Experiencing God on the Passaic River - Take 2!

 This past Thursday night we did another "Experiencing God on the Passaic River". We had a wonderful group of folks, some new and some returning a second time. It was so hot that we got off the beach in Elmwood Park as quick as we could to find some shade. It must have been 90 degrees even in the shade. We kept everyone hydrated and it got cooler as the sun went down.

Colin in their new/old family canoe

 We stopped on "Rick's Island" (named after River Man Rick Rodriguez) and I did our faith lesson for the evening. The Bible begins in a garden between two rivers (Genesis 1&2)  and ends in a city with a river flowing out of it (Revelation 22). What does that mean.  Listen to the text.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, 

as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 

down the middle of the great street of the city. 

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 

No longer will there be any curse. 

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 

There will be no more night. they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for every and ever." 

This is a beautiful picture of Eden restored. Paterson is also the city of God because God is in the midst of it also. This future reality reaches back in time to the present where through the finished work of Jesus Christ we get a glimpse of such restoration. Our night on the river gives us a glimpse of that and encourages us to face the present. We see a picture of God's Kingdom come and will being done here on earth - in Paterson - as it is in heaven. 

Making a float to stop for reflection and prayer.

My friend Jim More helped with our group for the night and gave Luisa personal paddling lessons.

Paddling upriver under the Garden State Parkway.

Emma just cruising along

Ruth, Laura & Pam checking out the "love canal" 

Rick "River Man" Rodriguez & Laura

Packed up after a great but warm night on the water grateful for the time with the Lord & each other

Aliyah- Experiencing God on a Mountain

Thursday night we experienced God's presence on High Mountain, North Haledon. High Mountain is 900 feet high, 600 feet above the town of North Haledon. We began at the trailhead of High Mountain Park behind William Paterson University.  I began with a short teaching on 

Aliyah, which in Hebrew means "ascent" or "going up". Jewish tradition views traveling to the land of Israel as an assent, both geographically and metaphysically. The annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem always involved "aliyah" because its 2,700 feet above sea level. From whatever direction you come you are "going up".  The temple was built on the top of Mt. Moriah where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac.

 My good friend Gary Link, who hikes here a lot, served as our guide for the evening. It was a wonderful night cooling down some from the heat and humidity. We paused to see the deer feeding, beautiful orange mushrooms on the side of the trail and enjoy the beauty of God's creation

 

 At one point on the trail we found an array of rocks. We stopped to reflect on how most of the "high places" in the Bible were places of worship to the false gods of Baal, Asherah. People climbed high mountains to worship false gods. What are we willing to do to worship the true God. At any rate we wondering if this was some sort of North Haledon "high place".  As we neared the summit the trail got steeper. We reflected on the Psalms of Assent, Psalm 120 - 134. These were the Psalms that the Israelites sang as they went up to worship in Jerusalem.
 "I lift up my eyes to the hills, 
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, 
the maker of heaven and earth" Psalm 121

Our help is not from the god of the hills or to the other high places of the hills where many were looking. It is from the LORD - Yahweh! The creator of the heavens and the earth

As we got to the summit and looked out over Paterson and New York city we reflected on the difference in the Bible between Mt. Sinai & Mt. Tabor. On Mt. Sinai God met Moses in elusive majesty. He asks to see Gods face but only gets to see God's back. Divine accessibility is limited. When Elijah went there as well God met him in a cave in utter silence, beyond language and understanding. However when Jesus took Peter, James and John up Mt. Tabor near the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 17) it is a very different experience. Moses and Elijah are there but so is God in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. The Father spoke the same words that he said at Jesus baptism. "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him".  The early church community was included in this God encounter and as Jesus is transfigured the disciples know they have encountered the living God in human flesh. We see here the change in the coming of Christ of ways of describing God; from darkness to light, from silence to God speaking. On Tabor Jesus also will not let his disciples stay in God's glory but sends them back down to bring God's glory to the people as they carry out His mission. The way of glory is not just going up but God coming down to us and our path to the cross like Jesus. 

..

 "It seems to me that a mountain is an image of the soul as it lifts itself up in contemplation. For in the same manner as the mountain towers above the valleys and lowlands at its foot, so does the soul of the one who prays mount into the higher regions up to God. You are the Lord’s eagles, who wing your flights hight in the ethereal regions: " Theodore of Studios

Sunset as we concluded the night in prayer. 

All in all we had a wonderful night of experiencing God as we hiked High Mountain. Thanks to all for coming!

Experiencing God on the Passaic River

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells."

We began our time to Experience God on the Passaic River with a wonderful group of 15 people. Some experienced paddlers and some brand new. Alisa, Colin and Rick all helped with the supervision. This time we used the canoe as well as the kayaks. 

Robert in the front of the canoe

  began with these words from Psalm 46:4. We reflected how Paterson exists because of the Passaic River. It provided the power for the industry that helped create the city. But God has an even better river. We read about it in Ezequiel 47 and Revelation 22.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer wil there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face. and his name will be on their foreheads. There willbe no more need for the light of a lamb or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 

We reflected on the beauty of this future reality which we experience in part now since Jesus has come as we see "His Kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven". Even in the Passaic River. 

Go Maritza go!

Esley Tate has now produced a short movie of our paddled together. Check it out at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrdOIPePcPQ  Try to watch it in HD.

Zynasia & Laura

Esley was making a movie of us

Sorry, my video clips did not seem to work and I can't remove the boxes.....:[

Githandi landing on "Rick's Island" & James head!

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Thats Emma just floating, Zynasia waving and yea, thats Rick on the right!

 There is an island in the river right above the Rt. 46 Bridge. Rick Rodriguez has been clearing out an area for a picnic and camping area. Next time we bring food.

Patti helped Ian paddle now and then

Colin leans back while we made a float in Dundee Lake just below the Garden State Parkway

 We paddled downstream under the Market St. Bridge, Rt. 80 Bridge, Rt. 46 Bridge and Garden State Parkway Bridge into Dundee Lake. This lake is formed by the Dundee Dam that was created to provide water to the Passaic Mills. We formed a float and everyone share one reflection of something they were thankful for or ways they experienced God's presence. While we were there two beautiful snowy egrets flew by and landed in a tree. On the way back the sun every broke through the clouds to provide us with a beautiful sunset on the river. We paddled back to the Elmwood Park launch as it set and began to get dark.

Don't miss Melissa!

Robert in the kayak

Vanessa looking back at the sunset

Emma just didn't want to stop!

It was getting dark by time we were all loaded up