GREENE STREET LETTERS: On Your Mark...Get Set......Go Part II

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

On Your Mark...Get Set......Go Part II

Genesis 12:1
Then the LORD told Abram, "leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you."

Imagine that you are rocking along in your own world, your own life, complete with plans and ideas about the future when all of a sudden God speaks to you.
"Attention! Attention! God here. I am asking you to abandon your plans and begin to operate from mine."

God's plans included leaving all you have known....the people, family, friends, your home, your business...everything, to go to a place that is not known to you. By "known" I mean you don't know which way you will be traveling in. God told Abram go to the land I will (future tense) show you. I'm not sure, but I believe this is called faith on Abram's part.

Filled with unknown which usually translates to fear and uncertainty, Abram begins the trek. Off course if you continue on in Genesis you'll see that there were good times and bad times. Prosperous times and lean times. Times of peace and times of war. Through it all, Abram continued on in following God's directives.

What if God still operates the same way today?
What if the essence of being a Christian, a follower of Jesus, is to leave a "life" that is comfortable to us to embark on a new way of living. One that is full of good times and bad. Prosperous times and times of leanness. Times of peace and times of way. What if God uses this journey to grow us and stretch us so that we learn to rely on Him instead of our own efforts and strength. I see a lot of people who become follower's of Jesus only to put their tents down (so to speak) and never move in this new relationship. By that, I mean that they refuse to change their lifestyles. What was important before they met Jesus is still the most important thing in their life after they met Jesus.

Hear me...I'm not saying that God wants us to become paupers for the Kingdom. But He does want us to learn to live within the "economy" of the kingdom. An economy based on obedience to Him. Salvation is a free gift to man kind....the blessing that come from God's hand are based on obedience. God does not bless those who disobey. The economy of God is not tied to a government run by men and women. The economy of God supersedes the ruling of man and brings provision and direction to those whose hearts are totally committed to him (II Chron. 16:9).

The words spoken by President John Kennedy during his inauguration may have been more prophetic than people imagines. "Ask not what your country can do for you........ask what can you do for your country."
Well....
Ask not what the Kingdom of God can do for you.......ask what can you do for the Kingdom of God."

Think on this....
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, November 9, 2010

On Your Mark...Get Set......Go Part II

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD