Jesus presents another invitation: if anyone is thirsty, go to Him and drink. He was speaking about the Holy Spirit being given and the Living Water which now flows from the sanctuary of our hearts. When the crowd heard His words, there was instant division and arguing; everyone had an opinion. For we who have drunk of this water, His words are wonderful words of life!

Let your yes be yes and your no be no. This is integrity. When we try to get off on technicalities ("I didn't really say yes"...) we heap judgement upon ourselves for we have taken God's place of Judge and Lawgiver. Submit to Him and be truthful!

Communion (or the Lord's Supper) is not the same thing as Passover, or Easter, or anything else; it stands alone as something commanded by the Lord Jesus. He is the fulfilment and totality of all other feasts and festivals: our Passover Lamb offered once and for all. That is cause for celebration!

Many of the crowd now believed in Jesus, but this was not a saving belief; it was logical deduction according to human wisdom. In any case, the religious leaders quickly realized that Jesus needed to be seized and taken away so as not to gain influence among the people. Jesus will go when He decides; He will not be dragged. And where He is going, only God's elect will find Him.

Even though the prophets' warnings fell on deaf ears, they persevered through the suffering. Even though Job lost everything, he persevered through the suffering. At the right time, the Lord restored! He is full of compassion and merciful. He gives us the strength to persevere and He blesses those who persevere.

Korah's example demonstrates that God's authority and purpose cannot be thwarted. When we become so proud that we start to question what God has put into place, we are going to fall short badly (or fall deep into oblivion, in Korah's case!)

We dealt with the issue of being too familiar with Jesus earlier in the series. However, something else here comes up in conjunction with that attitude: wisdom. To those who understand that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, they understand that His Word is not a template for our own use. If we think we know Jesus through earthly wisdom, the Gospel is a stumbling block of folly.

Jael was an unlikely candidate to save the day. Yet, when the time came, it was she who put an end to enemy by striking down Sisera. God has always got His plan in place long before we even think we might know what's going on. We sometimes just need to take the leap of faith and seize the opportunities in front of us!

No farmer plants a seed without expecting to wait. For those who are not living self-indulgent lives, we understand that our full salvation takes time and patience. James tells us to strengthen our hearts as we wait patiently for the coming of the Lord!

Though the Jews had the Law, they did not keep it. Jesus, on the other, kept the Law. The Jews were happy to circumcise on the Sabbath according to the Law, but they were unhappy for Jesus to do something good on the Sabbath. Do we operate according to the Word, or according to appearance?