The Cross

I Corinthians 1:20-21
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not  know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

One of the mysteries of God, to the mind that does not know Him.
How can an event that happened over 2000 years ago possibly affect me here, today in 2013?
There are those who will acknowledge that Jesus actually lived and walked this earth. They may even go as far as saying that, according to the writings of other historians, such an event as His crucifixion actually happened. But they give no heed to the affect such an event had on time past, time present and time future. 

Such live their lives oblivious to the sentence  that hangs over their very heads, waiting to be enforced at the moment of their deaths. A sentence that propels them into an eternity of damnation. Where there isn't any relief from the constant memory of having had opportunity after opportunity to escape this sentence, but because of selfish choices, it was rejected so that the temporary pleasures of this world could be had and experienced.

in the case of addiction, those temporary pleasures lead us to alter our reality and perception through the use of chemicals and alcohol.
But even under such a fog of delusion, the message of the cross of Christ had the power to penetrate and awaken us to the sobering fact that we were hopelessly lost without Jesus.
We were beyond reach and help of anyone and anything. No matter how hard we willed it.....no matter how hard we put forth the effort.........there was no changing the simple fact that we were living outside the boundaries of life that God had defined and desired us to be a part of.

It was this cross that Jesus hung on 2000 + years ago, and a burial tomb that could not contain him that put the "It is finished" on sin. He broke the barrier of sin and declared a payment once and for all time on behalf of the human race here on planet earth. This gift of a new life is offered on a daily basis to who ever would believe and receive. 

Don't ask me to explain it. I can't. Don't ask me to diagram how this new life works, I can't. All I can do is tell my story of what has happened to me and how it was Jesus who made it work. I have this new life, this relationship and community with God. He has taken me through good time and bad times. Through times of great celebration and through times where there weren't enough tears to cry because of the pain. He has supported me. He has uplifted me. He has given me purpose. He has wrung out every bad thing that was rooted in my heart, and continues to stand guard to stop anything that is contrary to my new life that would taint or destroy it. 

The cross may have happened 2000 years ago, but the shadow and power of Christ covers the earth today.  Such is why we have Vineyard Recovery Church. He has called us to this meeting, one that He has created. He has been gracious to come and meet with us every Saturday night since April 13th of this year, and there is no reason to believe that He won't be there tonight.
So I will go, this morning, and set up the chairs, put out the sound equipment and prepare to share what I have heard Him say to me this week. At 7 p.m. tonight, we will gather to experience the Presence of God. We will worship Him because He deserves it. We will sing song to Him, not songs about Him. We will share our stories and we will receive from His hand that which we need. Hopefully, we will allow our hearts to be open and changed by His loving presence. We will go away changed tonight. Changed for the better is my prayer today.

God on you.......
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Recovery is what we do
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