Written in easy-to-understand, modern English, The Living Bible is a paraphrase of the Old and New Testaments. In over 40 years since its original release, The Living Bible has touched well over 40 million lives in North America alone and been sold all around the world. Bringing together Living Letters (1962), a book The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association gave away millions of copies of during their Crusades, as well as the subsequent books in the Living series: When we reject His Word, we reject the truth that functions as a pipe for that Living Water to get into our hearts.In 1971 Tyndale House Publishers released the highly anticipated The Living Bible. Sometimes we challenge the LordвЂ™s Word, sometimes we even disagree and disregard it. The woman at the well agreed with God as He revealed Himself to her. God is near to the humble, so being truthful with ourselves and God about all that we lack is the first step to drawing near to Him so we can access the Living Water.Дў. The woman at the well knew she needed saving and the forgiveness of her sins. You canвЂ™t вЂњgetвЂќ the satisfaction in His hand without being close enough to hold that hand.ДЇrom this section of Scripture, some of the ways we draw near to God include:ДЎ.

The key to accessing the Living Water and the satisfaction of the soul that the Lord has designed for us is to be near Him, in His presence. Psalm 16:11 says: вЂњYou will make known to me the path of life In Your presence is fullness of joy In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.вЂќ Psalm 145:16 tells us: вЂњYou open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.вЂќ

When I read the text, I can almost hear her surprise at His address, and then she goes so far as to tack on the obvious fact that she is not only a Samaritan but a woman to boot!ДЄs if, at that very moment her soul had indeed been so filled with Living Water, she didnвЂ™t need that water pot anymore! I wonder how many times we have thrown our вЂњwater jugsвЂќ into вЂњwellsвЂќ of success, love, better-this-more-of-that, only to stumble away all the more weakened from the dryness of our souls. Jews and Samaritans were not friends during these times. Historians tell us that women gathered at the town well to collect water in the morning and sunset hours, not in the middle of the day.Д«etween this interesting tidbit that is noted in John, and the fact that Jesus mentions sheвЂ™s had five husbands and is now living with a man who is not (a fact, at the time, that would have definitely not been a cultural norm) we may conclude that she avoids the other townspeople by gathering her water at the most miserable time of the day.ДЄnother important part of the story is that she is surprised that Jesus, an Israelite man, is speaking to her, a Samaritan woman. The вЂњwoman by the well,вЂќ as we have come to know her, is fetching water around noon, at the hottest time of the day. This time, He has an appointment with one particular woman. In the New Testament, Jesus carries on with this same pattern of revealing a piece of His character with a name and an experience. In the Old Testament, we see the Lord tenderly meet Hagar and she calls Him, the вЂњGod who sees meвЂ¦вЂќ ( Genesis 16:13). Throughout Scripture, the Lord has a habit of revealing His character qualities with a name and a personal encounter with that part of His personality. Jesus answered and said to her, вЂњIf you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, вЂGive Me a drink,вЂ™ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living waterвЂќ ( John 4:10).

The living bible