John 4:7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 

God always reaches out to us first.

Any interaction with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit always begins with them reaching out to us. The Holy Spirit brings an awareness of our need for God. Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts. God encounters Adam and Eve with the question, “Where are you?” Jesus asked the woman at the well, “Will you give me a drink?”  

This woman was alone because she was hiding and isolated from the other women in the city. She has been through five husbands and is now living with a man who was not her husband. This woman was hurting and hiding. Sin causes us to isolate ourselves. We begin to cover up some of the real issues that we are not proud of from others. Adam and Eve sinned, and the first thing they did was hide and cover themselves.  People everywhere are hiding the issues of sin and pain from family, church members, and society. They are hurting, and they are hiding.  

There are two steps to bringing hope and healing.

Know Truth

Jesus told the woman, “There is a fountain of living water that would satisfy your thirst for happiness. It is a well that can be planted in your heart that would not only bring relief from spiritual thirst but also cleanse and refresh. Jesus told the woman she could find temporary relief in this world, but it will not satisfy her and only deepen her pain. This woman understands that because she was married to five men who did not quench her pain, she deepened her sin by living with a man outside of marriage. It only deepened her pain. So she hides. 

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,  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.”

Honesty with God 

Jesus said to the woman, “Go, call your husband and come back.” This woman was honest with Jesus. She said, “I have no husband.” Jesus replied, “You are right when you say you have no husband. You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” This woman’s honesty with God transformed her life. She was no longer hiding or hurting. Honesty with yourself and God is the path to freedom.  

Are you hurting and hiding?

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” As you read this, The Holy Spirit asks you to reach out to Jesus and be honest with your situation. Ask Jesus for help and be honest. He will send you a refreshing well of living water that will transform your life.

Being honest with God will allow your Lightnside to continually be refreshed with living water, all the way to heaven.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

The Nicene Creed

This creed was created because there was a growing denial of the divinity of Christ. This creed was first stated in AD 325.  In our current generation, is Jesus known as one of the almighty God’s equal to God the Father? Let us remind ourselves that Jesus was not only a sinless man who died for our sins; he was also equal to God the Father and is eternal without beginning.

I love the phrase that calls Jesus the “Light of Light and very God of very God.” I challenge you to slowly read this creed and worship the very God Jesus Christ.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy universal and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Let the Light of Light brighten your Lightnside as you worship Jesus, the very God of very God.

Take some time right now to acknowledge Christ as your God and your light.

Grow strong in Biblical Truths in 2023

In a world where much distraction is attracting our eyes and ears, I would like to share some fundamental beliefs that people have memorized and quoted to keep their beliefs solid and Biblical.

Daniel 12:4 speaks of a class of people in the last days that will “run to and fro,” (looking and listening to all kinds of things that catch their attention.) The verse also says, “knowledge will increase.”  While knowledge has significantly increased in these recent generations, Biblical Truth has suffered. Let us not be the type of people who are always trying to find something to believe in without knowing the source of the truth. Even though man has increased their ability to expand knowledge and share information, let us keep our beliefs solid to the word of God.

You shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall SET YOU FREE.  John 8:32

For a few weeks, I will share some foundational Creeds and Confessions of past generations that have kept their beliefs in Biblical truth strong. As you read each Creed or confession, why not copy them and repeat them each morning for one week? These truths will keep your heart safe and free.

The Apostles Creed is one of the earliest known creeds to focus on the work of Christ in our lives. Jesus comes to rescue us and a second time to judge us.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,  Maker of heaven and earth. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, our Lord;  who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy universal church;  the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

May the truths of God keep your Lightnside strong in 2023.