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“…and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east…” Ezekiel 47:1

So the direction of the flow of the river is definitely “OUT”!

Outlets are important!  Without outlets we become stagnant!  This is one of the great points that John Devries is making in “Why Give?” and certainly in this chapter!  I like the contrasting terms – the Kingdom of Get (Satan’s domain) and the Kingdom of Give (God’s domain)!  One has an outlet – outlets cause flow – flow brings life!

My wife is out of the country for a couple of weeks!  She has been gone 8 days!  I had to do dishes this morning!  It’s been busy – the dishwasher is on the blink – so dirty dishes had accumulated in the sink.  I had filled the sink with soapy water a day or two ago – the dishes were soaking!  But, this morning I noticed some unique fragrances in the kitchen!  Don’t you hate having to put your hand down in the slimy, cold, stagnate liquid to find the drain plug.  I pulled the plug!

My sink needed an outlet so the stagnant water could flow out and fresh clean water could flow in and the dishes could get clean!!

Outlets are important!

I was talking with someone yesterday who shared that she was a little down last Sunday coming to worship – a little “ho-hum” about life!  Then God touched her concerning the plight of persecuted Christians and refugees in Syria - our topic last Sunday.  As she heard of tangible ways to help through putting together “action packs” of supplies to be sent to Syria she turned to her friend and together they committed to getting involved and giving to this noble purpose.  She said that from that moment on her demeanor began to change and attitude began to shift.

The plug was pulled – life began to flow!

That is the way it works!  God has given us life in Jesus and continues to fill us with life by His Spirit.  We receive Him and begin to flow with life as God’s grace flows from us through outlets of action.  We are by nature citizens of the Kingdom of Get but are transformed by Jesus, filled by His Spirit to live in the Kingdom of Give!

Let’s flow!

delton