Taken any "Soundings" of your world lately?

SOUNDINGS

  "Soundings" measure the depth of water as a boat passes through.  
   Before the nifty electronic depth gauges, a sailor stood near the bow of the ship tossed out a weighted line to measure the depth of the channel they were entering.
   As a Riverboat captain, Samuel Clements knew that "Mark Twain" meant 13 feet of water under his keel and so the passage was safe.
   The dictionary adds that a sounding is  "…a probe, a test, or a sampling of opinion or intention."
   It is my hope and prayer that the thoughts, reflections, ideas and prayers shared in this column may also be indications of God's safe passage for us all.  
…that this column may probe into what it means to be a Christian, to test our discipleship, insights and intentions.
   I also hope and pray that you feel free to respond back in conversation, emails or on my e-Soundings blog. (www. http://pastorterry.blogs.com)

RELATIONSHIP
   Without a conversation about life, we can't be in a relationship.
   And our God is a God of relationships.  We are called to be in relationship with God, and with each other.
   The famous verse of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life..." sums up this Gospel of relationship, this story of Jesus Christ and God's desire to be in close relationship with us.
   This was unheard of before the advent of Jesus.  For most, the gods were meant to be feared.  For the Hebrews, God was meant to be reverenced.
   For the early Christians, God invited us to love, …to draw closer to him than ever before, to be