You are a gift from God to the planet!

No one just happens to be born on earth without a purpose. Our God is a God of purpose. Each one of us is created to fulfill one thing and that is to walk in congruency to the image of God in which we are created and fashioned after.

“And God said, Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness …” (Genesis 1:26)

When we are in Christ, wherever we are now, know that this is where we are supposed to be, being at the right place, doing the right thing, thinking the right thoughts and having the right intents of our hearts at the right time.  It is our right believing that postures us to being right and doing right.

We need to put a stop to our thoughts that dictate, “I should have been … if I did this or that …”.  Otherwise, we would halt our journey to enjoy where we are and the character development intended for this given time which is a necessity for our next step to move forward.  Our attitude should be, “Open my eyes to see the reason why I’m here and grant me the grace to do it, Lord.”.  Be reminded that when we receive the Gift of God, Jesus Christ, into our hearts, we become a gift  to those around us as carriers of His presence right here, right now. 

“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the Gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.'”  (John 4:10)

I love the lyrics of the song, “It Is Finished!” by Passion. 

The cross is my beginning
The line drawn in the sand
The end of all my striving
Now I am born again
There, Jesus was forsaken
So I will never be
His grace is my salvation
The Gift of God, the work of Calvary

Indeed, the Cross is our beginning.  When Jesus cried out, “It is finished!”, it sealed and secured our new beginning.  It comes when we become new creations in Christ.  Born again.  This means having a second chance of being fresh, born from a different source, born from above, born of God, born of incorruptible seed, born from the Word of the Lord, born anew. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The old has gone.  The new is here!  The precious Blood of Jesus washed away our sins and made us new creatures in Him.  His Word says,

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”  (Isaiah 1:18)

The newness of our lives, our salvation, is by grace through faith.  It is not from ourselves nor by our works, lest we boast.  It is the Gift of God.  It is putting our faith on what Jesus paid for that makes us new creations in Him. 

We may be merely reading these words right now, but when the Holy Spirit personally illumines and highlights them to each one of us uniquely, the reality of being made new in Christ begins. One divine encounter with Him, when His Word becomes flesh, becomes tangible, becomes experientiable, becomes TRUTH to us, changes us from the inside out. As we keep hearing and hearing His Word, faith comes and is activated and strengthened, with our thoughts being renewed, recalibrated and adjusted. And mind you, we are no longer the same one minute ago. We constantly grow into walking like Christ.

When the woman at the well encountered Jesus at the Samaritan Village of Sychar, she never remained the same.  She may have thought that that day was just an ordinary day.  At noon, she went to draw water.   Come to think of it, who would like to go to the well at noontime?  She must have her own reasons, yet little did she know that that one moment in time was the set time where an encounter with the Savior of the world was at hand.

What happened was very odd and came as a big surprise to her. “Why would a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water? At that time it was a prohibition. But, Jesus, came to seal the gap. Jews and Samaritans. The Savior and the sinner. The Living Water and the thirsty one. Religion divides, but our true and intimate relationship with Christ unites us.

When their conversation was engaged, there was no mention of tension. I so believe it was full of love and compassion. Jesus being physically thirsty asked the woman for a drink. He knew what it means to be thirsty. In the same way, He knew what it also means for the woman to be spiritually thirsty that He offered Himself as the Living Water where full satisfaction is accessible and attainable when one drinks of Him.

Jesus said, “If you drink from Jacob’s well you’ll be thirsty again and again, but if anyone drinks the Living Water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied!  For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit springing up and flooding you with endless life.”  (John 4:13-14 TPT)

The woman replied, “Let me drink that water so I’ll never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to draw water.” (John 4:15 TPT)

Although the next line of their conversation was about the woman being without a husband, in which she had five and the one she was with was not her husband and she fully and truthfully admitted, there was still no emotional strain disclosed. Instead it led to her perception of Jesus being a Prophet, and into Jesus answering her question about worship.

“From here on, worshiping the Father will not be matter of the right place but with the right heart.  For God is a Spirit, and He longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore Him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 TPT)

The woman who believed in the coming of the True Messiah in the future encountered the One she was expecting for right then and there when Jesus said to her, “You don’t have to wait any longer, the Anointed One is here speaking with you – I Am the One you are looking for.” (John 4:26 TPT)

Oh wow!  What she thought to be an ordinary day became extra-ordinary.  She met the Gift of God and believed.  The Well with the limitless supply of answers, wisdom, strength, peace, joy, love, help, health, wholeness and everything else that she needed was opened to her.  Before long, she dropped and left her water jar and ran off to her village and told everyone about Jesus.  Hearing what she spoke to them, the people came streaming out of the village to see Jesus.

In a minute, the woman was thirsty.  The next minute, she met Jesus, drank and was satisfied by the Living Water that caused her to leave her water jar, the very purpose why she went to the well in the first place.  The minute after next, the Living Water was gushing out of her, overflowing to the people around her.  Out of the abundance of her heart, her mouth spoke to the multitude. 

The words of the woman to the multitude did not remain just words.  They pursued Jesus because of the testimony of one person and encountered Him themselves.  They asked and begged Him to stay with them and Jesus did for two more days teaching them. Then, the people said, “We no longer believe just because of what you told us, but now we’ve heard Him ourselves and are convinced that He really is the True Savior of the world.” (John 4:42 TPT)

Truly, when we receive the Gift of God and His fullness, who can contain Him?  When we abide in Christ and His Word abide in us with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us we become spiritual vessels where His presence fills and floods us until we become a gift to those around us sharing this glorious good news that we are not ashamed of, for it is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe.  

Our own personal testimonies of Jesus become a spirit of prophecy.  We prophesy as we testify and many will come to know, taste and see that the Lord is Good.

You and I are His masterpieces.  When we make Jesus our Lord and Savior, He lords over every area of our lives as we submit and heed His voice every step of our way.  We pay attention to all the words He is telling us and lean in closer so we may hear all He says.  Then, we do according to His Word. Our good works that glorify God, they become GOD WORKS.  It is not by our might nor by our power, but by the Spirit of God Who lives in us.

What is He speaking to you today?  What are your divine encounters that your heart is filled to overflow?  There may be people around you waiting to be encouraged as the Spirit of the Lord prompts you to share your testimony of meeting the Gift of God, Jesus Christ.

We live in this world where darkness is overwhelming and overcoming, but you and I are called to be the salt and light of the earth and the Light of Jesus in us always overcomes darkness. Walk in the Light of His presence that is brilliant and everlasting, and we become beacons through whom others are drawn to Him.

Shine bright believers of Jesus Christ! 

If you haven’t known, believed and received Jesus Christ yet, be like the woman at the well who was instantly transformed by the Words that Jesus spoke to her and encountered the Word Himself Who was made flesh and walked among us. Or be like the multitude who heard the woman’s testimony. Seek Him.  SURELY He will be found by you.  He is ever ready, ever able and ever willing to love you like no other and you will be utterly satisfied.

“Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it.  It’s God’s gift from start to finish!  We don’t play the major role.  If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing!  No, we neither make nor save ourselves.  God does both the making and saving.  He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” (Ephesians 4:7-10 MSG)

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great love that You have lavished upon us, that it is You Who is all the while effectually at work in us, reconciling to Yourself that we will never be left alone, forsaken nor orphaned.  You have given us Your Precious Gift, Your very own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, so we may have everlasting life in Him and enjoy an abundant, overcoming, victorious life here and now.  Holy Spirit, thank You for opening our eyes to see that one touch of the Lord’s favor in our lives makes us new creations in Him, giving us beauty for ashes, the oil of mourning for joy and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness and calling us trees of righteousness in Christ, being fruitful in every good work that glorifies the Lord of all.  Amen!

Photo Credits: Jana Therese Paz