Rise Daily: March 10

Rise Daily: March 10

THIS WEEK’S THEME & PASSAGE

Changed Lives – John 4:1-26

This week’s sermon from the series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission“

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE

Memorizing scripture is a way to keep God’s word close to our hearts. Each week we will select one verse of scripture to remember as a community.

John 4:14a
Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.

THE WORD

Each day’s devotion will focus on one part of the week’s passage.

John 4:19-24
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

MEDITATION ON THE WORD

In our busyness and distraction, it is easy to skim through our reading rather than taking it in. Yet we believe this is the inspired word of God. Take a moment to pause, thank God for the scriptures and ask him to speak to you through them today.

Is the Samaritan woman in this scene abruptly changing the subject because of the awkward discomfort she experienced when Jesus exposed her heart? Perhaps. But maybe she deserves a bit more credit than that. Jesus tells her what ultimate devotion looks like, and she seems to understand.

The woman asks Jesus to clarify a longstanding debate in her world: If one is to worship God, ascribing to him the ultimate honor he is due, who has the correct approach? The Jews? The Samaritans? What must one do to worship God the way he deserves to be worshiped?

Jesus disabuses her of the common notion of the means to worship. It is not a place. It is a person. Jesus himself, the truth of God enfleshed, full of the Holy Spirit, is the only access to God the Father. And this light was now beginning to dawn on the whole world.

The life transformation we’ve been considering this week, made possible by Christ and his gospel, find their source here. As we reorient our worship through Christ, we are reordered from our very roots. Our self-regard is overturned, and we look upward to God and outward to others; our priorities are re-ordered in healthy and sustaining ways. We find ultimate soul-rest in the love and care of God our Father.

The Father is seeking such people to worship him.

THIS WEEK’S RISE REFLECTION

Throughout the Bible, when we see God move in people’ heart with a new sense of resolve and calling, he or she is described as rising in response.

Abraham rises in response to God’s call; Hannah rises from despair to a new purpose; Samuel rises to anoint a new king; David rises after the death of his child, and we see Jesus command the paralytic to “Rise, take up your mat and walk.”

To rise is an act of both obedience and faith—a response to a calling and a step toward a future not yet seen. Now is a time to pray fervently, to seek God’s help, and to discern how the Spirit is leading you to rise and serve where He has placed you.

TODAY’S PRAYER

For your Heart: Ask the Holy Spirit to cultivate a greater sense of astonishment at the truth, goodness, and beauty of God, embodied in Christ, in your life.

For your Church: Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in our Sunday worship services to increase our joy and participation.

For our City: Pray that the Lord will raise up gospel-centered churches in every neighborhood of our city.