December 31, 2021 -- John 7:37-39 -- New Year's Eve reflections

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:37-39 ESV

Resilience. It is the ability to bounce back after particularly stressful times. When a student receives a bad grade, resilience is the capacity to acknowledge it, to sort out why this happened and to adjust to make sure this doesn’t happen again. God, in His great grace, has created us to be creatures that can respond to the circumstances and hardships of our lives. There is, however, a limit to our innate ability to bounce back.

Thirst—it is that restlessness, that parched sense something is wrong and if the thirst is bad enough there is disorientation that comes with it. Only water will satisfy. Only water will give the body the ability to return to a state of wellness.

Our world produces deep and soul-parching thirst within us. Sin touches every part of our lives. Governments facing a pandemic that is highly adaptable make this ruling and that regulation and the people affected by these feel like pinballs hit back and forth. There are job losses. There is fear mongering about Covid and families are divided about vaccinations or lack thereof. The thirst produced in the mind, body, and soul stirs up a restless, unsatisfied longing for something better. For cool, clear, soothing, healing waters.

Jesus gives this Living Water. When the Spirit of God was poured out at Pentecost, and in every subsequent generation, the Spirit is given to all who believe, the very soul, heart, mind and body of such Spirit-blessed persons is revived. Let's look at some of the ways God the Father and Christ our King have blessed us with the Spirit. The Spirit is for believers Living Water, Sovereign One’s holy gift so that we may accomplish His holy purposes.

~The Spirit shows us that in Christ sin has been defeated and even death itself was defeated at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This gives us divine resilience. We are not helpless, we are held in the grip of God’s grace.

~The Spirit of God flushes out the tawdry and foolish sins which we go to in order to satisfy our longings and thirsts. Drugs and illicit sex, anger and gossip, greed and pride, all the various kinds of sin are exposed in us by the Spirit. The Spirit uses the Word, the counsel of fellow Christians, and the Spirit awakens of our conscience. As sins are revealed to us as hideous aberrations, we begin to hate them and realize these sins have been for us what we tried to satisfy our thirsts. Instead of satisfying us, these sins were like eating hot, dry, sand. The Spirit of God is living water which rushes into us and through us, washing away the grit and filth and dirt.

~The Spirit reminds us, through the dreadful, awe-inspiring beauty of the Word, of pandemics past (Exodus), and the purpose of pandemics and hardships present and future (see Revelation). These display the glory and power of God the Merciful so that all who might turn to Him have opportunity while there is yet time. When Jesus returns in glory with all His holy ones, the day for turning from sins and turning to Jesus is ended. Now is the day of salvation.

~The Spirit gifts men and women so that those who are in Christ know the Father’s love and by the power of the Spirit and from the security of being loved by the Father use their talents and abilities and gifts to alleviate suffering in whatever way they are led to do so.

~The Spirit Who brings such living water into our souls so that there is a never-ending supply of refreshing reminds us that in sickness or in health, in times of plenty or in times of famine, in freedom or in slavery, in riches or in poverty, believers are kept secure, nothing can snatch that gift of salvation from us. The Spirit Who lives in every believer guards that treasure of eternal life.

~The Spirit reminds us of the Word of God. Passages like “whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (I John 4:16,18).

O LORD our God, under the shadow of Your wings let us hope. You will support us, both when we are little and even to the time we grow gray hairs. When our strength is found in You, it is strength indeed; but, when strength is merely our own, it is feebleness. We return to You, O Lord, that the weariness of our souls may rise towards You, leaning on the things which You have created, and from these going on to You, Yourself, the One Who has so wonderfully made things; for with You is refreshment and true strength. Amen.
(Prayer of St. Augustine 354 - 430 A.D. The prayer has been slighted changed to simplify it from an old English translation.)

May you have a Spirit-blessed New Year! 

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