GREENE STREET LETTERS: Big Ol' Honkin' Dude....

Friday, February 3, 2012

Big Ol' Honkin' Dude....

Today's Reading: I Samuel 17:20-47
There he stood.....
Taller than anyone could imagine.
Armor shining in the sun.
A picture of death and destruction.
His name? Goliath.
Even today, centuries after he was killed, his name carries a certain weight and imagery that stirs our imaginations.
Goliath.....
The army of Israel saw themselves as being weak and terrified when Goliath stepped forward to issue the challenge to fight. One one one....man against man...winner take all. Goliath would take on all challengers.

If addiction had a name, it would be Goliath.
IT stands, in the minds of those addicted, like a giant that cannot be defeated.
"What? You think you're going to break free from me through your own will power and determination?" That voice rings in the ears of an addict. It beats them down and challenges them with every decision they face. It beats so loud and so long that a person truly begins to believe that there is no way to defeat Goliath/addiction. It taunts us and challenges us to do something, anything. We cower in fear and return to the drugs and alcohol in order to silence the voice and stop the pain.

So how was Goliath defeated?
He was killed by a young shepherd boy named David.
But that isn't the entire story.
Goliath was killed by a young shepherd boy named David who was filled with the Spirit of God (See I Samuel 16:13). In other words, it took Power greater than David himself to defeat the giant. Here we see the very heart of recovery. Step #2 - came to believe in a power greater than ourselves that could restore us to sanity. What is insanity? Going out to meet Goliath everyday hoping something would change, only to run away in fear and doubt. It takes the Power of God to break the addiction of Goliath in my life.

Because the Spirit of God filled David, David was confident that God would deliver him from the destruction that Goliath posed. No matter how improbable it seemed, David was going to rely on God's ability to defeat the power and strength of Goliath. Transfer that same thought over into recovery. God's power is given to those who are saved by the work of Jesus on the cross. Salvation provides the Power necessary to live life here on this planet free from the destruction of addiction.
I know it sounds like some kind of fairy tale...
It isn't.
It is life.
It is truth.
It is the way you've been looking for.
Trust this God today.
Talk to Him and tell Him your struggles and how you want to be free to have a real life.
He will show you the way.
I promise that.
God on you......
mb

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Looking At The World Through Cracked Lens

As ol' Paul wrote in his Corinthian letters.."We see in part and we know in part." Now what piece of this bit of wisdom do we not get? I wish to not run around acting and trying to be some sort of Biblical G00-Ru (I meant to spell it wrong). Or a sage of sages.

I simply want to be able to communicate some of what God has given to me. Why? Do I think what I get is better than what you may have received from Him? Nope. But I do think encouragement comes when we share our daily story of struggle and victory in an effort to encourage each other.

Thanks for letting me share.

Time to soldier on..

mbb

Our Statement of Faith

We believe that God is the eternal king. He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love. From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit equal in power and glory. we believe that God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan, our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness and God's judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam's original sin. Human beings are born into sin, subject to God's judgment of death and captive to Satan's kingdom of darkness. We believe that Jesus, God's Son, was sent to this world, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary, fully God and fully man in one person. He is humanity as God intended us to be. Jesus was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, ushering in God's kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. Jesus' atoning death on the cross took God's judgment for sin which we deserved as law-breakers. Jesus' resurrection and ascent back to heaven opened the door for those who received salvation to begin a relationship with God.

Little Nets Into Deep Waters

Fishing nets were designed for one purpose only. To catch fish. Nets are no good if they stay on the boat. Nets serve no purpose if they are never used. I think maybe God sees us this way. We are all created for a purpose (by the way, the creator gets to define what our purpose is). Any other use besides the one we were created for does us no good. But when the creator places His hands upon us, casting us out into those scary, dark places with deep waters, it is then we can see the reality of our purpose. He knew there would be a catch waiting for us. I think I will be the net God has called me to be.

The Twelve Steps

As a community of people in recovery, we affirm that our higher power is Jesus Christ. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Just as God told the children of Israel He was going to give them a promised land, He has revealed to us that He desires to give us a "Promised Life." When Israel got to the promised land, God instructed them to go and in a possess it, fight for it and claim it. In recovery, the 12 Steps are the directions given to us on how to fight, possess and claim this promised life.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Big Ol' Honkin' Dude....

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD