As our Journey begins together many have asked why the River. Where did that come from and what is it going to say aboout us. As I was praying and really seeking the Lord on what will we call this Church I found myself in the middle of the book of Ezekiel. And has I was reading I came to chapter 47 and the verses simply just jumped of the page at me. You must know that I had prayed that God would give us a name that would encompass everything we will be about. Which will be a place of refreshing from the daily grind of the world, a place to come and find community and what a better picture than an old water hole, a place to find healing, a place to be fed, and finally a place to be the healer and the feeder. With that said the first 12 verses of chapter 47 painted that picture perfectly. Understanding that the church is more than a simple building but the church is the people. Each and everyone of us at the River our the church and in this passage then the River must flow from the sanctuary which would be us. And as the River flows out of us it heads to the banks of the river where it meets up and supplies the nutrients to feed these trees. Where inturn these trees find health and begin the process of producing thier own fruit and leaves that can and will heal the needs of the people that come in contact with them. Now can you imagine a community of Christ followers that have the Spirit of God rolling out of them to a hurting community. I believe that community of believers can and will be found at a place called the River.
Let me challenge you to read that passage through a couple of times. Once you have read it through come back and post your thoughts on the passage and what it is you see when you close your eyes and allow God to begin to shape your dreams for our Great Church and the community that we will be reaching into.
Matthew
1 comment:
Swarms of living creatures,fish of many kinds,fruit trees of all kinds reminds me that we gotta b a church of all kinds to reach all kinds.Fruit trees will grow on both banks of the river or "on the other side of the tracks".The verse also says that they'll bear fruit every month because water from the sanctuary flows to them.Not that they come to the water but the water flows to them.So once we connect we gotta be a constant voice in their world and hopefully they recognize the love and see that "this River thing" is really "a God thing" and then they will start bearing fruit. That's my two cents , for whatever it's worth.
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