Refreshing and Life Sustaining

 “But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”   –John 4:14

Eleven pounds, in 9 days, mind you.  Earlier this year, when I stopped drinking soda (pop), white chocolate mochas, and Arnold Palmer’s (lemonade/iced tea mixed), and drank only water for nine days, I lost 11 pounds.  Tell me once again how important water is to a person’s daily diet.  I remember watching the movie “Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, and it’s uncanny how important the symbol of water is throughout the movie, but none more so than in the last scene.  I won’t spoil it for those of you who have not yet seen the highly recommended movie, but the last scene depicts the essence and importance of water in the existence of mankind and all of creation.  In the creativity and imagination of C.S. Lewis, a wall of water separates the world of Aslan and the world of Narnia.  Now refer to Genesis 1:2, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Water was there before any other thing.  Before the earth was formed, before there was light and darkness, before there were stars in the sky, water was.  Were you aware that there is significantly more water inside of the Earth than what we see on the surface (oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes)?  We require it to live.  The Earth requires it to sustain plant, vegetation, and animal life.  The planets require it to sustain balance in the galaxy.  The next time you pick up a glass (or bottle) of water, consider that it was created before there was time or any other thing.  It has recycled itself, through every living thing for centuries and millennia.  It surrounds you in the air as humidity, invisible to the eye, yet present nonetheless.  Don’t believe me, set a glass of ice water on a counter and within minutes water bubbles will form on the outside of the glass through condensation.  We didn’t create the bubbles, they were formed from what exists around us.

Jesus Christ told the woman at the well, He was the living water.  To drink of this water meant she would never thirst again.  Are you thirsty for the truth in this world of misguided deception?  Are you thirsty for rest from the busyness of life?  Are you thirsty for love in a world filled with anger and sorrow?  Come and drink from the well of life – the Savior Jesus Christ.

Never Stop Teaching

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It with your friends

“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity”  – Proverbs 3:1-2

I have been teaching my son and daughters many different things this summer: how to paint, how to build a fence, how to fix a chain when it falls off their bike, how to read, how to tie shoes, how to greet someone with a handshake, how to roller skate, how to play guitar and so on and so on.   These are the things that come naturally when we are raising our children.  They each have their own development curve and the activities we take for granted in our old(er) age they must learn.  They pick up so much through simple observation of our actions and characteristics, but some things they need us to stop, come down to their level and teach them. Most of this seems trivial, but I want to stress that it’s not.

Let me share with you a recent example.  I was with David (age 6) and reached out my hand to him.  He kind of looked at it for a second and then slowly lifted his hand but gave me a high five (slapped hands) instead.  I looked at him and said, “No Son, you need to shake my hand.  It’s how you greet someone, and then you introduce yourself.”  David looked at me, and asked one question; “Why?”  I couldn’t help but recall a scene from the Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie, where Lucy (the youngest daughter) enters Narnia for the first time and encounters Mr. Tumnus at the light post.  He poses the same question to her when she extended her hand to introduce herself.  Anyway, I explained to David that it is good manners and polite and that a man’s handshake should be firm and strong, but not squeezing.  He laughed and said, “Okay, hey Dad, you want to see the new airplane I built from legos?”  Ahhh, the mind of a child moves so quickly from one topic to another.

This has me wondering though about the children around the world.  Parents are teaching them about the life skills required in this world, but who is teaching them about God?  Who is teaching your children?  I believe it is the one of the most important things you need to do in this life.  Your children need to understand the importance of the grace of God through His Son - Jesus Christ.  You cannot rely on someone else to share this with them and to help them understand this eternal gift.  You can’t save them, and they can’t get to heaven on your faith.  This is one purpose for your life that you cannot take for granted.  It’s not enough to know that you are secure in your faith and eternal destiny, your children must also understand the importance of this decision.  Lord knows, if we don’t teach them, someone else will, and you’ll have no visibility to their perspective.  As for me, I’m not interested in someone else teaching my children about morals, character, values and above all else God.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://www.10minutereader.com

Give Me a Drink

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It with your friends

“But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”  
                                                                       –John 4:14

Eleven pounds, in 9 days mind you.  I stopped drinking soda (pop), white chocolate mocha and Arnold Palmer’s (lemonade/ice tea mixed) and drank only water for the last nine days and lost 11 pounds.  Tell me once again how important water is to a person’s daily diet.  We were watching the movie “Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” again the other night, and it’s un-canning how important the symbol of water is throughout the movie, but none more so than the last scene.  I won’t spoil it for those of you who have not yet seen the highly recommended movie, but the last scene depicts the essence and importance of water in the existence of mankind and all of creation.  In the creativity and imagination of C.S. Lewis, a wall of water separates the world of Aslan and the world of Narnia.  Now refer to Genesis 1:2, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Water was there before any other thing.  Before the earth was formed, before there was light and darkness, before there were stars in the sky, water was.  You require it to live.  The earth requires it to sustain plant, vegetation and animal life.  The planets require it to sustain balance in the galaxy.  The next time you pick up a glass (or bottle) of water, consider that it was created before there was time or any other thing.  It recycles itself, through every living thing.  It surrounds you in the air as humidity, invisible to the eye, yet present none the less.  Don’t believe me, set a glass of ice water on a counter and within minutes water bubbles will form on the outside of the glass through condensation.  You didn’t create the bubbles, they were formed from what exists around you.

Jesus Christ told the woman at the well, He was the living water.  To drink of this water meant she would never thirst again.  Are you thirsty for the truth in this world of misguided deception?  Are you thirsty for rest from the busyness of life?  Are you thirsty for love in a world filled with anger and sorrow?  Come and drink from the well of life – the Savior Jesus Christ.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Creator of all things.  You have given us the life sustaining water of your peace, your grace and your love.  Let our appetites be filled with this water, that we might in turn share it with others.  Let me draw from your well the confidence, courage, love and wisdom to walk in your light and nourish those around me.  I thirst for your truth and justice in this world Lord, please use me to provide this water to others.  In your name I pray – Amen.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://www.10minutereader.com