GREENE STREET LETTERS: Twenty-Twelve

Monday, January 2, 2012

Twenty-Twelve

2012.....
Sounds like something out of the old sci-fi movies I watched as a boy.
By 2012 we would have flying cars and rocket packs.
Man's achievements would stand glistening in rising sun of a new day...a new era.
There would not be anything that mankind could not achieve.

2012.....
Reality shows us that it is a time of great spiritual darkness.
Economies around the world are at the brink of failure.
Great undercurrents of unrest and mistrust sweep the globe.
People are looking for a savior.....
Not for their lives...but for their lifestyle.
Promises never intended to be kept are given to the people in hopes that peace will reign.

Knowing and seeing this spiritual darkness, what does 2012 hold for me?
What is God saying about 2012?
Having had this time off over this past week, I have spent a good deal of it studying and praying over what God wants to do in me and through me over this coming year.
I have been reading Isaiah 61.

V1. - The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.
This was a reminder that I belong to Him. That He has saved me and chosen me to participate in the Kingdom work here in Attalla. Everyone who has been saved is called to Kingdom work. It doesn't mean that everyone is a pastor or a preacher. It doesn't mean that everyone quits their jobs to pursue what the world refers to as "Full-time Ministry." Truth be known, everyone who claims the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is in full time ministry. What we do need to remember is that we have been given the most incredible gift in the world. We has been filled...possessed by the third part of the Holy Trinity....God, the Holy Spirit. Wowzers!!

V1. - To bring good news to the afflicted.
Good news?
The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This little bit of information is power! It is the power to save.
In order to be saved, you have to be made aware that you are in danger.
In this case, we are born with a major character defect called a "Sin Nature." or a propensity to do very selfish, destructive behaviors that take us outside the will of God. In other words, we kind of thumb our noses at God and say, "Leave me alone and let me live my life!" In my estimation, the Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 7:18-19 - "For I know nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh (sin nature), for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not wish."
I told you we were messed up. We are so used to living like this, we think it's normal. Boy have we fallen a long ways from the God tree!

To me, 2012 will be a year of proclamation. Wasn't 2011 a year of proclamation? Sure it was. That is why 2012 must continue on with the message. There are still those out there who haven't heard and do not know that Jesus died to free them from the bondage of sin (which includes addiction). We will continue to share this message here at Greene Street Letters. I hope that you will continue to drop by from time to time and read the postings. I hope that you will share the Greene Street Letters with your family and friends.
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.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Twenty-Twelve

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD