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| Volume 18 Number 1 January 2016 | Page 6 |
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| Volume 18 Number 1 January 2016 | Page 6 |
Mark McWhorter
During times of drought, men will look everywhere for water. Many times they will dig wells trying to find water. Sometimes they may have to dig very deep to get water. Without water, men die. Water is absolutely necessary to live.
When water is finally found after digging, there is great excitement. Even if there is not very much, those finding it will greatly appreciate it. If a large underground stream is found, the water may gush upward like a large fountain. It may be like a geyser. When that happens, the joy can hardly be surpassed. When this happens, men know that there will be enough water for the present as well as for the future.
In the spiritual world, most people are living in a dry desert. They will search and search for something to give them peace of mind. They search for the thing or things that will help them understand why they are alive. They will read all kinds of books to figure out how to get along with other people. They will look far and wide to find out how to have proper family relations.
In John 4:14, Jesus said, “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.” The water that Jesus gives is spiritual. He has given us the Bible. He gave us the Scriptures that give the answers to all of the questions that mankind has.
Jesus says if a person will drink of that water, it will be not just a well of water, but it will be like a gushing well of water. The geyser of spiritual water to drink will never fail in providing enough water for a person. A person can never be thirsty because there is not more to drink. All a person has to do is continually go to the Bible and study it. The thirst regarding problems of life will be answered and that spiritual thirst will go away.
As a new year begins, dedicate yourself to studying your Bible. Make a commitment to answer your spiritual thirst from God’s Word. Learn all you can from it, and if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
Resolutions!
Mark N. Posey
God wants us to make resolutions regarding our service for Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Therefore, I will not quit in my service for Christ. Instead I will be “steadfast” (1 Corinthians 15:58). We don’t need to waiver, we don’t need to change direction, we don’t need to fall, and we don’t need to quit.
The word “steadfast” is from the Greek “hedraios.” According to Strong, it means “sedentary… immovable: settled…” Every saint from the first to the twenty-first century needs to heed this exhortation.
Neither will I move from my service for Christ. Instead, I will be “unmovable.” Because we know death is defeated and we serve a risen Savior, we should stand firm and unshakable all the more for Him right now and every day of our lives. We should work hard in everything now, working for the Lord, because right now counts forever!
I will not become complacent in my service for Christ. Instead, I will be “always abounding.” W.E. Vine defined the Greek word rendered “abounding” (“perisseuo”) in this passage as “to be abundantly furnished, to abound in a thing…the work of the Lord.” Hence, one who “abounds” has an overflowing abundance. Consider the account of Jesus’ instructions to Simon Peter recorded in Luke 4:5-10. The Lord said, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” When Peter obeyed and let down the nets as Christ directed, he and his fishing companions caught such a vast number of fishes that their nets broke, and the ship began to sink. Now, that’s abundance!
I will have no regrets in my service for Christ. That is because my labor will be “not in vain.” Scripture reads, “Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Even if one’s labor is vain to everyone else, and everyone else discounts or doesn’t appreciate what one does for the Lord, labor is not worthless and in vain in the Lord. It doesn’t matter if one gets praise or encouragement. Sometimes a person will and sometimes he will not. However, the resurrection means that our labors are not in vain in the Lord.
In conclusion, a Christian should live in such a way as to receive our Lord’s commendation of “well done thou good and faithful servant” on the Judgment Day (Matthew 25:21).