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During His time on earth, Jesus Christ traveled around teaching people about God and Godly living. Additionally, He restored sight to the blind, cleansed the skin of lepers, and made the lame walk. During a trip, He met with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Samaria (John 4:6). He asked her for a drink of water and she was shocked because Jews typically avoided her people for a long list of reasons.


Ignoring that she was a Samaritan and a self-confessed fornicator, Jesus didn't stop talking to her. This makes sense, because He was all about doing His Father's business (Luke 2:49 NKJV). And here's something the Samaritan woman learned - John 4:10 - Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.


Although this didn't make sense, she continued speaking with Him. Their conversation eventually ended with Jesus revealing He was the Messiah she and her people were waiting for. The Samaritan woman ran to get everyone from her village and over the span of two days, many became believers!


Imagine if the woman hadn't gone to the well that day? She might have missed out on the chance to meet the Messiah and be transformed. What if she'd opted to leave the well when Jesus - a Jew - showed up? Or, if she'd decided He made little sense and chose to come back another time. Instead, she remained at the well. As a result, she was not only born again in the Spirit but she also led many of her people to meet Jesus and be saved as well.


It all happened at the well. It was there that the Samaritans were able to draw and drink living water.


Each of us needs to draw from the same living water so that we are equally transformed and saved. Like the Samaritan woman, we must be willing to listen to Jesus, ignoring any customs and fears that would block us from receiving what He has to give. And what He's offering is the Holy Spirit and even better, union with the Lord.


Fortunately, we don't have to travel to the Middle East to accomplish this feat. Jesus said in John 7:37-38, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” The Bible further explained, "By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified" (John 7:379).


We are the very people who will believe in Him later, just as the Bible mentioned. We are those who get to receive the Spirit of God from Jesus by drinking Him in. If only we can each believe that Jesus is the Son of God and submit to Him being our Lord and Savior. This is the starting point in a beautiful spiritual journey and it means choosing to give your life to Christ. From there, we have to study the Word of God, pray, fast, intercede for others, and give praises to the Lord. We have to apply these Kingdom Keys to grow spiritually. These will have us well positioned for any trial that comes our way because we'd be well planted at the well of living water. We'd be filled with the Holy Spirit who will tell us what to do so that we receive God's best and are filled with His fullness of life. For we are promised in Isaiah 21:3 - With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.


May we receive increased grace to patiently sit by the well so we can always draw from the never-ending supply that is a benefit of having Jesus as our Messiah, IJMN, Amen.


John 4:14 - but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

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We need to be ready to pick up the Bible to study it again and again and again.


Why? Because no matter how long you've been studying the Bible, there's always something new that God wants to teach in His word.


Case in point, recently, I thought I'd be studying something else but ended up in the Book of Micah. Personally, I let the Spirit of the Lord lead me to wherever He needs me to study each day. I've learned that He will teach me something one way or another.


It felt like I hadn't read this particular Book in a long time. That was until I got to a certain verse and thought, Hey, this reminds me of something the Lord taught me not long ago. I flipped through my notebook only to realize I'd actually studied Micah approximately six weeks prior!


I was stunned and sat there with all sorts of concerns. Did I not pay enough attention the last time I read Micah? To answer that question, I went to my notes from that period. They were rich with understanding on issues involving myself and others. So, I couldn't claim I wasn't paying attention.


Could it be that I wasn't getting enough sleep or something? Was that why I'd forgotten how recently I'd studied the Book? That could have been possible but I noticed that my sleep pattern didn't interfere with the depth of knowledge I received from the Lord while studying both times.


So what was it? I turned to God for the answer and it was straightforward. The Lord wanted me to remember that the Bible is a new book every time I open it. This is by His design. A mystery. The Bible will always have something new to reveal or to remind me of what I need to know.


I immediately understood that this lesson wasn't to make me feel uncertain. I already knew that the Bible is evergreen and will always be fresh in every era an. Nevertheless, this practical lesson certainly humbled me for my own good. It was to ensure I never think that I've learned everything there is to know from God's word. For that will never be the case. After all, we are told in Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.


God's word is alive, dynamic, and endures forever. Though penned centuries ago, it's significance never dims with the passage of time. We must therefore never allow our Bibles - His word - to get 'dusty' be it physically or in our hearts. When last did you look at your Life Manual and have quiet time where you asked God to reveal the deep insights within? If it's been a while, make some time to do so today and continue to do so regularly. There's something new He wants to teach you.


May the word of God be a delight that is new every morning to you, IJMN Amen.



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Many of us think the occult is an issue impacting other people. It doesn't occur to us that occultism can and often does touch our existence in one way or another. I used to think this way. Then God showed me how the occult can trickle into a person's life in the most subtle but dangerous ways.

For my family and I, the Lord spent a period of almost 3 years gently identifying occult-tainted items in my life. Some were trinkets I'd had for so long, I couldn't remember where they came from. Others were things received from people. Many were very expensive and even rare. It was shocking to learn why and how certain things had to go.

And so today, we continue with the occult but this time, we consider specific items and practices that are stained by the practice. May the Lord open our eyes to how this issue affects us so we don't focus on others but ourselves to His glory, IJMN Amen.

The Lord helped me understand why certain things had to go with the following scripture, Deuteronomy 7:6 - Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.


God detests objects that are tainted by the enemy and tied to idolatry and satan. It was shocking to learn some items in my possession stemmed from origins that weren't agreeable to the Lord. I had things from people whom the Lord helped me see where dabbling in the dark. Once He opened my eyes, it was so obvious. They'd never actually hid their belief system, I simply didn't recognize it for what it was for years! Needless to say, the trash became their resting place.

Then there were the items that, once I took a moment to be frank with myself, I rushed to dispose of. I'd been a yoga practitioner for over a decade and had items tied to that belief system. For me, it had never been anything more than a couple of gravity-fighting poses to keep in shape.

That was until the Lord pointed me to the origins of yoga. It stems from a region where the people, lovely as they may be, serve multiple idols and gods. Yoga itself has ties to the religious practices from that region. Therefore, could I really believe that yoga had nothing to do with the gods of those lands? The yoga mats were promptly removed from my home.


I remember when the Lord helped me understand I had no business frequenting a certain discussion thread on political happenings. One day, I was about to enter the thread only to see that right there in the name was the word 'Tarot'. It had always been there but I previously didn't catch the significance. Within the discussion were links and references to the opinions of tarot card readers about politics and politicians.


It had all seemed like a harmless past time - sharing political events and opinions with other like -minded individuals. Yet, the thread was deeply tied to the tarot - a popular New Age practice that relied on spirits other than God's Holy Spirit. Rather than give that any more of my time and energy, I left the thread and never returned.


If one is to be honest, it seems very daunting to start considering all the many places occult practice might somehow touch a person's life. This is a true and realistic assessment. And that is why, we humans can't adequately keep the tentacles of the occult away without the help of the Holy Spirit.


I pray, that you will recognize the need for the Lord, His Son - Jesus - and His Holy Spirit to help you. This will require submitting to that greater power and not the idols, the gods, and other tactics that idolatry, New Age 'spirituality' and satanism (in all its forms).


May the Lord, in His mercy, watch over us and rescue us from the snares of the enemy. May His loving hand guide angels to lift us up so our feet do not touch any stones. May He be glorified in our lives now and till the end of time, IJMN, Amen.



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