Stopped by the Well - October 15, 2010

Good Friday morning! Oh boy, do we ever need the love of Jesus in these dark days. More tales of woe last night from a place that just doesn't have to be that way. What a disappointment! On the other hand, we did have a wonderful meeting with some good popcorn, bread, and pizza. There may have been a lesson involved too, but we did spend some time celebrating the rescue down south in Chile. We like to see such efforts for the glory of God the Father. I'm glad that the endurance of those men was a chance for them to seek God and give Him the glory. I pray that seed is not some that fell into the shallow soil. No doubt one of the things spoken of during their 69 days in the hole was: What are you going to do when you get out?

Jesus had made it out of Jerusalem, where officials already sought to end his life, and was stopped by a well in Samaria. I mean stopped beside a well, not that the well was an obstacle to his progress.

He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. John 4:8

Ha, ha, okay, trust men to set aside any prejudices or fears of those despised Samaritans to go buy some food. The Sychar 1st Century BK was open and the men wanted to eat. Stomachs don't know the race of the cook it seems. Jesus may have been too tired to accompany the disciples and stayed at the well to get a drink and speak with this woman. The disciples had sustenance on the mind and walked straight into a village they would normally have avoided to satisfy the immediate need of their hunger. Jesus may have other things in mind; for all we know, he was perfectly capable of walking into town with the disciples. Jesus may have wanted the disciples to learn that the Gentiles, those despised Samaritans, were not so different from the urban folks back in Jerusalem. Jesus may have wanted to meet with this woman for some reason. Of course, we know well the story of the woman at the well from our Bible school days. Jesus is in fact going to have quite the conversation with this Samaritan woman while his disciples hit the local fast food joint.

Fears of going to a new or strange place can be overcome, sometimes by a more immediate need such as the hunger driving the disciples into town to buy some food. Other times, we may have to put our faith in Jesus and walk boldly into a place we have never gone before. If that sounds a bit vaguely familiar, you can blame the old Trekker in me. Last night we spoke on obstacles. All of us will find them in this life, often the obstacles have a way of finding us. The more you follow Jesus, the more strength and power you will have to overcome those obstacles in Christ.

Looking forward to a great day, and a wonderful weekend to follow!

Bucky