GREENE STREET LETTERS: Late Night Hucksters

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Late Night Hucksters

Psalm 103:1-2
Bless the LORD, o my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

I've been "under the weather" so to speak since Saturday.
Can't sleep because of congestion and coughing, so I have taken to my chair.
Last night, I turned on the TV to find myself caught in a Tsunami of infomercials.

"Buy this and your life will be so much better."
"Act now and we'll double the offer."
"Can't be bought in any store."
Garden hoses that shrink back to the original size....
A compound that can be sprayed on your leaking problem that a will stop the leak.
And on and on.
The subtle message is that the product being hawked will improve the quality of your life. When in fact it only adds to the clutter we surround ourselves with. We think the answer to our problems is to buy more stuff.

Now I'm not here to debate the benefit or downfall of infomercial,but I do believe that there is something in all of this that I needed to hear.
There is only one thing on this side of heaven that is going to make my life better. And that one thing has a name, and that name is Jesus.

Let's be truthful here....
Isn't that the message of the world?
"You don't need this Jesus....look at the things we have to fill up your life!"
Are you hurting...?
We've got some killer drugs here that will take away the pain.
Are you depressed?
Take this pill and you'll be all Alice Through The Looking Glass as you enter a new state of being...
Drink this and you'll be the life of the party.
Smoke this and you'll be in a suspended state of splendid bliss.
Trouble with the stuff that the world offers to us is that it is only temporary.
You'll crash and burn.
Then you'll have to come back for more....
And more...
And more...
Until your using to just feel normal again.

Sitting there in my chair last night....
With my bloodshot eyes staring at the TV...
I began to tell God how grateful I was for what He has done for me.
I began to say the names of the people I am grateful for....
This went on for some time, until I was flooded by a sense of peace.
Got up and went to bed.
Slept really well....
Glad we have drugs to help with our illnesses...
More grateful that we have a Savior who knows our every weakness and gives us His strength to help get through the difficult times.
Thank you, Jesus...

God on you...
mbb

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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, May 31, 2016

Late Night Hucksters

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD