518

518....518.....
A highway or interstate?
May the 18th?
Room 518...
Nope.
How about Vineyard Recovery, or VR...
V = 5 in Roman Numerals.
R is the 18th letter in our alphabet.
VR...Vineyard Recovery= 518
Does that mean anything? Probably not, but numbers have always interested me.
Notice I said number and not math.
I was horrible at math.

Page 518 in my Message Bible is I Kings 20.. a warning from a prophet from God to King Ahab to take the necessary steps to insure victory in a coming battle.

Page 518 in my regular study Bible is I Kings 8...in verse 18 we read where God spoke to David and told him, "Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart."
What does that have to do with anything? Well, we have been called by God to host a meeting, that would be Vineyard Recovery, and the one thing that we heard from God, was "I will build the meeting." Like David, we too have a desire to build a place where God's presence is welcome. But we know that it isn't a place made with brick or mortar, wood or stone, but rather the heart.
We want to gather as a community of believers and let God work in each of us. Saturday is a celebration of what took place Sunday through Friday. We come together to worship Him. To celebrate His goodness as it has been manifested in each of our lives. To hear a word from Him through the teaching. And to learn how to serve and minster to each other, so we can take it back out into our respective communities and towns.

518 ----Psalm 51:8
Make me hear joy and gladness that the bones You have broken may rejoice.
O.k., now that is weird. God breaks bones? Well, as best as I see it, he does it from time to time. Let me put it like this. Suppose you had a 5 year old child. You were at work and you received a call from a close friend who informed you that Michael Bynum had broken your 5 year old child's arm and leg. I mean it was a terrible break, and the child was in great pain, crying and asking for their parent. How would you feel about me? You'd probably have a lot of anger for me. So you got in your car and you drove to the hospital, only to see me there outside your child's room. You look past me and there they were. Your child, laid up in bed.........arm in a cast......leg in a cast and in traction. Tubes coming out of the little body as fluids were being pumped. The anger grew inside and you really wanted to hurt me. But before you could, someone stepped in and said, "You really should be thankful for Michael, he saved your child's life." The story went on and you discovered that your child had wandered out into the street to retrieve a ball. They didn't see the car that had come around the corner and was barreling down on your child. I saw the child and ran to knock them out of the path of the car and, in doing so, I broke their arm and their leg. They had been saved from being killed. Would you still hate me after hearing this story? I don't think so.

Sometimes God has to do the same things to us to get our attention so we don't get caught in the path of oncoming life that is trying to kill us. I have to remember this when I find myself in situations that cause me to think that God isn't fair, or that He is out to get me. Truth be known...God love me...and He certainly loves you.

518?
I'm still not sure why I saw Vineyard Recovery in this manner or if there was a reason for it. But I'll keep chasing God and maybe He'll reveal what He was trying to say to me.

God on you....
mb