One sunny afternoon, as Bob and I drove down Lamb’s Canyon, we noticed about fifteen people lined up along the top of a deep ravine, just staring down into the side of the canyon. Thinking something was amiss, we pulled over and joined the lookie-loos. And then we saw it – a car had plunged down the steep side of the hill and had flipped over at the bottom, leaving two scared teens in distress. One was standing but his friend was not moving and laying flat on his back.
We scurried down the hill to check things out. It turned out an ambulance had been called but that was it. The parents had not been notified, so Bob climbed back up the ravine to get cell phone reception and make the calls while I stayed at the bottom with the teens. Another young gal had also made her way to the bottom and while I stood there, the three of them talked about going to the river and partying. I could hardly believe what I was hearing – this teen could have major injuries and they still wanted to party on. Finally, I spoke up and said, “I think we need to pray.” Instantly and without hesitation, all three bowed their heads on cue. Well, I thought, guess we’re praying, and I did. I prayed a hearty prayer and we all ended with an enthusiastic Amen!
2 Timothy 4:2 tells us to “Be ready in season and out.” Another translation reads: “Be ready whether it’s convenient or inconvenient.” What does that mean? We should always be prepared to allow the living water of Jesus to flow out of us and minister, whether it’s a good time for us or not. We are to love people when they least expect it.
In John 7, Jesus stood before a crowd of people and proclaimed this: If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believes in Me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Jesus wasn’t talking about a natural thirst when He shouted these words. He was talking about spiritual thirst. The Holy Spirit is like rivers of living water, meant to flow into us and out to the world.
When Bob and I first came to this valley in 1974, we lived on a ranch back in the foothills of Soboba. We were dependent on wells for our water. My first few days out there were eye-opening. There was so much iron and minerals in the water that it was brown. Hard to get used to and I often boiled it just to be on the safe side! Water is universally a big deal and absolutely essential for all forms of life.
So, when Jesus shared about having living water, people paid attention. They all knew of the Dead Sea not far away, so named because it contains no fish or plant life. There are zero outlets of this body of water so water pours in but nothing flows out! Inlets plus no outlets equals a dead, lifeless sea.
This can also apply to Christ-follows today. We are living in a dry and thirsty land right now, even though nearly every household in America has access to Bibles, a church, and Christian TV. But that’s not enough! We can burp out Bible verses all day long but if we are not ministering out the love of Christ, we are children of the Dead Sea. If you are a Christ-follower, your story has power. It’s personal. It can be shared over lunch, at the gym or on a dog walk.
There’s an interesting account of a wealthy Christian lady living in Kenya who had a young man employed as her houseboy. After about three months, he asked the lady for a letter of reference to a Muslim family a few miles away. The lady didn’t want him to leave just as he was getting the hang of household duties, so she offered to increase his pay. But the young man told her he wasn’t leaving for more money. He said he had decided to either become a Christian or a Muslim. This was why he had come to work of her in the first place – he wanted to see how Christian’s act.
Now he wanted to work for the sheik to observe the ways of the Muslims. Then he would make his decision of which way of life he would follow. The Christian lady was stunned as she thought about all the times she had blown it with the houseboy.
As he was leaving, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me at the beginning?” But – alas – too late. As Alistair Begg has noted, “Our witness – good or bad – is the overflow of our lives.” You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read – so, be well-read!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard, Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCityChurch.org
Susan Beckett | The Dwelling Place City Church
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