Ps. 145:18 "The Lord
is close to all who call on Him."
Prov. 30:5 "Every
word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection." NLT
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.
REJOICE.
January
Devotionals
2/01 John
4:1-2
Jesus[a] knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making
more disciples than John (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his
disciples did).
JESUS
Jesus had no misconceptions. He knew exactly what He was doing and why. We
often fool ourselves. We are not truthful to our hearts. We do wrong
things and pray for a right outcome. Lord help us to be transparent and do
the next right thing.
2/02 John
4:3
So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
JESUS
Jesus did not worry about PR. He knew what He was supposed to do and went
about His work with a sense of awareness of His timetable. He followed the
Father completely each and every day.
2/03 John
4:4-5
He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the
Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son
Joseph.
MINISTRY
Jesus was focused on ministry. Jews didn’t go through Samaria when they
were traveling from Galilee to or from Jerusalem. Jesus did. He cared
about people. When we care about people the place of service is
irrelevant.
2/04 John
4:6-8
Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily
beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water,
and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time
because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
MINISTRY
When you are worn out are you able to recognize a ministry opportunity?
Jesus did. This woman at the well would be ignored by most. Mainline
religious folk would categorize her as an outcast and move on. Jesus knew
her need and took time to minister to her. Everyone we meet has needs. We
are in the need filling business.
2/05 John
4:9
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with
Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan
woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
MINISTRY
Ministry overcomes culture. We minister to those in need. Everyone is in
need. We are called to minister wherever we go. When we keep the Son in
our eyes ministry becomes second nature to us.
2/06 John
4:10
Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are
speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
WORLD
The
world cannot comprehend ministry nor can it comprehend meeting needs. In
the world everyone is evaluated by a worth scale that excludes ministry to
people. Living water is what we have to give to those in need. We
recognize their physical needs and also their spiritual needs and are able
to minister to both. People count with the Lord.
2/07 John
4:11-12
“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is
very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think
you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you
offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
MINISTRY
Many people who need ministry don’t know what ministry is nor do they
understand it when someone ministers to them. We are called to minister to
those in need not to make them realize we are ministering to them and then
become grateful for what we have done. We minister out of obedience and
love.
2/08 John
4:13-14
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty
again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.
It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
MINISTRY
We
minister to people. Sometimes they receive it and sometimes they don’t.
Sometimes they respond negatively towards us. But no matter the response
minister to the needy.
2/09 John
4:15
“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be
thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
NEED
The world is lost. It does not know what it needs. Jesus always knows our
need. When we turn to Christ and submit out life He will walk with us and
guide us to meet our need. We don’t have to plead or beg to get our need
met because Jesus knows what we need and He loves us. Today let Jesus show
you the way.
2/10 John
4:16
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
NEED
I know you say you need this but is that really your need. We often find
Jesus touching us as to our need and we try to throw Him off the path to our
real need. We ask questions, drag our feet, and make excuses when in fact
the only one we are fooling is ourselves. Jesus knows all about us. Go to
Him and work through to the truth. Then you can change. Jesus loves you.
2/11 John
4:17-18
“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right!
You don’t have a husband—for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even
married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
NEED
We need truth in our life. We need to face the truth. We need to
understand the magnitude of our sin, the way it separates us from Christ.
Repent, turn away, from your sin and you will experience the wisdom, mercy
and grace of Jesus. Let Christ have control of you.
2/12 John
4:19-20
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it
that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we
Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors
worshiped?”
NEED
This item of need was irrelevant to the woman’s need. Jesus ignored this
question because He knew this wasn’t part of the woman’s problem. She was
an outcast to her own people. This false front was moved aside by Jesus.
He listened but was going to deal with the real problem. Let the Lord deal
with you and He will deal with the real problems you are facing.
2/13 John
4:21-23
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will
no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in
Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while
we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the
time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will
worship him that way.
TRUTH
Mankind is desperately lost and cannot fix his/her broken relationship with
God. God has provided a way for mankind to be saved. That is the way for
us to go. Ask Jesus to forgive us of our sin and make us righteous before
the Father. In Christ we have a relationship with God. Without Christ we
are dead in our trespasses and sin.
2/14 John
4:24
For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in
truth.”
TRUTH
Jesus is the truth. He is the only way to the Father. In Christ we have an
entre into the family of God. Jesus is our savior. The Good News for us is
that Jesus lived a perfect life, suffered for our sin, died to pay the price
of our sin and was raised from the dead by the power the power of God.
Jesus reigns as the King of kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus loves you.
2/15 John
4:25
The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called
Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
OUTSIDERS
Outsiders always have a potential attitude. Things aren’t their fault.
Everything will be fixed then. They have very little recognition of the
now. A Christ centered life is a now life. I recognize my responsibility
as a child of the King. Do the next right thing and do it now.
2/16 John
4:26
Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”
LOST
The lost are dead in their trespasses and sin. They cannot see spiritual
truth. Jesus is standing before this woman and she doesn’t even recognize
Him. Be careful how you live your life. You nor I want to miss an
opportunity for interaction with Christ the Lord.
2/17 John
4:27
Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking
to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with
her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”
SHEEP
All of us have gone astray like a flock of sheep. We fail to ask the right
questions to our own hurt. We do not experience the fullness of Christ in
our daily life. What do you want me to do Jesus? That is the question.
