dreams – Transformed ♥ Heart

If you live in a hot climate and spend time outdoors exercising at any time during the day, you probably have emptied your water bottle, and experienced extreme thirst at some point. John 7:37-39 says that Jesus cried out saying “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But He spoke of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

John 4:10,14 says, “Jesus answered and said unto her (the woman at the well), If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water. Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

What is this living water that Christ offers? I believe Jesus offered the woman the Holy Spirit as a result of receiving His free gift of salvation, which is offered to every person. (see John 3:16)

The water that comes from springs in the mountains, artesian wells, and other deep wells is cool and refreshing. Those sources of water easily satisfy our thirst, but water that is in a cistern, or in a stagnant pond or lake, has to be purified in some way to be safe to drink. En Gedi is a beautiful oasis in Israel’s desert that has crystal clear water flowing continually. It is emotionally and spiritually refreshing just to see this water flowing in a barren desert. This reminds me of the kind of water that God offers us by filling us with His Holy Spirit.

Photo by Haley Black on Pexels.com

After a lot of praying, studying the Bible, and reading some related biographies, I have concluded that there is a lot more to this “living water- Holy Spirit” than what many Christians (especially here in our nation) realize. We have lived in many states, and I have heard believers sometimes say that they are lacking power, joy, and peace. These are things that God promises us in the Bible, and we desperately need them right now in order to not let the world situations trouble us and make us feel afraid or depressed. Luke 24:49 tells us that Jesus told His disciples to wait in the city of Jerusalem, until they were filled with power from on high. Besides the Holy Spirit and feeding on the Word of God daily, we also need to be praying fervently according to God’s will (and we need the Holy Spirit to help us know how and what to pray).

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said that he was only baptizing with water, but Jesus would “baptize with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (also told in Acts 1:5 and Acts 11:16), and in John 14:16,15:26, and 16:7, Jesus promised that the Comforter (Holy Spirit of truth) would come after His departure.

Although Peter and John would have already received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), it’s very interesting that later, when they were imprisoned and threatened (Acts 4:1-21) for preaching to the people and for healing the lame man, they prayed that God would grant them boldness to continue their ministry. Acts 4:31 tells us that as they prayed “the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
So they must have received even a deeper filling due to their need and thirst. Are you thirsty? Isaiah 44:3a says, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.”

Well, I am thirsty! How about you? The verses that finally convinced me that Jesus offers us more are found in Luke 11 (verses 11-13). “If a son shall ask bread of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he asks a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Like myself, some of you may have a hard time relating to a kind earthly father. Perhaps your father would have given you a stone, a serpent, or a scorpion; but the fact is, our merciful, loving, gracious heavenly Father isn’t like that, and He gives us many wonderful promises in the Bible.

Some Christians say that speaking in tongues is given to every believer when they are “baptized in the Spirit”, but the Bible doesn’t actually say that. However, in I Corinthians 14:5,18,19, Paul does say that he wishes that “all spoke with tongues”, and he thanks God that he speaks with tongues, “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.”

Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17 and 18 tell us that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh: “and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy….” And verse 21 says, “that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Praise God!

I want to end this blog post with verses from Isaiah and Revelation, “Ho! Everyone that thirsts, come to the waters; and he that has no money, come, buy, and eat” (Isaiah 55:1a). Are you hungry for more? Are you thirsty enough to ask for Living Water? “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

Believers and unbelievers alike would often like a sign from God to prove that He exists, or to confirm something that they are praying about. As I compared some of the Scripture related to signs, I discovered that when the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Him for a sign, they were actually testing Jesus, and He sighed deeply in His spirit and responded with the following answer, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39, 16:1-4, Mark 8:12, and Luke 11:29) Although they had the Son of God in their midst, and saw many of His miracles, they were still asking for another sign?

However, when the disciples ask Him what the sign would be in response to His comments about the temple being destroyed, and related to His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3-42, Mark 13:4-33, and Luke 21:7-36), He shared many signs with them.

In recent years, I have read and heard many testimonies of men and women who asked for a sign when they were in a situation or place where they had never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ (as is the case of many Muslims); or of people who were considering suicide because they reached “rock bottom” and were desperate for help. Since God knows their heart, he has actually given them dreams and other signs to reveal Himself to them. Since God loves everyone so much, and ” He is not willing that any should perish….” (2 Peter 3:9), He graciously uses many means to bring people to Himself.

Let’s not put God in a box, nor think that we always need a sign. Thomas said he wouldn’t believe what the other disciples said (that they had seen the Lord alive again), unless he could see in His hands the print of His nails, and put his finger in them, and put his hand into His side. When Jesus actually appeared to them again, He told Thomas he could do those things, and said, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing”, and He added, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”