God

Psalm 145:1 - I will extol You, my God, O King. And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

The idea that the Eternal God would want to rescue me is beyond my comprehension. The thought that out of all the peoples of the world (beginning to end) He would want to save me, reveal Himself to me, love me and change me in ways that I never could imagine....is beyond me.

What's even more incredible is His desire to reach out to all people with this invitation. His love and His offer of this new life.....life abundant here, and life eternal once we die, is not based on race, color, social status, or intellectual ability. It is given freely to all His creation.
From Muslims to atheists.
From the movers and shakers of the financial world, to the lowest back alley bum.
From the richest of the rich, to the homeless of this earth.
His love and offer to a new life is without boundary.
Nothing or no one can stop this call and offer....
No government can legislate God out of existence.
That would be like trying to grab a fist full of water....
You may lay hold of it, but it will slide through your fingers no matter how tight your grip.

So, you see, it doesn't matter what your drug of choice is this day...
Meth...
Crack...
Heroin....
Alcohol....
The latest street fad concocted from the fires of hell...
God is bigger...
God is stronger...
God's love for you is fiercer....
God is God....
Why not choose this day who you will follow...
The world?
Or my Jesus!

God on you..
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The Nature Of An Attack

When the enemy comes in.....
What enemy? The devil, his minions, and the kingdom of darkness.
Comes in? Where exactly does he come "in"?
Into our time and space...trying to affect me..influence me...wanting to stop me in my tracks from believing and following hard after this Jesus.

The devil is a master of human nature. After all, he's been observing us since the garden. You can say what you want to, but basic human nature has not changed at all.
Our nature is to cheat, manipulate, lie, steal, look to self rather than others. I could go on and on but you get the picture.
There are those in society who believe in the goodness of humanity. While we do possess the capability to do good deeds, we still struggle with that old nature that causes us to hold grudges, refuse to extend forgiveness to others, and to relinquish control of our lives over to the care of God.

I came under one of his attacks yesterday, and its beginning was so subtle that I did not catch it at first. For some reason, I began to doubt myself, what God has called me to, and my ability to teach the word of God. It began with a single thought..."Maybe my time is up...maybe I have outlived my usefulness....maybe I should hand over my meetings to someone younger who has more energy and a fresh vision. And then the kicker came.."Maybe I just need to quit all of this!" The list went on and on, until it almost became an avalanche that completely swallowed me in its path.

I knew that I had a Bible study to teach at Rapha later in the day, but I was feeling like "What's the use!" The devil was actually trying to keep me from going out to Rapha and teach God's word last night. I went anyway. I didn't feel as though anything had changed, I just knew that I had made a commitment to teach, and I was going to honor that commitment. Turned out it was one of the best Bible studies we had since I've gone back on Tuesday nights.

Did the devil not want me to teach? Probably.
Was this in fact his way of taking my mind off of Christ, and turning my thoughts and vision inward to what a mess I perceived myself to be? I think maybe yes.

As I walked back to my car after the Bible study, it came to me as to what actually had taken place. I am a bit slow if you want to know the truth. Where I thought all of this was just me, God revealed that it was the enemy trying to stop me. My initial reaction to seeing this clearly was "What a dunder-head I am!" I was grateful that I had not given into the string of dark thoughts that had followed me during the day. I was glad that I had stayed the course and did not allow the dark thoughts become dark deeds. So just beware when your thoughts turn South and grow dark. Realize exactly who is behind what you are experiencing. Your enemy the devil is trying to stop you from following after Jesus.

One last thing...
The verse from Isaiah 59 is a powerful declaration. At the time it was written ( I may be wrong about this) there wasn't any punctuation assigned to the writing. I can't prove this, but I think maybe they put a comma in the wrong place.

Now the verse reads as follows:
When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

I believe it should be this way:
When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
Funny how a simple comma changes everything.
Funny how Jesus in my life changes everything.
Think on these things.

God on you...
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In Need Of A Good Anchor

Anchor.....
Definition:  something that serves to hold an object firmly In place or that gives a feeling of stability 

I like this definition.....
Something that gives a feeling of stability....
Something that serves to hold me firmly...not allowing me to return to old ways...old thoughts...old behaviors, even though everything in me screams that I should.
This is the battle between addiction and recovery that is fought every day when someone is moving from that old darkness into the new light of relationship with Christ.

Truth be known, the anchor that brings stability to a person who is in addiction comes in the form of a simple truth. A truth that can never be strayed from. A truth that provides ground on which to wage war against the beast that rages and rails against you. What is that truth?

Step # 1- We admitted that we were powerless over our problem (addiction) that our lives had become unmanageable.
Holding on to that thought, coupled with this new life I have found in Christ, keeps me on an even keel. It keeps "Self" under wraps, so to speak, and keeps me focused on following Christ in my daily affairs. (Practicing these principals). It keeps me seeking to improve my conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry it out. 

I never seek to replace God in the equation.
I never seek to compromise the truth that I am powerless.
I never allow the thought of "I got this" to enter into the equation.
I set my mind.....
I set my heart on things above, not on the affairs of this world.
Why?
Because I am powerless in this battle. When self will comes in and tries to take over, I have to shut it down, looking only to Christ to strengthen me.

Romans 7:18-20 - And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

Now to show you how sneaky this "sinful nature" is, it will try to talk you into using by telling you..."See, you can't help it! It's not your fault. All those people get mad at you, but they don't really understand, do they?" 
Part of the understanding about addiction is very simple. It is almost like a living organism.
Addiction is cunning..........baffling.....and powerful. It will twist your thoughts. Heap wave after wave of confusion on you....and will whisper in your ear that you will never be able to defeat it on your own. There is some truth in that last statement. You can't defeat it and still replace it with abundant life, but there is One who can, and His name is Jesus.

John 8:31-32 - Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Jesus said that freedom comes from knowing the truth.
Not "some" truth....
Not "A" truth....
But the real-deal-slap-you-down-pick-you-up truth.
Isn't that weird....
Because later on Jesus makes the claim that "HE IS THE TRUTH"....
So freedom from my addiction comes from working those first 3 steps.

The key to any recovery is always remembering that we are powerless...
Our need for Christ as our higher power will never go away...
We will always look to Him to lead us through the pitfalls, traps, and snares that daily life throws in our path.
Believe you me....
That is the truth....
Step # 1 and my admission of being powerless is the anchor that keeps me in a stable place, not wanting to wander off. It keeps me tied because I know that God can do for me what I cannot do for myself.
You can bank on it.
Some call Jesus the Rock...
I call Him my anchor.

God on you...
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Keys....Steps....And Plans

Sometimes I think Christianity is its own worse enemy.
Let me rephrase that.

Sometimes I think what passes for Christianity is its own worse enemy.

If you go to any Christian bookstore you'll see rows upon rows of books with titles like "12 keys to unlocking your hidden potential." Or "7 keys to finding your destiny."

The subtle message behind these books and others that carry similar titles is that there is a hidden truth that is hidden from you (average Joe Schmoe Believer)in the Bible. Oh it may be there in Scripture but you are not skilled enough to see it, recognize it, or decipher it.

Since that is the case, you should buy the latest, greatest book because you are in need of a particular book to help you rise above the "common" believers so you can occupy a special place in the kingdom.

To me this kind of thinking flies in the face of the greatest book ever written THE HOLY BIBLE.

John 16:13 reads: However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. God has given to us the greatest tool ever to transform our earthly minds into understanding the will, mind and plans of God. He has placed within every believer His Holy Spirit to be our compass, our communicator to God, to show us how to live.

The mindset of a believer searching for so called "hidden" things in an effort to better their life or lifestyle is something that is not from God. To me it goes back to a subtle suggestion from the devil to us as he spoke to the woman in the garden of Eden. "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good an evil."

The inference is that God had with held information from the woman and that by eating the fruit, intellectually they would be on the same level as God. Wow! We can be like God!

"When God comes down here to the garden, as he does each day when temperature goes down in the afternoons, then we can have some real conversation with Him. We want have to simply listen and ask questions anymore, we can dialogue with Him as equals."

Very heady thought.

I am not in any way inferring that today we seek to be on equal footing with God by searching out for hidden info. What I am suggesting is that we have bought into the lie that God has kept info from us and that by buying someones book we can gain access to that information. My Bible reads in Psalm 119:130 that "the unfolding of Your word (or the entrance of Your Word into my life) gives light. It gives understanding to the simple."

Here in is the communication we should be desiring from God. That His word, His book, His Bible, be unfolded to us thereby, through the work of the Holy Spirit, bring light to the dark places of my understanding.

