GREENE STREET LETTERS: What A Weekend!

Monday, September 6, 2010

What A Weekend!

What a great weekend. Visitation went well and everyone seem to have a really good time except for the ducks. The kids who came to visit chased the ducks all over the camp. I think our web-footed friends finally escaped by getting in the pond, staying there until everyone had left.

Jonathan Bright spoke at the BACK DOOR Saturday night. He related many of his stories from his time at Rapha ,tying Scripture in to encourage the men to not give up but press on in their recovery. Jonathan and his wife, Tiffany, have answered a call to ministry. They aren't sure of where it is going to take them, but they are prepared for whatever God leads them to do. At the end of his message, as we came to ministry time, 8 men came forward for prayer. Very powerful and God was very much working on these eight. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Earlier in the day, I had the opportunity to baptize two in the creek. Here again, is one of my most favorite things God lets me participate in. Families lined up on the bank, us standing down in the creek....God's pleasure and Spirit very evident. The look on the faces of the men when they come up out of the water......priceless. Thank you Lord.

Yesterday morning Vicki and I drove up to Noccalula Falls to have a time of worship and prayer. With Bibles in tow, we set up in one of the pavilion's located on the campground side. The sun was shining, the wind blowing and God was in HIS house! It was an incredible time of communion and just being together.

Verse for the day:
Romans 12:9-10
Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Love is a choice, not a feeling. Today, we choose to love! Today we choose to empty ourselves of our own personal agenda to take up the cross of Christ and go meet the world on Jesus' terms, not ours.
Have a "God" day!
mb

I will be posting Jonathan's message from Saturday night in about an hour. Look for it in the podcast section of this blog.
Thanks for stopping by...
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.

Monday, September 6, 2010

What A Weekend!

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD