GREENE STREET LETTERS: Sa.Sa.Sa..Saturday Night....

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Sa.Sa.Sa..Saturday Night....

Thought I might inject a little Bay City Rollers in title of the posting today. Sorry about that.
Here we are in the middle of an Alabama Summer.
Hot, humid...sticky....sweltering....Typical Summer.
Today is visitation at Rapha. We have so many new guys here now that it should make for an interesting visitation. I always enjoy this day as families come to see their husbands/ fathers/sons/brothers (in other words fill in the blank). Should be a good day.
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Acts 1:4 - ........"But wait for the promise of the Father which you have heard from me."

Such a small word.
Four letters.
But the thought and meaning of this word drives us crazy sometimes.
We fight against it.
We verbally say, "I'm not good at this."
What word?
WAIT.
The simple act of not pushing ahead with our agenda.
The process of remaining still until we receive whatever it is we are waiting on.

Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
According to this, there must be benefits from waiting, the most obvious is a renewing of strength.
If I am waiting, then I am not exerting myself uselessly.
If I am waiting, then I am at rest.
If I am waiting, then I am in a place of trust. A place where I am believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.
Rest!Wait!
Waiting for the promise of the Father. Doesn't that sound incredible? God has promised to send something and all they had to do was wait for it. I'm sure the group in Acts 1 were like little children on Christmas eve.
"What do you think it is?"
"How will we know when it arrives?" (Unaware that it wasn't an "IT" but rather "HIM" as in the Holy Spirit)
I know this.
Because this group waited, they were never the same.
On the day of the promise, everything changed. Not a little but topsy-turvy, world upside down kind of change.
Waiting on God will do that sometimes.
I'm waiting on Him right now.
I'm waiting on Him to turn to His Son and say,"Go get your bride."
Jesus, come quickly!

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.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Sa.Sa.Sa..Saturday Night....

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD