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Never Be Thirsty Again

Did you know that water is our bodies’ principal chemical component and that every system in our body depends on water?  I was reading an article on the Mayo Clinic website (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283) that talked about how much our bodies need water.  It was a very interesting article that brought up something that surprised me.

According to the Institute of Medicine the average adult male, living in a temperate climate, needs 13 cups of fluids a day.  The total is 9 cups for women.  I had always heard 8 cups, but this article shows that information to be based more on the ease of remembering that number (8 cups of 8 ounces each) than on factual information about what is best for the body.  Although, if we are at least drinking 8 cups, then we will be in the ballpark.

The article also says that if we are drinking enough water, then we should rarely be thirsty.  We should be hydrating ahead of time, before we need it.  That makes sense, but we tend to rely on our thirst to let us know when we need to drink something.

I doubt that I drink enough water.  I know that I get thirsty periodically throughout the day.  Especially when I am being more physically active, or when it is hot outside.  But imagine if we only had to drink one time per day and that would be enough water for that day?  Imagine if we took one drink and then we were never thirsty for the rest of our lives?  That would be incredible wouldn’t it?

Well, in the Bible, Jesus was talking with a woman while sitting by a well, and He told her that He had living water and whoever drank that water would never be thirsty again.  Of course she was intrigued.  She was also confused.  But after spending time with Jesus, her life was changed forever.

You see, Jesus was talking spiritually not physically.  He was referring to that thirst within us that can only be quenched by a right relationship with God.  And that thirst can be quenched, once for all, through Jesus Christ.  You can read the story in John 4 and you can find out more about it at The River this Sunday, at 9:30 a.m.

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Megaphone Guy

Have you ever gone to an event in a major city and passed by that guy who stands on the street corner yelling into a megaphone? Sometimes it is a spiritual message like the end of the world, or the need for repentance.  Sometimes it is someone trying to sell you something or maybe even someone who is just a little bit delusional.  But typically our response is to move to the other side of the street to avoid, “megaphone guy.”

But what motivates “megaphone guy” to do what he does?  Have you ever thought about that?  Why is he out there in the cold or heat, enduring the disdain of many onlookers, proclaiming a message that most people seem to be ignoring?  Good question isn’t it?  We don’t know what motivates them to do what they do.  But it must be pretty important to them, or they wouldn’t go through all that trouble.

There was a man from Scripture that I think we sometimes compare with “megaphone guy.”  His name was John the Baptist.  He was definitely out there on the fringe of society.  He hung out in the wilderness, wore clothes made out of camel’s hair, ate locusts and wild honey and preached a message of repentance and that the kingdom of Heaven was near.

But one big difference between John the Baptist and “megaphone guy” was that people didn’t go across to the other side of the street to pass by, they gathered round.  John’s ministry was very popular.  Many people flocked to hear his message and to be baptized.  Some even thought that he was the Messiah.  There were some who didn’t like his message, and eventually he was imprisoned and beheaded because of what he said, but he was very popular with the people.

However, when Jesus showed up, many people stopped following John and began following Jesus.  This made some of John’s followers a little upset.  They didn’t want Jesus taking over their turf.  But John had a very amazing response.  He said, “He must become greater, I must become less.”  John wasn’t jealous of Jesus, and he didn’t look at their ministries as if it was a competition.  He wanted Jesus to succeed.  He even saw his ministry as being all about pointing people to Jesus.

What a great attitude.  And it is that attitude that we are going to look at this Sunday as we take a look at John the Baptist as part of our “Lessons from the Life of Christ” series.  See you Sunday.

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Rainbow Man

Have you ever heard of Rollen Stewart?  It is not a very familiar name, although I think many of you have probably seen him before.  He is also known as Rainbow man.  Back in the 80’s Rollen donned a rainbow wig and started showing up at major sporting events.  He first showed up in 1977 at the NBA Finals, where he stood out because of his crazy wig and his even crazier dancing.  Then in 1980 after becoming a professing Christian he made up a sign that said John 3:16 and he began bringing that with him to sporting events.

Throughout the 80’s he traveled all over the place with that wig and that sign, including the Olympics, the World Cup, the NFL playoffs, The Indy 500, The Masters, and even the royal wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Dianna.  He also brought along a little battery operated television to figure out where the best place was to get picked up by the video cameras.  So he was frequently seen on TV.  Sports producers became tired of his antics and tried to keep him off the air, even going so far as to threaten to fire cameramen who allowed Rollen to show up in their frame.

He became famous enough to be parodied on Saturday Night Live.  Unfortunately, his personal life began to fall apart and he wound up in prison serving three life sentences.  But many still remember his John 3:16 sign and his crazy rainbow wig.  And maybe they were intrigued enough to pick up a Bible and find out what that reference was all about.

John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the Bible.  People who have never stepped foot in a church are even familiar with this verse, or at least the reference.  And this verse will be the focus of our sermon this Sunday.  I will be looking not only at John 3:16, but also at the passage surrounding it, helping us to delve a little deeper into what is being talked about.  Join us at 9:30 this Sunday at 2510 Chaska Blvd., to find out more.