Jane Edwards

I saw this photo posted on Facebook by The Edisto News following Hurricane Matthew. I sent it to my granddaughter and suggested she write a story to go with it. She never responded, so I thought I would. Rather audacious, don't you think? I mean, she's an actual, for real, author, who has actually written a book or two, and I'm...well, I'm just a granddaddy with a weird sense of humor and an imagination!

Jane. Jane Edwards. Everyone she met thought it was funny she had the same name as the elementary school.* But she was not that Jane Edwards.

Our Jane Edwards was from upstate South Carolina. She had been going to Edisto every fall for 10 years before she finally moved down there. She used the money she inherited when her parents died to buy a house on the corner of Lee and Baynard, about 3 blocks from the ocean.

Jane loved living in Edisto Beach. She walked all around town, loved the beach, and explored the whole island. She never met a stranger, was a beloved "Edistonian", and was famous for her pink flip flops, She wore them unless it snowed, and since it never snows on Edisto, she wore them all the time.

She was also quite eccentric. You would see her out and about every day for a month or two, then nobody would see her for a week. And she never explained! "Where ya been, Jane? We missed you!" "Oh y'know how it is, every 30 days there's a new moon." Everyone laughed, but no one ever knew what she meant.

One day they heard rumblings about Matthew. No one thought much about it at first, but then it grew, and grew, and kept coming. Everyone was glued to the Weather Channel, wondering if Jim Cantore would be visiting their beloved island. It was a sobering day when Governor Haley issued the evacuation order. Everybody packed up and headed inland. Well, not everyone. A few hardy souls remained, determined to ride out the storm.

The Governor made the right call. Matthew hit Edisto. Hard.

Now everyone was trying to get information: What happened? How bad is it?? When can we go home???

Then they saw the photo. And they knew. That was Jane's shoe. Phone calls, emails, texts, "Has anyone seen Jane?" "When was the last time you talked to Jane?" No one knew anything and they couldn't call Jane - she didn't have a phone. So they called each other and the Edisto News, the newspaper which posted the photo. "Where's our Jane?"

Such sadness filled the hearts of Edistonians. Their island, their beach, their houses had been severely damaged by Hurricane Matthew, and their friend was missing. Where was Jane Edwards?

About a week after the storm, the Mayor of Edisto Beach, Jane Darby, got a phone call. "Hey, Mayor! It's me!" Jane Edwards always called Jane the Mayor 'Mayor' because, well, they were both named Jane. "Can I come back yet?"

"Jane? Is that you? Where are you? What happened?"

And Jane explained that she had gone up to southern Ohio to visit her sister, and when she heard about the hurricane and evacuation, she just stayed up there. "My sister showed me the photo of my flip flop in the middle of the road. Isn't that too funny? I left my flip flops home because you never know when it's gonna snow up here. Isn't that hilarious?"

Mayor Jane was quiet for a moment as tears of joy and relief rolled down her cheeks, then she explained everything to our Jane. "I'm so glad you're OK. Yes, you can come home. And Jane, I don't care what you say, you're gettin' a cell phone when you get back!"

Jane Edwards returned to Edisto Beach. She repaired the minor damage to her house and eventually found another pair of pink flip flops. Oh yeah, she got a cell phone.

The moral of our little story is this: Whenever you leave home for more than one night, secure your flip flops, 'cause you never know what might happen while you're gone!


* Jane Edwards Elementary School, Edisto Island

A hymn for Thursday

I realized I may have been featuring rather obscure hymns so here are some I think are well known, and you can start singing them right away! These five songs are from one of my favorite hymn writers, Elisha Hoffman. 

Elisha Albright Hoffman (1839-1929) was a Presbyterian minister, composer of over 2,000 hymns and editor of over 50 song books.

According to Hoffman, a hymn is "a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshipper's attitude toward God or God's purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it."

Glory to His Name

Down at the cross where my Savior died,

Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,

There to my heart was the blood applied;

Glory to His Name!

Glory to His Name, glory to His Name:

There to my heart was the blood applied;

Glory to His Name!

Are You Washed In The Blood

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood,

In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Is Your All On The Altar

You have longed for sweet peace,

And for faith to increase,

And have earnestly, fervently prayed;

But you cannot have rest,

Or be perfectly blest,

Until all on the altar is laid.

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?

Your heart does the Spirit control?

You can only be blest,

And have peace and sweet rest,

As you yield Him your body and soul.

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What A Wonderful Savior

Christ has for sin atonement made

What a wonderful Savior!

We are redeemed, the price is paid

What a wonderful Savior!

What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Jesus!

What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord!

The Lord is

My last post was verses that contain the phrase, “God is…” This post is verses that contain the phrase “the Lord is ...” I offer no commentary, just the Word of the Lord, with this one explanation: LORD and GOD, in all caps, is the name of God, Yahweh.

Exodus 9: 27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

Numbers 14: 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Joshua 22: 34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.

1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

2 Samuel 22: 31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

1 Kings 8:60 That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

1 Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

2 Chronicles 12:6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.

Psalm 9:16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

Psalm 10:16 The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalm 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Psalm 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 93:1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

Psalm 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 99:2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.

Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;

Psalm 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Psalm 113:4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

Psalm 129:4 The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

Psalm 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
 9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
 18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

Proverbs 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Isaiah 33:5 The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Jeremiah 33: 11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

Lamentations 1:18 The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

Lamentations 3: 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

Joel 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
 7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Luke 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

1 Peter 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

God is

I thought I would post verses that contain the phrase, God is... and let the Scriptures define God. I offer no commentary, just the Word of the Lord, with this one explanation: LORD and GOD, in all caps, is the name of God, Yahweh. (Tomorrow, the Lord is...)

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 4:31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Deuteronomy 6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 7:21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

2 Chronicles 30:9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

Job 31:2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.

Job 36:5 Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

Job 36:26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

Psalm 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

Psalm 68: 20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

Psalm 71:19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

Psalm 75:7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

Psalm 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Psalm 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Psalm 118:27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Daniel 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Daniel 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

John 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

A hymn for Thursday

All hail the power of Jesus' name!

All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
ye ransomed from the Fall,
hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball,
to Him all majesty ascribe,
and crown Him Lord of all.
To Him all majesty ascribe,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Oh, that with yonder sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.

Edward Perronet (1780, while serving as a missionary in India)

This hymn is sung to three different tunes:
Coronation (Oliver Holden) – written for this song; this may well be the original tune
Miles Lane (William Shrubsole) – also written for this song, shortly after Coronation
Diadem (James Ellor) – very elaborate. This one is fun to sing! And is the tune I chose for the hymn, which you can hear here 

A hymn for Thursday (part 1)

What! Never Thirst Again?

This hymn is linked to my last Encounter at the Well post about John 4 and the woman at the well. It is most likely only found in Alliance hymnals and I'll be surprised if anyone reading this even remembers it! So why include this? I like the first stanza and really like the chorus and how it captures Jesus' words to the woman at the well. And the story of May Agnew Stephens is great!
You can hear it here.  The words are different until you get to the chorus, but you can hear the tune. And about the different lyrics, what I have provided below is the original, but it would appear someone has written new lyrics.

There flows from Calvary a stream
For every sinner’s pain,
And he that drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never thirst again.

What! never thirst again?
No, never thirst again;
What! never thirst again?
No, never thirst again,
For he that drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again.

Earth’s fountains fair but mock our souls,
Like desert phantoms lure,
And they that drink, the fainter grow,
The keener thirst endure.

This stream from Calvary still flows,
To bless and cleanse and heal,
And he that drinketh, Jesus said,
New life and rest shall feel.

Oh, blessèd stream of pure delight!
Oh, balm for every pain!
To thee I haste, for Jesus said,
I’ll never thirst again.

May Agnew Stephens (1865-1935)
Refrain words and music by anonymous

Mary Agnew joined the Salvation Army in 1890. Around 1897, she began serving as song leader and pianist at the Gospel Tabernacle with A.B. Simpson. In 1899 she helped found the Eighth Avenue Mission, and in 1902 married Harold Stephens. For the next two and half decades she and her husband were traveling evangelists in America, Canada and Britain. This hymn was first published in 1903.

As I said earlier, this is found in the Alliance hymnal, Hymns of the Christian Life (all three editions in my possession). This is one of three of her songs in the hymnal. She also wrote the music for two others, both A.B. Simpson songs, including Living in the Glory (I really like this one!).

Encounter at the well

The pastor who started me on this journey said, “If you take all of the stories about things that happened at the well out of the Bible, the Bible would be a lesser book for it.” I looked into it was surprised by the number of references to wells. While there are many more references we could consider, this will be my final post on encounters at the well. But I saved the best for last . . .

John 4 The woman at the well

1-4   This is the background for this story - he must needs go through Samaria...

5  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6  Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
It’s like we are in Genesis: he’s journeying and stops at a well.
About the sixth hour - noon.

7  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Jesus had to wait for someone to come to the well. Someone? He was there for her.
Give me to drink - sounds rude to our ears but I don’t believe it is, for she takes no offense to his manner.

9  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
She is surprised that he spoke to her at all! She recognized him right off as a Jew.

10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
This is precisely why Jesus sat down at this well, to speak to her.
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee – If you only knew. He could’ve just said, “Hey, I’m Messiah and I have eternal life for you” but He is stirring her curiosity.
he would have given thee living water – the term refers to running water but this is clearly a play on words, he means water that gives life.

11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12   Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
from whence then hast thou that living water? – her curiosity is aroused as well as her sarcastic wit – You have nothing to draw with, just how do you plan to get me water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob – this well has served us for many generations and you, a helpless man who has to ask me for water, you have better water??

13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
In a word, Yes! What a wonderful promise! Just reading this is like a drink of cold water. “I asked you for a drink from this well, if you ask me I will give you a well on the inside, it will give you everlasting life and you will never thirst again.”

15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
“I’m in!” But she has missed something, her thinking is still carnal.

16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
What?? What does this have to do with living water? Rather than correct her misunderstanding he changes subjects. Somebody needs to talk to Jesus about how to witness, instead of ‘reeling her in’ he changes subjects? What??

17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. 
Oooh, the entire tone of this conversation has just changed. Can you hear the surliness in her voice? She was interested, but not any more. What is Jesus after?

17  Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
And here it is! What is he doing? He is pointing out her sin, but not in a mean, hurtful way, he is letting her admit it herself. He is also telling her that he knows her heart.

19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
She is impressed – this is not just some wandering Jew, he is a prophet. But what does she do here? She quickly moves the spotlight from her life to religion: “Where is the real place to worship?” People do this all the time.

21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Now Jesus begins to talk plainly: “Your question is irrelevant. Worship is not tied to a place.”

22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Why does Jesus press the point? He is eliciting repentance - her thinking about spiritual things has been wrong so she must have a change in her thinking.

23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
the hour cometh, and now is – ‘where’ doesn’t really matter, only ‘how’
in spirit and in truth – in spirit as opposed to a place; worship involves external things (singing, praying, giving, preaching etc) but begins on the inside, in the heart. in truth, according to the revelation of God in Christ: we approach the Father through the Son; and according to His Word: He has told us what constitutes acceptable worship; we are not free to just make up whatever we want. Sincerity is no substitute for truth, nor is form for spirit.

24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This is a powerful truth, God is a spirit. But this probably means, God is spirit. This is His essence. I am spirit, soul, and body. God is spirit.

“God is a Spirit - This is one of the first, the greatest, the most sublime, and necessary truths in the compass of nature! There is a God, the cause of all things - the fountain of all perfection - without parts or dimensions, for he is Eternal - filling the heavens and the earth - pervading, governing, and upholding all things: for he is an infinite Spirit! This God can be pleased only with that which resembles himself: therefore he must hate sin and sinfulness; and can delight in those only who are made partakers of his own Divine nature. As all creatures were made by him, so all owe him obedience and reverence; but, to be acceptable to this infinite Spirit, the worship must be of a spiritual nature - must spring from the heart, through the influence of the Holy Ghost: and it must be in Truth, not only in sincerity, but performed according to that Divine revelation which he has given men of himself. A man worships God in spirit, when, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, he brings all his affections, appetites, and desires to the throne of God; and he worships him in truth, when every purpose and passion of his heart, and when every act of his religious worship, is guided and regulated by the word of God.” (Adam Clarke)

25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Jesus has confronted her with her lack of living water, her failure to worship the right way, and her misunderstanding of God. This is her last refuge – “Well, I know that Messiah is coming.” Which being translated is, “I’m not a dummy.”
He will tell us all things – “I known what you’ve said, but when Messiah comes he will settle this [question of where to worship] once and for all.”

26  Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
“Yes, he will. And I am he.” Isn’t it neat that while Jesus spoke in parables to so many in Israel, to this woman he speaks plainly, “I am the Messiah.”

What an encounter she had at the well that day! She went to get water, just like she did every day, and

she meets the Messiah!!





This is truly the best encounter at a well in the whole Bible!!! Jesus told her plainly who he was (I that speak unto thee am he, the long awaited, promised Messiah) and what he offered (whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life). Amen! And in this encounter he tells us a lot about God: God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. This is awesome!!