Laurie Hopkins

I love this passage.  

It really sums it all up for me.  

Therefore, because we are the elect of God……..

because we are holy and beloved…….

our lives should look like this:  merciful, kind, humble, meek, longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving.  

And forgiving is not a suggestion; it is listed as a MUST.  

Allowing the peace of God to rule our hearts.  

Being thankful! 

The Word of God should be dwelling inside of us and giving us wisdom.  

We should be teaching, admonishing (encouraging) one another.  

SINGING!  

And most importantly, EVERYTHING we do should be done in the name of Jesus!  

This may seem like a tall order, but I know that my God, your God, can accomplish all things in and through us if we submit to Him and allow Him to move.  

Write it down, print it out, put it somewhere you can see during the day.  

A wonderful reminder of what the life of the elect of God should look like!

Jesus was leaving Judea to go to Galilee. 

There was a short route through Samaria, but the Jewish people didn’t like the people from Samaria and would go around the long way to avoid going through that area.  

But the text tells us that “He (Jesus) needed to go through Samaria.”  

Some have suggested He was on a time schedule and because He didn’t have any biases He went through Samaria because it was the shortest and most direct route. 

I believe the wording is stronger than that. 

The word needed =dei= it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper.  

It would seem to me that rather than this just being a shortcut (the shortest and most direct route) that this was a God appointment.  

Jesus didn’t just take His convenience; 

I believe He would have also taken the “long way” had the situation necessitated that.  

Jesus had an appointment with the woman at the well. 

Not just any appointment but an appointment that would change her life as well as the lives of those in her village.  

The woman was desperate and Jesus was there to meet her need for “living water”.  

Do you have a desperate need today?  

(by the way, we all have a desperate need for Jesus….).  

Jesus is willing to take the shortcut (or the long way around) to meet you where you are; to offer you the gift of “living water.” 

“But He needed to go through insert your location here.”

Most of us give and give frequently; of our time as well as our finances.  

But one thing we don’t think about when we give is the intention behind our giving.  

Are we giving out of a sense of duty, obligation, or just because others are giving?  

Or are we giving out of a heart of compassion, a sense of purpose and because we know what we have been called to?  

I would argue that a lot of giving out of a sense of duty will eventually cause “giving fatigue”.  Whereas giving out of compassion and purpose will fuel more compassion within us and help drive our sense of purpose.  

Let’s start looking at what we are giving, tailor it to compassion and purpose and move away from giving because it looks good or is expected of us.  

God loves a cheerful giver; one that gives from the heart.  

What is in your heart today? 

What need do you see that touches you deeply?  

What need do you see that makes the purpose within you get fired up?  

Start there!