Reading for Aug 29: John 7:37-39

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

My Comments:

"Thirsts…come…drink", three words that summarize the gospel invitation. First, one must thirst; there must be recognition that something else is needed. A spiritual thirst if you will. Then one must search out that something that they need; they must "come". Finally, they must drink. It's not enough to see the water, or gather around the water and believe that it is there. It's not even enough to sing about the water and praise the water for being good water. One must drink the water for one's thirst to be satisfied.

For salvation to be complete, not only must you recognize that you need salvation, not only must you go to Jesus and recognize that He is the way that salvation can be obtained; you must drink. You must, by faith, take Jesus in with the knowledge that you know, without a doubt, that that action is going to save you. The same way that when you turn up a bottle of water, you have no doubt that that water is going to quench your thirst.

You don't take a drink, hold it in your mouth until Sunday is over, then spit it out, return to your usual activities, then expect to be without thirst. The same is true with Jesus and salvation. You can't just take a taste of Jesus and expect to be saved; He must be taken in completely.