GREENE STREET LETTERS: How Did He Do That?

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

How Did He Do That?

Genesis 6:22
Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Genesis 7:5
And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.

I read those verses and the same thought keeps coming to my mind.
"How'd he do that?"
I am puzzled because of the differences between the time Noah lived and the time and space I currently occupy.
Noah didn't have the luxuries that our time has.
He didn't have a printed Bible. The Bible didn't even exist during Noah's day. Oh sure......He was living it out and everyday was part of the mosaic that would be put down in print for generations and centuries to read.
Noah didn't have media such as television or radio or computers and I-phones. There wasn't such as thing as 24 hour-a-day Christian TV (to be honest with you after watching it, I'm not so sure that we have 24 hour-a-day Christian TV.
There weren't any churches.
There weren't any group's to meet with for support.

I think Noah truly shows me an example that may be the heart of relationship. Noah had God! Or should I say "God had Noah!".
It's pretty simple. Noah "walked" with God. That means (I think) every moment Noah shunned the things of the world and turned to God for direction. Now he may have done so out of fear, or out of repulsion for what he saw going on around him, but whatever reason, Noah made a decision to walk with God. This decision brought grace to Noah. I like the way Genesis 6:8 puts it; "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord". The idea that God's attention would be turned to Noah because of Noah's heart was for God speaks volume's.

Noah found.
What he found was not lost. It had been there waiting for Noah to stumble upon it, but it took Noah's determination not to be a part of the evil of the world to uncover this grace. I'm not smart enough to determine which came first----the chicken or the egg. Same here; which came first? Grace or Noah finding it. Truth is, it could be like the Scripture where God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham was going about the business of preparing the sacrifice. What Abraham didn't know was that on the back side of the mountain where he and Isaac were, a ram was making his way to the top. It wasn't until the moment arrived where Abraham's heart was revealed, that the ram showed up and God ordered Abraham to kill it for the sacrifice. We don't see the things God has provided until the time for their need is upon us.

All I know is that I want to be like Noah and "do all according to God's commands".

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.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

How Did He Do That?

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD