From Covenant Renewal to Rivers of Life: Bible Readings and Reflection

2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 35; John 7


TODAY'S DEVOTION:

He is the Source of Living Water. Picture the scene at the festival of shelters—each day, the priest carries water from the pool of Siloam, pours it out upon the altar, and it runs down the temple steps. For seven days, this ritual is repeated, and on the final day, the expectation and hope of the people reach their pinnacle. This act was more than tradition; it was a symbol, a living picture of the Messiah pouring out the Spirit upon God’s people, a promise rooted in the Scriptures—“I will pour out water to quench your thirst and irrigate your parched fields… I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants and my blessing on your children” (Isaiah 44:3).

And in this very moment, Jesus stands and shouts to the crowds: “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me. Anyone who believes in me may come and drink.” It’s as if Jesus steps into the very heart of the ceremony and says, All of this points to me. I am the One you’ve been waiting for. I am the Source of the Living Water the world so desperately needs. The promise, the hope, and the life the ritual anticipated is found in Him—and received by coming to Him, trusting Him, believing.

That’s the invitation Christ makes to you and to me: to come to the Source, to drink freely, to allow His Spirit—like streams of living water—to flow within us and out of us into a thirsty, longing world. No longer do we look for life in ceremonies or traditions—good as they may be—because the true fulfillment is Christ Himself, the One in whom all God’s promises find their “yes.”

We don’t come to Jesus for fame, for recognition, or for any fleeting thing. His brothers sought notoriety, but Jesus came, not to be applauded, but to do what the Father asked—to seek, to save, and to invite us into the overflowing life He shares with the Father and the Spirit. His heart is to give, to pour out, so that we too would be channels of living water, blessing, hope, and renewal to the world.

So, today, let’s come to Him who is the Source. Let’s drink deeply of the life He freely gives. Let’s allow the living water to flow through us—transforming us, refreshing us, and reaching out to others.

That’s the prayer I have for my own soul. That’s the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that’s the prayer I have for you. May it be so.