"But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
These words were uttered by Jesus to an anonymous woman who lived in the city of Sychar, Samaria. They represent a very important truth about God's purpose. He is not content with simply providing salvation for us. He wants our spiritual lives to be rich and engaging.
Jesus pressed his disciples to come here in spite of some silent misgivings on their part. There was friction between Jews and Samaritans. The woman put voice to those concerns in her answer to Jesus' request for water. He ignored her and immediately began some metaphoric comments comparing water from the well to the Spirit of God. She didn't get it. But Jesus persisted and soon the conversation came around to the heart of the matter. The woman said: "I know the Messiah cometh-when he comes he will declare unto us all things." Jesus' reply was succinct, "I that speak to you-am He!" The truth of that statement hit the woman like a bolt of lightning.
She hurried away, past the recently returned disciples. Minutes later she was back-followed by the entire town! In that short span of time she convinced them someone special was at the well. They begged him to stay, which he did. Two days later they approached the woman and said, "Now we believe, not because of your speaking, but because we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the savior of the world."
How was it possible for this woman to create such a reaction? Because the Spirit that Jesus mentioned comes instantly into the believer with unlimited power. This is Spiritual Capitalism.
Spiritual Capitalism is the direct result of a right relationship with God. It is powered by Grace and brings freedom to our souls. What is most interesting is that there is some relationship between soul and body we of the earth-bound variety do not fully understand. God however, does. Jesus did not preach to the woman, nor did he present her with a list of things to do. He gave her no instructions and no laws. She did what came naturally out of a full heart.
And the results were electrifying.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Candidate of the Apocalypse
Episode 3: Year: 2036 Early October
It would be another three days before the teacher got back around to Charles' story. One class day was entirely devoted to singing. He wanted his charges to understand the importance of joy and gratitude in everything they did. He was not much of a musician, and there were no materials. Yet his students showed a remarkable ability to put word to note. Singing seemed as natural to them as breathing. Next, he followed his usual rotation and went back to science and mathematics.
Flashback: June, 2010
Charles was frustrated.
He had been pouring everything he had into the last few months with little results. Doubts began to form in his mind. Maybe it was a fool's errand after all. It was perhaps an idea whose time had not come. But, he was not quite willing to give up. Those concerns were never publically disclosed. They were resigned to moments when he was alone. He did get a boost early on when the health care bill passed. Most of his meetings were on video. Only a few were face to face.
He still had a couple of more get togethers, but inside he had already decided that if nothing changed in the next few weeks - it simply wasn't meant to be.
Flashforward to 2036:
"And," the teacher reminded them, "Like many people who have striven to accomplish great things; Just after all seems hopeless- something changes. In this case it was in what used to be Texas, Abilene, if I am not mistaken. Now, up to this point he would usually fly into town, do a meet and greet- speak, answer questions, and head back to the airport. Now, in this instance it happened that Charles had a couple of hours before his return flight. He was actually looking forward to spending the time by himself. This, he thought, would be his last trip.
Flashback to 2010:
When Charles finished answering questions his host, the owner of the company, walked over and shook his hand. "Charlie, he began, "Thanks again for coming. I really think your ideas are on the mark. I know you've got a little time before your return flight...." Charles thought he was going to give him a tour of the town. Instead. ".... a good friend of mine is just a mile or so up the road. His people would like to hear you too. Do you think you could pay them a little visit before you go?" "Sure." This new business was huge, and more than doubled the previous crowd. It seems that the two men had a conspiracy of sorts. If the first guy liked Charles, he would recommend him to the other. It was at this business that Charles got his first applause. It was so exciting he almost forgot his discouragement completely. It was more than enough to keep him going.
His next trip began with an interview at a local radio station. His host, after a short introduction asked Charles how much money he had spent on his campaign so far. Charles coughed and replied, "Well, I started a web site, which cost a little, and I pay my campaign manager some too. He doubles as my web guy too, so I've sort of got a two for one deal going." The radio jock jumped in, "So you're not some super millionaire who's going to run for office using his own money." Charles shook his head, forgetting momentarily that he was on the radio. His host continued, "And this is what makes your campaign so different, refreshingly so, I believe. Most guys who are not of the super rich variety start a political action committee and immediately begin fleecing us to moo-la. I always wonder if they're actually running or just trying to make a profit on the deal. But you, you're got something that is entirely different. Tell me about it."
The result of this interview was immediate. His web site enjoyed an upward swing in hits. Also, requests for personal appearences were increasing rapidly. He had to change the minimum audience from 20 to 50. Something had happened. He had no idea what.
His campaign had turned a corner.
It would be another three days before the teacher got back around to Charles' story. One class day was entirely devoted to singing. He wanted his charges to understand the importance of joy and gratitude in everything they did. He was not much of a musician, and there were no materials. Yet his students showed a remarkable ability to put word to note. Singing seemed as natural to them as breathing. Next, he followed his usual rotation and went back to science and mathematics.
Flashback: June, 2010
Charles was frustrated.
He had been pouring everything he had into the last few months with little results. Doubts began to form in his mind. Maybe it was a fool's errand after all. It was perhaps an idea whose time had not come. But, he was not quite willing to give up. Those concerns were never publically disclosed. They were resigned to moments when he was alone. He did get a boost early on when the health care bill passed. Most of his meetings were on video. Only a few were face to face.
He still had a couple of more get togethers, but inside he had already decided that if nothing changed in the next few weeks - it simply wasn't meant to be.
Flashforward to 2036:
"And," the teacher reminded them, "Like many people who have striven to accomplish great things; Just after all seems hopeless- something changes. In this case it was in what used to be Texas, Abilene, if I am not mistaken. Now, up to this point he would usually fly into town, do a meet and greet- speak, answer questions, and head back to the airport. Now, in this instance it happened that Charles had a couple of hours before his return flight. He was actually looking forward to spending the time by himself. This, he thought, would be his last trip.
Flashback to 2010:
When Charles finished answering questions his host, the owner of the company, walked over and shook his hand. "Charlie, he began, "Thanks again for coming. I really think your ideas are on the mark. I know you've got a little time before your return flight...." Charles thought he was going to give him a tour of the town. Instead. ".... a good friend of mine is just a mile or so up the road. His people would like to hear you too. Do you think you could pay them a little visit before you go?" "Sure." This new business was huge, and more than doubled the previous crowd. It seems that the two men had a conspiracy of sorts. If the first guy liked Charles, he would recommend him to the other. It was at this business that Charles got his first applause. It was so exciting he almost forgot his discouragement completely. It was more than enough to keep him going.
His next trip began with an interview at a local radio station. His host, after a short introduction asked Charles how much money he had spent on his campaign so far. Charles coughed and replied, "Well, I started a web site, which cost a little, and I pay my campaign manager some too. He doubles as my web guy too, so I've sort of got a two for one deal going." The radio jock jumped in, "So you're not some super millionaire who's going to run for office using his own money." Charles shook his head, forgetting momentarily that he was on the radio. His host continued, "And this is what makes your campaign so different, refreshingly so, I believe. Most guys who are not of the super rich variety start a political action committee and immediately begin fleecing us to moo-la. I always wonder if they're actually running or just trying to make a profit on the deal. But you, you're got something that is entirely different. Tell me about it."
The result of this interview was immediate. His web site enjoyed an upward swing in hits. Also, requests for personal appearences were increasing rapidly. He had to change the minimum audience from 20 to 50. Something had happened. He had no idea what.
His campaign had turned a corner.
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