Tuesday the 16th

Ezekiel 47:  ⁵ He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.

 

The account of the river flowing from the temple in the book Ezekiel gives us an illustration of just how important we are to the plan of the Lord. To paraphrase the account, Ezekiel is shown the Temple, and there is a small stream of water leaving form the temple, and running under the Temple wall out to the east. The person showing him this measures off a thousand cubits, and has Ezekiel measure as he crosses the stream, at this point it is up to his ankles, at another thousand it is to his knee, then at another thousand it is impassable by foot, he would have to swim, that stream, had become a river, giving life to all the surrounding area of the river. I find it of no coincidence that the further away form the temple they go the deeper and the wider the river….Obviously the water is the life giving force of the Lord, but we make up that river as well. Yes it all starts at church, we go we recharge our batteries, we feast on the word of God, and fill our souls. The stream leaving the Church is small at that point because we are so close to God, we are at the starting point, all we have to do is look in any direction, and we can see reaffirmations of the greatness of the Lord. It is when we leave, as we go out into the world that our work becomes important. God is not just at church, He is everywhere, his boundaries know no limits, but it is up to us to spread His word, and build His kingdom. The further we get from church the more we must bind together, so that we form a deep wide river, full of the love, and knowledge of the Lord. We spread out and become the life giving force that God uses to complete his work.  All to often though our river runs backwards, starting off as a trickle at a distance then widening the closer we get to Church. We are like the lame man waiting by the pool found in John 5. We stay close waiting for someone to come by and help us. As a result we often end up with a mass of crippled souls loitering around the church. It is through Christ we live, it is through Christ we are healed, it is through Christ we are given our directive, to pick up our mat and walk. Go out and spread the word of God, become part of the river, and bring life to a desolate world. Each and everyone of us carries the power of God within us, the Holy Spirit directs our steps, the opportunities we can create, and the wonders that we can achieve are limitless when done for the honor, and glory of God. Not just me, not that guy sitting next to you, but you too……yes you! We all have a vital role to play, we each add to the volume of the river that is flowing our from the temple. It is my prayer that we can all unite, and form a river that will feed the world, and bring the life giving water of the Lord to all who seek it. Mat we each find the strength, the faith, and the desire to jump into the river and increase the glory of God, so that we might fully experience the life that He has planned for each of us.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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