GREENE STREET LETTERS: Sitting In The Balcony

Friday, June 17, 2011

Sitting In The Balcony

Philippians 2:8
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Looking upon Jesus, you would think Him one of the lowly few who's lot in life always seem to run contrary to what society deemed is successful.
Scripture says that there was nothing physically attractive about Him that would cause you to think of Him as a great leader or a statesman.
The form that Jesus took when He entered out time and space is a reflection of the heart of God.

In II Samuel 16, we read where God has sent Samuel the priest to the house of Jesse. There Samuel is to anoint the new king of Israel. Jesse has many sons and they parade through one by one so Samuel can see them. At one point, Eliab comes in and Samuel remarks, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him?" I mean this guy, Eliab, he had "king" written all over him. Tall, good looking, great hair, unblemished complexion, cut and ripped in his physique. In verse 7, God replies to Samuel's remark. But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

This flies in the face of what our society today thinks is most important about a person. God looks to the heart. The character and nature of a man. Is he teachable? Is he humble so that he can receive from God? Is he selfish or will he totally give of himself for the service of others?

Jesus came to model for us the dynamics of a man after Father's God's heart. To reveal to us that we are servants and as such, spend ourselves on the Kingdom of God and on others.
Do what God tells us to do. (then that would involve "listening")
Go where God tells us to go (that would involve obedient)
Be the person God created us to be (that would involve surrender of our will)
But the benefits of living a life like this is beyond comparison to anything this world has to offer.

Humbling ourselves is a choice we have to make. IT puts us in a place where we can receive from God.
To be humble means that we are teachable.
It means that I am agreeing with God simply who God says I am.
It enables me to be in a crowd and by this attitude, be in a crowd. That means that I don't have to stick out or be center of attention. If God desires to lift me up or exalt me, that is His business. I am not in the business of self-promotion.

Read all of Philippians 2 today. See what God would reveal to your heart.
Until tomorrow....
God on you...
mb

2 comments:

emilyelizabeth said...: i needed this reminder today. i really want to be teachable and all about Him instead of all about me.

thanks for continuing with this blog... it really ministers to me. i read it every day!

emily; June 17, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Greene Street Letters said...: Thank you Emily. I only try to write about what God is doing in me. It is a journey and I don't think we every get many days where we don't need to be taught.
Michael b.; June 17, 2011 at 2:31 PM

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.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Sitting In The Balcony

2 comments:

THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD