GREENE STREET LETTERS: Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Seems as though, in this old world, we expend ourselves to never feel pain. We will spend money on drugs and alcohol to numb ourselves to the point, we feel nothing.
The whole focus of recovery is, as I have heard several say..."Learning to live life on life's terms." While that may sound good, and there is good reasoning behind it, I want to learn to live life on God's terms. Sometimes that involves going through painful situations and circumstances.

King David, in Psalm 23, makes the statement...."Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Your rod and staff, they comfort me." Now I don't know about you but such a path that would take me through death's shadow does not sound like a pleasure jaunt. There was pain, both emotional and physical in David's life. David knew that God's presence was the healing factor in this journey he was on.

Jesus is not a salve that is applied to our wounds to make us feel better...to free us of pain. Sometimes pain is the only thing you can hang on to that let's you know you truly are alive.
Does this mean that I run out and bring pain into my life? No. But pain is a part of living.
Who among us has not suffered pain? Who among us has not been wounded emotionally by those we thought loved us? The end result of pain is where did we turn for comfort. Did we seek the things of this world to bring a temporary relief....or did we turn to the healer, Jesus Christ?

Christ is no stranger to pain and suffering.
Isaiah 53:5 reads: But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Jesus is the healer when it comes to the things we suffer from and suffer with.
God told the Apostle Paul, when Paul asked Him to remove "the thorn in his flesh"...MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU. It is the Grace of God....the empowering presence of God in our lives that enable us to be who God created us to be...it is this Grace that is the medicine for whatever pain we are going through.

The world offers no solution.
Society has no answers for us...
Only in Christ can we find true freedom and a new way to face our day.
May you find Him today.

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, February 6, 2013

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD