THE DRINKABLE BOOK

The Drinkable Book

Read: John 4:7-15
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 30-31; Philippians 4

The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.—John 4:14

Because it is so difficult in parts of the world to find clean drinking water, an organization called Water Is Life developed a wonderful resource called “The Drinkable Book.” The paper in the book is coated in silver nanoparticles that filter out almost 99.9 percent of harmful bacteria! Each tear-out page can be used and reused to filter up to 100 liters of water at the cost of only four pennies per page.

The Bible is also an unusually “drinkable” Book. In John 4, we read of a particular kind of thirst and a special kind of water. The woman at the well needed much more than to quench her physical thirst with clean, clear liquid. She was desperate to know the source of “living water.” She needed the grace and forgiveness that comes from God alone.

God’s Word is the ultimate “drinkable” Book that points to God’s Son as the sole source of “living water.” And those who accept the water that Jesus gives will experience “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (v. 14). —Cindy Hess Kasper

Father, we yearn for the satisfaction that only You can give. Help us discard the things that leave us empty and thirsting, and exchange them for the satisfaction of the living water You offer.

Tell us your story of how you came to know Jesus as the Living Water at odb.org or Facebook.com/ourdailybread.

Jesus is the sole source of living water.

INSIGHT: The Samaritan woman thinks of “water” as purely material—just H2O. So, in her conversation with Jesus, she is stuck on having to trudge tiresomely back and forth daily to this well—perhaps a hundred feet deep—and use muscle power to draw and hoist the container of water homeward. Jesus’s statements symbolize salvation and satisfaction in what is both essential and enjoyable in water; He wants to ratchet up her understanding of eternal life in Him (John 4:14). Perhaps the closest thing to a definition of “eternal life” is found in John 17:3: “This is eternal life: that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life means having a relationship with God by knowing Jesus Christ. Jim Townsend

DEALING WITH PERSECUTION BY LOOKING BEYOND IT

DEALING WITH PERSECUTION BY LOOKING BEYOND IT

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www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

We Christians are heading into hard times. Persecution has become a tsunami. Some of us are already struggling for our lives. How do we endure?

How did Jesus endure His ordeal?

∑       Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

We too must, therefore, look towards the joy set before us. Of what does this joy consist? It consists of our eternal heavenly inheritance:

• But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21; Jude 24)

This signifies that we will be (and are) co-heirs with Him:

∑       So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 (ESV)

We will be reigning with Him forever:

∑       No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5)

The Lord will honor us by blessing us in the presence of our enemies:

∑       You prepare a table before me in the presence of my [former] enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:5-6)

I added the word “former,” because many prophecies demonstrate that those who are left at the end will come to the Lord in great shame and humility, and we will reign over them:

∑       Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 49:23)

∑       The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 60:14)

Who are these nations? Evidently, there will be a great salvation at the end among the survivors of the nations who battle against Israel. They will mourn over their sins:

∑       Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. (Rev. 1:7)

∑       "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30)

∑       For if their [Israel’s] rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Romans 11:15)

They will worship God, and God will receive them:

∑       "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. (Joel 2:28)

∑       The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall be in fear of you. (Micah 7:16-17)

∑       "From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. (Isaiah 66:23)

∑       Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zech. 14:16-18; 8:20-23; Isaiah 66:18-21; Joel 2:32; Amos 9:12; Acts 15:17)

∑       "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.' All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.” (Isaiah 45:22-25)

And the nations that remain after the final war will be providing for us:

• "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations -- their kings led in triumphal procession.” (Isaiah 60:10-11)

• The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. (Revelation 21:24-26)

We will be reigning over them (Rev. 22:5), rendering judgments:

∑       Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? (1 Corinthians 6:2)

We will also minister the things of God as priests to the nations (1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 1:5; 5:10; 20:6). Perhaps more importantly, we will be enjoying an unimaginable love with our God:

∑       And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. (Hosea 2:19-20; Eph. 3:17-19)

If people endure college by looking towards the final goal, how much more must we look towards the accomplishment of all things to endure our trials!

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GRASPING THE CROSS

Grasping the Cross

Read: Philippians 3:7-12
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 28-29; Philippians 3

Not that I have . . . already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. —Philippians 3:12

In 1856, Charles Spurgeon, the great London preacher, founded the Pastors’ College to train men for the Christian ministry. It was renamed Spurgeon’s College in 1923. Today’s college crest shows a hand grasping a cross and the Latin words, Et Teneo, Et Teneor, which means, “I hold and am held.” In his autobiography, Spurgeon wrote, “This is our College motto. We . . . hold forth the Cross of Christ with a bold hand . . . because that Cross holds us fast by its attractive power. Our desire is that every man may both hold the Truth, and be held by it; especially the truth of Christ crucified.”

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he expressed this truth as the bedrock of his life. “Not that I have . . . already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:12). As followers of Jesus, we extend the message of the cross to others as Jesus holds us fast in His grace and power. “I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Our Lord holds us in His grip of love each day—and we hold out His message of love to others. —David McCasland

Lord Jesus, Your cross is the focal point of history and the turning point of our lives. Hold us tightly as we cling to Your cross and extend your love to others.

We hold to the cross of Christ and are held by it.

INSIGHT: Driven, disciplined, and focused might be accurate adjectives to describe Paul’s zeal in persecuting the church before he came to Christ. But when Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, his life took a decided turn (Acts 9). Paul was now called to be an apostle, and many marveled that he preached the gospel he once sought to destroy. The man who had been driven by self-righteousness now preached grace-righteousness.  Dennis Fisher

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PRAISING AND ASKING

Praising and Asking

Read: 2 Chronicles 6:12-21
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 26-27; Philippians 2

The highest heavens . . . cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!—2 Chronicles 6:18

Teen Challenge, a ministry to at-risk youth that started in New York City, was born from an unusual commitment to prayer. Its founder, David Wilkerson, sold his television set and spent his TV-watching time (two hours each night) praying. In the months that followed, he not only gained clarity about his new endeavor but he also learned about the balance between praising God and asking Him for help.

King Solomon’s temple dedication prayer shows this balance. Solomon began by highlighting God’s holiness and faithfulness. Then he gave God credit for the success of the project and emphasized God’s greatness, declaring, “The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (2 Chron. 6:18).

After exalting God, Solomon asked Him to pay special attention to everything that happened inside the temple. He asked God to show mercy to the Israelites and to provide for them when they confessed their sin.

Immediately after Solomon’s prayer, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (7:1). This incredible response reminds us that the mighty One we praise and speak to when we pray is the same One who listens to and cares about our requests. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

How would you describe your conversations with God? What might help you grow closer to Him as you pray?

Read more about talking to God at discoveryseries.org/hp135.

Prayer helps us see things as God sees them. 

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GOOD MEDICINE

Good Medicine

Read: Ephesians 4:25-32
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 23-25; Philippians 1

A cheerful heart is good medicine.—Proverbs 17:22

Careless driving, rising tempers, and use of foul language among some taxi and minibus drivers are a constant source of traffic fights in our city of Accra, Ghana. But one traffic incident I witnessed took a different turn. A bus was almost hit by a careless taxi driver. I expected the bus driver to get angry and yell at the other driver, but he didn’t. Instead, the bus driver relaxed his stern face and smiled broadly at the guilty-looking taxi driver. And the smile worked wonders. With a raised hand, the taxi driver apologized, smiled back, and moved away—the tension diffused.

A smile has a fascinating effect on our brain chemistry. Researchers have found that “when we smile it releases brain chemicals called endorphins which have an actual physiological relaxing effect.” Not only can a smile diffuse a tense situation, but it can also diffuse tension within us. Our emotions affect us as well as others. The Bible teaches us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Eph. 4:31-32).

When anger or tension or bitterness threatens our relationship with the Lord and with others, it helps to remember that “a cheerful heart is good medicine” for our own joy and well-being. —Lawrence Darmani

Think about a time when you were angry with someone or when you had an argument. How did you feel inside? What parts of your life did it affect?

We find joy when we learn to live in Jesus’s love. 

INSIGHT: Paul tells his readers to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Eph. 4:31). The Greek word translated “get rid of” is artheto, and it means to lift something for the purpose of carrying it off or putting it away. Getting rid of sinful and destructive behavior requires that we allow the Holy Spirit to remove those things that mark our former life (4:17-24) so that the compassion and forgiveness of Christ (v. 32) will flourish. Dennis Moles

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SETTING PRISONERS FREE

Setting Prisoners Free

Read: Psalm 146
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6

The Lord sets prisoners free.—Psalm 146:7

When my wife and I visited the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force near Savannah, Georgia, we were especially moved by the prisoner-of-war exhibit, with its re-creation of a German prisoner-of-war camp’s barracks. Marlene’s dad, Jim, served in the Eighth Air Force, the “Mighty Eighth,” as they flew missions over Europe during World War II. During the war, the Eighth Air Force suffered over 47,000 injuries and more than 26,000 deaths. Jim was one of those shot down and held as a prisoner of war. As we walked through the exhibit, we recalled Jim telling about the absolute joy he and his fellow prisoners felt the day they were set free.

God’s care for the oppressed and liberation of the imprisoned are declared in Psalm 146. The psalmist describes the one who “upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry,” who “sets prisoners free” (v. 7). All of this is cause for celebration and praise. But the greatest freedom of all is freedom from our guilt and shame. No wonder Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are set free from the prison of sin to know His joy and love and the freedom that only forgiveness can bring. —Bill Crowder

To read more about what Christ did to set us free, read The Mockery and Majesty of the Cross at discoveryseries.org/hp081.

The prison of sin cannot withstand the power of Christ’s forgiveness.

INSIGHT: Psalm 146 underscores the truth that the poor and marginalized have a special place in the heart of God. Our help does not come from earthly rulers but from the Maker of heaven and earth. When God became a Man in the person of Jesus Christ, He made the marginalized and the broken a central focus of His earthly ministry.  Dennis Fisher

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NO OUTSIDERS

No Outsiders

Read: Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 17-19; Ephesians 5:17-33

What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him.—Deuteronomy 10:12

In the remote region of Ghana where I lived as a boy, “Chop time, no friend” was a common proverb. Locals considered it impolite to visit at “chop time” (mealtime) because food was often scarce. The maxim applied to neighbors and outsiders alike.

But in the Philippines, where I also lived for a time, even if you visit unannounced at mealtime, your hosts will insist on sharing with you regardless of whether they have enough for themselves. Cultures differ for their own good reasons.

As the Israelites left Egypt, God provided specific instructions to govern their culture. But rules—even God’s rules—can never change hearts. So Moses said, “Change your hearts and stop being stubborn” (Deut. 10:16 nlt). Interestingly, right after issuing that challenge Moses took up the topic of Israel’s treatment of outsiders. God “loves the foreigner residing among you,” he said, “giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (vv. 18-19).

Israel served the “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (v. 17). One powerful way they were to show their identification with God was by loving foreigners—those from outside their culture.

What might this small picture of God’s character mean for us today? How can we show His love to the marginalized and the needy in our world? —Tim Gustafson

Heavenly Father, help us bless others today by showing Your love in some small way.

In Christ, there are no outsiders.

INSIGHT: God commanded His people to allow the poor to feed on their lands (Lev. 19:9-10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19-21). “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner” (Lev. 19:9-10; 23:22). Sim Kay Tee

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