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Draw From The Living Water

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John 4:10-24

[10] Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
[11] The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
[12] Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
[13] Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
[14] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
[15] The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
[16] Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
[17] The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
[18] For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
[19] The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
[20] Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
[21] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
[22] Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
[23] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
[24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

A certain woman came unto Jacob’s well around the 6th hour. Jesus asked her of a drink of water, knowing good and well was not wanting earthly water.

When I think about water, I consider where it is located. In shallow ground, it is exposed and susceptible to all forms of bacteria and corruption, and therefore is not fit for consumption for survival. When God’s word is not drawn from nothing but from the surface, it has not been purified and will not take you very far.

The things that we need to draw from in God are in the deep! They are spiritual, and are drawn from that humble prayer and great leap of faith! When we draw from the living water, we won’t continually thirst every day because we will finally come into peace that we wouldn’t find elsewhere! A refreshing; like a cold glass of water that you could only get from the depths.

Jesus even said, if you knew who was that told you this! Sometimes we forget who it is that we serve, the all-powerful, miracle working God!

If we are drawing from earthly, fleshly water, we’re drawing from man, opinions, analysis, doctrine, and ideas, we will definitely thirst again! The water that Jesus gives shall spring up, giving everlasting life, where we won’t long for anything else, including this natural water, or this world.

I know that other people come in and worship because they know and understand what it is that they worship. The hour is now where people need to come together and worship God in spirit and in truth. We have to not only heed God’s spirit in a service, but also the truths of his word, for it are through the truths that we are made free!

Being Environmentally Friendly

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Many life lessons are overlooked because we really are not aware of what is actually taking place. We do not even realize at the time of a transition, that many of the surroundings and beings around us have more of a part to play then we think. It’s just like some phrases I’ve always heard in my life.

Some of them sound like “you don’t appreciate someone until they’re gone and it’s too late” or “i never would have thought this would have caused all this trouble”
or even “i wish i could go back and do that all over again”. The thing is, it is so easy to get comfortable with your surroundings, and just live with it.

We have people out there “going green” and trying to improve the overall environment as a whole, and I truly admire those efforts. They won’t settle for people junking up the earth, and make a conscious effort by their every day actions to show they want a better and healthier world around them to live in.

If we take a moment to look around in our own individual environments, it would not take very long to see things that are junk, that do nothing but to bring suffering to our lives.

It might be something you are dealing with at home, at work, or just going down the road. It might be addictions, attitudes, personality traits, anything that would lead you to be less then what you are capable of being. It might something part of your every day routine, or something secret that you battle with that no one knows about it. It might be family, friends, acquaintances, or even your own defined adversaries that lead you to have a great number of different kinds of influences that would hinder you.

The thing is, we live in a world where we serve a God that sees everything we do, everything we speak, and everything we think. He knows your vices, and the buttons that could be pushed to tempt you to fall out of the will of him. I want to use some scriptures to try and bring out a central point: We need to be aware of our environments and clean up all the junk that would be polluting our own lives.

John.15

[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
[8] Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
[9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
[10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
[11] These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
[14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
[15] Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
[16] Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
[17] These things I command you, that ye love one another.
[18] If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
[19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
[20] Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
[22] If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
[23] He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
[24] If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
[25] But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
[26] But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
[27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

Don’t let all the junk around you corrupt your life from bearing the good fruit. Even if you literally have to get rid of things, get rid of habits, lose some friends that are bad influences, or anything that would hinder you from being as fruitful as you can possibly be, is well worth it. Cleansing your life from the things that would hinder you only brings you closer to God, which only unlocks even more blessings coming your way. I hope this speaks to you like it did to me.

Don’t Be Afraid Of The Wind

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Every single day, whether you be near or far in the world, we are all faced with hardships. And when these hardships have something to do with an object or person that is of worth to you, and something or someone else comes against it in some way, the experience that you deal with to go through it is what I like to call a trial. The size of the trial can vary, as well as what the trial involves. It could be something that affects your health, your finances, your family, your friends, so long as it is personal, it matters to you and your life.

When it comes to trials that are to do with our personal lives, we’ll do just about anything to make sure there is a good outcome. I have found that without being aware, more often than we would like to admit, that we completely leave our faith out of our trials all together. And in most of the cases, I have found from personal experience that doubt was ever present.

I want to bring a scripture into all of this before I go any further:

Matthew 14:22-33

[22] And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
[23] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
[24] But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
[25] And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
[26] And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
[27] But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
[28] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
[29] And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
[30] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
[31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
[32] And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
[33] Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

So many times, we have the opportunity to remind ourselves every day through prayer and the word of God that we serve that Savior that “is I”, who will catch us when we sink. Instead, we act as the disciples most of the time, leaving our faith on the boat, complaining, being in a troubled spirit, not believing, and doubting most of all.

There is even a good portion of us who won’t even get out of the boat when that voice is bidding us to step out on the calling on our life. We doubt what we have inside of us, constantly questioning, and yet it was the one, “it is I”, who put the gift in there to begin with, remember?

There is a few out there, who will actually step out into the waters of the spirit, and get out there and begin to start working in their gifts, and as the winds around them begin to push them around, with the winds as a metaphor to the trials that they face as a worker in the church today, most of the time the only thing we can say is “LORD SAVE ME!”. And you know what? That’s totally okay!

I want us all to start getting out of that boat, with the boat standing for fear of being obedient to what God would have called in your life to do, and start stepping out there, for the scripture put it best:

“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

The most important part of all of this is that at the end of the day, the God that we serve will make the winds cease, and bring peace to the waves that crash all around you. In other words, those trials that we deal with would not be near as bad if we step out with more faith and less doubt. Believe that when you step out to face all the hardships in your life that Jesus is at the end of the trial waiting, and that victory is that the end, and if you should feel yourself begin to sink, he WILL catch you, for the Bible says he will never leave nor forsake you! God Bless You All!

Patience, Patience, Patience

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One of the toughest pieces that we have to learn about our character and our witness to this world as a Christian is our patience. It is the most single tested value within your core, and without it, we won’t last long before we want to give up and throw in the towel on everything we stand for.

A thought that came in my mind when I was praying to God about working a greater patience in me was that proven faith shows demonstrated patience, which brings wisdom from the experience, and hope from knowing you made it through all of it.

To try and bring this point of view out little by little, I have various scriptures that I want to tie all together. I hope these bring out a point of view that helps you like it did me. Please, by all means, comment and give input! It is all welcome!

For starters, patience is defined as the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

With that said, wow. I have found myself more often then not being weak when I should be strong in many situations in my life.

  • The God of Patience

Romans 15:5

“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus”

So in other words, show it towards one another! That did not have any clauses to leave it out from anyone! It is neither selective to who we prefer, nor who we do not. We must open our hearts and have a greater understanding to everyone and everything. That shows a stronger witness inside and out. Publicly and privately.

  • Christ’s Demonstrated Patience And Mercy

Isaiah 53:7

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

Matthew 27:14

“And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governer marvelled greatly.”

Hold the phone for a sec. Let’s take away the wonderful from this for a second and be real. Just the fact that Jesus Christ faced all of the persecution that he did and saying nothing is enough to show the demonstrated patience. We can’t even hear a mean word from someone without rising up inside and wanting to speak our peace, or feel like that we need to feel like justification has been delivered to them. Now, let’s put back in the best part. He opened not his mouth and endured the suffering so that we could have a place in Heaven eternal. That makes my heart soar!

  • More Mentions

2 Peter 1:6

“And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;”

James 1:3-4

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing”

Romans 5:3-4

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience, and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Isn’t that just amazing, when we begin to dig in and read all of the pieces for yourself and put them all together? I love the word of God! I just hope as we all continue to be molded each and every day, that we can learn from our tried patience and experiences to raise ourselves up with encouragement from hope, and not be ashamed of what God has brought us from!

Receive Them Joyfully

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Luke 19:2-7

[2] And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
[3] And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
[4] And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
[5] And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.
[6] And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
[7] And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

We all know the story of Zaccheus. I’m sure that if you ever attended Sunday school at some point that you have heard it. For those that have not heard it, I will attempt to give an understandable version of it.

Zaccheus was the chief tax collector in Jericho. He was a rich man, and despised by those around him because he took not only the money for the Roman taxes but also kept for himself. In principle, the more money that one could get from the people, the more they could keep.  When he heard of Jesus’ arrival to Jericho, he wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  Being a man of small stature, Zaccheus was so determined to see Jesus that he dropped all he was doing and climbed a tree to try and get a view. Despite the crowd around him, Jesus saw up in the tree and told Zaccheus “Come down at once, for today I must stop at your house”. Being the person that he was, people all around were clearly upset, even by speaking that Christ was going to be a guest with a sinner.

A lot of messages focus on the fact that he was short and climbed up the tree to make the extra effort to get closer to Christ, but we want to take a deeper look into what happened in the before and after.

Zaccheus was a person who did not care to take from people that were poor for his own good. Therefore in essence he was in the wrong for some of his actions. The crowd around him even judged him by calling him a sinner. However, once he knew that Christ had acknowledged him, he came down quickly and received him JOYFULLY.

There will be many people that we come into contact with that may not be on our list of friends or even people that we dislike ourselves. But as Christ was demonstrating, he showed that it IS possible to look beyond the flaws of someone to try and show love to them. There are many people out there today that are “hanging up in the trees”, desperate for something to fill the void in their life. If we are not too careful, we’ll be as the crowd and pass judgment and not give a second thought to it. Don’t pass them by! God can inspire you with the words to say that will not only show compassion, but also a chance to lead them to salvation. This can go beyond friends into the very home that you live in. If you want to see your parents and relatives notice the light you shine, show them that same love that Jesus showed. Get along at home, practice forgiveness, and love them regardless. And in the process of all that, PRAY! He can change their lives! And you can be the light that leads them to deliverance!

Singleness of Heart

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Acts 2 : 41-47

[41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
[42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
[43] And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
[44] And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
[45] And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
[46] And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
[47] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Having a constant, daily walk with God will not only give singleness of heart, but peace in your mind. With God first in our lives, we can be an active participant in unity. Unity will bring one mind and one accord with all of us working together to be as servants in the body of Christ. If we possess the love of a family with good fellowship, we will definitely be a better fit to be able to reach out and help lead anyone that we can to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life.

Ephesians 6 : 5-8

[5] Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
[6] Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
[7] With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
[8] Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

When we are obedient to those around us with the guidance and love of God in our lives, the light of love that shines within us will be brighter than anything else that we go through. Most importantly, without our vision to always have God as our number one focus, this light over time grows dim, leading us to try and live life on our own.

Colossians 3:22-24

[22] Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
[23] And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
[24] Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Always remember that God is always watching over us. We are never left alone; God is always looking at our every thought we make and decision we choose. So even in the times we do not feel like it, remember to do good things to those around you. When your good deeds are noticed, let the reason for your great accomplishments toward someone be your key to opening the door to their heart. If their heart is opened up to you by your kindness to them, you have the perfect opportunity to lead that person to God.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

[9] And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
[10] And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

When Jabez called out on God, he was saying to bless him, and help him to not do anything else that would grieve him. We can not only call out to God for help like this, but also call out that he also blesses “us”. Remembering to have compassion for your peers around you is so important for them to be able to see within you. When people see that love of God and that you are not selfishly thinking of just yourself, you will gain favor and respect with not only them, but God as well.

Come Without Cost

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Matthew 26:56

[56] But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

John 7:5

[5] For neither did his brethren believe in him.

John 1:10-11

[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

One of the worst emotions and experiences that anyone can face is rejection. Rejecting is simply defined as someone “refusing to accept”. We all face is in our everyday lives. And to me, it’s one of the worst things that we will ever deal with. Why is it that way? I think it is because each and every one of us want to win the approval of everyone around us. We want everyone to be pleased with us. The sad fact though is that we will never win that battle, and yet spend our lives trying to win it.

As we go through some verses as shown above, there were different instances in the scriptures where Christ was rejected by his friends, kindred, nation, and even the world. And as it was indicated in the last moments in his life, Rejection was one of the main factors that led to Christ’s death. People did not want to accept him as he was being the son of God. People were content then with what they thought was acceptable, therefore rejecting the concept of Christ bringing new life to the world. Despite rejection, Christ still promised us: the holy spirit, to answer our prayer, to draw all men unto him, to receive all who come, to give rest, to confess us before the father, and MOST importantly, to come again! All of this within itself should be enough for me to be able to face a little rejection from others in my life.

You might be reading this and saying to yourself, “I am constantly rejected. No one will accept me for who I am”. I was in that very position. Let me remind you of a scripture.

John 6:37

[37] All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Reading this was SUCH a blessing to me. I then realized a lot of things at that point. Regardless of mistakes, success, popularity, possessions, how much you hate how bad things are, hopelessness, desperation, YOU ARE NOT REJECTED!!!

We all have a place with God. God is the only presence in this world that you can come to without facing rejection. I’m reminded of a verse:

Isaiah 55:1

[1] Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

To me there are two things that stand out:

Without money = without possessions

Without price = without cost

I know this seems way out there, but stay with me. How can you buy anything without money or price. If it has no price, there is no need for money. You see Jesus paid this cost so that we could come without it. If you are living life with a broken heart from all the rejection, you are not alone! You can come without cost and find peace in your life once and for all. I felt really led to go ahead and write this today for anyone facing rejection like I did in my childhood years and sometimes even now.

Go Against The Tide

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It has been very interesting lately for me to observe conversations of people that I am around to really understand the point of view from someone who walks with unbelief. Most of the time I will pray for all of the people that I am concerned for, the ones that are lost, as we all do. But as I continue to try and draw closer to God every day and learn more about what I need to do to improve, I am stirred by the thoughts that I have been given.

When we go with the tide of the world, we are as the world, and take of its appearance. When we go against the tide of the world, even though the waves crash hard on us, we become separated, and have the ability to finally stand out and be a people that can draw others to God. We often forget that we are with the Master of the sea, the very one who created the waters of the world. Let me try and break this down a little bit more.

You can go and attend all the church services, sing songs, preach messages, teach lessons, blog your ideals, and broadcast your beliefs to the world; but ultimately there is only one true representation of what people will really be drawn by. When it comes right down to it, how you live your life every single day with how you act and what you do is the complete definition of your Christian life.

In other words, there are going to be moments every single day where you will make or break someone’s decision to make Christ their Savior in their life. There are going to also be moments where someone that hasn’t been where they should be with God continues to stay that way simply because of the behavior they observe from you.

They might see you going through all of the motions of being a “Christian”, but where is the virtue that is talked about in the scriptures:

John 4:15-21

[15] Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
[16] And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
[17] Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
[18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
[19] We love him, because he first loved us.
[20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
[21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

The most important thing to remember in your everyday life is to carry that virtue, to remember that while going and doing all of the things that God has called you to do, while also walking an upright life before him and setting a good example in front of others, that every bit of this must be done with LOVE.

People need to see the virtue of love in our lives, that spirit of charity. For when that love is in our hearts, it will be able to handle all of the situations where anger or impatience would normally try to come in and ruin the example that we try to show. When we go against the tide and fight things with love and patience, with the faith that we are going to make it through, they will be drawn to our belief that we serve a God that will bring us through. That is what draws people, not the fact that we attend church every single time, or that we are efficient or great in all the talents that God has given us. Everyone is good at something; it’s how people handle situations that make people be drawn to it.

Go against the tide, be a believer in God, and know that the example you show is being watched every single day, and that we are held accountable! It’s so important to remember this last scripture:

Luke 6:22

[22] Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

The Whipping

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Welcome to the Heart of Grace Devotional.  Today I would like for us to think about the price Jesus paid for you and me.  I want to share a story with you today that will help us see more clearly how Jesus took our place. There was a school with a class of students that no teacher had been able to handle. Two or three teachers had been run off from this school in one year by the unruly students. A young man, just out of college, heard about the class and applied to the school.

