Come to the Waters All Who Thirst!

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money, come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without price 

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages

For what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
      And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
       

Incline your ear, and come to Me.
      Hear, and your soul shall live;
      And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— 

The sure mercies of David.
       

Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
      A leader and commander for the people.
       

Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
      And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
      Because of the LORD your God,
      And the Holy One of Israel;
      For He has glorified you.”
       

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
      Call upon Him while He is near.
       

Let the wicked forsake his way,
      And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
      Let him return to the LORD,
      And He will have mercy on him;
      And to our God,
      For He will abundantly pardon.
       

“ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
      Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
       

“ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
      So are My ways higher than your ways,
      And My thoughts than your thoughts.
       

“ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
      And do not return there,
      But water the earth,
      And make it bring forth and bud,
      That it may give seed to the sower
      And bread to the eater,
       

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
      It shall not return to Me void,
      But it shall accomplish what I please,
      And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
       

“ For you shall go out with joy,
      And be led out with peace;
      The mountains and the hills
      Shall break forth into singing before you,
      And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
       

    Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
      And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
      And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
      For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Isaiah 55

Matthew 16:24-27

 ²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Love

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

    

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

 

 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

 

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

 does not rejoice in iniquity,but rejoices in the truth;bears all things,believes all things,hopes all things,endures all things.                 

                                    Love never fails.                                                              

^{Titus  3:3-7
3} For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,  
⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,  
⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Luke 2:1-20

 ¹ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.   ⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold,an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. 

The Mighty One,God,the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

Psalm 50:1