Jeff Klein 0:07
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose in the Word of God. It's Monday, June 23 and this is Jeff Klein reminding you that your faith is not just a Sunday thing, but a Monday through Saturday thing too.
Jeff Klein 0:19
The Mesopotamian marshes are a lush, diverse wetland habitat located in southern Iraq. At the beginning of the 21st Century, they almost met their demise. Progress - the building of dams for flood control, the construction of canals and reservoirs for irrigation, impacted the amount of water needed to renew the marsh. The marshes also became a political pawn. Saddam Hussein drained large parts of them to punish local tribes for their rebellion. When Iraq was liberated from the dictator, local residents broke down the levees and the dry, parched land flooded again. Life came back.
Jeff Klein 0:55
This got me thinking about the role followers of Jesus play in the world. We get to break down the levees that hold back the living water from reaching the parched lives of our neighbors, friends and our coworkers. The enemy of God has put up barricades to keep people from experiencing the living water of Jesus. But how do we do this? How do we break down the levees? Well, one way is to serve and love them. Fifth Sunday service coming this next Sunday - it's a great chance to get out and use your hands and feet to break down some of these levees by loving people and serving them and helping them see that God still sees them and cares about them. It's also by the way we live among our neighbors, coworkers and our friends - so that they feel welcomed, safe, seen, heard and loved. If you think about it, Jesus modeled this as he traveled the roads of ancient Palestine. He met people along the way who believed that they had been excluded from the blessing of God, from the love of God because of their circumstances. Jesus stepped in and he healed, listened, saw and loved. Those things broke the levees down and let the living water in.
Jeff Klein 2:06
Who can you help this week? What levee can you take down so that the living water of Jesus can flow into someone's life?
Jeff Klein 2:14
Let's pray. Jesus, help us to be aware of the people around us who need you. Help us to be aware of the places that we can enter in and break down the barricades - the levees that have been placed by the enemy around people to keep them from experiencing the love that we've experienced by knowing you. We pray all this in your name, Jesus, amen.
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