2/18 John
4:28-30
The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village,
telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!
Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the
village to see him.
RECOGNITION
When we
see Jesus it will change the way we act and the way we live. We are no
longer living a life of uncertainty. In Christ we have eternal life and a
certain job that we are to be about. Talk with Jesus. Are you living the
way you should?
2/19 John
4:31-33
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” But
Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” “Did someone
bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.
FOOLISH
Even His disciples didn’t connect the dots. They really didn’t understand
who Jesus was. Do you understand that Jesus is the Son of God and that He
is alive and living in His children here on earth. He is our elder brother
and He gives us His righteousness. Isaiah 64:4-9 tells us that “all our
righteousness is like filthy rags.” We are saved by His work and His
righteousness.
2/20 John
4:34-36
Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God,
who sent me, and from finishing his work. You know the saying, ‘Four months
between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The
fields are already ripe[e] for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages,
and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy
awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!
FOCUS
Our leader Jesus gives us a model to follow for a growing and strong
Christian lifestyle-focus on the Lord. We don’t think about Jesus when we
are in trouble, we think about Him all the time. He is our constant
companion.
2/21 John
4:37-38
You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I
sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the
work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”
WORK
There is no limit to the amount of good we can do if it doesn’t matter who
gets the credit. All that I do I do for the glory and honor of the Lord
Jesus. He is God’s everything. Without Jesus we can do nothing at all. In
Christ we will live, grow and multiply for we will properly represent Him at
every opportunity.
2/22 John
4:39-41
Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had
said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see him,
they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long
enough for many more to hear his message and believe.
WISDOM
The wisdom of God is to know Jesus. He is our Savior and brings real life
and light into our lives. Jesus is the Messiah and He came so that we might
have life. Think about Jesus and what He means to you. When the people saw
the change in the woman at the well they knew that they wanted that kind of
change in their life.
2/23 John
4:42
Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what
you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is
indeed the Savior of the world.”
KNOW
A relationship with Jesus is a personal relationship. There are no
grandchildren in the family of God. We must come to the point where we too
can say that we have heard but now we know that Jesus is Lord and Savior.
2/24 John
4:43
At the end of the two days, Jesus went on to Galilee.
MINISTRY
Most of the ministry of Jesus was in the Galilee. He was a country person
and He loved to be in the small towns around the Sea of Galilee. Now He was
again returning to Galilee. He knew His course and that there was little
time left to complete His work here on earth. Just a thought, if the Son of
God was moving with purpose and meaning maybe that is the way we should be
living. Our focus should be on the task the Lord has assigned us. Busy
about His work.
2/25 John
4:44-45
He himself had said that a prophet is not honored in his own hometown.
Yet the Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in Jerusalem at the
Passover celebration and had seen everything he did there.
PEOPLE
People have such short memories. Even the best of us seldom have pure
intentions for people are selfish, self-centered beings. All have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God. Let Jesus come into your heart and
your life. Live for Him and with Him. Bend your knee to the Lord.
2/26 John
4:46-48
As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the
water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose
son was very sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee,
he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about
to die.
Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs
and wonders?”
BELIEVE
Lord I believe, help my unbelief. This government official knew that Jesus
could save His son and He came to find Jesus and to get Him to come to
Capernaum to heal his boy. Jesus began pointing out His character and
nature-He didn’t come to just work extraordinary works so that we might be
impressed. He came to die for me and you and He was already beginning His
march to the Cross. The miracles Jesus worked were small things compared to
the work He did for humanity by dying on the cross in Jerusalem and being
resurrected by the power of God.
2/27 John
4:49-50
The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”
Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man
believed what Jesus said and started home.
BELIEVE
Do you believe in Jesus? If you do you will begin a process of change this
moment that will take you the rest of your life consummate. You can live a
life totally committed to Jesus. So many are needed to tell the world about
Jesus, will you?
2/28 John
4:51-54
While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news
that his son was alive and well. He asked them when the boy had begun to
get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever
suddenly disappeared!” Then the father realized that that was the very time
Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household
believed in Jesus. This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee
after coming from Judea.
ANYTHING
Jesus can do anything. He can equip us to serve as His co-worker in this
world. Jesus will help you to be just like the Father created you to be.
Be strong in the Lord and in His might and Jesus will work with you to
become more like Him. People need to always be growing into
Christ-likeness. I plan to keep doing this. Join with me and let’s serve
the Lord together.
January 2010 Devotionals
December 2009 Devotionals
November 2009 Devotionals
October
2009 Devotionals
September 2009 Devotionals
August 2009 Devotionals
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June
2009 Devotionals
May 2009
Devotionals
April 2009
Devotionals
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Devotionals
February 2009 Devotionals
January 2009 Devotionals
December 2008 Devotionals
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August 2008 Devotionals
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June 2008 Devotionals
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March
2008 Devotionals
February 2008 Devotionals
January 2008
Devotionals
contact Clay:
clay@lifesongs.com
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Scripture quotations are
taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright© 1996. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
NASB Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New American
Standard Bible, copyright 1975. All rights
reserved by the Lockman Foundation.
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