![]() ![]() We have an endless supply with an infinite God and a Savior who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When we accept the life Jesus Christ won for us, and THINK ABOUT IT, we end up with JOY LIKE A FOUNTAIN. God is a living fountain, a never-ending supply of everything we must have for life. Who would do such a dumb thing? Here, sad to say, God says, “My people.” Just an empty hole man makes to try to supply what he needs for life, while rejecting God’s endless supply of what he REALLY needs for life. Worse yet, the cistern has a crack in the bottom or side so when you need water, there is none. Instead, dig out a water hole that can only hold a limited amount of water.Forsake God, the fountain of living waters.When God calls out TWO evils, we sit up and take notice. Jeremiah 2 says: “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” How is joy like a fountain? A fountain may be contrasted with a cistern. Happiness is not evil - but it is no match for joy. Joy can remain because its source never ends - God’s goodness never runs dry. Happiness comes and goes because its source is fickle and fragile. Joy results when, while walking by the spirit, we are treated to glimpses of enduring realities related to the everlasting life Jesus Christ won for us. Happiness results from fleeting delights received by one or more of our five senses during our short lives in this temporary world. I’ll offer this brief description of the difference: Biblical definitions tell us “joy” is different from “happiness”, even though the way people show joy and happiness may appear similar. Galatians 5 lists fruit of the spirit – nine “varieties”. What a beautiful image to depict the wholeness salvation brings. When WE pay attention to God’s commandments by accepting Jesus as Lord, believing God raised him from the dead - when we get saved, literally “made whole” - we step squarely into the place where we can have God’s “peace like a river” as spoken by Isaiah. God cries, “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!” In Isaiah 48 and 66 we read: “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river…” and (speaking of Jerusalem) “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river…” It reliably completes and accomplishes much to make life abundant and whole for all that live near it. As we watch the waters pass by, the glistening motion inspires creative thought. Its energy powers machines to grind flour for bread and generate electricity for lights. (We notice Numbers 22 uses the expression “like gardens beside a river”.) It is a medium whereby people and heavy loads can travel far. It supports life and beauty both in its waters and along its banks. ![]() An established river is ever-flowing, faithfully maintaining its course. We can think of many ways to compare “river” with “peace” and “wholeness”. So, Bible peace deals with the rest that results from wholeness. Peace appears over 90 times in the New Testament, at least once in almost every book. Its root is “eiro”, which means to “tie together into a whole”. In the New Testament, “peace” is the Greek word eirene, meaning “rest, peace and quietness”. It can mean “to restore what has been taken”. It is the Hebrew word “shalom” and is used in several ways, including as a “state of wholeness, completeness or soundness”. Over 230 times the word “peace” appears in the Old Testament. Bible peace means wholeness or completeness. Instead of absence, biblical peace is the presence of something else. In the Bible, peace means something different. Please enjoy this video, then come right back and we’ll unpack some of the delightful depth carried by this bright tune.Ībsence of oppressive thoughts or emotions. ![]() “Peace Like A River” is a likable song for both young and old, easy to learn and sing.
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