I have, in the past, had numerous people come to me desiring that I pray for them that they might understand the deeper things of God. I tell them that I think they will be surprised to find that the deeper things of God aren't really that deep. Because like it says in the Ps. 119 passage, "It (the Bible) gives understanding to the simple."
And just for the record......
I am the chief simpleton of all who are simple.

Seek out the Word of God and become a student, a follower, a disciple of Jesus.
Read His book...
Put it into practice in your life....

You might be surprised.

God on you.........

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The Incredible Power of Forgiveness.

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.
I played a worship song during the first meeting of Vineyard Recovery, back in 2013. Not your typical feel-goose-bumps-love-you-Jesus song, but rather a gut wrenching, let's get real, down to the raw, kind of worship song.

Suzy Wells was the composer and worship leader singing this particular song and from the very beginning the words tell you that this isn't going to be like any song you may have heard before.

"I killed my children.........You forgot that."
"My fornication.......You forgot that."
"My prostitution.....You forgot that."
"I left my husband....You forgot that."

She goes on to talk about her addiction. Her worship of idols. How she stole God's glory and trampled on it through her lifestyle.
Like I said, it wasn't your typical worship song.
But here in those brutal words of truth lies the incredible power of God.
How could someone sing those words about their own life unless they truly had experienced the forgiveness of God?
How could a person lay themselves bare and uncovered,  and reveal things that, in church, you're not suppose to talk about. If you do talk about it, it is in the context of speaking about someone other than yourself.

Yet here in this declaration of her past, Suzie goes down her life-list revealing each sin and wrong she has committed against God. As you listen to her voice, you don't hear pain or regret. You hear the voice of someone who has been forgiven and healed from all the damage that sin has brought to them.

This is the thing I want you to hang on to this morning.
Memories are forever.
They don't go away.
They don't fade over time.
They will pop up for no reason at the most inopportune times.
When they do, they usually bring what I refer to as the toxic emotions of shame and guilt.
Here is where the power of God comes into play.
How can Suzie sing this song and not come undone by the shame and guilt? Because her receiving the forgiveness of God has eliminated those emotions from the memory. All it is now is just a memory.
I'm sure that if she let herself, she could dredge up those emotions, but she won't.
She has been set free...
She has been given the most incredible gift of all....forgiveness.
Forgiveness all wrapped up in God's love...His mercy....His grace...and His presence in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Don't let the enemy keep you from growing in Christ by dredging up memories laced with those toxic emotions. Take everything to Christ and get rid of it....
Every foul deed you ever did...
Every curse that ever fell from your lips...
Every sexual act that you ever committed outside the boundaries of marriage.
Every bit of unbelief, doubt, and fear...
Take it all and lay it at the feet of Jesus....
Ask Him to take it, and in its place, ask Him to grant you forgiveness.
Ask Him to pour His peace over you.
Then receive it!
When the devil comes at you and tries to get you to remember all the vile things you have done....
Rest in that forgiveness.
That's some kind of good stuff...

God on you....
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The Cross

I Corinthians 2:1-2 (Message Bible)
You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple; first Jesus and who his is; then Jesus and what he did----Jesus crucified.

As many of you know, if you heard me teach, my theology is straight from the verses above.
I don't get into end-time events....
I don't concern myself with the latest church fad or movement.....
I don't get wrapped around the axle with the different denominations and what is going on with them....
I am all about the cross.

Now I know the cross wasn't the last thing Jesus did. I know that come every spring, we will celebrate Easter. The day of His Resurrection. More than the fact that Jesus rose from the dead is what this event signifies. His resurrection opened the door for all of us to come to God the Father. No longer would animal sacrifices be needed. Jesus had become the perfect "Lamb without blemish" who was sacrificed on the cross for to pay our sin debt. He poured out His blood......all of it.....every drop of it....as payment that I should have made. He died for my sin. 

Because of the call God placed on my life....
And the people He has allowed me to serve....
The cross is the entry point that no one can by pass....
Oh we all want the resurrection experience in our lives....
We want to be born again.....
But you can't be born again until you die first...
Die to that old stinking nature that has dictated your every move.
That old flesh we call sin that is found in every heart of every person.
You see, sin isn't so much the act or deed you carried out, as it is the state and condition of the human heart.

We can't have the tomb/resurrection experience until we crawl upon that cross and die a spiritual death to the god of self we have served for a long time.
The apostle Paul writes in Galatians 6:14- "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

I pray that we never lose sight of the cross of Christ.
I want no part of a cross-less religion that removes the work of Christ in order to dispense cheap grace to people.
Recovery isn't a mental act that a person suddenly decides to do.....
Recovery from drugs and/or alcohol isn't a self-help program...
It's a no-help program....We can't be the problem and the solution at the same time.
We've looked inward and determined that we are powerless.
So now we look outward for the answer to our dilemma. 
Our outward gaze should take us to the cross where we find the ultimate power to change in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the POWER of His might.

God on you....
Don't forget-
VRC tomorrow night/  meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Faith

Faith....
It is the fundamental fact of existence in that our trust in God....(this faith) is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It is our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. (Hebrews 11)

Can't please God without it....
Can't survive this world if we don't exercise it....
Can't break the hold and supposed power of addiction if we don't focus on God through faith...

Faith reaches beyond my own strength, ability and power....
IT reaches to God who possesses what I need to navigate this life with all its traps, snares and potholes.

Faith.....It is impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.

Faith cries out with an unshakable belief that God is bigger than anything I am experiencing or going through. That the internal battle between my sin/nature and my desire to do good can be won by placing my faith in who God truly says He is. 

I no longer have to walk as a divided man in my thinking....
One minute crying out to God for help...
The next bowing my knee to the altar of self, a slave to do its will.
The Power I seek today to break free of this darkness that seeks to kill me was made available over 2000 years ago.
The power flowed from a cross to a tomb....
Out of that tomb, on an early morning, walked the answer to mankind's dilemma. The answer has a name...and that name is Jesus....
Jesus, the Christ...
Jesus, the Messiah..
Jesus, the deliverer...
Jesus, king above all who claims to be king...
Jesus, Lord above all who claims to be Lord...

This is why when I look around I see no hope....
But when I turn my heart, my will and my focus upward...
I see Jesus....
May you find Him today....

God on you...
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One Who Came

Psalm 119:3
They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in His paths.

Seven O'clock rolled around last night, and I was sitting in the chapel at Rapha. It was time for Bible Study. I use the term Bible Study because I don't really know what to call it. Some nights we do delve into the Scripture, but some nights we spend time praying. There have been times where it becomes a question and answer session. In those times, I let the guys know right quick that I do not know all the answers to their questions, but I do know someone who does.

The one thing I love about going out to Rapha for this meeting is that you never know how many will show up. I've had a many as fifteen and as few as zero. No matter how many comes, I'm going to have a time with God, even if it's just me. Some may look at such as wasted time if no one comes to the study, but how can it be wasted if I'm spending time with God.

So as the time to begin rolled around, one man walked through the door. Tonight it was about "THE ONE". The one who needed a time where he could unload his personal junk and draw closer to this God he'd heard about. His story was not unlike others I've talked with during my years of serving in recovery. He'd grown up in the church, even declared that he loved going to church. He loved reading his bible. He genuinely loved God. But when the teen-age years rolled around, the world flashed it's shiny smile at him, offering him empty promises and "FUN!" He looked at the church, at the world, at the church, at the world.........the world won. It had hooked him and drawn him into the darkness. The man shared with me that he knew he was doing wrong...that he was walking away from the God he had loved, but he didn't care. He wanted to have that proverbial fun the world so cleverly packages to sell as a bill of goods.

He had fun alright...
Every week end there was more fun than a body can stand.
As with any empty promise that addiction offers...the fun began to change. Each encounter with the darkness became less and less fun, and more and more like misery. What had once been the vehicle to fun (His using) was now a runaway train he chose to ride upon simply to feel normal. Deeper and deeper he went, and darker and darker life became. But then there was that one lucid moment that came to him. Like the prodigal son, he "When no one would give him anything, he came to his senses." 

God, who he thought was nowhere to be found, answered his cry for help. Laid hold of this man and lifted him up above the muck and mire to a place of healing. Does this mean that he no longer struggles with daily life. No..far from it. This man is now in the process of dealing with, and taking care of all the destruction he created along his dark path. But does so daily with the knowledge and understanding that God will direct him in the way he needs to go.

As the meeting came to an end, the man confessed to me that he struggles with pride, the thought of humbling himself, as well as fear of the future. If you would, please join me in praying for this person. That he would continue on this new upward journey with Christ. This man has a renewed love for Jesus and for the call that he knows is upon him to be the man God created him to be. Not the addict that cowered in the darkness, trying to hide from God.
We prayed...
We hugged each other....
We made our way out of the chapel...
As I closed the door behind me, I looked back into the room and prayed.."God thank you for the one."

God on you...
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Today Is THE Day To Change

Time......
Has a way of rolling on by doesn't it? Taking with it every good intention...every "Should have"...every thing we meant to do.
Once time rolls on by, there is no going back. There is only today, and if you're fortunate, a tomorrow. No guarantee about that, but at least there is today. What I do with today sets the stage for my tomorrow, should I make it.

"I'll quit tomorrow".
"This will be the last time I use, I really mean it this time."
We bolster our own pride with these empty promises, but we know the truth that we can't quit."
We know the harsh reality that if something doesn't change, we are going to travel the same path millions have and destroy everything and everyone around us for the sake of our addiction.
Harsh truth, but truth none the less.

Funny how the only requirement to be a part of A.A. is a desire to stop drinking or using.
Funny how this journey toward a new life begins with a desire.
But desire alone isn't worth much.
That is why I want to build a community or people who are on the same journey to find life. Recovery is much more than sobriety. If sobriety was the chief goal to recovery, I'd take you and stick you in a room, lock the door, and shove food and water under the door to you. I guarantee you that you would be sober by the time you came out. But the real reason for your using would not have been addressed.

Let's take a look at some verses from Jeremiah 5.
V.23 -Your iniquities have turned these things away.
In this case, God is speaking of His ability to bring prosperity and abundance to a life. When it speaks of iniquities as being the source of God with holding good things from you, it is referring to your lifestyle. Iniquities = lifestyle. We have laid hold of a lifestyle that runs against God's call to salvation and change. When we turn our backs on God to live life on our terms, God allows us to do so. But then as sure as the sun comes up, we find that turmoil and guilt and shame become our closest friends. God, who is ever loving, waits for us to return. He loves us beyond our capability to love and truly desires to give us life, real life.

V.23 - And you sins have withheld good from you.
kind of a no brainer here, isn't it. If good has been deducted from your life, that only leaves THE BAD. And what do we do? we press in more and more into that old lifestyle of using. Which only separates us more from all the good God is wanting to pour out on us. It's kind of like me having a terminal disease, yet I know someone who has the medicine I need to cure me. But because I don't really like the that individual, I refuse to take the medicine. 

So according to Jeremiah (and I think I can honestly put these two things together)...our lifestyle of addiction and the intent of our hearts, our motives, have separated us from a life that is given freely by God to those who truly want it. Sounds right to me.

That is why we do Vineyard Recovery.
We are a people who have either found this new life, or are in search of it.
We are a community of people who have found the value of allowing Jesus Christ to operate in our lives as our Higher Power.
We value the simple act of following Him, laying aside our will to embrace His.
Our mission statement is Following In His Steps. You do not have to take this journey alone. We are a place where you can receive encouragement. You can receive prayer (don't ever discount the power of prayer). And you can be loved for who you are, not what you've done.
We are all on this path to recovery.

Because of Christ's Redemption

I am a new creation of infinite worth.

I am deeply loved

I am completely forgiven

I am fully pleasing

I am absolutely complete in Christ

I am totally accepted.

When my performance reflects this new identity

That reflection is dynamically unique.
There has never been another person like me in the history of mankind

nor will there ever be.

God has made me an original

One of a kind

special person

And so are you!

Hopefully we'll see you Saturday night/ 7 p.m. / Vineyard ReCovery

God on you...

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The Foolish Things Of The World

I Corinthians 1:26-28
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 

We read the verses from I Corinthians and we say, "Yes, Lord!". But sometimes it is hard to wrap you mind around the ways and directions God takes to bring about His kingdom  plans for this time and space, especially when God raises up someone for His purposes that no one else would have ever chosen.

She has been coming to Saturday night for over a month  now. She has shared her story with me, and it is the story of a life that no person deserves to have lived through. Some of the darkness is from her own choices, but a lot of what she has suffered through has been from the hands of those she thought she could trust.  Still in spite of her circumstances, she shows up ready to worship....ready to hear the word...ready to receive prayer.

This past Saturday she came a little early, wanting to talk and share something that had happened to her. She told me that she had been sitting on the front porch of where she was staying, studying her Bible and praying when something unusual happened. She slowly shared how a "face" suddenly appeared in front of her. I asked her if she was afraid when this happened and she told me "NO" that in fact the opposite had happened. She became very peaceful. Then a voice began to explain what she needed to do. The instructions involved traveling to another town....becoming a part of a group who deals in helping others who are coming out of addiction. She asked if I thought she was crazy, and I assured her that I did not. She was very adamant that she believed God had spoken to her, and given her the next part of her life journey. She wanted to know if I thought what she had experienced was really God speaking to her. I explained that the way she would find out if it was indeed God or not was to simply walk out the instructions. If God was really telling her to pursue this course, then she would succeed as the doors opened for her to accomplish this task. If it wasn't from God, then no matter how hard she tried, she would not succeed. 

I asked her to share what had happened with the group at the end of our meeting. The whole time she is talking, there is a battle going on in my mind. One side is telling me that this is crazy....she has too much going against her to ever consider that she could reach a place of being able to minister to others. But you know what? These thoughts that were coming to me are the same kind the world uses to measure anything God is bringing forth. I had a million reasons why she would never fulfill this so called "Leading" God had given to her. My thoughts were suddenly changed when the Spirit spoke to me and reminded me that those who God calls, He equip's. The only thing required to follow God is a broken and contrite spirit, and a willingness to simply say yes to what God tells us to do. 

So the world would look upon this young woman who God has spoken to, and reject her at every turn as not being qualified or equipped to carry out such a task. Isn't that going to be a hoot when she does reach the point God is leading her to occupy? That this young girl will be able to point to God and give Him all the glory for what He has accomplished in her life. The world gave up on her. The world cast her aside as having no value or worth. But looked down and saw a vessel ready to be raised up, filled with His Spirit, and sent forth with a kingdom message.

Pray for this young lady....
Pray that God would empower her to move through every obstacle that the world and the devil places in her path.
Pray that God would provide the means necessary to reach this next level in her life journey with Jesus.

Oh yeah....one last thing....
God reminded me that I was one of those "Foolish things" that He chose to carry out His Kingdom will. 

God on you...
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Never Forget

This is a reprint from August 2013. Why this one? Because we need not ever forget the character and love that this man possessed. What happened to him went beyond his circle of friends, to touch a city, county and state. This was never his intention. He never sought the limelight of fame. He simply loved his God, and the people he came in contact with.

I never had the opportunity to meet Emory Boggs, but my life was touched by those who knew him. I saw in them a hunger to know more of God. To not be satisfied with what they were hearing in church but to ask "How can I know God better?"
You have to remember, at that particular time, the Jesus people movement sweeping across our nation and, yes even here in Etowah county we felt the impact. We were a generation looking to express God in a way that was uniquely us. We had been labeled a generation of rebellion...a generation that wanted to bring down the status quo..but now, we wanted to be known as a generation whose voice and purpose belonged to God.

What you are going to read was written by my good friend, David Finlayson.
If the truth be known........
we all need an "Emory Boggs" in our life. That one individual who seems to walk a different path...walks at a different rhythm.
Even though I never met you, Emory....thanks for all the lives you touched and how they touched me.
See you soon, my friend.

Late Eulogy Emory Boggs death was a blow to us all. I still to this day have a difficult time sorting through the debris of memories. I remember walking down the school halls in a daze after mother phoned with the news that Emory was dead. I remember passing the classroom doors, hearing the dull drone of teacher's voices, rustling paper and the sounds only a school desk could make on a dirty tile floor. Each room was like a capsule filled with life,unaware of my sur-reality caused by a terrible grief. I paced down those long halls, and leaned into drab green walls that kept me from crumbling to the floor. Emory was dead. Emory was dead. It's a shame that he suffered such a violent end. A life so good, so sweet does not need be remembered with such bitterness. Emory got the Zippy Mart job so he could work his way toward seminary, become a preacher and marry my sister Irene. The sixteen year old black kid didn't know that.Who knows why he threw gas on Emory and lit a match. This was long before Rodney King, the L.A. Riot, and so called Black Rage. It was during a time when an incident of this nature still shocked people. The boy said he was just trying to scare the clerk. He said that he didn't think the fumes would ignite. He said he didn't mean to. It still grieves me to think what Emory must have gone through during those hours left alone and in pain on the cement floor of that back room. Two young children heading for school early the next morning heard Emory's cries. They found his charred body and called for help. Mom woke me up with the news that Emory was badly burned and had been sent to the Birmingham Burn Center. It sounded bad but I was an optimistic kid. I wasn't expecting to be called out of class. I wasn't expecting the telephone call waiting for me in the school office later that school day. My brother Brooky rode down with Emory in the ambulance. He could tell the story better and with greater accuracy. Emory lay talking and praying. Brook said that Emory was very calm and talked to Jesus as if he were sitting beside him . . . I believe He was. He said. "Lord, please don't hold that boy accountable for doing this. Please don't hold this against him." It was a sad yet beautiful thing. That black, charred, unrecognizable twenty two year old man who could love as Christ in his final day. It was Jesus saying "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." You had to know Emory. For Emory, that was not a hard story to believe. His prayer kept me from hating the kid with the match. It kept me from years of hard feelings. If Emory could love and forgive his murderer, I could too. Here, the very essence and compassion of Christ bled through as Emory's final witness. I remember my dad not liking Emory around the house at first. He didn't like the idea of that long hair rock and roll hippie hanging around his precious virgin daughter. Personally I thought Emory looked more like a bubble gum Bobby Sherman type but to my dad's generation they were all pretty wild looking. Things changed dramatically one week when Emory tagged along on a family trip to camp meeting. He went along to spend time with my sister Irene. He thought he would spend days romantically romping along the shores of Florida with her. I think everyone misperceives their first experience with camp meeting. Emory had never been to a holiness camp before,the sinners spiritual death-camp. Two hours into the first day and you're dreading the next nine. Call it love or call it stranded,but Emory stayed and was eventually and dramatically saved. Emory testified later that God literally pushed him out from among the pews and into the aisle during the alter call. I can attest to his testimony because I was sitting in the pew behind him. The neat thing about his salvation experience is that he gave everything to the Lord. He really did. Most of us (myself included) hold onto crap that we think we can't live without. Emory did what few people do. He took God's Word literally. He was truly born again. He got rid of the old wine skins. He took up his cross and followed. It made perfect sense to him, that if he was to be saved, he had to empty his cup completely in order for it to be filled by the Holy Spirit completely. God didn't straighten Emory out,He bent him forward. When Emory's life changed,so did the world around him. Emory had a desire to know everything he could about his Savior. He wanted everyone around him to experience the forgiveness and compassion from God that he had experienced. It wasn't long before Emory was called to preach. His sermons were as sincere and simple as his daily walk. I am sure that he would be the same fellow if he were alive today. Emory would've kept his faith real and warm. I never knew anybody that could love folks into the kingdom like Emory could. He loved people everywhere he went. People seemed to gravitate toward him. My father quickly grew close to Emory. He was eventually loved as a son, and in death he was mourned as a son. The whole family loved him for that matter. He was my other brother and it took years to deal with his loss. So many lives touched in that short time. His coffin was surrounded by so many strange faces. It amazed me that this young man could touch so many lives within such a short span of time. If it were not for immediate family, I would have thought I was at the wrong service. The numbers bore witness to the fact that it was not just I who thought this life precious. The last fragment I'll write is this. Emory was part of a fellowship. We had a coffeehouse that he named F.R.E.E House. I remembered some of his friends sitting around consoling each other. There were less than a dozen that day. We were talking about him and I remember a friend saying something to the effect that "God knew Emory would die young and that's why God gave the life such an unusual faith." I disagreed. I told her that I thought Emory had such a simple theology of letting go completely . . . so God could do His work completely. Do we not all have that very potential when we are surrendered as instruments?" To say that it was impossible for me to live and die the same way was something that I would not accept. I won't let anyone take that hope from me. His death was over twenty five years ago and he still steps into conversations from time to time. A few weeks ago I was treating my nieces to pizza when they asked me about him. I was around their age when he was killed and thought it neat that he was being remembered by those who had never met him. I was surprised that they knew just as much as I did. There wasn't much that I could tell them that they didn't already know. They, I think, remember Emory mostly because of the tragic story of his death. I think those who knew him could agree to the following thought. Here is a great example of what God can do to a surrendered heart. If we could let go, our lives would be as fragrant too. -David B. Finlayson

Pleasing Self? Pleasing God? Which One Is Your Focus?

II Corinthians 5:9
Therefore, also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him (God)

No thought to my own selfish desires that have gotten me in trouble. No thought to my own selfish desires that have brought about destruction in my life. My focus now is on pleasing God. Turning away from the darkness of addiction to the light of surrender and receiving this new life in Christ, I have a single purpose ....to please Him. That my life might reflect the goodness that has been given to me. Addiction commands us to bow our knee to the demands of "SELF". We do what "Self" tells us to. If we need money to satisfy self....we'll do what ever it takes to get the money. Self rules the day. But in this new life, our focus turns outward to a life spent in pleasing God. Funny part about pleasing God is that there aren't any hoops to jump through. Pleasing God is a matter of "BEING" not doing.

Ephesians 5:8 & 10
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: Walk as children of light.
Trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Here again the focus of my life should be going about my daily activities, but allowing God's Holy Spirit to direct me each moment. With every decision made, our aim should be to please God. How can I know what pleases God? Get in the book....a.k.a the Bible. Read it. Study it. Digest it. You might be surprised at what happens.

John 8:29
"And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."
Why should I live my life to please God? Because when Jesus walked this earth, that was His goal. To be pleasing to His Father. To do only those things that He knew would please Him. What things actually please God. Well, for starters.........how about Obedience. Simply doing what we are told to do. Wow! I could have had a V-8!!!!

Luke 9:23
And He said to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
Pleasing God begins with dying to self. Realizing that this new relationship we have with Christ, began with the act of us dying. Now we are resurrected to a new way of living. One that has no place for selfish, self-centered thoughts and desires. This is so opposite of the way the world system operates, but it is the economy of heaven. I can only cease to be selfish when I truly trust God that He will meet my needs and has my best interest at heart. Then and only then can I truly walk out a life that is pleasing to Him. All of this that I  have wrote of this morning is a process. It is growth and learning and messing up and being forgiven. But it truly is the heart of God. 

God on you......
mb

The Real Desire Of My Heart

"Yet for all of God's good will toward us He is unable to grant us our heart's desires till all our desires have been reduced to one...Him". A.W. Tozer. (A.W. Tozer was pastor of the Southside Alliance Church in Chicago for 31 years).

In every program of recovery, the ultimate focus is finding what the old-timers refer to as "their Higher Power." Of course if you come and visit with us on Saturday night, you understand quickly that our Higher Power has a name, and that name would be Jesus. 

I think the actual words of Step # 2 are "We come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity." I think a stumbling block to some is the three words COME - TO - BELIEVE.
It almost sounds like it is a simple matter of having the right thought, or turning your mental faculties by your own will and strength. It isn't. Belief starts in the heart. Note: this is a truth to applies to everyone, not just people in addiction.

Now I'm not smart enough to lay out all the why's and the how's of this particular thing, this belief rising up in a person. I do know that it involves the simple fact of a person being sick and tired of being sick and tired. It is more than simply wanting to escape the pain and destruction so we could continue in our old ways. It involves the will to be free. The search for something or someone who can relive the torment that goes on in the mind and the heart. A Power could break the strangle hold our sin/addiction has over us.

There is a connection made when our heart and thoughts line up and look to Jesus as being the answer. The reality of what He is capable of doing (or at least in our minds even the possibility) in our lives draws us to Him. In A.A. jargon, we read in Step # 3 about the act of turning over will and live to His care. This is known as salvation...being saved...being born again. While it is a simple act, it is more of me responding to Jesus' invitation to a new life.  It is  me confessing to Jesus my sins...the destruction I created through my choices. My willful disobedience to live my life outside of His will for me. It is me receiving His forgiveness for said sins. The kicker comes when He places His Holy Spirit in me. Here is the guide I have needed to help me walk through and navigate the life I have been given.I don't go through this act in order to find Jesus for myself. I do this because Jesus has found me,and is calling me into a life and journey I could never provide on my own.

Because all of this real....
Because Jesus is who He revealed Himself to be to me....
Because I find myself actually being a new creation according to II Corinthians 5:17....
He becomes the desire of my heart.
My main focus is no longer sobriety...My main focus becomes Him. Sobriety is a by product of my changed life.

I want to know Jesus even more than I currently do.
I want to hang out with others who have fallen in love with Him.
I want to not just read His word, but study it and understand what He expects of me.
I want to please Him.
Now that sounds like a worthy pursuit. Something that has grit and substance to it as I grow daily, moving farther and farther away from the "OLD" me.
Think on these things today.

God on you...
mbb