In her rejection she met Jesus…….

 

What a week and weekend it’s been. My church’s annual Prayer

Conference has just ended and what a conference it was!

The word I heard was rich and truly life changing. With that said

I want to share one of the messages that resonated within me.

There were a few that stood out so I thought this was where I

should start from.

The speaker was a Hebrew scholar and he shared a story we all

know. He spoke about the woman Jesus met at the well, a story

we are all acquainted with I hope! (John 4)

The speaker cleared up some misconceptions about the Samaritan

women we have been taught.

After he spoke I went online to find out if what he said was true and

it was.

 

This post is inspired by the message I heard.

When I verified a lot of what he said I knew I had to write what he

revealed to us.

As I start I want to go over a few things we have been told about

the Samaritan woman at the well.

 

• She was an immoral woman as she was married five times and the man she was currently living with was not her husband!

 

“At this Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband and come

back here.

 The woman answered, I have no husband. Jesus said to her,

you have spoken truly in saying, I have no husband.

For you have had five husbands, and the man you are now

living with is not your husband.

In this you have spoken truly. “

John 4:16 – 18

 

• In Jesus time women would go to the well towards the evening but the Samaritan woman went to draw water at noon.     (John 4:6)

She was trying to avoid the other women and that seems to confirm

the story that she was immoral.

 

Now that I have stated the popular assumptions let’s get into

the truth.

 

Let’s start with the statement about the Samaritan woman being

immoral.

 

• In Jesus time women could not divorce their husbands! Yes you heard that right, they “could not” divorce their husbands.

The men were the only ones who could divorce their wives. There

is a lot of information on the internet backing that up if you have

time to search for it.

Read this!

 

• The penalty for adultery and so on in Jesus time was death so there was no way the Samaritan woman would be allowed to live if she really slept with five different men                       (read Leviticus 20:10)

 

The only way the Samaritan woman could have been married

five times was if she was divorced all those previous times!!!

 

When the speaker shared this, my heart broke for her.

This story was a story of rejection. The Samaritan woman had

been divorced five times.

She had been rejected five times.

 

If she wasn’t an adulterer why did she avoid the women by going

to draw water at the well at noon?

 

The speaker suggested she might have been barren which was

probably why she was avoiding the women and why she was

divorced so many times.

There was a chance she was ridiculed because of that. The word

doesn’t talk about the women being barren so I suggest you do your

own investigations to verify that.

 

So here we have a Samaritan women who had been divorced five

times and had been rejected by the women in the

community. She may have been barren which means she could

of felt rejected by God.

When she met Jesus, He knew her rejection. But instead of rejecting

her He spoke to her.

He didn’t reject her but spoke to her! He accepted her even though

she was a Samaritan.

 

“The Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that You, being

a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan [and] a woman, for a drink?- For

the Jews have nothing to do with the Samaritans-“

John 4:9

 

 

I love this story because the Samaritan woman experienced

rejection but Jesus welcomed her. He didn’t reject her!

He wanted to save her and did just that.

 

We can take comfort in knowing He won’t reject us!

Man will reject us but not Jesus!

He loves us so much!

 

As I read the story of the Samaritan woman I can identify with her

rejection.

My life was ridded with rejection from friends, family and people I

looked up to.

That rejection damaged me growing up.

It was only by Yeshua’s grace that I was set free of rejection.

 

You might be feeling rejected today but know that Jesus loves

you and accepts you!

He has not rejected you!

Man WILL reject you but not Jesus. He loves you and wants to take

away the rejection you are living with.

Like the Samaritan woman Jesus loves you!

Be encouraged friends!

 

The true life story of the Samaritan woman is one of my favorite

stories now!!!  🙂

 

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

 

photo credit: google images

 

Contemplation of a disciple…..

I was thinking about the disciples yesterday. They seen some crazy things and heard a lot of strange things right? What went through their minds as all these things were happening?

A coin found in the mouth of a fish…. Matt 17:24-27

We all know the story. Peter was asked if his Master paid taxes and his answer was yes. The word continues and says:

“But so we don’t upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the  first fish that bites. Open it’s mouth and you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be enough for both of us.” – Matthew 17:26, 27

 

What went through Peter’s mind? Did he get the revelation that Jesus was His source? Was he confident that ALL his needs would be taken care of if he only trusted God because he found a coin in the mouth of a fish!!?? Exactly as Jesus had said! Was he amazed, perplexed? Did he get it, I mean really get it???

Jesus, talking to a Samaritan woman!  John 4:1-42

Jesus does the unthinkable, He talks to a Samaritan woman. His disciples were shocked. What was on their minds?

“Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. The couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of woman. No one said what they were thinking, but their faces showed it.”  John 4: 27

 

Did they see the bigger picture? Did they realize that Jesus was seeing a much larger picture? The gospel was not just for a select few but for the whole world!!! Did they realize that? Did they know God loved the WORLD and was about to lay down His life for it?? Did they have a clue?? Did they know how much He loved people? He loved people no matter who they were, no matter their bringing up, what they had done in the past. He had a heart for the lost!!!

The “strange” teachings of Jesus.  John 6:51-56

The disciples had a real battle to decipher what Jesus meant. Some of his disciples abandoned him because of His hard sayings. We read one such saying in John 6:53:

“And Jesus said to them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, you cannot have any life in you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you appropriate His life and the saving merit of His blood]. 

He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has (possesses now) eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day. 

For My flesh is true and genuine food, and My blood is true and genuine drink. 

 

When the disciples heard this, many of them said, This is a hard and difficult and strange saying (an offensive and unbearable message). Who can stand to hear it? [Who can be expected to listen to such teaching?] John 6:60

 

What were they thinking when Jesus spoke these words? How would you have responded if you were in their shoes? “Eat my flesh, drink my blood”!!! They never realized Jesus was speaking about spiritual things. They never realized Jesus knew the future! He was speaking life and they didn’t even know it! How the disciples were tested constantly! We are not called to understand everything about the God we serve but called to trust Him no matter what even when our understanding is limited.

The abundant healing’s Jesus performed. Matthew 8

Part of Jesus mission was to heal us. The disciples saw Him heal people on a daily basis. What were they thinking?

“And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. 

And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.”Matthew 8:2,3

Did they ever come to a realization that He was The Healer! Did they ever make the connection that Jesus wanted to heal them soul, body and spirit? He was “willing” to heal and He is still “willing” to heal us today! He is our Healer. He has not changed His plan for us. 

 

The death of Jesus (hope lost) Luke 24:13- 20

“That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jesrusalem. 

They were deep in conversation, going over all these things  that had happened.” 

 

Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that He was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. 

 

The disciples had lost all hope of victory. Their savior had been crucified. What were they thinking? Did they know the story would turn out differently? Did they know His death would save the entire world? Did they give up on Jesus by ignoring what He told them while He was still alive? Did they dare to believe something as crazy as resurrection?

In their darkest hour, when their chances seemed dim, the greatest victory man would ever experience in ALL of history was about to take place. Jesus death signified His love for them and for us, they just didn’t realize it yet. What were they thinking? Did they regret following Jesus? Were they confused? Were they in despair?

When all hope was lost or so it seemed Jesus had a plan. In the midst of death, life was to emerge. You might have lost hope like the disciples but God has a plan. The darkness you see is not really darkness! Trust Him!

 

I honestly could go on and on but I will stop here. The disciples went though a lot. They had a lot to digest, a lot to learn but God was faithful to them! As He was faithful to them He is faithful to us. Let us take comfort in that fact. We may not understand all He is doing, but we must trust Him. It took the disciples a while to get with the program but eventually they did. Each and every one of them was martyred for their faith in a God. Let us trust in The Lord…..Amen

Rolain.

What is the state of your well?

How is your well? You might think that is a weird question but it’s not. It is a very serious question. I was very challenged when my Pastor spoke about this. It really got me thinking about my life.
You take you wherever you go. And there is nothing you can do about that. Who are you as a person? Are you disciplined, do you have an uncontrollable temper, do you use vulgar language, do you lie all the time? You take you wherever you go.

But who you are depends on the state of your well. John 4:14 says:
But whoever takes a drink of water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.

Jesus said your well will be flowing and bubbling continually within you. But is it? Are your waters clean?
If you are a son or daughter of God and you lie blatantly or cheat, or steal or hurt others then your well is polluted. It has been corrupted. Whenever you take or pay a bribe you are polluting your well. When you gossip about someone you are polluting your well. When you sleep around you are polluting your well. When you watch pornography you are polluting your well. (I have experienced this first hand). When you beat up your wife or abuse your children physically and verbally you are polluting your well. When you cheat you are polluting your well.

The list goes on and on. Is your well clean? What are you doing now that is polluting your well? You need to stop. God’s plan is for your well to be flowing and bubbling continually. Your credibility as a son or daughter of God is damaged when you continually pollute your well. But the great news is that, it’s not too late. If your well is dirty it can be restored to it’s intended purpose. There is hope. Get back to the Word, pray to God. Seek after Him. Set your heart to seek Him. As you do those things your well will become clean. It’s not too late. Clean your well.
And as you do that you will not be ashamed to take you wherever you go. That is a benefit of cleaning your well. So as i close i leave you with this question, what is the condition of your well?

Rolain. P