July 18th

JULY 18th

Recently a friend that I had not seen in several years came to visit me. In the years since she had moved away God has been doing a refining work in her (same with me, a lot of refining going on in my life.) There was such a refreshing connection as we shared what God had been doing in us personally. Refining is hard but it is pressure and hard times that create diamonds. If that is all that came of it then it would be nothing to talk about; But with the Lord there is always so much more to reap than just a little gemstone. It was a refreshing breath of fresh air to share and reconnect over the spiritual/personal growth in our lives. We have the kind of relationship that we can be raw, honest, and real with no expectations of perfection, so it was natural for us to share those things with each other.

Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

The same thing can happen if you are lucky enough to find a men’s or women’s biblestudy that is real and raw, not pretentious. If you haven’t experienced that yet, I urge you to check that out. You can leave feeling so refreshed after connecting with others in a real way about real life and how God is working in your heart.

That is where real growth happens and it is a well of Living Water to drink from regularly.

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

If you don’t have someone that you can “drink from that well” with, ask the Lord to point you in the right direction so you can enjoy that valuable fellowship. There is much to glean from other believers that are willing to be real with you on this journey with Jesus.

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Ephesians 2:18-20 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Jesus, thank you for giving your live so that we may truly live. Thank you for creating the Church the way you did, to be a living, breathing body with you as the head. Thank you for the fellowship that we have with each other that no other relationship in this world compares to at all. Thank you for your perfect plan. Lead me to those that I can drink from the well with regularly. Thank you Lord.