Jesus shattered the stereotypes of "us" and "them"
Am I willing to turn everyday contacts—including those beyond my comfort zone—into opportunities for God to flow some living water? Even when family, friends, and work associates still hold tightly to boxes of oppression, prejudice, and rejection, will we join Jesus to be:
Willing? Am I willing to see my daily path as an aqueduct of his living water?
Ready? Am I ready to use my life to deliver his living water? Have I tasted this living water personally? Am I prepared to give an answer of living water to those salty questions, struggles, or aloneness that others face (Colossians 4:2–5)?
Initiating? Am I more than a pew “Amen”? Do I declare in the comfort of gathered believers, “I’m willing and I’m able,” but don’t prayerfully take the initiative?
How long have you known that neighbor next door, the waitress at your favorite restaurant, the person behind the counter or at the drive-thru window, the businessman who parks in the same parking lot at work, the girl in first-hour science class, the nurse at your hospital bed? Are you initiating to the point that you can join Jesus and say, “My food is to do the work and will of my Father”?"
--Dave Garda, Sonlife Ministries
Lord, help us be present to you and each other as we spend
this time together. There is so much on our minds and so many tasks on our
plates at work and at home. And there are those we have ignored or treated in a
less-than-Christlike way this week. Search us, O God, and know our thoughts.
Test us and know our anxious thoughts. See if there are any offensive ways in
us and lead us in the everlasting way. For you, O Father, are a holy God.
Hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we
forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Let it be
so; Amen.
