Are You Thirsty This Morning?

I have a special birdbath. It belonged to my neighbor and when she passed away it came to my house. I've tried to keep it full of water but the birds haven't really done much with it. Until this year. It has become a haven in the dry hot summer days. I have to keep an eye on it because the water quickly becomes stagnant. It even evaporates. I keep putting in fresh water daily and cleaning it out often.

These birds flit in and sit on the side for a bit. They look the water over and fly into the shrubs and back. Then they just go for it. They slip into the water and dip their heads under. They flap their wings and tip their tail feathers.  It looks as though they forget all about the danger of enemies and just abandon themselves to the activity. They’ll stop and even drink from it. It’s obvious they thoroughly enjoy themselves!

The Word of God is so refreshing! God beckons us not just to taste of it, but to bathe luxuriously in it. Unlike the bird bath water, His living water never gets old, never runs dry and is always refreshing and rejuvenating.

All we have to do is dive in and allow it to soothe our tired bones and clean our dusty hearts. Without yielding ourselves to the blessings of God’s Word we will languish. This precious fountain is available to everyone, no matter who you are, what you’ve done or where you’ve been. It isn’t about personalities, popularity or financial standing.  Other refreshment never lasts and never gives permanent revitalizing, but with the fountain of His delights we are able to fly away and sing with joy!

The Lord knows that you’ve been in a dry spell. You’ve been working so hard to keep afloat, keep yourself clean and make things work. You’ve been a tireless worker and you won’t even allow yourself a moment to rest.  But while work is noble and things have to get done, you may have left out the most important thing in your week.  It’s time to stop and dip into the fountain of God’s delights. His living water is full of all that you will ever need. It’s full of eternal love, so that you never run dry and you always know you are loved. It’s full of blessings, so that you never run dry and feel that you have to make your own way.  It’s full of faith, so that you have enough for yourself and even enough to give out to others.  His fountain is big enough for your troubles, your worries, your fears as well as your hopes, your dreams and your calling. 

Oh beloved, don’t delay. Come to the water and drink till your heart’s content. God will never forbid you to come to Him, He’ll never tell you you’ve had enough and He’ll always renew the fountain that never runs dry because He knows you need the source of His abounding fountain to live. Rejoice, that His Living Water is always available for you! His fountain is cleansing and rejuvenating. It will renew your spirit so that you can keep going in the hard times, keep singing in the dry times and keep believing even when everything around you turns dry. Come to Him first, before the heat of the day’s troubles overtakes you.

When you look to Him your face will be radiant and your days will be refreshed, because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s the most refreshing news ever!

John 4:14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.

Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

Revelation 2:16 And He also said, “It is finished! I AM the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.”

John 4:13-14 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”  

Isaiah 41:17-18 When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them.  I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them. I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.

Are You Hungry and Thirsty This Morning?

In the 40’s Automats were the rage in big cities. Automats were cafetrias where rotating vending machines of fresh food and beverages were purchased. Slip in a nickel and you’d get a fresh slice of delicious pie. Slip in a dime and you could buy macaroni and cheese.

I remember watching a movie about a young woman who came to make her fortune in New York. She had no money and she would come to the automat and make soup of hot water and tomato ketchup! She’s stir and fix and add salt and pepper and drink that stuff.

All that food rotating around, being replaced behind the machine with fresh food. It was kept full and literally the machines would never run out. But here was this woman drinking ketchup and hot water! The ketchup and hot water was free but not really tasty and not at all nutritious. Food everywhere but because she was without change in her purse, it was all she could do.

I am reminded this morning of the Word of God. It is an ever rotating completely full Automat of the Soul Body and Spirit. Everything needed for a healthy meal from the Lord is contained there.  Unlike the plight of the young woman in the movie, it’s all free! Our benefactor, the Owner of Heaven and Earth, has paid it all so that we, who are hungry, thirsty and empty can be filled! Every Word displayed on the pages of God’s Word is tasty and healthy and perfect for us.

Are you sitting at the cafeteria table of life and content to make ketchup soup when you could have the whole buffet? Maybe no one ever told you that you could partake of it all – without money, without any credentials other than the mark of Christ on your heart.  You’re hungry and thirsty and beginning to show signs of malnutrition.  Yet it’s all there, waiting for you to pick it up and partake of it.

Oh beloved,   today is your day! Run to the Word of God and partake of it all! Read it from page to page, cover to cover, chapter to chapter and verse to verse! It’s all about God’s love for His people, His bountiful supplies freely laid out for the taking! He’s wooing you and calling you to come and dine. Don’t stay content to sip on that which has no nourishment.  Don’t let the enemy tell you that this is all there is!

God’s Word is all yours because He loves you completely and He paid the ultimate price to give it all to you! God’s Word will sustain you, strengthen you, nourish you and give you the stamina to go the distance – all the way to heaven! God is for you, so He made a way for you to have everything you need for your life now and your life to come! Go ahead, reach out and enjoy!

Proverbs 4:20-22 My child, pay attention to what I say.  Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

Isaiah 55:1 Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink--even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk--it's all free!

John 4:14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.

Jeremiah 15:16 When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven's Armies.

Need Anything? Step Up to Jehovah Jireh's Provision!

Yesterday someone snapped a photo of two friends and I. We were working together at breakfast. What you don’t see when you look at the photo is that I’m just a person who came in to help fill the plates for the teens and youth leaders. But behind the scenes the two women in the picture were actually up before dawn prepping and cooking the entire meal, with a group of kitchen volunteers. I just reaped a benefit of their work.


Sometimes it looks like Christians have it made. It’s a piece of cake. What is often unseen is the preparatory work Christ has done for us. Everything we have is given to us by Him. He prepared it all before the foundation of the world. Just like the ladies and the entire kitchen crew worked before the kids even woke up, so too God prepared everything we would need for life and godliness before we even knew Him.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that we can simply step in and fellowship with the Lord because He has it all laid out for us? All our hopes, our dreams, our desires are found already perfected in Him. He is not merely our way to salvation, He IS our Salvation! He is not merely the One Who feeds and clothes us, He makes a way for us to step up and walk into our faith, so that all we need is provided for us.

Oh beloved, run to the Lord’s buffet table of love! Thank Him for the unending provision He has given just for you! Thank Him that He loves you so incredibly that even if you walk through hard places, He will walk with you. He is always there. Before the foundation of the world He provided everything you will ever need. He loved you before you were born, He loves you now, He will love you always. Step up to the banquet and partake of all the delicacies He has just for you – love, joy, peace, faith, courage, victory, peace, and oh so much more. His provision is so huge that you can’t even see it all. But beloved, you can walk in it! What wondrous love is this that He has it already provided. What awesome care is this that He doesn’t send you out alone but walks with you all the way!

Genesis 22:14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means "the LORD will provide"). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

Psalm 68:10 There Your people finally settled, and with a bountiful harvest, O God, You provided for Your needy people.

Isaiah 49:10 They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the LORD in His mercy will lead them beside cool waters.

Psalm 34:10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.

Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

James 1:17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

Feast on the Word and Never Go Away Hungry

While we had no meal catastrophes on Christmas Day, I did forget to purchase one important menu element. When I went to assembly the broccoli rice casserole there was no broccoli! Our son went to Walgreen’s, the only thing, besides gas stations, open in town only to find they had none.  Someone managed to find a packaged of steam and serve “casserole” in their freezer and we made it.

To say we were all stuffed afterwards is putting it mildly.  I am always concerned there won’t be enough and as a result there’s always more than we could ever eat, even though this year there were 12 of us present. With the candies and pies and fruit salad included and the fact that most everyone grazed all afternoon, you could say we were stuffed. Not only were we full at the table, we stayed full all afternoon!  The only thing we had to watch was what Caleb got hold of, since he’s allergic to nuts, otherwise he could eat to his heart desire as well.

Believers should be a lot like Christmas meal patrons. At our disposal is the most wonderful banquet table in the universe! Nothing is taboo and nothing at His banquet will harm us. At our fingertips are the richest delicacies of the faith spread out freely for us to partake.

Unlike Christmas meals, when we are full of God, we can keep eating and never feel stuffed! In fact the more you partake of God’s banquet, the more blessed we become! The richest morsels of God’s banquet keeps us wanting more of Him and less of the world. When we are filled with God we don’t have room for anything else!

Oh beloved, how blessed you are to live where the Word of God can still be freely read and absorbed! You who belong to Him are able to partake, with all the saints, every single item on His menu! Run to His Word today Let the Holy Spirit feed you and fill you with His delicacies so that you have no room for other things that do not truly satisfy.  Other menus will call out to you, but when you stay close to the Lord and let Him fill you with Himself, nothing else will do.  He says to you this morning, come and see, all that I AM you can be a partaker of. All that I AM is yours for the asking. You never have to leave, you can even carry Me with you, for I AM with you always. Sit and learn of Me for I AM your most faithful friend and I will never leave you hungry or thirsty. Other things may look enticing, but they will lead to pain and hurt and sorrow. But I AM always good for your heart, health for your soul and life for your spirit.  I AM the one who loves you and I AM the one who is with you, after the party is over, after the mess is cleared away, after everyone else is gone I AM. Come and be seated at My banqueting table, for My banner over you is Love!

Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near Him]. AMP

Isaiah 2:3  People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of Jacob’s God. There He will teach us his ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For the LORD’s teaching will go out from Zion; His word will go out from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 55:1 “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!

Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalm 40:16  But may all who search for You be filled with joy and gladness in You. May those who love Your salvation repeatedly shout, “The LORD is great!”

Ephesians 5:2  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Psalm 107:9  For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.