GREENE STREET LETTERS: It Was A Wind-y Kind Of NIght

Sunday, May 7, 2017

It Was A Wind-y Kind Of NIght

What a night.....
Good food...wonderful fellowship....hanging out and catching up....all done in the presence of God. How cool is that?
The band WIND came in to lead worship for VRC last night, and lead they did. Instrument and voice combined to lift us all into that place where heaven is a little more real, and the things of this world seem to fade away. I love such moments as these when God is so real and your heart is drawn to Him.

Seth Barber brought the teaching from John 5..."The cripple man at the pool of Bethesda".
I didn't know that the word "Bethesda" means House of Mercy, but it could also be translated as House of Shame. The incredible picture of God's mercy being poured out on those who have lived in shame. Those that the world didn't want, and had cast aside upon the garbage heap of humanity.

We do the same thing today....
The transient....
The whore....
The addict....
The troubled teenager...
Those who are elderly and have no family to help take care of them.
For the most part are cast aside, with a religious thought that "God will take care of them, we won't have to."

Ministry/prayer time was once again awesome, as people came forward and gathered around the cross we set up each week. There was some healing that took place. Some were set free from old demons and habits....Some made a commitment to begin a journey with Christ. I sure that after we finish our meeting, an angel comes through with a broom and dust pan and sweeps up all the trash and baggage that has been left at the foot of that cross.

There were a lot of memories created last night that I can add to the file cabinet in my mind. I know that these memories will comfort during days and times when the winds of problems and situations that I have no answer for blow hard against me. Such times, I will pull the memories out and running them over and over in mind, and lean hard into that wind. For such wind will not last forever.

Thank you Father for friends and family....
And thank you for what took place in that room last night...
Amen.

(Special thanks to all the core leadership of VRC for helping to serve our guests last night...you guys rocked the kingdom!)

God on you...
mbb

No comments:

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.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

It Was A Wind-y Kind Of NIght

No comments:

THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD