GREENE STREET LETTERS: An Encounter

Sunday, March 8, 2015

An Encounter

Please excuse the commercial at the beginning of this video

Taken from the movie Chariots of Fire, we have a reading from Isaiah. We are given a glimpse of the awesome majesty of God, balanced against the frailty of mankind. The all encompassing power and greatness of our Creator, in comparison of the feebleness and brevity of humanity.When looking that these comparisons, and suddenly become aware that such a being as God has a heart of love for His creation is a bit overwhelming.

Place with this love the desire to see us all come into relationship with Him,and our minds reel trying to grasp the reality of such a relationship. Yet it is the foundation upon which His name, His truth, and His love rests. Either what I have written about God is true, or it is all a sham, and with such a thought the entire structure of Christianity would topple.In my heart and in my life, I know it to be true.

I stood in a room last night with others as we worshiped this God. "Exalt The Lord Our God....For the Lord our God, He is holy"...floated through the air and became a door through which His presence and Spirit entered into the room. "All who are weak....all who are weary....come to the rock....come to the fountain." God extended back to us an invitation to renew our spirits and souls in the pool of his forgiveness, to drink long and deep His love and mercy.

"Be Exalted, Lord, High Above The Heavens". Once again we took up the declaration that He is worthy to be praised. He is worthy to lift up above everyone and everything. Not because God requires such to feed His ego. God has no ego...God is love. There were those, in that room last night, who have found new life in Christ. How could you not sing...how could you not be filled with a sense of gratitude and wonder at how God works.

We sealed our worship with a reminder and a declaration from God Himself. A spilling forth of the incredible fact the God has "Loved Us With An Everlasting Love". There were those in the room last night who dropped to their knees, broken and overwhelmed by this love that has been poured out upon us.

It was a really good night at Vineyard ReCovery.
God on you...
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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..

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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.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

An Encounter

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD