The Upper Room Devotion for Tuesday, July 4, 2023, was written by Hank DeGraaff of Michigan.
Scripture
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John 4:7-14
BEAUTIFUL VESSELS
When my children were young, I showed them an interesting experiment I had heard about. I cut a few wildflowers called Queen Anne's lace and placed several of them in three different glasses of water. I left one glass with clear water, added a few drops of red food coloring to the second glass, and a few drops of blue food coloring to the third. The next morning the flowers in the clear water were still their original white color, but the ones in red had turned red and the ones in the blue water had turned blue.
Just as the water is drawn into the flowers, we need to draw Christ's living water into our lives. As the Holy Spirit flows into us, we are changed and empowered to be more Christlike, to do the will of God just as Jesus did. The Spirit can change us to be beautiful vessels of honor for God. As we continue to draw that living water of the Holy Spirit into our hearts through Bible study and prayer, we continue to grow in Christlike beauty.
Thoughts
Friends,
Some of you may remember the phrase: "You are what you eat!" The phrase was and is a call toward healthy eating habits, that we might become healthier. In like fashion, our faith matures when we consistently feed our spirit and soul. I invite you to reread Hank's reflection and ask yourself: What will I do today to feed my spirit as much as I feed my body?
-Pastor Anthony
Prayer
Dear Jesus, we pray for your living water to make us more like you each day. Amen.
Hank DeGraaff