"there is a river"

the. river. 
Ezekiel 47:1-12 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east for the temple faced east. The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” 

I am obsessed with this river concept- my baby's middle name is Rivers... (and it's the lead singer for Weezer's name 😊)... it is a paradigm that I can understand- a place where I can view this walk with Lord as I have been walking this path for most of my life (that is a nod to my mother and nothing I have done in and of myself).

My beloved church (Christ Community Church Columbus , GA and Phenix City, AL campus) introduced this concept as a model for our church in two-thousand-something (early 2000s) and I've added in my own love notes about theses points on the river (so props to the speakers who brought these messages to us)

The Lord's  been teaching me something through this model... I felt it was important to write it down so I could remember:

1. what is the river? Ezkekial 47:9-

Well, for me, the river is the path life takes us.  Some people ride in a boat on top of the water, but God calls us to jump in over our heads. The levels go ever deeper and once we reach deep water- over our head- we lose control... we tend to pray "not my will, but Your will be done, O Lord..."

- but instead of drowning, the water supports us- you aren't drowning: you are supported! our spiritual

man can breathe there- we are no longer in the flesh- no longer the mammals we were born to- but the fish in the River of Life that He desires us to be

The points on the River helps organize our church:

*worship- worship is giving back to God what He'a given to you, Oswald Chambers said. Which is why I love a good worship set. 

I tend to get stuck at this point of the River because well it's my favorite. I've been singing all my life and singing on worship teams all my life.

Worship is an important part of my connection with God- this is where we (me and God) respond to each other- David connected deeply with God through music and I found I can do the same.

As it's been explained through sermons at CCC, worship is a vertical relationship in expressing love to God and a horizontal relationship in loving others.

Other points on the River-

*Grow- This is about growing our spiritual life

*Connect- with a body of believers through community groups to do life together and help lighten the load

*Serve- in the Church and outside the Church

*Live- ordinary people living extraordinary lives in word and deed.
p.s. I'm not an expert about all this.... if you can't tell... but I like the metaphor...

2. how to make sure you stay in the river:
the key to this is to be intentional about the points of the River and community- and intentional in our relationship with Christ.

3. the tributaries:
thinking about the River, people will come and float along for a while and sometimes the current of God's Will takes them down those tributaries away to other dry lands.

If we all had the same assignment here on earth, nothing would get done. People who need to see Jesus could never see Jesus.

When people were no longer present in my life (for whatever reason), I have felt abandoned. But I think God is showing me that there are seasons... see number 5. 

4. the fruits of the spirit-
 "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control..." Galatians 5:22 & 23 - well, near the river, there will be vegetation growing alongside... and the beauty about the Fruit of the Spirit is that- it's not the Fruit of Buffy... it's the Fruit of the Spirit... it's HIS job to bring forth this fruit (what freedom! what a privilege to witness!)

5. seasons on the river:

the river never stands still- so I need to accept changes with grace- it ebbs and flows- there are pools of stillness and rest and moments of being swept along at a gentle steady pace- there are rapids and rocks- there may be waterfalls that plunge us to the depths below- there may be floods good and bad- there's winter, spring, summer and fall- (this one is preaching to me as I don't like change! but who does?)

6. when we jump into the River with our burdens, the weight of our burdens dissipates throughout the buoyancy of the water around us- wow- doesn't the fear of risking it all become a little easier to overcome? knowing the benefits of immersing ourselves in Him speak louder than the fear of jumping in.

One of my favorite movies is "O Brother, Where Art Thou" because of this following scene:

Delmar: The preacher says all my sins is warshed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.

Everett: I thought you said you was innocent of those charges?

Delmar: Well I was lyin’....
And the preacher says that that sin’s been warshed away too. 
Neither God nor man’s got nothin’ on me now!
C’mon in boys, the water is fine.

.... yes... come on in, y'all... the water is fine....