GREENE STREET LETTERS: Burning Love

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Burning Love

Isaiah 6:6-7
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, "See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven."

During a conversation the the other day, I was asked why my blog was so depressing. Depressing? I never thought of it that way. The person I was talking to said that I never seemed to have any joy in my life and that I focused on my lack of strength in what seemed like doing the simplest of things.

I do not want to give the impression that I walk around in sack cloth and ashes with a little dark cloud over my head. But neither do I want to dwell in the nether regions in the land of "Happy-happy-Joy-joy." By that, I mean where I never am aware of my frailty as a human and as a believer. As Paul wrote, "If I boast of anything, I boast of my weakness for in my weakness His strength is made perfect."

There is a line from the hymn COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING that breaks me down every time I hear it. love. "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart O' take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above." For me, it is a knowing deep in my spirit that this is the nature that Jesus came to die for. That sin nature that has the power (if I give in to it rather than surrender to God) to draw me away from God. I'm sorry....if that doesn't break you or if you are not in touch with that part of your life, you may be out of touch. I don't walk around bemoaning the fact that life is hard or that I am a suffering servant for the Lord. I do have joy and peace. I do rest in the fact that the more I am uncovered and God reveals my heart, the more I can draw closer to Him through my repentance and confession.

Praise God! We are set free by the Son.
And I embrace my freedom to be who He created me to be and do what He has called me to do.
I bless the path that God has called you to walk today.
That you may find peace and grace to do so (walk it out).
More than anything, I pray that you see His face everywhere you turn and hear His voice every time the wind passes you today.

God on you....

mb

1 comment:

Bobby said...: We never need to forget our potential for evil... but at the same time let our focus be on the Cross ... Jesus paid it all! Paul understood that he was the chief of sinners... but he also had joy unspeakable!; September 2, 2008 at 9:16 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.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Burning Love

1 comment:

THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD