GREENE STREET LETTERS: The Week Ahead

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Week Ahead

My youngest son, Josh, is coming in tonight on his way to Athens, Georgia. Looking forward to the few hours I will spend with him. Vicki has gone into full blown "mom" mode. Supper for the traveling boy. Home made Cheese & Macaroni, Crowder peas, Slaw, cornbread, and some other such Southern goodness. We don't kill the fatted calf when family comes home.....we raid the garden for veggies.

Chad, my oldest son, is taking a week off from teaching and coaching and saving the free world. He is catching up on yard work and other such foolishness that life demands we do. He will be coming over tonight with Robin and the kids to hang out with Josh. Like I say, it will be a good time at the Bynum household.

Saturday is visitation at Rapha. Families coming out to be with sons, fathers, brothers and grandsons. It should be a great day for visiting. I look forward to this day each month because it does so much for the spirits of the men. Now, if you throw in an evening service with a really cool band............hmmmm...let's see...who would that be.
NORI and BARBIE KELLEY!! They will be playing this Saturday night here at Rapha.
Meeting starts at 6 p.m. Come if you can.

Verse of the day
Titus 3:5-6
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Every thing (and what falls under everything? Every thing) directed to us from God is done so according to His mercy. What is mercy? God giving us something we don't deserve and God keeping from us something we do deserve. What is it we don't deserve from God? Eternal life, salvation, relationship with Him. Why? Because I am a sinner. I have a sin nature and it is this very fact that should keep God from even looking on me. But Jesus paid the ultimate price/ sacrifice that opens the door for God to come to me.

What is I do deserve from God? Hell! Simple, pure, plain fact that I am a sinner and my sin has a penalty..........death! Not physical death, that happens to us all. But what the Bible calls, the 2nd death...eternal separation from God. Bummer! Don't want to go to that place.
Thank you Lord for all that you are and all that you've done.
Hey guys...have a great day!

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

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Week Ahead

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD