May 2022 – Semper Reformanda

IX

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14 (ESV)

There is no heart satisfaction in this world, until we believe on Christ. Jesus alone can fill up the empty places of our inward (soul). Jesus alone can give solid, lasting, enduring happiness. The peace that He imparts is a fountain, which, once set flowing within the soul, flows on to all eternity. Its waters may have their ebbing seasons; but they are living waters, and they shall never be completely dried.

Ryle, J. (1857) Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Monergism Books, pg. 1459

VIII

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). John 1:40-41 (ESV)

Who can tell what might have happened if Andrew had been of a silent, reserved, and uncommunicative spirit, like many a Christian in the present day? Who can tell but his brother might have lived and died a fisherman on the Galilean lake? But happily for Simon, Andrew was not a man of this sort. He was one whose heart was so full that he must speak… All who have received mercy ought to find a tongue, and to declare what God has done for their soul.

Ryle, J. (1857) Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Monergism Books, pg. 1297-98

VII

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1 (KJV)

The gospel rightly leads us into a personal relationship with Jesus, for his glory, our salvation, and the good of others. If our Christianity is not deeply personal, then it is nominal, which is unreal and no good to anyone.

Ortlund, R. (2022) Who Helps You Enjoy God? Christian Hedonists in Honest Community, Desiring God, Retrieved from https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/who-helps-you-enjoy-god