Order Out Of Chaos

Matthew 3:8
Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God.

John the baptizer laying it out for the religious throng of men who had come to see what all the hub-bub was about. People from all over the region were going to John to be baptized. It must have been the topic of conversation through out the city. It was enough of a buzz that it had caught the attention of the religious rulers, and they were out to decide for themselves whether or not this man named John was true prophet or a charlatan.

"Prove by the way you live that you have really turned."
Prove it by going home and living it when you shut the door and there isn't anyone outside your own family around to see the real you.
Prove it in your business deals by being fair and equitable with those your are buying and selling with.
Prove it in the way you treat others.

It is hard to live a religious life when only God's name is used to define who you really are.
By that, I mean you are laying claim to something that you aren't.
You tell others that you are a Christian, but your real life doesn't reveal that truth.
The one thing that I have found true in my own life, when it comes to living out this relationship with Christ, is that there is less chaos.

When God speaks into a heart and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in a life, there is a sense of order that begins to form. The chaos of the old life, the insane thoughts, and the pattern of behavior that is destructive, is changed. Sometimes we mistake the chaos of a sinful life to be,"Well..that just the way it is. That is just life!" No, it isn't. God is a God of order and peace.
That is what He brings to the table when you turn your will and life over to His care. He begins the process of putting things in order.

Part of the orderly process is found in the Twelve Steps.
Twelve simple disciplines that aid us in hearing, following and acting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Part of this order that comes to us is the simple thought that I want to do to this...not I have to do this. The change of heart creates a new way of viewing life. A desire to truly move from our old destructive behaviors toward a right-ness that only God can produce in us. Jesus referred to the Pharisees as "white washed tombs". They were all pretty on the outside....freshly painted....shining in the noon day sun...but the truth was, they were dead on the inside.  This is a picture of someone who is "acting" like they have a relationship with God. All outward show, with no inward change. Sorry Charlie! You get no points for such a charade.

You want some good  news?
Matthew 4:17- From then on, Jesus began to preach, "Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near."
That means that God....
Yep! The real-deal-promise-a-real-promise God has invaded our time and space.
He has done so with a plan to undo all the wrong that you and I have seen so much of, that we consider it to be normal life.
Part of that plan is a promise of real life to anyone who would turn to Him.
Just like Step #3 says...."We made a decision to turn our will and life over to the care of God as we understood Him." That decision is the exclamation point to an invitation that God gave to your heart.
That, my friend, IS the good news of the gospel of Jesus.
You do not have to live anymore under the penalty of addiction.
You do not have to live anymore under the presence of addiction.
And you do not have to live anymore under the power of addiction.
I'll buy that for a dollar.

God on you...
mb