Welcome to our new project, the Daily Bible Devotional. The goal is to help you understand and apply

scripture as you go through a New Testament Bible read five days a week, Monday through Friday,

as we move from Matthew straight through to Revelation. In under four minutes each morning, we will recap the chapter,

make some application, present thought questions for the day, and offer a prayer together.

I'm excited about exploring God's Word with you, so let's get started.

Good morning. Today, our focus is in John's Gospel, Chapter 4. Jesus passes through Samaria on his

way back to Galilee. He sees a Samaritan woman at a well and asks for a drink. She responds by

questioning why a Jewish man would speak to her. What follows is a conversation wherein Jesus

speaks of a gift from God,

living water, that would spring up within her, quote, to eternal life. The woman is both curious

and cautious. Jesus patiently educates her about a relationship with God, independent of

nationality. She knows a Messiah is coming, and Jesus openly tells her

that He is the one. She believes, and tells many others who then come to Jesus and believe in him.

Following this, he returns to Galilee and heals a royal official son by simply saying, quote,

Go, your son lives. These are awesome stories. What do they mean for us?

Well, Luke is the only Gentile author in the New Testament. His gospel is committed to showing that

Jesus' kingdom is open to all people. In this chapter, it is likely that the two beneficiaries of Christ's

mercy are not Jews. The Samaritans were often

maligned by the Jews, and yet Jesus preaches eternal life to a Samaritan woman. The official whose son

is sick is often determined by commentators to be a Gentile. Salvation and the Lord's help are for

those who believe in Jesus and worship God and spirit and truth.

This means having hearts of faith and actions consistent with the teachings of the king.

...