GREENE STREET LETTERS: Nehemiah 13:30

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Nehemiah 13:30

"So I purged out everything foreign and assigned tasks to the priests and Levites, making certain that each knew his work."

Read this verse this morning during my quiet time.
Nehemiah and his group have returned from exile to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Here at the end....
After the walls have been restored....
After the priests have been assigned....
Nehemiah recognizes a great truth.
He gets rid of everything foreign....
Every outside influence that might draw Israel back into sin was discarded.

Now don't read into this Scripture "BUY AMERICAN!!!"
In relation to us and our relationship with Jesus, we need to be aware that there are foreign things in our behavior...our attitude....our very lives that we have allowed to come in. These things do have an influence and they do war for with the things of God. The foreign things (another term would be profane) seek to usurp or overthrow the influence of the ways of God. The foreign things seek to soothe and feed our flesh (our sin nature), thereby lulling us into a false sense of what is right and wrong.
Nehemiah purges every thing foreign.....
What falls under "every thing? Every thing!
He doesn't compromise with it.
He doesn't seek to appease it.
He casts it out for it serves no purpose to the plans of God.

We must always be vigilant in our relationship and weigh every thing that comes our way as to whether it is from God or something "foreign" trying to weasel its way into our lives.
I truly do want to grow up before I grow older.
I am thankful for these lessons that God is showing me daily.
I pray the peace of God and His mercy and grace be directed to you today!

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.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Nehemiah 13:30

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD