GREENE STREET LETTERS: It Was A Good Day

Monday, April 5, 2010

It Was A Good Day

Isaiah 35:10
Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return to Jerusalem, singing songs of everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be overcome with joy and gladness.

Every good thing we experience here on earth.....
Every good and perfect gift given to us by our heavenly Father....is but a taste...a sampling of the incredible goodness to come.

I love the last part of Isaiah 35:10 passage where it says "they will be overcome with joy and gladness." It isn't the emotional fluff that the world gives to us. Emotion that stirs the flesh and not the spirit. Emotion that lingers but for a moment and then disappears like a wisp of smoke. NO! Isaiah is speaking of joy and gladness that comes from an eternal place, given to His children by an eternal Father. Overcome....to be so totally saturated and filled with joy and gladness all else pales in comparison. That is a powerful statement! Yet, this is what our Father in heaven is going to do those who believe and life accordingly.

We live in a time between the times. By that, I mean we live in an age between Jesus' first coming (birth/death and resurrection) and His second coming. Paul, in the book of Galatians, refers to our current time as "this present evil age". Because of the collective sin nature of mankind, evil is manifested in every area of our planet. But in the midst of this evil, God is at work saving and restoring those who confess that Jesus is LORD and believe in their hearts that God has raised Him from the dead. To these belong the promise of overwhelming joy and gladness. This is why we walk our days out here on earth with one eye on what's going on around us and the other eye on heaven. God has not called us to simply occupy and hold on till He comes back, but to be "salt and light" in a world of darkness.

Isaiah 43:13 --From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions.

Isaiah 44:3 -- For I will give you abundant water to quench your thirst and to moisten your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit and my blessings on your children.

Mark 1:15 -- "At last the time has come! " he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!"

God on you..........

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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.

Monday, April 5, 2010

It Was A Good Day

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD