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.
