GREENE STREET LETTERS: The Greater Truth

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Greater Truth

From Oswald Chamber's MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST

"When they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples." Mark 4:34

The one place that we do not look to, on a consistent basis, when seeking God's wisdom and council is within ourselves. Scripture says "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." The truth we shall know is about ourselves and the character defects we carry around. Some of these defects we cannot see and we are in need of God's Holy Spirit to shine the light of illumination into our soul.

As Chamber's writes, "It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We do not know envy when we see it, or laziness, or pride. " Salvation is more than a one time event. Just as there is more to marriage than the marriage ceremony, there is more to salvation than the initial event of being saved. All the marriage ceremony does is make a couple legal in the eyes of the state and before God to be married. Once married, they have to learn how to live together and what it truly means to be married. Salvation makes us legal, so to speak, before God to have a relationship with Him. Once we are saved, we have to learn how to have this relationship. This means allowing God to uncover every part of who we truly are, by revealing not what we do in our behaviors and attitudes, but why we do them.

Chamber's goes on to write, "If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we shall never say, "Oh, I am so unworthy," because we shall know we are, and that we are beyond the possibility of ever stating it." This is not an exercise to beat us down into submission or be crushed under God's thumb. It is God bringing us to the truth about ourselves. It is the place of

1.) Admitting we are powerless and that our lives have become unmanageable.

2.) Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves, Jesus Christ, who can restore us to sanity.

3.) Made a decision to turn our will and live over to the care of God, as we understood him.

Consider these things today.

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.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Greater Truth

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD