Did you ever read something, and as you read it you find yourself shaking your head like “Yes, I get what this is saying”?
Maybe you underline it because it resonates. Or it sticks in your head for a couple days. Or, well… you write a post about it :/
So it’s no secret that after becoming a Christian I felt compelled to read the Bible. And reading the Bible for the first time all the way through in 2010 (and some of 2011) has transformed–and is still transforming–my life.
It’s also no secret that God’s “living word” can work to transform all of our lives.
This Bible verse speaks:
My people have done two evils:
They have turned away from me,
the spring of living water.
And they have dug their own wells,
which are broken wells that cannot hold water.
-Jeremiah 2:13
It reminds me of my old self, the self that tried to live by her own rules. The self that experienced a thirst that could never be quenched and a hunger that could never be satisfied.
But life in Christ has changed that. Knowing that pure love comes from Him, it opens us to share pure love with others. It leaves us quenched and in a position to find joy, even in misery.
Do you know the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well in John 4? Pointing to the well, he tells her:
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but 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.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
There are many people who can use our prayers tonight. Those who keep returning to familiar wells that don’t hold lasting water. We may be one of them.
Even as we try our best to live a surrendered life, giving it all to God, we too have moments where we’re drawn to those old wells.
God, grant us the strength to hold tight to you, to draw from your well day and night. Only you can fill us with the fresh water of ever-giving life we need to survive. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bunnyb1802 says
Hey Jenn, the last bible passage that jumped out at me was Revelation 19. It was from a study I was doing on Gods greatness & referred to how Heaven worships the Lamb but also points to the Lamb as a mighty warrior. I have to be honest, Revelation baffles me & it’s not a favourite book of the bible but, in this instance, it was so powerful that it sparked an amazing time of worship & awe for Jesus & Holy Father God.
I have never read the bible all the way through. I really struggle with this. So I feel somewhat guilty now.
Jennifer Johns says
I just looked that verse up and wow, powerful. It helps me to pray first before reading the Bible; we need God’s help to understand and have eyes to see/ears to hear.
BunnyB — Don’t feel guilty about not reading the bible, because the good news is you can start now 🙂 I like the New International Version (NIV). It’s a great way to spend time with God and grow closer to Him.
Karen in NZ says
I love the way you share the truths that you find; This is so true and I believe indicative of human nature – trying to draw strength/wisdom/anointing whatever from our little ‘cisterns’ when we should be going to the One who provides living water, fountain like, waterfall like even more powerful like – water of life.
Thanks for sharing, always inspiring!
Bunnyb1802 says
I have a few versions because I find it helps sometimes to look up a different translation to get a feel for the passage in question. Currently I switch between the NLT and the Message. I do look at the Bible daily but I just haven’t actually read it from start to finish. Others I know, like Frothy43 a good friend of mine, is using a 1 year devotional. This is what I need to do. I just need to find the one that works for me. Lots of people have recommended YouVersion.
Annissa Peavy says
I just love your emails and blog Sister Jennifer! Glory to God! I pray many hurting people are led here by His Holy Spirit to read this GREAT NEWS you always share.
I will mention you and link to your blog at our blog. I would be thrilled if you would come visit and share with our readers and link back to your blog as well. Please come on over to BudgetBibles.com where you will see this reply and your link with some info and quotes from you!! MOST IMPORTANTLY… If someone is here reading this, that has lost faith in a loved one who now seems impossible to be changed OR if you are yourself reading are HURTING SOOOO BAD, & WAY past the end of your rope. Don’t give up! Your being here is no accident. … Here is Testimony to our LORD JESUS! I was a strung out crack head with absolutely no hope, no family left, no home, my child was taken… I was such a misrable wreck! Chief of the chief of sinners drowning in dispair when the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY suddenly with His MERCY and GRACE gave me sight, washed me clean, forgave me, redeemed me, so miracously, so GLORIOUSLY transformed my life, broke my hard hard heart replacing with His tenderness. Words can not describe that day He Borne me again!!! I was dead and He made me alive in HIM! I didn’t expect it, nor did I even ask…God simply knocked me down so He could lift me up!
WOO HOO from a drug head loser to a Bible wholesaler with an instant fire inside to shout His Praises and share HIS WORD and HIS FREEDOM! These are some verses I read shortly after that are rather descriptive of what happened… if this rings true for you… ASK GOD to HELP you! HE WILL! Read His Bible today! Biblos is an online Bible with most versions to study and compare, free of charge and has no strings or popups attached!! (need prayer? let me know and or let Jennifer here know and we will all be honoured to pray for you and with you! RIGHT Jennifer! ) God Bless you all!
Do these verses sound like your life similar to how they were to me?
Lamentations Chapter 3 Verses 16-24
He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mindand therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Here is more of the Chapter of LAMENTATIONS 3 This one NLT
Hope in the Lord’s Faithfulness I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger. He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light. He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead. He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains. And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers. He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.
He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me. He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.
He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
He shot his arrows deep into my heart. My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.
He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.
He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust. Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.
God Bless! Every Blessing, Annissa Peavy MissionsBibles.com Co-Owner/ Owner is our LORD
Bible Blog is at BudgetBibles.com
Lisa~ says
Wow. I was all prepared with a comment when I read the comments before me and now am taken with how different we all are and how amazing God is once again to bring us all together.
Anyway, my comment is about what you said about God’s Word being living. I always think about that when I read a passage that I have read many times and boom….it has a new meaning for me. I am overwhelmed that He could give us a book that would be so rich with His goodness that it would grow with us as we got to know Him deeper.
No specific verse comes to mind, but I do love the one you shared about the living water. It refreshes me every time. I love reading your blog and have been following for a while now. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. Lisa~
Jennifer Johns says
Thank you for your wonderful and inspiring comments. God is so good… letting him lead, guide and fill me has given me a new life, all I want to do is share it — and thank you all for doing the same.
Blessings today and always 🙂
Sushil Sakpal says
Thank you for your msg but i want to ask you 1 think What is the Christmas? & why celebrates christmas? (What GOD told anywhere in the bible ” You must celebrate the christmas in every year”
David says
Sushil, God made a promise to all of mankind (through the prophets of Israel, see Isaiah, Micah, etc.) that He would forgive “man” of sin and that the sign of this promise, which is called a covenant or testament, as in the New Testament, would be the birth of the Messiah (which means Christ or Holy One).
The birth of Jesus is a sign from God to all mankind that God loves us and promises us eternal life through our faith in Jesus as the only Son of God and even God Himself manifested by spirit in a human body – hence the prophecy saying that Jesus would be called Immanuel (which means God is with you). God was with us then in human form, by the power of God’s spirit, and God is still with us by His Holy Spirit through the promise that was “signed” by Jesus’ birth. This is no small miracle, and we celebrate this birth (Christmas) for good reason, not because it is mandatory but because we love Jesus so much (and He loves us so much!). The mystery of God is very deep and requires wisdom of a faith in Jesus to understand fully. There is much teaching available to understand God’s mysteries, and because the teaching is from God, as God promises us, if we pray to God to seek Him and understand His mysteries He will be faithful to lead us to His understandings.
So, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ (Messiah((Holy One)) JESUS)!!
abigail says
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking and training in righteousness.” -1 Timothy 3:16
Angele says
Hi lady’s and Gentlemen, I am coming her because I am thirsty for God. I want to have a relationship with him as I am telling you this I am crying!! as Jen said tried to her self to do everything and that is me. I don’t know how to let go and give it to God because for so long I did it myself! I have been through a lot at a young age, I am a Christian I am reading the word and just want to have that relationship with him but any body can read the word and not have a relationship. I want to do it the right way and have a relationship with him.. if this is confusing to yall I am sorry, just message me