01/29/2022
In Jesus Christ we find that morning has dawned and a new day has come. God the Father is in His midst, and the living water that flows from Him will never be withdrawn, nor will it change course. Our God, and Jesus, His Son, are the same today, tomorrow, and forever. The question we need to ask ourselves is this… “Am I unwavering in my faith as He is? Have I turned to the left or the right, and stepped out of His unmovable flow?”
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”
Psalm 46:4-5 ESV
I like watching a television show on the Smithsonian Channel that films many of the wonders and most beautiful places in the world from above as if we were birds flying over them. This new perspective reveals God’s creation in a way that we are blind to while standing on the earth. It gives us insight into things that were always there, but that we just couldn’t see. One of those is of rivers, and looking down on them we see how their course has moved this way or that over the millennia. We can see where the river once flowed, and where it has left oxbow lakes, or old riverbeds that are now filled with tall trees. However, the river of faith that is Jesus Christ has never changed its course. The earthquakes, floods, and sinkholes, of a constantly changing world have no effect on Him… His flow is eternally true, and shall not me moved.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
The world we live in as people is constantly changing. There are wars and rumors of war, there is the destruction of forests, the polluting of streams, rivers, and oceans. We cut the tops off of mountains in search of coal, and reroute rivers as we dredge them for gold. All of these things we do and more. The change unsettles us, and causes us distress and anxiety, so we search for quiet, peaceful, and unchanging places in the midst of all this, but alas, even those moments of calm and quiet we might find, are fleeting. Our world, and the impact we have on it, even when we feel we are doing good, is ever changing, and our efforts destructive, because carnal man worships false gods…
““Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.”
Acts 14:15 ESV
Yet the river of God flows on unchanged, unabated, and the water which flows within its banks brings life, for it is living water. On this one river is our ark, in its midst stands our fortress, our strong tower, it is our escape from the sin, and the terrors of the world. God’s unchanging flow is our cool relief from the heat of a hell we have made for ourselves. In this river we find the tranquility of salvation, and the love of God who waits there patiently for our arrival, our repentance, and our baptism within the purifying waters; immersed in the blood of Christ we rise up cleansed, and forgiven.
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
2 Peter 3:8-9 ESV
So where are we today? Have we built our house beside a river that will one day change its course as it wriggles like a snake, and consumes it, destroying us and all inside? Have we sought safety in a flood plain where we will be swept away? Are our fields planted at the mouth of rivers where warring armies can reach them by sea, and plunder them? I hope not; I pray that we have sought out the safety of the unmoving river that David wrote about in our opening Psalm… the river of God that flows true with the living water of Jesus Christ. Here we find our peace, our rest, our everlasting love and goodness, and an eternity consuming the overflowing bounty at God’s Holy table. Here beside the waters we will feast, and grow.
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
Psalm 1:3 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy River of life that can’t be moved. Thank you for the living water that flows there, quenching our thirst, and washing us clean of all sin. Thank you for the comfort that comes from the unchanging nature of your love, and goodness in the midst of a world writhing in sun, and that can’t find peace, or rest. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God in whom we find everlasting comfort and joy. Praised be your name for each day that we come to you in prayer, and find you there… unchanged, and waiting to hear our voice. Merciful are you who is with us always, regardless of how the earth might have changed. The grace which flows as living water from Jesus never goes dry, just as you never forsake us, and are steadfast in every promise. Baptize us in the holy water of your unwavering Word, and wash us clean in the blood of Jesus. Pronounce us worthy, and call us your children. Welcome us to your table, and into your presence forever, and forevermore. Plant us beside the water, that we might bear the fruit of praise and worship you for all eternity.
“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.””
Ezekiel 47:6-12 ESV
Rich Forbes