Discipling Life

The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well is one of the most beautiful encounters in Scripture. It begins with one tired traveler and one lonely woman, but it ends with an entire town running toward grace. During Lent, when we pay attention to our own thirsts and longings, this passage reminds us that Christ’s living water is never meant to stop with us—it is meant to overflow into the lives of others. Jesus meets the woman in the heat of the day, when most people stayed indoors. She comes to the well carrying more than an empty jar. She comes in isolation and with a complicated past ( See more in yesterday’sdevotion ). Yet Jesus speaks to her with dignity. He knows her story, and he still offers her living water—water that restores, heals, and renews. When she realizes who Jesus is, she leaves her water jar behind. The very thing she came to fill no longer matters. Her heart is full, and she runs back to town with a message that is simple and honest: “Come and see a m...

John 4:5-42 tells the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at the well. It’s one of the longest conversations Jesus has with anyone in the Gospels, and it happens to someone who least expected to be noticed by him. The woman came to the well at noon, perhaps when she thought no one else would be there. But Jesus was waiting for her. He asked her for a drink, and in that simple act, he broke barriers—between men and women, Jews and Samaritans, the righteous and the outcast. We often make a lot of assumptions about this woman. We often assume she must have been a woman of questionable morals. Why did she have so many husbands? And now she isn’t married to the man she is living with. Don’t we love a good scandal? Perhaps there is a little more to the picture than what we have been told to see. Why DID she have so many husbands? Levirate marriage gives us one possible, compassionate lens for seeing the Samaritan woman’s story, but it is not the only way to understand her situat...

Today we read how Paul says that “while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). That is the heart of the gospel, and it’s the heartbeat of Lent. Christ did not wait for us to be ready, perfect, or spiritually strong. He met us in our weakness and gave himself for us. That is grace—pure and undeserved. During Lent, we remember that grace again. We remember that nothing we do can add to or take away from the love God has already shown us in Christ. And we remember that this grace holds us steady when life feels uncertain. Paul gives us a clear and simple word in these verses: because of what Christ has done, we have peace with God. That peace is not something we earn; it is a gift received through faith. Verse 1 says, “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Justified—made right; faith—the way we receive it; peace—the new relationship that follows. Lent is a season that helps us notice what separates us from Go...

As we move deeper into the season of Lent, our hearts are often turned toward quiet reflection and self-examination. But this week, our scripture from Psalm 95 starts with a bit of a joyful noise. It invites us to sing, to make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation, and to come into God’s presence with thanksgiving. 1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;     let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;     let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95 begins with an invitation to praise. It calls us to lift our voices, to bow in worship, and to remember that the Lord is our Creator and Shepherd. There’s a sense of joy and gratitude—God is good, and all creation belongs to him. Psalm 95, known as the Venite (Latin: “O come”), has been used as a call to worship for millennia. Originating as a song for Israel’s Temple festivals and Sabbath, it ...

 As we continue our journey through the season of Lent, we often talk about the “wilderness.” For many of us, the wilderness isn’t just a place in a Bible story; it’s a feeling. It’s that season of life where resources feel thin, our patience is wearing out, and we aren’t quite sure if we’re on the right path. In this week’s reading from Exodus 17:1-7 , we find the Israelites in exactly that spot. They had seen God do amazing things—bringing them out of Egypt and parting the Red Sea—but now they are thirsty. And in the desert, thirst isn’t just an inconvenience; it feels like a death sentence. 1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people ...

Have you ever been asked to do something that made absolutely no sense to you? How did you respond? This dynamic is perhaps best illustrated in the simple, often frustrating exchange between a parent and a child. A parent asks a child to do something, and the child inevitably asks, “Why?” The parental response is frequently a firm, “Because I said so.” Let’s try this again: Have you ever been asked to do something that made absolutely no sense to you — but you did it anyway because you trusted the person who asked?  Trust is the necessary bridge that spans the distance where our understanding ends. This is faith. As we navigate the Lenten journey, we rely on a trust-based faith. While our logic demands a destination before a departure, spiritual reality often requires the departure before the destination is even revealed. This is seen in the call of a man named Abram. To understand the weight of Abram’s call, we must first look at what he was leaving behind. Archaeology tells us ...