Her circumstances weren’t all that great.

Even in Samaria, she was likely an outcast.

Living with a man she wasn’t married to.

A woman with “a past”.

How might she have felt?

Alone? Forgotten? Frustrated? Guilty? Shameful? Confident?

I’m not sure.

But honestly, none of it mattered once she was converted to Jesus, the true living water.

“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman”. (John 4:39)

She shared Jesus, and others believed!

Here she was, changing the world and turning hearts to Jesus.

“Her past and present circumstances did not determine her future.” -Susan H. Porter

She stopped focusing on herself and instead focused on Jesus.

And that’s when the good stuff happened.

He sees us with our potential.

He knows what we can become.

And not even just “what you can become” in the eternities.

But what you can become tomorrow.

And what you can become next week.

He knows because He’s seen this radical change over and over again when people choose to truly follow Him and preach of Him.

Lepers. Liars. Adulterers. The prideful. The stubborn. The rich. The poor. The woman at the well.

When we focus on Jesus, where we’ve been doesn’t really matter.

And He can use our willing hearts and our bold testimonies to share goodness and do His work.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The woman with the past  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As a teacher, “teacher evaluations” where an admin would just tell me everything I could have done to make my lesson better were the worst.

And in our personal lives, I’m pretty certain none of us love getting laundry lists of what we are doing wrong.

But on the other hand…

We each know we aren’t perfect.

We know we have blind spots to certain weaknesses, we know we mess up constantly, we know we aren’t living up to our full potential.

So if we don’t like hearing everything we are doing wrong, but we also are fully aware we aren’t doing everything right, how do we still grow?

“God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17)

Jesus isn’t one to condemn.

He is one to love and save.

Jesus isn’t making lists of everything we are failing at.

(So maybe we shouldn’t either.)

But Jesus also knows how we can improve.

“God loves us as we are, but He also loves us too much to leave us this way.” -Brad Wilcox

Jesus invites us to follow Him.

He find us at the well, loves us, and invites us to believe and change.

He is there when we need help and healing, and invites us to exercise even greater faith in order to see the miracles unfold.

He sits with us and teaches us eternal truths that broaden our limited perspective.

He’s not here to condemn.

He’s here to love and save.

And while we take comfort in this, I think we can follow His example, too.

We aren’t here to condemn, whether it’s ourselves or others.

We are here to love. To love and invite and then love some more while constantly looking to the Savior.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Not condemn, but save  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“And he must needs go through Samaria.”⁣ John 4:4

⁣But guess what?

Christ did NOT need to go through Samaria!

In fact, the Jews avoided Samaria because the Samaritans were considered such religious and political outcasts.

So why did Christ feel like He needed to go through Samaria?

Because that’s where He met the woman at the well.

It’s where He declared His divinity to her in a moment when she needed to know of His love.

Jesus knows our life situations.

He knows where we are and what we need in each moment.

He felt compelled to be in Samaria at that well, no matter how little sense it made to anyone else.

So what does that mean for you and me?

We can have faith that Christ feels the need to come to each of us in our circumstances and in our troubles.

He wants to come to us, just as we are.

He feels compelled to come to us as we go about our daily routine.

Jesus wants to help us.

And so we can expect Him to be near.

Even in those mundane moments when we seem just to be getting our daily water at the well.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post He is compelled  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My absolute favorite Valentine’s Day gifts probably don’t look that exciting to anyone else.

I remember when my mom ding-dong-ditched some of my favorite cereal on our porch with a corny note.

I remember eating delicious food and watching a movie with my husband.

I remember a sweet hand-drawn picture from one of my kids.

I loved them all because they showed how much that person cared about me in a simple and sincere way.

God, though, has given us the absolute best Valentine’s gift ever!

Truly unmatchable and perfect.

Plus, this gift also shows a significant sacrifice on the Father’s part!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we could become what He ultimately wants us to become.

Literally, the absolute best gift ever.

Unlike earthly gifts that sometimes fall short of our expectations, the gift of Jesus Christ will never leave us wanting for anything else! ⁣⁣

And if a big “thank you” doesn’t feel quite adequate to show God the Father how you feel about this perfect gift, then we can give our own valentine back to Him!

But what could we possibly give to our Heavenly Father?

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The best Valentine first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.