The principal asked the young man, “Do you know what you are asking for? No one else has been able to handle these students. You are just asking for a terrible beating.” After a few moments of silent prayer, the young man looked at the principal and said, “Sir, with your consent I accept the challenge. Just give me a trial basis.”

The next morning the young man stood before the class. He said to the class, “Young people, I came here today to conduct school. But I realize I can’t do it by myself. I must have your help.” One big boy they called Big Tom, in the back of the room whispered to his buddies, “I won’t need any help. I can lick that little bird all by myself.”

The young teacher told the class that if they were to have school, there would have to be some rules to go by. But he also added that he would allow the students to make up the rules and that he would list them on the blackboard. This was certainly different, the students thought! One young man suggested, “NO STEALING.” Another one shouted “BE ON TIME FOR CLASS.” Pretty soon they had 10 rules listed on the board.

The Teacher then asked the class what the punishment should be for breaking these rules. “Rules are no good unless they are enforced, he said.” Someone in the class suggested that if the rules were broken, they should receive 10 licks with a rod across their back with their coat off. The teacher thought that this was pretty harsh, so he asked the class if they would stand by this punishment. The class agreed.

Everything went along pretty good for two or three days.  Then Big Tom came in one day very upset. He declared that someone had stolen his lunch. After talking with the students, they came to the conclusion that little Timmy had stolen Big Tom’s lunch… Someone had seen little Timmy with Big Tom’s lunch! The teacher called little Timmy up to the front of the room. Little Timmy admitted he had taken Big Tom’s lunch.

So the teacher asked him, “Do you know the punishment?” Little Timmy nodded that he did. “You must remove your coat”, the teacher instructed. The little fellow had come with a great big coat on. Little Timmy said to the teacher, “I am guilty and I am willing to take my punishment, but please don’t make me take off my coat.”

The teacher reminded little Timmy of the rules and punishments and again told him he must remove his coat and take his punishment like a man. The little fellow started to unbutton that old coat. As he did so, the teacher saw he did not have a shirt on under the coat. And even worse, he saw a frail and bony frame hidden beneath that coat. The teacher asked little Timmy why he had come to school without a shirt on. Little Timmy replied, “My daddy’s dead and my mother is very poor, I don’t have but one shirt, and my mother is washing it today. I wore my big brother’s coat so that I could keep warm.”

The young teacher stood and looked at the frail back with the spine protruding against the skin, and his ribs sticking out. He wondered how he could lay a rod on that little back and without even a shirt on. Still, he knew he must enforce the punishment or the children would not obey the rules. So he drew back to strike little Timmy. Just then Big Tom stood up and came down the aisle. He asked, “Is there anything that says that I can’t take little Timmy’s whipping for him?” The teacher thought about it and agreed. With that Big Tom ripped his coat off and stooped and stood over little Timmy at the desk. Hesitatingly the teacher began to lay the rod on that big back. But for some strange reason after only five licks that old rod just broke in half. The young teacher buried his face in his hands and began to sob.  He heard a commotion and looked up to find not even one dry eye in the room. Little Timmy had turned and grabbed Big Tom around the neck apologizing to him for stealing his lunch. Little Timmy begged Big Tom to forgive him. He told Big Tom that he would love him till the day he died for taking his whipping for him.

Aren’t you glad that Jesus took our whipping for us?  That He shed His precious blood on Calvary so that you and I can have eternal life in Glory with Him? We are unworthy of the price He paid for us, but aren’t you glad He loves us that much?

Isaiah 53:3 tells us that:

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

The Greatest Birth, The Greatest Gift

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Today we want to read about the greatest event that has ever happened: the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is found in Luke 2:1

[1] And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
[2] (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
[3] And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
[4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
[5] To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
[6] And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
[7] And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
[8] And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
[9] And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
[10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
[11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
[12] And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
[13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
[14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
[15] And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
[16] And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
[17] And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
[18] And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
[19] But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
[20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Our wish today is that you let Jesus become part of your life, and find the peace that he brought that wonderful night.