GREENE STREET LETTERS: The Real Deal Kind Of Love

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Real Deal Kind Of Love

Psalm 117:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 117:29
Give thanks to the Lord,for He is good. His faithful love endures forever.

Kind of drew a blank this morning on what to share here at the Greene Street Letters.
Nothing was coming to mind....
Sat here for a while staring at the monitor....
As if something would simply pop into my tired brain.
Nothing.

Opened up my Bible, in a random way...
Found myself staring at Psalm 117.
Opening verse speaks of God's love....
"Yeah...I know...God loves me."
"BAM!"
I had just taken the love of God for granted....
I've heard that phrase more times than I could count..."God loves you."
I even get a text every Friday morning shortly after 4 a.m. from a former Rapha client that says..."God loves you."
Had I fallen into a place where I took the love God has for me for granted?
I think maybe I had.

Then as I read Psalm 117, I noticed that it ended with the same verse it had started with.
God's love.....
His faithful love...
Endures forever.
Kingdom's rise, kingdom's fall. Governments come and go. Rulers step onto the stage of history but for a moment in time. But God.....
He's different.
His manner...
His nature....
The very essence of who He is never changes. He is not driven by public opinion to change who He is. He isn't checking the newspaper to see if He made the headlines this morning so as to increase public awareness. He is who He is.
Who is God?
I John 4:7 - But anyone who does not love does not know God.....For God IS love?

He created this wonderful thing we call love....
He took from His own nature...
His own character and gave to humanity.
Now don't confuse God's love with shallow, copied shadow that the world offers up instead.
After all, as Larry Norman sang, "Beatles said all you need is love, then they broke up." Such is the love the world offers.

But not God....
God's love is pure.
Because of this, Psalm 117 says we are to give thanks.
That His loves exists....
And that it endures forever.....
I think maybe I will just do that this morning...
Give thanks, that is.

God on you.....
Michael b.

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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.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Real Deal Kind Of Love

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD