THE NEED FOR CHRIST

Today's promise: The gift of salvation

The need for Christ

Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, "I am thirsty."

John 19:28 NLT

I have a great need for Christ, I have a great Christ for my need.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

I'm thirsty

One of the women who lingered at the foot of the cross had once known thirst that ordinary water couldn't quench. She had been an outcast among her peers.…She had a great need, and nothing could fill the emptiness, the void within her. Then came the day when she met Jesus. Although her accusers had already given up on her and would readily have stoned her, Jesus saw her need, and rather than give up on her, he faced her accusers and saved not only her life but her soul as well. From that moment forward, Mary Magdalene was a devoted disciple of Christ, following him even to the foot of a brutal cross. When Jesus cried out in thirst, the soldiers mistook it for weakness of the flesh and thrust sour wine to his lips. What they didn't comprehend is that Jesus' word s were a declaration of his completion of his Father's work. He was thirsty because he was being poured out as an offering, not only for the grateful woman who knelt at this feet but also for generations of people to come.

JESUS, you poured out your life like an offering and gave me living water that saved and restores my soul. Help me to take that same living water and extend it to those around me who are thirsty. Please us me to reach out to the abandoned, the scorned, the unlovable, with your sacrificial love.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for May 31.

Digging Deeper: For more on salvation, read Why Sin Matters by Mark McMinn (Tyndale, 2004)

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House