There is a River...

Written by Terry Dashner


There is a River

Terry Dashner…………Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

Ezekiel sees a river that has unusual properties. In Chapter 47 of Ezekiel, a body of water is seen as a stream that develops into a river that cannot be forded. What is unusual about this stream is that it enlarges into a great flowing river without any tributaries adding to it. The water has life-generating properties that cause it to increase without additional sources. You might say that it has a life of its own.

Doesrepparttar Bible say more about this river of living water? Yes, it does. The beginning pages ofrepparttar 140314 Bible speak about a river flowing fromrepparttar 140315 Garden of Eden. The closing chapters ofrepparttar 140316 Bible endrepparttar 140317 story of man on earth and open a door torepparttar 140318 world beyond by describing, in detail,repparttar 140319 river flowing fromrepparttar 140320 Throne of God, throughoutrepparttar 140321 Eternal City.

Is there anything worth noting about this river? I think so. I want to share some ofrepparttar 140322 more important properties aboutrepparttar 140323 river of God. To do this, I want to seek answers to four questions aboutrepparttar 140324 river. First, I want to identifyrepparttar 140325 river. Second, I want to locate its origin. Third, I want list its various properties. And, finally, I want to state its relationship to us,repparttar 140326 Church. So, here I go.

What isrepparttar 140327 river in question? Revelation 22: 1-2 says, “Thenrepparttar 140328 angel showed merepparttar 140329 river ofrepparttar 140330 water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing fromrepparttar 140331 throne of God and ofrepparttar 140332 Lamb downrepparttar 140333 middle ofrepparttar 140334 great street ofrepparttar 140335 city. On each side ofrepparttar 140336 river stoodrepparttar 140337 tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. Andrepparttar 140338 leaves ofrepparttar 140339 tree are forrepparttar 140340 healing ofrepparttar 140341 nations.” (NIV) The river isrepparttar 140342 river of life. It’s a river that hasrepparttar 140343 properties of life. Its properties of life sustainrepparttar 140344 tree of life, producing a crop of fruit every month and yielding leaves that heal nations. There is a river of life.

Revelation 21:6 says, “…To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost fromrepparttar 140345 spring ofrepparttar 140346 water of life.” (NIV) The river is also called a spring. Ezekiel saw it as a spring that developed into a river without tributaries. The Bible says that anyone may drink fromrepparttar 140347 spring, but only torepparttar 140348 thirsty willrepparttar 140349 water be given. Are you thirsty forrepparttar 140350 river of life? Jesus said that He isrepparttar 140351 water of Life. If you are thirsty, come to Jesus. He, only He alone, can quench your thirst for life.

Where doesrepparttar 140352 river originate? Revelation 22: 1-2 givesrepparttar 140353 source of its life giving flow. The water comes fromrepparttar 140354 Throne of God andrepparttar 140355 Lamb. If it comes fromrepparttar 140356 Father andrepparttar 140357 Son of God, it must berepparttar 140358 Spirit of God. In other words,repparttar 140359 Holy Spirit givesrepparttar 140360 water its properties of eternal life. The Spirit of God is often likened to water. In John 7: 37 it says, “Onrepparttar 140361 last and greatest day ofrepparttar 140362 Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, asrepparttar 140363 scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. (39) By this he meantrepparttar 140364 Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…” (NIV) Interesting, is it not? Those who come to Jesus to drink Him in, they are givenrepparttar 140365 Holy Spirit to not only quench their thirst, but to give forth to others to drink. Wow, believers haverepparttar 140366 river of life flowing through them.

Beauty and Ecumenicism

Written by Robert Bruce Baird


There are many vantage points from which to find beauty. The side ofrepparttar mountains overlooking Lake Louise onrepparttar 140274 grass ofrepparttar 140275 hotel sipping champagne with your most cherished friend is a memory of beauty that will always overcome my consciousness. The purr of my friend and companion as he welcomed me home from a hard days work orrepparttar 140276 smile onrepparttar 140277 face of most any person who 'sees' what little part of life we can partake in to help each other. There are many beauties and no real evil. This will be dealt with in greater detail under Abraxas inrepparttar 140278 concept segment. Inrepparttar 140279 whole ofrepparttar 140280 'brotherhood' there are many religions and in each one; I have foundrepparttar 140281 essence of beauty expressed by wise and metaphysical or soulful people. In Islam my favorite is Sufism. They make a good point aboutrepparttar 140282 poison of negativity and any form of thought that does personal energized harm to other life in this quote:

“The soul who had to sympathize withrepparttar 140283 whole world was thus prepared thatrepparttar 140284 drop of that poison which always produces contempt, resentment and ill feeling against another was destroyed first. So many talk about purification ofrepparttar 140285 heart, and so few really know what it is. Some say to be pure means to be free from all evil thought, but there is no evil thought. Call it evil or call it devil, if there is any such thought it isrepparttar 140286 thought of bitterness against another. No one with sense and understanding would like to retain a single drop of poison in his body. And how ignorant it is onrepparttar 140287 part of man when he keeps and cherishes a bitter thought against another in his heart. If a drop of poison can cause death ofrepparttar 140288 body, it is equal to a thousand deaths whenrepparttar 140289 heart retainsrepparttar 140290 smallest thought of bitterness." (56)

The fear of nature or one's inner uncertainties has caused many to find evil in places where beauty exists. Once one no longer has to control nature, there is no place where beauty will not be found. It may be a bittersweet beauty such as seeing your lover find a person she wants to marry; when you are an older man with allrepparttar 140291 love inrepparttar 140292 world for a person you love in every way. It may berepparttar 140293 joy you feel when you know you aren't going to have to schlep or drudge for money inrepparttar 140294 socially structured gambit to gain material things. The fears that createrepparttar 140295 opposite of harmony and brotherhood arerepparttar 140296 'poisons' which no true Kelt would know as he/she spoke to Alexander about their creed and their honest appreciation forrepparttar 140297 soul in everything. Nature has no evil andrepparttar 140298 crooked bristlecone pine that dormantly awaitsrepparttar 140299 desert rain has lived longer thanrepparttar 140300 rash fast-growing ash that sprouts quickly skyward. Inrepparttar 140301 soul that knows it is immortalrepparttar 140302 idea of change is welcome and thusrepparttar 140303 warrior’s death is too.

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