GREENE STREET LETTERS: This Cross Was Made For Walking

Friday, June 25, 2010

This Cross Was Made For Walking

And He said to all, if any person wills to come after me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and if need be, in dying also]

For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [from the penalty of death]

For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits [loses] himself?

The battle! Self verses following Jesus. Two voices that compete for the right to rule over the body.
The one eternal, true, living, Almighty God.........
and......
Me.
It should be no contest, but I still sometimes feel as though I need to take the reins.
Funny part is that God will call to me to not try and take control.
But...........
If I so desire, I can.
To possess that kind of power is spooky, scary and dangerous.
That I can step away from God and take control of my own life (or as TV evangelists say...."Your Destiny).
"Hey BUB! When I take control of my life and kick God out of the picture.....I don't think this is a good behavior."
It's the reminder daily of a price that was paid (willingly I might add) by Jesus for me.
A price that puts me in right standing with God.
That is why the cross is a reminder.
That is why I am called to take up "MY" cross.
My own personal cross.
To drive home the point that I am a new creation and it was the cross of Christ that I first received the glory of being saved. It was at the cross of Christ that I bowed my knee and heart and made Him Lord of my life.
It was at the cross of Christ that I made the decision, as the Holy Spirit revealed my heart, to live here.
To always keep the shadow of the cross over me to remind me of what is at stake.

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light

and the burdens of my heart rolled away

it was there by faith

I received my sight

and now I am happy all the day....

Amen.

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.

Friday, June 25, 2010

This Cross Was Made For Walking

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD