A God Weekend

Seth Barber spoke Saturday night (Check out his message now downloaded) and he brought a powerful word. Over the past few months, Seth's messages have become very "to-the-point-no-frills-involved". Seth has learned that the best thing one can possibly do is to speak the truth in love. That means we don't sugar coat the message, but we also don't beat anyone over the head with it. Seth simply says what needs to be said and doesn't dress it up in a bunch of religious jargon.

Worship time was for learning and reaching out to places we have not gone before. By that I mean the guys were willing to worship in ways that they had not considered before. We are all in school here at Rapha and we are learning a new way to live which includes some behaviors we have never done.

In the Old Testament, the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were given for specific purposes. You had an entire nation brought out from slavery by God. Slavery was all they had known. They lived it, the breathed it, they worked under it, they lived and died slaves. For them to be brought out from that left an incredible vacuum in their lives. God gave them the three books (Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) to teach them how to live as free men and women under God's guidance. It spelled out dietary laws as well as spiritual and moral laws that defined what was right and wrong. Here at Rapha we are introducing the men to a new way to live. They have lived for years under the task master known as addiction. They were ruled and governed by it and knew no other life. On top of everything, addiction told them there was no other life and to attempt to live any other way would be futile and a waste of their time.
We know that kind of thinking to be a lie, yet it continues to dictate and lie to men trapped in addiction. Our call is to share the Gospel of Jesus. Him crucified, died for our sins as a payment. He, fully God and fully man, entered heaven upon his ascension from this earth and was able to do so because of his purity and lack of sin. Taking a choice seat at the right hand of God the father. Jesus became the way for us, sinful man, to approach God. What a present!

In Mark 12:24, Jesus says, "Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God." It is power of salvation and restoration and cannot be overcome by anything or anyone. That is truth. That is life.
May you find it today.

God on you....
mb