could be “in love” with Jesus.  As I continue to grow in my walk with Him, I find myself wanting to spend more time with him and draw close to Him.  I WANT to find out more about him everyday.  I read everything I can get my hands on about him.  I attend Bible studies, read Godly blogs, and I long to please Him.  I talk to Him several times a day, and I enjoy it.  I talk about him to others, and nothing gives me greater pleasure than sharing His love with them.

A while back I attended a Bible study that a woman couldn’t understand how I could talk of having an intimate relationship with God.  She couldn’t get past the thought of “being intimate” with her husband and having those same feelings for God.  I told her it was the same but different.  In the old testament Israel is referred to as the bride, the wife of the Lord.

Isaiah 54:5 – “For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

Ephesians 5:22-30 – “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body.”

Christ’s deep love and commitment to the body of believers is compared to the marriage covenant.

Excerpts in this Bible study have been taken from the book “Spiritual Exercise.”  Permission has been given by the author Helen Krudop.  They appear in italics.

Spiritual Exercise – Day 28

Our Part – What Can We Do To Keep Our Heart Spiritually Healthy?

Yesterday we learned, in 1 John 4, verses 7-18, about God’s love and ours.  We talked about what God did for us and how he “gives” us love.  Now we are going to learn a little of what we are supposed to be giving back.

John goes on to say in chapter 4:19-21; “We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

God’s love is the source of all human love, and it spreads like fire.  In loving His children, God kindles a flame in their hearts.  In turn, they love others, who are warmed by God’s love through them.  It is easy to say we love God when that love doesn’t cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services.  But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us – Our family members and fellow believers.  We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image.

Because we are born as sinners our natural inclination is to please ourselves rather than God.  David followed that inclination when he took another man’s wife.  We also follow it when we sin in any way.  Like David, we must as God to cleanse us from within, clearing our hearts and spirits for new thoughts an desires.  Right conduct can come only from a clean heart and spirit.  Ask God to create a pure heart and spirit in you.

Psalm 51: 10 says this; “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Hebrews 3:12-15 tells us “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: ”Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”

Our hearts turn away from the living God when we stubbornly refuse to believe Him.  If we persist in our unbelief, God will eventually leave us alone in our sin.  But God can give us new hearts, new desired, and new spirits.  To prevent having an unbelieving heart, stay in fellowship with other believers, talk daily about your mutual faith, be aware of the deceitfulness of sin, and encourage each other with love and concern.

Gods love is never dependent on what we do; yet somehow we tend to be fooled into thinking that we can earn “brownie points” with God by our behavior.  We must remember that we can never be good enough to earn God’s love.  His love is continuous and unconditional for everyone that will receive it.  God loves us simply because he IS love.  God can’t help but love you and me!

It’s easy for some people to believe that God loved “the world,” but they have trouble believing that God loves them.  do you believe that God loves you?  Do you know that if you were the only person on earth, Jesus still would have suffered death and separation from God just for YOU?  That’s how precious you are to God.