John 4:16-26\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0He told her,\u00a0\u201cGo, call your husband and come back.\u201d\u00a0 17\u00a0\u201cI have no husband,\u201d she replied.\u00a0 Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cYou are right when you say you have no husband.\u00a018\u00a0The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.\u201d 19\u00a0\u201cSir,\u201d the woman said, \u201cI can see that You are a prophet.\u00a020\u00a0Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,\u00a0but You Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.\u201d 21\u00a0\u201cWoman,\u201d\u00a0Jesus replied,\u00a0\u201cbelieve me, a time is coming\u00a0when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.\u00a022\u00a0You Samaritans worship what You do not know;\u00a0we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.\u00a023\u00a0Yet a time is coming and has now come\u00a0when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit\u00a0and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.\u00a024\u00a0God is spirit,\u00a0and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.\u201d 25\u00a0The woman said, \u201cI know that Messiah\u201d (called Christ)\u00a0\u201cis coming. When he comes, He will explain everything to us.\u201d 26\u00a0Then Jesus declared,\u00a0\u201cI, the one speaking to you\u2014I am He.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHe told her,\u00a0\u201cGo, call your husband and come back.\u201d\u00a0\u00a017\u00a0\u201cI have no husband,\u201d she replied.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cYou are right when you say you have no husband.\u00a018\u00a0The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0The Lord knows how to reach us.\u00a0\u00a0He knows when to be firm and when to be soft.\u00a0\u00a0He knows how to touch a heart that has become hardened and has learned to fight to protect itself, thinking only can it survive if it fights against those who assail, and too often, it fears all will assail because it seems like all has.\u00a0\u00a0Whether a soft heart that needs precise incisions to gently cut away, or a hard heart that needs firmer and deeper cuts, even within these types the treatment can be highly varied.\u00a0\u00a0Our precious Lord knows how to heal hearts.\u00a0\u00a0We see that Jesus varied how He called to this woman, one He knew belonged to Him.\u00a0\u00a0She had gotten herself caked on dirty.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus cleaned off layer by layer and gently brought her closer.\u00a0\u00a0Than He began to expose who He was as He revealed His knowledge of her.\u00a0\u00a0As He did she began, slowly, to understand.\u00a0\u00a0Her mind surely began to spin, is this who I think it is?\u00a0\u00a0She hoped, but she still had some fight in her.\u00a0\u00a0She didn\u2019t truly understand that she was speaking with the Master Fisher of mankind.<\/p>\n
Proverbs 26:4-5<\/b>\u00a0\u201cDo not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.\u00a0\u00a05\u00a0Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Some fools are not ready for truth, and may not ever be ready for it.\u00a0\u00a0There is no reason to cast your pearls before swines that will not and therefore cannot receive the truth. (Matthew 7:6<\/b>) From these, at least at that time, it is better to walk away.\u00a0\u00a0They, in their darkened minds, do not grasp the truth and even think that you are a fool and certainly no better than, but rather equal to, they themselves.\u00a0\u00a0Better to walk away and maybe, as the Lord leads, revisit at the right time, as led by the Holy Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0However the one who lives foolishly, may end up being ministered to by other holy servants and rise to the level that the fool can be ministered to.\u00a0\u00a0It is at that time that one may \u201canswer a fool\u201d and the Word will not bounce off a hard head but penetrate his mind and heart and the soul be saved.\u00a0\u00a0That person must not continue to walk and think their foolishness wise, but the divine opportunity to them must be taken so that the fool may repent and be saved by the grace of God.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201cSir,\u201d the woman said, \u201cI can see that You are a prophet.\u00a020\u00a0Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,\u00a0but You Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0A fish on a line is brought in slowly and consistently.\u00a0\u00a0Fisherman know how to draw them in.\u00a0\u00a0She acknowledges because of the supernatural knowledge of Jesus about her, that He is \u201ca prophet.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0The hook she has bitten into may be painful, but it is secure and the pain is nothing compared to the reward.\u00a0\u00a0Yet she has a remaining question.\u00a0\u00a0Some may think her question about worship was her still fighting.\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps.\u00a0\u00a0But then again, when she has been taught something contentious all of her life, the question can indeed be sincere.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoman,\u201d\u00a0Jesus replied,\u00a0\u201cbelieve me, a time is coming\u00a0when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.\u00a022\u00a0You Samaritans worship what You do not know;\u00a0we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.\u00a023\u00a0Yet a time is coming and has now come\u00a0when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit\u00a0and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Jesus lets her know that the location where God is worshipped is not what is most important.\u00a0\u00a0It is that God is worshipped.\u00a0\u00a0We may worship in a Baptist church, or an Evangelical church, or a Pentecostal church, but none of those buildings and the location of them is what matters.\u00a0\u00a0What matters is whether or not the one true God is taught and worshipped there.\u00a0\u00a0Is the inerrant Word of God uncovered, or is it attacked?\u00a0\u00a0Is faith preached by humble men of God or is faith assailed by proud men who attempt to bring honor to self rather than God?\u00a0\u00a0Where is not the issue, Who is the important matter.<\/p>\n
True worshippers, as opposed to worshippers who do not know the truth is what matters.\u00a0\u00a0What do true worshippers know that the deceived do not know, it is that the God, who is Spirit, will be worshipped in the Holy Spirit and in Truth (God\u2019s holy Word revealed by the Spirit).\u00a0\u00a0We know that we are not saved by our efforts but by the grace of God that is by the work of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0We are saved by faith in God and not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-9<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Our salvation is not by earthly effort, but is obtained only by the free love and grace received from God.\u00a0\u00a0It is not obtained by our efforts and it is not kept by our efforts, it all a work of God which we yield to in our spirits in submission to His Spirit. (Psalm 51:17<\/b>) The only kind of worshipper that God accepts are those who seek Him with our spirit as we yield and commune with His Spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod is Spirit,\u00a0and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Before all of creation there was no matter.\u00a0\u00a0God was before anything in all of creation because He made everything.\u00a0\u00a0Since God existed before all things, and He was not created but the Creator, then He was spirit and not physical body.\u00a0\u00a0He existed as spirit, He is the Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0God made us in His image.\u00a0\u00a0The most important part of us is our spirit which was breathed into us by His Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0If one wants to get down to the basic truth then \u201cGod is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in Truth.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Oh dear Lord, help us to be humble and to yield to you!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman said, \u201cI know that Messiah\u201d (called Christ)\u00a0\u201cis coming. When he comes, He will explain everything to us.\u201d 26\u00a0Then Jesus declared,\u00a0\u201cI, the one speaking to you\u2014I am He.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>The woman now broaches what is dawning in her mind.\u00a0\u00a0Is this man before her the Messiah? Dare she ask?\u00a0\u00a0She is so nervous and so excited, can she even bring up the Messiah?\u00a0\u00a0Is this Him?\u00a0\u00a0She mentions that the Messiah will explain everything to them (has not this man been doing just that?).\u00a0\u00a0Then her breath is taken away as He tells her what she was afraid to ask, He, tells her that yes, He is indeed the long awaited Messiah.\u00a0\u00a0How she could keep standing I don\u2019t know.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God, praise God!<\/p>\n
Do you remember when the Truth was understood in your mind?\u00a0\u00a0I remember for me.\u00a0\u00a0How could I forget?\u00a0\u00a0I could hardly continue to stand!\u00a0\u00a0God in me because He actually loved me.\u00a0\u00a0Nothing is more wondrous than that.\u00a0\u00a0And for our dear sister, this Samaritan woman, nothing was dearer for her!\u00a0\u00a0Praise Jesus who loved her so!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God who loves us so!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has\u00a0shown you, Oh man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; and what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of you, but\u00a0to do justly, to love\u00a0mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.<\/i><\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
John 4:16-26\u00a0–\u00a0He told her,\u00a0\u201cGo, call your husband and come back.\u201d\u00a0 17\u00a0\u201cI have no husband,\u201d she replied.\u00a0 Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cYou are right when you say you have no husband.\u00a018\u00a0The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.\u201d 19\u00a0\u201cSir,\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[1841,100,101,94,1874,88,17],"class_list":["post-2746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-ephesians","tag-john","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-proverbs","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2747,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2746\/revisions\/2747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}