"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light."
Psalm 36:7-9
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Hello again, let's seek the Lord..........
"Thank You, Father, for being our Light that we may see light. Bless Your Holy name for Your lovingkindness toward us. I praise You for being that fountain of life that I may partake of and live.
Lord, I know that I have sinned against You so I come today to seek the forgiveness of my sins. I pray that You will cleanse me and purge me of these sins against You. I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit to overflowing.
I pray for each lady reading this study today. I pray that You will show her new and exciting things in Your word. I pray that she will earnestly seek You daily. I pray that You will say to her soul that You are her salvation.
In Jesus' name............amen."
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John 4: 34
"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.'"
Jesus again turns the attention from the material to the spiritual. Is Jesus saying that He doesn't need food? No, He is saying that spiritual things are what His work is all about: the will of God.
Please read:
Matt 7:21
Matt 21:28-31
John 5:30
John 6:38-40
The will of the Father is that "everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life..." The work that Jesus had to do on earth was great indeed, both in sheer size as well as in endeavor.
He wanted to share the wealth by appointing some to help Him with the labor of the harvest.
Rom 12:1-2
Phil 2:13
Col 1:9-10
Heb 13:20-21
We are here to do the will of the Father now. Jesus is preparing us constantly for this good work through trials and tribulations:
James 1:2-4
Rom 5:1-5
"...we also glory in tribulations..."
Suffering is the hardest part of being a Christian. Paul understood why he was suffering. We are to know why we suffer as well: because tribulation produces. What does it produce?
perseverance (endurance)
character
hope
Rom 5:6
We once were without strength, but now we have that strength through Christ:
Phil 4:12-13
So, we are equipped to do the works of the Lord. The Lord promises us that we will be satisfied with the fullness of His house and we will drink from the river of His pleasures. Just as the Lord equipped the Samaritan woman and was working on the disciples in this verse....He is working on equipping us as well:
Eph 4:11-12
For with Jesus is the fountain of life and in His light we see light.
As an artist, the one thing I can't stand is when people lean over my shoulder to look at my work in progress and make judgments on it when it isn't finished yet. But it is different when a teacher looks at the unfinished work.
When I was at ASU West, I was in a painting class where our teacher would walk around and critique our paintings. Each time he came to a student and made comments (usually negative comments) about their paintings, the student would instantly say, "It isn't finished yet..." as a way to avoid the criticisms. But I, as a 20 yr. art student, knew that those criticisms by a gifted art teacher were needed in order for me to improve as an artist. I joked that we should have had t-shirts printed up that said, "It isn't finished yet" since that was the class mantra!
The hard times and testing that we face are only perfecting us and making us pure as Jesus was pure. We are works in progress......God isn't finished with us yet!
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Life Application
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me...."
The will of God. So many sermons and lessons have been written about this subject. Whenever I listened to Christian talk radio, most people call in to ask "what is the will of God?" So many people seek this yet the answer is right before them:
1 Thess 4:3-4
The will of God should be as important to us as the food we eat and the water we drink:
Job 23:12
Do we treasure the word of God more than the food we eat or the water we drink?? I am one who has failed this test from time to time. I am the type of person who needs a Bible study to attend or write, otherwise I would not be in the Bible daily. There, I admitted it. I feel better!
"...and to finish His work."
In order to do God's work, I have to know God's word. I have to treasure it always otherwise I am not doing the will of God. He will do His work with or without me.....just as Jesus did without the disciples....but I would rather have Him do His work through me that I might be blessed as the Samaritan woman was blessed. Either way, His work will be done:
Is 28:21-22
Is 28:26 & 29
Will you be there to do the work of God?
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Until next time.........
"The Lord has made no provision for any of us to stop at some point in our growth toward full wholeness as human beings. We may never fully arrive at the perfection of Christ Jesus, but we are always to be growing more like Him. We must never become complacent about who we are or be satisfied that we have developed all the character that is necessary. Character building and spiritual maturity are both lifelong processes.
When we become complacent, the Lord may permit adversity to come our way in order to jostle us forward in our spiritual walk. God doesn't merely seek to get the attention of sinners; He also desires to have the full attention of those who love Him."
-Charles Stanley
(Advancing Through Adversity, 1996, p. 39)
Blessings,
Ruth
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