GREENE STREET LETTERS: "Zup?"

Friday, November 20, 2009

"Zup?"

Friday today. I'm teaching class this morning which always turns out to be an adventure in and of itself. I don't know what it is about Friday classes but they seem to always be good. Not because of me, but God always seems to just pour a little more grace on the Friday class.

Had an "Acts" moment yesterday. You remember the book of Acts? Pentecost? Started with 120 in a 2nd floor apartment and by the end of the day the church had grown to over 3,000. Well, there is a behavior that happens ever so often that always amazes me and it happened yesterday. I was walking from the R.A. office back to my office when a guy chased me down. We made small talk during the walk back to my office when suddenly his eyes were full of tears. I stopped and asked him, "Are you o.k.?" (Here comes the ACTS moment!) He looked at me and said, "What do I have to do to get saved?" I had talked about salvation and the need for Jesus if ever life was going to turn around from all the destruction earlier in the morning class. Now here was this man who had had the light come on in his heart and he suddenly realized that he needed to be saved. Needless to say God is an awesome God and as I write this, the man now has relationship with Jesus. There are some who are saved and then there are others who I like to refer to as being gloriously saved. He fell under the latter category.

As I pondered on this event last night it so did not fit the mold of what we tend to thing salvation should be. It didn't happen in a church. There was no choir singing "Just As I Am" (although I do remember Kenny Meeks on the camp music system singing "We're gonna rise). There wasn't even an invitation being extended. But because of the teaching from the morning, this man had been stirred and was brought face to face with his mortality and need for Jesus. It became such an issue that he chased me down and asked what must he do to be saved. Kind of blows all our religiosity out of the water doesn't it?
God never ceases to amaze me.
You go God!

Until tomorrow.........
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, November 20, 2009

"Zup?"

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD