John 7:37-38 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
The United States is currently experiencing a polar vortex—a surge of frigid air from the Arctic circle that blankets the country, bringing massive winter storms in its wake. As of now, over 350,000 people are without power. This sudden and unexpected cold snap brought to mind a story I’d like to share.
Between the United States and Canada sits Niagara Falls. An estimated 500,000 tons of water go over the falls every minute. On March 29, 1948, the falls suddenly stopped. Those who lived near enough heard the overwhelming silence, and immediately they thought it was a sign – the end of the world had come!
However, after thirty hours had passed – the flow of water resumed.
What happened? Heavy winds had set the ice fields of Lake Erie in motion and tons of ice had jammed the Niagara River entrance near Buffalo. The ice blocked the flow of water until finally, there was a shift in the blockage and the river began flowing again.
The river had stopped flowing because of ice.
Yeshua (Jesus) warned his followers in the last days that the love of many would wax cold! Let’s heed His warning! If we really want the flow of God’s love, peace, joy, and anointing in our lives – we cannot allow our hearts to become like ice.
As cold as the world is … may it never freeze us over! Let’s allow the Lord to do a new work in us so that RIVERS of living water would flow through us that we may become a beacon of truth, hope, and love to this world that so desperately needs it!
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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The Hebrew letter mem, equivalent to our English letter “M,” has a fascinating characteristic: it has two forms. The “open mem” appears at the beginning or middle of a word, with a small opening in its design. The “closed mem,” however, is used exclusively as the final letter in a word, fully sealed in its appearance. This distinction is consistent throughout the Hebrew language—except for one extraordinary exception found in the Bible.
We came across this story, about a man who was slowly losing his memory. After a lengthy examination, the doctor said that a risky operation on his brain might reverse his condition and restore his memory. However, the surgery would be so delicate that a nerve could be severed, causing total blindness.
I suppose one of the hardest questions to answer is: “Why do I have to deal with so much adversity?!”
In John Bunyan’s best-selling book, Pilgrim’s Progress, the central character, Christian, begins his journey leaving the city of Destruction and ventures on his way toward the Celestial City. Early on his journey, Christian decides to depart from the narrow path onto an easier one which leads him to the territory of Despair and its stronghold, Doubting Castle.
Yeshua (Jesus) gave a remarkable parenthetic instruction in the middle of His Olivet discourse on the time of His coming and the end of the age. While it is unlikely that He himself said this, He certainly inspired Matthew to insert, “..let the reader understand”, concerning this critical event prophesied by Daniel, the Abomination of Desolation. His exhortation intended us (the readers of Matthew’s gospel) to learn what this means.
While we were in the womb, we had eyes, but there was nothing to focus on. Our eyes, equipped with rods and cones to perceive shapes and colors, remained unused in the total darkness surrounding us. Yet, those eyes were designed to see light—a hint of a world beyond the womb, a world we had yet to encounter but were created to experience.
Anyone who has traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland has probably seen the Edinburgh castle. It is a tower of seemingly insurmountable strength. However, long ago that castle was attacked and seized.