GREENE STREET LETTERS: It's A Simple Fact That We Do Not Need To Hide From

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

It's A Simple Fact That We Do Not Need To Hide From

Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

(Message Bible)
You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule.

Moving with the understanding that mankind is in need of recovery from the fall of Adam and Eve, healing begins with the true assessment of who you are and who you need to be healed. No healing can take place until we see ourselves as God sees us.

The very first step of the Twelve Steps is a confession about our current state.
"We admitted that we were powerless". Powerless to better our spiritual state on this side of heaven. We might be able to function and do our daily regiment, but we truly are powerless to better ourselves in the eyes of God.

To admit that you are powerless is the revelation of an inner need to fix something that is beyond your control. Every person born to this world comes in with a bent to be independent from God. Such a bent manifests itself in various ways. Not every one will be a drug addict or alcoholic. That doesn't lessen the chasm between themselves and God.
Not every person born will go to jail or be destitute and homeless, but there is nothing they can do in their own strength to bridge the gap between themselves and Jesus.

I confess to you this morning that I am poor in Spirit. I was spiritually bankrupt and in poverty. God offered to me this new way of living that would take me out of my old habits and ways. I accepted. I've been living this new life for 54 years now. I haven't always been consistent in walking with Him. There have been some pretty incredible lows in my journey when I decided that I didn't need Him as bad as I thought I did. I walked away from God for seven years. He didn't walk away from me. But during those seven years, I found out exactly how "poor in spirit" I truly was. I found out exactly how powerless I was. I kidded myself......no I actually deceived myself into believing that the world had more to offer than God did. What a chump I was.

But then, much like the prodigal son, I came to my senses.....got up from the middle of my sin mess....and headed back to my Father. He accepted me with such love and joy that it was overwhelming to me.

That was 35 years ago.
There was still a mess to clean up. There were falls along the way where I let myself get sidetracked from His path. I chose to leave His way to see what was out there, only to fall and come running back.

What's the truth that I have learned about myself over these years?
I am powerless...
I am poor in Spirit.
Such knowledge is the lynch pin to all relationship with God.
There will never be a day or time when you no longer need Him.
No matter how much you grow in Christ...
No matter how much He pours out on you from the riches of heaven...
I much always be aware of my need for Him.
Like Jesus said....
"I am THE way....THE truth....and THE life."
So if I remove myself from relationship with Jesus, and decide that I am no longer powerless but can handle my own affairs, what does this really mean?
It means that I have lost "THE way" or direction Jesus has plotted out for me to follow.
Losing the direction puts me in a place where I no longer am living in "THE truth". I am moving into a false reality that is easily motivated my own fleshly wants and desires. In other words, I deceive myself into believing that I am alright and have no need for God.
Lastly, I measure my own state of living as one of real life. When in fact I have removed myself from the only source of true life there is....Jesus.

The longer I remain in this state, the harder it is to find my way back to Christ. Impossible? No. But it will be a hard road to follow. Why? Because of the deception that we have surrounded ourselves with. Our only hope is that God will break off the hardness that has covered our hearts and our choices, and reveal His truth to us. A truth that begins with the fact that we are poor in spirit. A fact that tells us we are truly powerless.
From this place, real life can come forth.
Think on these things today.
Don't every forget how powerless you truly are outside of God.

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.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

It's A Simple Fact That We Do Not Need To Hide From

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD