GREENE STREET LETTERS: Radical Amputation

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Radical Amputation

Mark 9:47
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

This was Seth Barber's text for our message last night at Church@Rapha.
He freely admitted that this verse is taken out of context a lot but that we needed to see the heart of what Jesus was saying.

In relating it to recovery, Seth pointed out that whatever it is that stands between us and God and our recovery has to be removed. During a course I was taking from Pure Life Ministry, they referred to this verse as RADICAL AMPUTATION. Just as the thought of actually removing an eye or a foot or a hand is so outside the box of our thinking, it must be that same thought we take into our recovery. Better for us to remove and amputate friends, places and things from our live so we can enter into God's Kingdom, than to go into hell surrounded by the very things that aided in our downfall.

Because we have such a misguided love and affection for these things that would cause us to sin, we need the power of God in us to help us move on. I think God offers the power but not until we make the decision to cut or amputate these things from our life. We spend ourselves on prayer that follows the line of "Help me God!" When in reality we really mean, "Make me God!" It isn't until we admit our powerlessness and turn to God that the help comes. But even with that help, we have to make decisions and follow God to move forward from a past of destruction and devastation.

Make a conscious decision to turn our will and life over to God as we understood Him.

Until next time....

mb

2 comments:

Lane said...: A sobering word ... my challenge is toleration -- I want to 'tolerate' certain behaviors or obsessions that seem to be benign. And then I wake up down the road and discover the acceptance of such behaviors in my life have lead away from daily intimacy. THIS is why I need radical accountability ... because my flesh wants to avoid radical accountabilty. Daily, I must be willing to change...at any cost.; August 31, 2008 at 9:08 AM
Greene Street Letters said...: we tolerate because these behaviors/obsessions are such a part of us that we can't separate them as being unhealthy, anti-God and just plain not right.
That is why I have others around me who will not tolerate my acceptance of such behaviors.

mb; August 31, 2008 at 10:11 AM

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.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Radical Amputation

2 comments:

THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD