Superkids, I always like to start our November transmission with a reminder to be thankful! Being thankful can be a natural response when you are following and trusting in Jesus. But THANKFULLY, even when we don’t FEEL thankful, we can tap into the heart of Jesus on the inside and let thankfulness flow right through us.
Thankfulness is not listed in Galatians as a fruit of the spirit, but it functions like one. First Thessalonians 5:18 (New Living Translation), tells us, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
If it is His will that we be thankful, then He will help us! Let’s be SUPER thankful for Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who made it possible for us to be His sheep! In case you missed it, last month we met the Shepherd-Warrior. He is gentle with you and powerful for you at the same time. And we met David, who tended his father’s sheep. He used strength, courage and gentleness; and fought off a lion and a bear to save the sheep. These two shepherd-warriors show the fruit of gentleness in action!
Through December, let’s see just how INFUSED with Jesus we can be and what that really means!
Now, let’s jump into today’s transmission and see Jesus from the sheep’s eyes…and ears.
Picture a watering hole in Bible times. It is a busy place. Shepherds have gathered their flocks to drink and rest. Sheep are everywhere! You might think it would be complete confusion trying to sort them all out. How could any sheep ever find its shepherd in that crowd?
Then something remarkable happens. When a shepherd calls, only HIS sheep lift their heads to listen. Only HIS sheep move toward him. Through all the noise and all the other voices, they know the one voice that belongs to them. And they follow it. Jesus described this very moment in John 10:27 (NLT): “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Even in the middle of fun with friends, games, social media, schedules, fears or doubts, you can hear YOUR Shepherd speaking to you, calling your name. You were made to hear His voice. It is easy to recognize, always trustworthy, gentle, protective and full of love.
A shepherd doesn’t lead his sheep in silence. He speaks throughout the journey, leading the flock toward a new pasture or a safer location. Along the way, he leads them to water and rest.
In the same way, Jesus leads you every day, week, month, year and beyond, into the life He planned for you before you were ever born (Psalm 139; Ephesians 2:10). While He leads you along the path of life, He makes sure you have peace and rest in Him, and all the water you need.
When David wrote in Psalm 23, “He leads me beside still waters,” he described what it’s like when the Lord speaks to you and something deep inside you is restored, healed, refreshed in His presence. Jesus does this very thing in John 4.
Here we see a woman come to a well to get regular water, but guess who is there with a different kind of water? JESUS! He knew she had many concerns, hurts and troubles, but just one conversation with Him changed her whole life. Jesus told her that the water He gives becomes a gushing fountain that never runs dry. Jesus was the LIVING WATER she really needed! His words and presence filled her heart and soul! She may not have left with what she came for, but she sure became a gushing fountain of “Jesus Water,” as she ran and told the whole village what He had done for her. THAT is living water in action!
As you read your Bible, or when you hear Him speak to you on the inside, you are drinking that same LIVING WATER and being filled and INFUSED with the life of God Himself.
Look again at what Jesus actually promised in John 4:14, The Passion Translation:
“…if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never be thirsty again. For when you drink the water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless life!”
One drink of Living Water starts something that never stops. When YOU receive the words and presence of Jesus, the Holy Spirit becomes a fountain inside you—not a trickle or a puddle, but a GUSHING fountain of endless life flowing into you from heaven itself.
That is what Jesus meant in John 7:37-39, (NLT), when He stood up and shouted,
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, “Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said, “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)”
Wow! The Living Infusion of Jesus becomes a FOUNTAIN of living water, the flowing river that never stops flooding our hearts and souls because of the Holy Spirit! What a great GIFT! Next month, we’ll unwrap the gift that keeps on giving.
STAY TUNED!