She Came Thirsty

John 4:13-14 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

It is 10.30 when the final goodbye is said. I close the door and lock it, then wander the rooms, picking up coffee cups, bibles, emptying one load from the dishwasher and putting in the next; the house suddenly quiet. I notice one bible left left behind on the hall table. The cover is blue, with a picture on the cover of a drop of water landing and sending out a ripple. The words on it say, "Living Water for those who Thirst."

And, I think, she came thirsty tonight.

It was supposed to be an ordinary bible study. Our cell group is studying the book of Acts and tonight was the second week, the second chapter of Acts. And she came thirsty.

But tonight wasn't about studying the historical record of the birth of the church and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was a room filled with people, mainly women, hungry and thirsty for more than a dry "institutional" church; hungry and thirsty for more of God. She came thirsty, and refused to quell her restless heart and study mere words. Her thirst found an echo in our hearts.

So we studied, hungry and thirsty. And we learned. We learned that Jesus came to be our Lord as well as our Messiah; that we need a cleansing to make room for the Holy Spirit. And we learned that He is a gift and a promised gift at that. He is promised to believing Jew and Gentile, to us and to our children, and to all who have been called of God. And we are thirsty.


My Eyes Are Dry
My eyes are dry My faith is old My heart is hard My prayers are cold And I know how I ought to be Alive to you and dead to me But what can be done For an old heart like mine Soften it up With oil and wine The oil is you, your spirit of love Please wash me anew With the wine of your blood. Keith Green


Acts 2:36-39 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles[a]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

Comments

Richard Bowers said…
Hi Belinda,
You are very lucky to have someone come to your study who is genuinely thirsty for Him. Most people just go through their lives as if they are merely the physical space they occupy. That's it. Everything is just one big shoulder shrug. I think the Holy Spirit paid you a visit, just as it did on the day of Pentecost. JC
6:35 PM
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