{"id":5061,"date":"2026-04-22T16:50:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/?p=5061"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T14:01:02","slug":"4th-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/4th-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"23rd APRIL 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/verseoftheday\/image\/Jn6.44?width=700\" alt=\"John 6:44\u201351 (ESV) - John 6:44\u201351 ESV - No one can come to me unless\u2026 |  Biblia\" \/><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>THURSDAY, THIRD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Acts 8: 26-40\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ps 66: 8-9, 16-17, 20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jn 6: 44-51<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 1rem;\">\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>DRAWN BY THE LIVING BREAD<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">God often leads us along unexpected roads to draw us closer to Him. In the Acts of the Apostles, Philip is sent to a desert road where he meets an Ethiopian official reading Prophet Isaiah. Though sincere and devout, he does not fully understand what he reads. With humility he asks, \u201cHow can I understand, unless someone guides me?\u201d His question reveals a heart that truly longs for God. Philip gently walks beside him and begins explaining the Scriptures and proclaiming Jesus. On that lonely road, confusion turns into understanding and nurtures faith. An ordinary journey turns into a life-altering encounter. This reminds us that we too have \u201cdesert roads\u201d times of dryness, doubt, or unanswered questions. Yet God sees our searching hearts. He sends the right people at the right time who bring His grace to us. May we trust Him in our deserts, and may we also be docile like Philip ready to guide and to lead others toward the light.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Gospel of John gently deepens this message. Jesus says, \u201cNo one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,\u201d and He reveals Himself as the living bread come down from heaven. In the Ethiopian\u2019s journey, we see this quiet drawing of God at work. The Father draws him through Scripture and through a longing he carries in his heart; and Christ becomes the beautiful fulfillment of that search. Just as water refreshes a tired traveller in the desert, Jesus nourishes the weary soul with the promise of eternal life. These readings reveal a God who draws us with tenderness and feeds us with generosity. He does not force His way into our lives; He lovingly invites us. He offers Himself as the bread that truly satisfies. When we allow the Father to draw us, the Son to nourish us, and the Spirit to guide us, our own journeys quietly become blessings for others. May we learn from Philip\u2019s readiness, from the Ethiopian\u2019s humble seeking, and from Christ\u2019s promise of life. may we trust that even on our desert roads, God leads us toward springs of living water.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><!-- \/wp:post-content -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph {\"className\":\"justify-text\"} \/-->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph --><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Copyright \u00a92026 \u00a9Springs of Living Water\u00a0 http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THURSDAY, THIRD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE \u00a0 Acts 8: 26-40\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ps 66: 8-9, 16-17, 20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jn 6: 44-51 \u00a0\u00a0 DRAWN BY THE LIVING BREAD \u00a0 God often leads us along unexpected roads to draw us closer to Him. In the Acts of the Apostles, Philip is sent to a desert road where he meets an Ethiopian &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/4th-january-2026\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;23rd APRIL 2026&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5061"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5225,"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5061\/revisions\/5225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/springs.carmelmedia.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}