GREENE STREET LETTERS: John 11

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

John 11

I live somewhere in the middle....
My entire life seems to seek out that middle place....not to swing to far, one side or the other....emotionally or spiritually.
John Wimber use to say that we, as followers of Christ, should seek the "Radical Middle"...that such a place from which to follow Christ was the only place to be.

I hear some lay claim to times of great bliss and joy....such things, they say should be a part of our relationship with Jesus....
Others look to the sufferings of Christ and think that is the way that should be followed.
Joy....
seriousness.....
laughter....
tears.....
To be truthful, I still think that middle place is the place to abide.
The middle place or middle ground is where I acknowledge my "humanness". My innate ability to mess up. Or as my dad use to say..."Boy, you could mess up a steel ball bearing with a rubber hammer." Realizing I'm human is not a cop out or an excuse to sin. It is simply me saying...."Hey God! I'm not you....Help!" From this understanding, I can face the day...
From this understanding, I cad take what the day hands me.....
I don't know if you noticed or not, but life is messy and not very fair.
But since I live here in "this life", I have found the need to remained focused on Christ.
WWJD?
Naw...
WWJWMTD! What Would Jesus Want Me To Do? Even asking this, I do not launch into speculative thinking or conjecture. I wait until He tells me. Believe me, if you are trying to follow Him, He will reveal Himself to you.

That is why I love this song from Randall Goodgame...John 11.
He sings of those days when you want to quit...
When you let your flesh get the best of you and you just don't care...
Then, like John 11 (The story of Lazarus) Jesus speaks into our lives and we are raised up....
If you want to stay in the tomb...feel free.
Me?
I'm gonna shed my grave clothes and go after Jesus.
Gotta love it!

John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe 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.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

John 11

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD