That river doth surely flow, mighty waters wash into the Sea of Galilee and that river, that Jordan River doth flow again and the life waters flow out and on and then they crash into another sea, this sea so entirely different from the Sea of Galilee.
Water flows in and water flows out ~ the cycle of life ~ breathe life air in and breathe another life's air out ~ that is the mysterious mathematics of our Heavenly Father ~ life must flow in and then life must flow out ~ if not then we will certainly rename you the Dead Sea.
The Galileen Sea teams with the luster of life ~ water flows in and water flows out ~ so unlike that other, that sea to the South. Yet, we reason, the same waters flow through the banks of the Jordan into the Galileen and then into the Sea of the Dead, how can that be? One life giving sea? and the other ~ the Dead Sea?
One flows in and then flows on ~ life poured into vast body and then flows out to pour into another ~ and that vast body is alive and well and offers sustenance to an untold number. However, its Southernly brother, offers life to no other. Waters pour in and never flow out ~ life floods in in tumults and then? Death. For this Dead Sea held the life giving waters and kept it all as its own and the waters never flowed on and on and on in the way that our Heavenly Father in His Heavenly Home intended.
Life must flow in and then life must flow out.
I stood on Ethiopian soil and worshiped with the Brethren. I stood far from home and far from the waters that flow that I surely know and yet the waters of Life flowed and I did know, I knew those waters that flowed Life into my weary soul. That day on Ethiopian soil he spoke to his people, his flock, I listened intently certain He has something to say through this shepherd.
He spoke of Dead Seas and the flow of waters that brings life in and then carries life out ~ I saw immediately that we the church of the West are so often that Dead Sea. So much life flows in and we damn in up and we stand on the shore of our ever growing dead sea and we say this, this is all for me! And the Heavenly Host turns eye towards this dead sea and they murmur that we still do not see, that with no outflow we have only a dead sea.
Everyday over a million tons of water evaporates from the Dead Sea ~ everyday tons upon tons upon tons of life giving water slips up as lost vapor. And here we see the same ~ precious life wasted up into the vapors above this dead sea.
Why does the Dead Sea breed death instead of life? Too much salt. Too much minerals. Too much. And the waters flow in but they never flow out and the waters grow stagnate and death covers all and the life giving water vapors slip up into the heavens as millions lie dying of thirst all around.
Too much with no outflow breeds death.
In our lives here in the American church there is tremendous inflow and in our individual lives the inflow is immense as well. What is your measure of outflow in comparison to the inflow? Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love others as yourself. We must measure our outflow against this commandment from our Savior.
Several weeks later I ran under a hot sun on the soil I call home while I journey home and I asked God why He was silent. He asked me why I had stopped the flow of living waters out of me? I knew in my spirit where the dam had been built and why He was silent. The dam did not stand in our finances or relationships or anything of that sort. No, it was nothing that easy. I had stopped the flow of waters through the written word, I had silenced my words and in this fashion Life no longer flowed out of me. I had become a dead sea. Simply a dead sea.
Shortly there after I stood beside more waters and he asked me, "Why are you not writing? You know you are suppose to." In true poetic fashion I replied, "Because I do not want to! I feel like that obscure band that continues to pound out melodies in their hot, stinky garage and they labor over lyrics that no one cares about. I am that band and the garage is miserably hot and quite lonely and I want out of the garage because no one cares about the songs I write."
And then in true head of household fashion, he said, "So, it is not about what you want, it is about obedience. And you are right, no one cares about your weird songs pouring out of the garage except for the only One that matters. It is about obedience."
Darn him when he is right! It is not about what I want it is about obedience. So, if you want to know where to find me ~ I am that one man band bellowing out songs late into the night with screeching dogs and hostile neighbors writing for the One I love ~ all from the garage.
And so ~ we race on.
Water flows in and water flows out ~ the cycle of life ~ breathe life air in and breathe another life's air out ~ that is the mysterious mathematics of our Heavenly Father ~ life must flow in and then life must flow out ~ if not then we will certainly rename you the Dead Sea.
The Galileen Sea teams with the luster of life ~ water flows in and water flows out ~ so unlike that other, that sea to the South. Yet, we reason, the same waters flow through the banks of the Jordan into the Galileen and then into the Sea of the Dead, how can that be? One life giving sea? and the other ~ the Dead Sea?
One flows in and then flows on ~ life poured into vast body and then flows out to pour into another ~ and that vast body is alive and well and offers sustenance to an untold number. However, its Southernly brother, offers life to no other. Waters pour in and never flow out ~ life floods in in tumults and then? Death. For this Dead Sea held the life giving waters and kept it all as its own and the waters never flowed on and on and on in the way that our Heavenly Father in His Heavenly Home intended.
Life must flow in and then life must flow out.
I stood on Ethiopian soil and worshiped with the Brethren. I stood far from home and far from the waters that flow that I surely know and yet the waters of Life flowed and I did know, I knew those waters that flowed Life into my weary soul. That day on Ethiopian soil he spoke to his people, his flock, I listened intently certain He has something to say through this shepherd.
He spoke of Dead Seas and the flow of waters that brings life in and then carries life out ~ I saw immediately that we the church of the West are so often that Dead Sea. So much life flows in and we damn in up and we stand on the shore of our ever growing dead sea and we say this, this is all for me! And the Heavenly Host turns eye towards this dead sea and they murmur that we still do not see, that with no outflow we have only a dead sea.
Everyday over a million tons of water evaporates from the Dead Sea ~ everyday tons upon tons upon tons of life giving water slips up as lost vapor. And here we see the same ~ precious life wasted up into the vapors above this dead sea.
Why does the Dead Sea breed death instead of life? Too much salt. Too much minerals. Too much. And the waters flow in but they never flow out and the waters grow stagnate and death covers all and the life giving water vapors slip up into the heavens as millions lie dying of thirst all around.
Too much with no outflow breeds death.
In our lives here in the American church there is tremendous inflow and in our individual lives the inflow is immense as well. What is your measure of outflow in comparison to the inflow? Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love others as yourself. We must measure our outflow against this commandment from our Savior.
Several weeks later I ran under a hot sun on the soil I call home while I journey home and I asked God why He was silent. He asked me why I had stopped the flow of living waters out of me? I knew in my spirit where the dam had been built and why He was silent. The dam did not stand in our finances or relationships or anything of that sort. No, it was nothing that easy. I had stopped the flow of waters through the written word, I had silenced my words and in this fashion Life no longer flowed out of me. I had become a dead sea. Simply a dead sea.
Shortly there after I stood beside more waters and he asked me, "Why are you not writing? You know you are suppose to." In true poetic fashion I replied, "Because I do not want to! I feel like that obscure band that continues to pound out melodies in their hot, stinky garage and they labor over lyrics that no one cares about. I am that band and the garage is miserably hot and quite lonely and I want out of the garage because no one cares about the songs I write."
And then in true head of household fashion, he said, "So, it is not about what you want, it is about obedience. And you are right, no one cares about your weird songs pouring out of the garage except for the only One that matters. It is about obedience."
Darn him when he is right! It is not about what I want it is about obedience. So, if you want to know where to find me ~ I am that one man band bellowing out songs late into the night with screeching dogs and hostile neighbors writing for the One I love ~ all from the garage.
And so ~ we race on.
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