Into The River

Today was another two-service Sunday, and again I was blessed to hear two terrific sermons.

The pastor at my home church continued his series on "Getting Healthy For The Holidays" with a lesson on repairing broken relationships, which is a topic much on Southern Man's heart these days. Southern Man's ex still pretty much avoids any unnecessary contact and there's a lot to repair yet to be done there. Hopefully we will someday have some kind of normal relationship again. And Southern Man is continually seeking ways to rebuild and strengthen his relationship with his two teen-age kids. He has them next weekend, and again for a few days before Christmas. We're all going to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert the first weekend and Southern Man is working on some out-of-town plans for the pre-Christmas visit.

The noon service at the local megachurch was equally terrific. The preacher (a guest rather than the regular pastor) chose the first half-dozen verses from Ezekiel 47 for his text. This is where the writer walks out into water - first up to his ankles, then his knees, then his waist, and then into water too deep to ford. His message - get off the riverbank and into the water of the river of God, and the deeper you go, the better.

I don't usually care much for Old Testament sermons but this one really spoke to me. Not that I'm not in the river, but I'm not as deep as I should be or could be. Lord, I pray that You would give me the strength and the wisdom to walk deeper and deeper into Your river with each passing day and let the waters of Your love and compassion and forgiveness flow over me and through me, that I might love and forgive others as You love and forgive me. Amen.