Not Just on Sunday
Daily Devotions for the Week after January 9
THE WELL
Each day there is a song to enhance your devotions. You can read the words,
but far better to experience the music online. Use the web addresses provided.
Monday January 10 John 4:7, 8-15
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink" . . .
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." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so
that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
The woman fills and empties jars, marries and divorces—but life’s rituals
and relationships have become empty for her. What potentially life-giving
rituals and relationships have become empty for you?
Living Water does not have to be fetched, drawn or pumped; it springs up
freely. You may be working hard morally or spiritually—fetching, drawing,
pumping. Can you rest a bit and let God’s Living Water flow in you?
Song: “Let Your Living Water Flow” by John Watson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpAANrbQLpM
Let Your living water flow over my soul.
Let Your Holy Spirit come and take control.
Of every situation that has troubled my mind.
All my cares and burdens on You I do roll.
CHORUS:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Father, Father, Father
Spirit, Spirit, Spirit
Give your life to Jesus, let Him fill your soul.
Let Him take you in His arms and make you whole.
If you give your life to Him, He'll set you free.
You can live and reign with Him eternally.
Come now, Holy Spirit, and take full control.
Take me in Your loving arms and make me whole.
Lord, I give my life to Thee, for all it's worth.
Take me, Lord, and use me upon this earth.
Tuesday January 11 Matthew 3:13, 16-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. . . 16
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the
heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with
whom I am well pleased."
Nothing you do or that anyone does to you can undo your baptism—God
meant it and is faithful. When/where/how were you baptized? How has
God been faithful and present to you?
God says “Beloved” and “well pleased” to before Jesus even starts his
ministry. God does not love us for what we have done, but because we
are his children. Hear God say it to you—do not resist or deny it: “You
are my beloved child; I am well pleased with you.” How does it feel?
Song: “Come to the Water” by Matt Maher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJJVrZKqKNE
O let all who thirst
Let them come to the water
And let all who have nothing
Let them come to the Lord
Without money, without price
Why should you pay the price
Except for the Lord?
And let all who seek
Let them come to the water
And let all who have nothing
Let them come to the Lord
Without money, without strife
Why should you spend your life
Except for the Lord?
And let all who toil
Let them come to the water
And let all who are weary
Let them come to the Lord
All who labor without rest
How can your soul find rest
Except for the Lord?
And let all the poor
Let them come to the water
And let the ones who are laden
Let them come to the Lord
Bring the children without might
Easy the load and light
Come to the Lord
Wednesday January 12 Psalm 23:1-4a
23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me
in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
What are the “still waters” the Lord leads you to? A place? an attitude? a
person? a way of praying? what?
How does God calm your fears when you walk through life’s dark valleys?
Song: “Breathe” by Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oad8ov10AjY
This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm lost without you
This is my daily bread
this is my daily bread
your very word spoken to me
And I'm, I'm desperate for you
And I'm, I'm lost without you
Thursday January 13 Psalm 42:1-6a
42:1 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of
God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led
them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a
multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in
God; for I shall again praise him, my help 6 and my God.
There are times when our souls long for God the way a parched creature
thirsts for water. What are such times for you?
How is longing or thirsting for God—even in dry times—a form of faith?
Song: “As the Deer” by Marth Nystrom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF27EczT_pU
As the deer pants for the water
So my soul longs after thee
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship thee
Chorus
You alone are my strength my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship thee
You're my friend and You are my brother,
Even though you are a king.
I love you more thank any other,
So much more than anything.
I want You more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy Giver,
And the apple of my eye.
Friday January 14 Isaiah 40:28b-31
28 The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not
faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young
will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they
shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk
and not faint.
Sometimes our physical and spiritual dryness results in a bone-crushing
weariness. What makes you feel most weary?
To “wait for the Lord” is not simply biding one’s time, but is a form of faith.
What does it mean, what does it take, to “wait for the Lord” in this way?
Song: “Eagle’s Wings” by Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP6YR81wPZE
Here I am waiting
Abide in me I pray
Here I am longing
For You
Hide me in Your love
Bring me to my knees
May I know Jesus
More and more
Come live in me
All my life
Take over
Come breathe in me
I will rise
On eagle’s wings
Saturday January 15 Matthew 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light."
What heavy burdens are you carrying?
Do you believe Jesus will give you rest from your burdens? Will you let
him? What would it feel like?
Song: “Lay Your Burdens Down” by Scott Dyer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoHLElGz1zY
If your dreams have seemed to dry up
like a sea that’s slowly dying
If you need a hand to hold you
and no one’s around
If the darkness overwhelms
and your fears are multiplying
You can lean on me and lay your burdens down.
Find your rest in me and lay your burdens down.
If the road of life has led you
to a place you have not chosen
If you need a hold to cling to
and hope just can’t be found
If an angry wind has left you
with a heart that’s frail and frozen
You can lean on me and lay your burdens down.
Put your trust in me and lay your burdens down.
If the ground your world is built on
is feeling fragile and unstable
If the cares of life consume you
and weariness abounds
Come and lay the things that bow you
on a back that’s strong and able
You can lean on me and lay your burdens down.
Come and rest in me and lay your burdens down.