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DAY 14 

Rivers of Living Water

[5 minutes]
Mindsetter Moment: It is day 14! You have made it two weeks into this 30 for 30 challenge. How is it going? You have been doing this long enough for it to begin to feel monotonous. Today might be a good day to change things up. If you usually spend your devotional time inside, today may be the day to move outside for a change of pace.

[15 minutes]
Scripture reading:

Nehemiah 7:73b - 9:21
1 Corinthians 9:1-18
Psalm 33:12-22
Proverbs 21:11-12

Devotional thought
Let’s look in on our friend Nehemiah and see what has been going on in Judah. We are joining the returned exiles just in time for their first Sukkot Holiday. You might know this celebration as the feast of the tabernacles or the festival of booths.

The text tells us that this was the first time Sukkot had been celebrated since the time of Joshua. That is a LONG time, so this is a big deal. The festival was eight days long and would have been held at the end of the harvest. The final day of the festival culminates with a special service and sacrifice, remembering God’s deliverance, celebrating salvation and asking for God’s blessing.

Let’s fast forward a bit. Several hundred years later, during Sukkot, the temple would be completely finished. People would have gathered in Jerusalem living in tents and attending festival services for a week. On the last and greatest day, the priests would take a gold vessel and walk down to the pool of Siloam where they would fill it with water. Then they would carry the water through the water gate, and pour this water onto the altar in a special sacrifice. The water represented salvation, because it was through water that the Israelite forefathers were rescued from Egypt.

It is on this day, and possibly during this ceremony, when those gathered would hear a teacher from Nazareth call out, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” ‭‭John‬ ‭7:37b-38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

At the festival for remembering God’s deliverance, Jesus will declare God’s plan of redemption. The water of the festival became an illustration of the ultimate redemption and rebirth of God’s people.

What applies to me?
Sometimes we hear “Jesus saves” so much that it becomes a catchphrase. It is easy to forget just how amazing this declaration was. How amazing it still is.

We can fall into the habit of thinking about salvation as a one-time commitment that you make at an altar call. But, Jesus says that “rivers of living water will flow from you.” Salvation is not just a gift we receive. It is a gift we share.

When we are staying connected to God, we become like a river of life for the world around us. It is quite literally our primary purpose, to share God’s hope, love, and eternal life with the world. If you have received salvation from Jesus, don’t keep it to yourself. This is life to the fullest; life to be shared.

[10 minutes]
Write it out: What would it look like to have “rivers of living water flow from you?” How would that change the words we speak? How would we interact differently with our children, family, or co-workers? Write down two ways you can share “living water” through your words or actions.

Pray it out: Ask God to help you see and recognize the people who need his “living water.” If you are feeling more like a desert than a river, ask for renewal, for the Spirit of God to fill you up again so you can share with others around you.

Live it out: Look for ways to share the hope and love of Jesus with your world today.