GREENE STREET LETTERS: Darkness To Light

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Darkness To Light

Genesis 1:5
........So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Colossians 1:13
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.

The great spiritual conflict that swirls all around us ,and in us, is defined by the transfer of souls.
From spiritual darkness....
to spiritual light.
God's Spirit is a revealing spirit. An illuminating spirit. He uncovers, not to shame us or guilt us, but rather to heal us. It is our sin nature, the old flesh, that compels us to run to the darkness. To seek shelter in the shadows, away from the healing rays of light that God brings to us.

John 3:19 reads: And his is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
Truth be known, we seek the darkness because we don't really want to know the truth about ourselves. We have been influenced by the directives of the power (kingdom) of darkness (Satan) for so long that we convince ourselves one of two things.
1.) I'm am beyond saving. I am a terrible person.
or
2.) Me? I don't have a problem. I don't believe in all this "Sin" and "God" and "Hell" business.
Isn't it amazing how we can deceive others....
and ourselves into running away from the only source of real life and healing that we so desperately need?

Early this week, as I was struggling with a decision that needed to be made, God spoke to me. Not an audible voice, but rather a "knowing" deep inside. It appeared suddenly and out of no where. I am suppose to change the name of our Saturday meeting.
So, no longer will we be known as Vineyard Recovery Church....
As of today May 15......5/15...
We will become Vineyard After Dark.
The reference to "After Dark" is the gift of life that comes "after the darkness".
There is life after all the spiritual darkness we have lived in and become comfortable with.
In fact, life doesn't begin....real life....until after the dark is removed.
And our Higher Power, Jesus, has made such a life possible.
So come and join us this Saturday night....Downtown Gadsden between 4th and 5th streets, at 7 p.m.
We look forward to seeing you at Vineyard After Dark.

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.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Darkness To Light

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD