Devotionals for September 6, 2023
NLS is back tonight! Middle & High School students, join us at 6:15pm!
READ
John 4:7-10, 25-30
7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[[b](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+4&version=NLT#fen-NLT-26132b)] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
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.”
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.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
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?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.[[b](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+4&version=NLT#fen-NLT-26132b)] She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
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.”
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.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
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?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
REFLECT
There are so many lessons in this familiar story about Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman, but it’s the lesson of the “unlikely” we are going to focus on here. You see, culturally and religiously, this Samaritan woman was one of the most unlikely persons for Jesus or any Jew to pursue. Not only was there a cultural barrier, but from all appearances, she was even shunned by her own people. Thank God, Jesus does not see people through the eyes of man…through their failures, their sin, or their ethnicity. He sees people through the eyes of God, propelling Him to pursue the “unlikely.” Jesus chose this culturally rejected, avoided woman to reveal Himself to. He chose her to offer her His gift of salvation. There is also a broader picture of multiplicity here. Jesus knew that by pursuing this unlikely woman, He would soon have the attention of a whole unlikely village who wanted to meet Him.
APPLY
Q: What impresses you the most about Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman?
Q: How has this lesson shifted any thought or attitude you may have toward the “unlikely” ones in your family, workplace, or community?
Q: How will you pursue the “unlikely” ones this week to introduce them to Jesus?
Q: How has this lesson shifted any thought or attitude you may have toward the “unlikely” ones in your family, workplace, or community?
Q: How will you pursue the “unlikely” ones this week to introduce them to Jesus?
SING
PRAY
"Give us today our daily bread."
Open my eyes and my heart, Lord to the rejected, to the unlikely. Show me ways to reach them with the same compassion and love that Jesus had for the Samaritan woman.
Open my eyes and my heart, Lord to the rejected, to the unlikely. Show me ways to reach them with the same compassion and love that Jesus had for the Samaritan woman.