Rev Kenneth R. Klaus, author of these Bible Studies, writes:

As a pastor, I have confessed, and believed with all my heart, that the Bible is God's Word, which is God's message of salvation for every soul in every generation. Christians are glad to search the scriptures, because they point to Jesus and reveal God's plan of eternal life (John 5:39). Having said that, we must concede that while many passages of Scripture have remained easy for the average person to understand, there are some verses and concepts that have, because of changing times and technologies, become difficult. Allow me to share a few examples:

- Many people switch jobs a number of times during our working years. It's pretty hard to understand the commitment of a shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).

- Many people buy wine at the liquor store. Those who make their own vintages use sanitary bottles. Who among us can understand the inherent danger in putting new wine in an old skin (Matt 9:17)

- Today, most salt comes from a blue container. It will last forever on the shelf; so how can we understand "salt" going bad.

We, who have an abundance of water available at the tap or spigot cannot begin to comprehend the esteem that water holds for those who have not been similarly blessed. Our Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, invited all who were thirsty to "come to the waters". To most, coming to the waters means going to the lake cabin for a weekend of swimming, fishing, skiing, or snorkeling. Coming to the waters means turning on the tap.

Why should people come to the waters when modern plumbing makes the water- filtered, cleansed, chlorinated and fluoridated - come to them. Water, the second most pressing of human needs (air is first), is taken for granted. Only when the well goes dry, only when the crops shrivel, only when the city's water tower is shout down, only when torrential rain make the river spill over its banks do people give water a second chance.

It was not that way in Bible times. God used water to bless or deny a harvest. God used water for punishment, destruction, and life-giving miracles. Water was God's tool to move nations, patriarchs and prophets. Water is also the subject of these Bible studies. Doing the research for this series of Bible studies, the author tried to capture what "water" would mean to people in Bible times. He found himself remembering a movie which depicted some men who had been cast adrift in a lifeboat. Food and water soon gave out. One nght, which the others were sleeping, the most desperate of the thirsty men drank deeply from the ocean's salt water. The movie dwelt for some time upon his death. The man, surrounded by water, died of dehydration because his kidneys were unable to flush out the salt overload. Simply stated: he died of thirst --- the more he drank, the thirstier he got.