Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I skipped the ‘green room’.  We were in the kitchen.  B.B. asked, “Are we using filtered water or tap water?”

“Neither.  I have a few gallons of water in the fridge.” I replied.

B.B. asked, “How many gallons should I get out?”

I held out my hand and started counting, “There are two cups in a pint.  There are two pints in a quart.  That’s four cups.  There are four quarts in a gallon.  Sixteen.  Get three gallons.  One gallon in each of the two dispensers.  A few scoops of ice in each.  Then we top them off with the third gallon.”

B.B. snickered, “Wow!  You did all that math without taking your shoes off!”

“I will have you know that I am good with math.”

Then B.B. asked, “So what was all that with your fingers and then one eye closing and then switching to the other eye closing.”

I replied, “You do math your way.  I’ll do math my way.”

B.B. asked, “Does Aunt Gwen still keep track of everything that goes on in the kitchen?”

A voice came over the intercom, “I heard that!”

I laughed, “Yikes!  Those gypsy ears of hers.”

We were laughing as we rolled a serving cart into the den.

Joseph led us in prayer.

I said, “Before we sing, I want everyone to get some water.  It is ice cold drinking water.”

Lauren was near the first in line.  She was a big girl.  She did not need a sippy cup.  Sammie had to sit on his Daddy’s lap while he drank from the cup.  He was finally able to sip from a regular cup, but Samuel did not trust him walking around with the cup.  By the time everyone had something to drink, Lauren came back. Lauren said, “More, please.”

I laughed, “I want everyone to remember what Lauren just said.  She said, ‘More, please.’”

Emmett’s band was great, as usual.  The lead was sung by Sally Mae, Wilma, Arabella, Menzie and Carla.  At alto, there was Brooke, Mercedes, and Mags Lothrop Kildare.  At tenor, Michael, Mike Lothrop Kildare, Emmett, and Samuel.  Dr. Ben, Brenton, and Darrell sang baritone.  And then Goober and Dr. Kildare sang bass.  The song was Living Water.  Mike Kildare kept the beat with the tubulum, and he even played the tune before everyone started singing.  He’ll be Mr. Tubulum soon.  Mags played the cello.  Darrell played the guitar.  And Emmett was at the keyboard.  And Fred played the trombone.

Emmett added, “I tried my best to find something that fit the topic, but this was the best that I could do.  Was it okay, Aunt Jemima?”

I asked, “Your choice was marginally adequate, Emmett, but your choir and band did such a good job, they made up for it.”

Samuel said, “Aunt Jemima, what Attribute of God are we studying today?”

I laughed, “Samuel, we are looking at God – Living Water.  Arabella, do we need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella asked, “Yes, please.”

Easy, my husband, a.k.a. Mr. Dictionary, said, “Water, ‘H’ two ‘O’.  Adult men average about 60 percent water.  Sorry, Sweetheart, but adult white women might only have 55% water.  Stormie comes by her nickname of the ever flowing fountain easily.  Babies have 70-75% water.  More than seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered in water.  Living is the alternative for humans to dead.  Which, Arabella do you prefer?”

Arabella shrunk her head between her shoulders, “Living.”

Easy continued, “My darling wife does something in this class that I have always wanted to do.  She calls out a person, seemingly at random, and then she gives a Bible verse to read.  As her assistant in this class, I have never had the chance.  I miss more time than she does on storm chases.  But here goes…”

Arabella (Genesis 1:20-23) “And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.”

Arabella said, “Wow!  That was three whole verses.  I barely survived!”

Easy said, “It was four verses, but who is counting.  Now, those verses contain the words living and water.  In those verses, what does living refer to?”

Arabella asked, “The fish-ish-es?”

Easy nodded, “The plural of fish is fish, but thank you for pointing out there was more than one.  And fish fails to include whales, dolphins, walruses, and such things.  We might give a shout out to shrimp, lobsters, and squishes.”

Arabella asked, “What are squishes?”

Easy shrugged, “If that isn’t the plural for squid, it should be.  But when Jesus said that He was living water, He was not talking about living things that are in the water.  He was talking about how our spiritual quest is over when we drink of the living water.  We have arrived.  We do not need to go to the spiritual fountain down the road for comparison.”

Arabella replied, “I am more confused than ever, but thank you, Mr. Dictionary.”

I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “Sweetie, I think you need to take a nap with Stormie this afternoon.  That is more than you have said in the past month.”

Cassie (John 4:8-26) “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’
‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?’
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.’
He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’
‘I have no husband,’ she replied.
Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.’
‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.’
‘Woman,’ Jesus replied, ‘believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.’
The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’
Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am he.’ ”

Cassie asked, “Am I the new Blaise?  That was nearly half of the chapter.”

I snickered, “I heard you could read a story and make it sound like story telling time.  And my sources were correct, but what does this passage mean to you?”

Cassie took in a deep breath, “It means everything, Jemima.  I do not talk about my past here.  When the subject is hinted at City Hall, things get rather tense and quiet.  The subject gets changed.  But I was much like this woman.  Before I ever had my first date, a boy got to second base on the church balcony with me, and you young unmarried ones, do not even think about it.  That led to naughty things followed immediately by the boy betraying me.  I hated men for my four years of college.  I had betrayed God, but I felt that God betrayed me since it all started on the balcony.  Then I came here, in part to punish men.  But being the head of security, I spent a lot of time with Mommie Pinkie.  She taught me that revenge was not the answer.  Love was the answer.  But I had never felt the love of God except in one place, from Mommie Pinkie.  It was not until I found Jesus that all the anger of the past had a means to escape.  And when I started dating Boaz, we took it very slowly.  We had his career to consider.  And after having drunk from the living water and finding God’s love, I married Boaz, and we know what true love in this world means.  But I disagree with Easy just a little bit.  We need not go to the well again for living water, but we want more of Jesus every day.  So, if you are seeking something that is ever lasting, you can find it in Jesus.  Nothing in this world compares if you find the real thing.  And what did this woman do?  In the next verses, she goes into the town and tells everyone that she had talked with the Messiah.  When you find Jesus, you cannot stay silent.  He bubbles out of every pore in your body.”

I cleared my throat, “Cassie, I did not expect a testimony, but then, I guess that is the way each of us relates to this Bible story.  We drink of the living water and our sins are washed away.  There are not many references to living water in the Bible, but there are enough to show that Jesus making this claim to a Samaritan might have sparked a memory.”

Boaz (Jeremiah 2:13) “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Boaz said, “Thank you, Jemima.  This verse focuses on a spring of living water and a broken cistern that can hold no water.  The people of Jeremiah’s time had probably seen both.  Hezekiah brought water into Jerusalem, but before that, they had to go to the spring.  And Jeremiah was placed into a broken cistern.  He sunk in the mud, but he did not have to worry about drowning.  Of course, this is a metaphor.  The spring of Living water is God.  The broken cistern that cannot hold water is any of their false gods.  God has power in His living water, but the false gods cannot even hold water.  Obviously, the false gods, not even able to hold water, would not be able to protect the people of Judah from their enemies.”

I smiled, “Thank you, but I suppose you would have to think about it to get what Jeremiah was meaning.”

Joseph said, “You see that throughout the Bible.  God hides His messages in metaphor and parables.  He wants those that truly wish to find Him to figure it out.  If it is too casually understood it becomes casually neglected.”

I smiled, “Thank you, Joseph.”

Mary Jo (Jeremiah 17:13) “Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

Mary Jo smiled, “This identifies the spring of living water as being God.  So, the people that did not get it in, umm, the mayor’s verse…”

Boaz interrupted, “Boaz, please, Mary Jo.  I am just a member of the class who happens to be a son of the person who owns this place.  That is why I am in this class.  I ride the bus back to the house and have lunch with my extended family, and Cassie gets to be with her best friend, Missy.”

Mary Jo smiled and nodded, “But your verse and this verse identify God as the spring of living water.  And it says that those who forsake God will be put to shame.”

I asked, “And who do you have with you, Mary Jo?”

Mary Jo smiled, “This is Tony Painter and his son Joe.  I was asked to be a bridesmaid and walk down the aisle with Tony for a wedding here in February.  It’s that advertising guy with the feeding the homeless charity.  He is marrying his girlfriend.”

Joseph said, “I know them.  They work with Mary and I have gotten to know them.  They are a wonderful couple.”

“Welcome, Tony, I saw you here last week and I apologize for not saying anything.”

Tony Painter (Zechariah 14:8) “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.”

Tony said, “That sounds like when Jesus returns.  Isn’t there a river in the new Jerusalem?”

I said, “Don’t spoil my last verse!  But we have one before that.  I think it is important too.”

Otto (John 7:38) “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Otto said, “This says that when we are believers, rivers of living water flow within us.”

I nodded, “Yes, that is why that verse is important amid all these verses.  Yes, God is the source, the spring of living water, from which a river of living water flows within each believer.  We have to know how to tap into that river.  But now to answer Tony’s suggested.”

Zuzka (Revelation 7:17) “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”’”

Zuzka smiled, “Jesus said that He is the good shepherd.  He is the Lamb that was slain.  So, Jesus will be the shepherd.  He will lead them to the springs of living water.  And God will wipe away our tears.  But who are they?”

I nodded, “They are the ones who came through the great tribulation and believe in God.  Some think that the believers will rise up during the rapture and there will be no ‘church’ left, but God still keeps His invitation out there.  So whoever made it through the tribulation will be dressed in white robes and will be able to drink from the springs of living water.  And let me add a little with verses that do not say living water.  Ezekiel 47:1 says “The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.”  This is the river that flows from the temple in Ezekiel’s vision.  And then in Revelation 22:1-2 says “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”  This river flows from the throne of God because in John’s vision, there is no temple.  Eden has been restored and God lives with us.  I think this is the spring of living water that Jeremiah speaks of and the same river that Zechariah has flowing in both directions, from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and to the Mediterranean Sea.  And what did Lauren say when we were drinking water at the start of class.  She said, ‘More, please.’  We will have the living water flowing through us from the time we accept Jesus until we are with Him in Paradise, but then, there will be a river of living water, and we will be able to drink from it whenever we are thirsty.  Say, ‘More, please’ and I am sure God will provide the cup.”

I smiled, “Is Grannie Fannie behind me?”

Grannie Fannie snickered, “You know I am right behind you, Jemima”

I asked, “Grannie Fannie, can you lead us in our new benediction?”

Grannie Fannie (Romans 15:13) “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Lauren ran up to Menzie and Samuel, “Mommie!  Daddy!  The buses!  The bus driver is here.  And Liam, Lympie, and Ellie Rain are with her.”  Then, she ran to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.

Brooke came over and got Stormie’s carrier.  “Hi, Stormie.  Let’s go to church together.  And Goober is with me this time.”

Stormie smiled and cooed.

Credits

The nature of the blog from Sweet to the Soul Ministries gives only one verse.  I used various searches and cross references for the other verses.  I used just a few sources.  There were not a lot of verses to choose from doing a search on the words “living water”.

Here are Shane and Shane singing Living Water.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.