“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said,
rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
John 7:38
Are you a container that is filled but infrequently emptied, much like a cistern, or is your life better pictured as a quickly flowing stream which receives from the Spirit of God only to pass on to others?
A cistern is defined as a large receptacle for storing water.
A stream, on the other hand, is defined as a current or flow of water.
Which, do you suppose, is a better image of the Christian life?
Think for a moment about the Character of God.
Is God seen most often as a “giving” God or a “keeping” God?
I suppose you could argue that He “keeps” His covenants and He “keeps” us safe as we serve Him.
That would be true.
But the Bible is filled with the generosity and grace of God as evidence of His giving nature. What believer is there who cannot quote John 3:16 which says in part:
“For God so loved the world that He gave…”
God is a giving God.
He gives to us, He pours into us that His power and His nature would flow through us to those around us.
If I hear His Word but do not act on it, If I hear but do not do; I become like that cistern which collects but does not allow what I have received to flow through me.
The world needs what you have heard and received from His Word and His Holy Spirit.
What would refresh you more:
a glass of cold water from a quick flowing mountain stream
or a glass of foul, stagnant water?
Let God pour in to you and then let His Spirit flow out from you!
Hearers only become like cisterns but doers are like that flowing stream!
Be a doer.
rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
John 7:38
Are you a container that is filled but infrequently emptied, much like a cistern, or is your life better pictured as a quickly flowing stream which receives from the Spirit of God only to pass on to others?
A cistern is defined as a large receptacle for storing water.
A stream, on the other hand, is defined as a current or flow of water.
Which, do you suppose, is a better image of the Christian life?
Think for a moment about the Character of God.
Is God seen most often as a “giving” God or a “keeping” God?
I suppose you could argue that He “keeps” His covenants and He “keeps” us safe as we serve Him.
That would be true.
But the Bible is filled with the generosity and grace of God as evidence of His giving nature. What believer is there who cannot quote John 3:16 which says in part:
“For God so loved the world that He gave…”
God is a giving God.
He gives to us, He pours into us that His power and His nature would flow through us to those around us.
If I hear His Word but do not act on it, If I hear but do not do; I become like that cistern which collects but does not allow what I have received to flow through me.
The world needs what you have heard and received from His Word and His Holy Spirit.
What would refresh you more:
a glass of cold water from a quick flowing mountain stream
or a glass of foul, stagnant water?
Let God pour in to you and then let His Spirit flow out from you!
Hearers only become like cisterns but doers are like that flowing stream!
Be a doer.
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