I was born into the church, have been growing up along with the church, and will die in the church. I have experienced moments of awakening and enlightenment while studying, meditating, and wrestling with the Bible, searching for treasures hidden in it. I will continue to serve God and God’s people as a torch bearer, to shine the light of Christ for the rest of my life. I may be the last generation to serve the traditional church with its theology and I hope this humble book helps the next generation prepare for the Messiah to come, and pray that I might see a man or woman carrying a jar of water to cleanse the souls of millions with the water of spirit and truth, in the age to come. Amen.

What we face right now is the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and particularly, of Chat GPT, a computer application that seems to some people to act like an omniscient and omnipotent god who responds to any questions promptly and accurately. More and more people might be attracted by the high-tech solution to life. I don’t think, however, that Chat GPT could replace God for it has no ability to distinguish truth from falsehood and good from evil. The more AI develops and dominates human life in the future, the more we will become empty and dark in spirit and truth. Truth in a spiritually dark age might be hidden once again as history proves it has been in the past. But, thankfully truth is /truth will be supported by those who seek and find “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” though not many will do this. They would be the church, carrying a jar of water to satisfy the thirsty souls of the world. They would come up and water the dry land of souls, carrying a jar of living water flowing from the fountain of God.

Prologue

1. Hope Is a Star

2. Joy to the World

3. Christmas Meditation

4. Jesus at Twelve

5. A Hidden Meaning of the Baptism of Jesus

6. Jesus’ Temptation – Forty Days and Forty Nights

7. Jesus Begins His Ministry

8. Revisit Jesus’ First Sign – Water into Wine

9. Cleansing Your Temple

10. Rethinking: Jesus Walks on the Sea (Water)

11. The Fish in the River Died

12. Rethinking: Jesus Stills the Water

13. Jesus as the Distributor of Divinity

14. Christ in You – the Hope of Glory 

15. The Parable of the Sower as an Allegory of the Distribution of Divinity

16. The Lost is Found (Lost Sheep & Lost Coins)

17. Two Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son

18. The Parable of Ten Virgin Bridesmaids

19. The Function of Robes in the Bible

20. A New Thought on Death

21. Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

22. Jesus Crucified in Sodom and Egypt

23. An Allegorical Reading of the Story of Pinocchio

24. Three Easter Reflections

25. Transmigration of the Soul

Epilogue  a Man Carrying a Jar of Water

Bibliography