The title of today's posting comes from the commercial about the Capital One Credit Card. The catch phrase is "What's in your wallet?" The inference is that your wallet has no use or purpose without the Capital One Credit Card in it.
What's in your mouth? What is it that you speak daily? Does your words give value to what you believe or are you simply imitating what you hear on the daily news.

Paul writes in I Thesssalonians 4:18:
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The word "therefore" is a connecting word. Paul is tying two thoughts together, so for us to understand what the verse is referring to, we have to look back at the context given in the preceding verses.
Paul is referring to the rapture.
The rapture has fallen out of favor with a lot of churches today.
The rapture is old hat. antiquated and out dated.
My friend, be careful about what you allow to roll around in your brain. Be careful about the subtle voices that you listen to that don't disallow for the rapture. They simply don't teach it or speak on it.
They speak on the fact that we should be focused on what needs to be done now.
They promote a social gospel of doing good works and helping people.
This kind of teaching, while not evil, carries with it a trap that snares us. What trap? The trap of feeding our flesh. Inflating our ego. Putting our will at the center of God's will and not God himself. Instead of coming to the realization that we are created in the image of God....we create a god in our own image.

I am not here to debate or discuss the position of the rapture in relation to God's plan. I am simply here to say that if Paul says we should comfort one another concerning the calling up by the Lord Jesus Christ of his church, then we should be speaking on the subject.
In fact the word "Comfort" used in the verse carries with it the idea of teaching or exhorting each other. Why? Why speak out on the Rapture?
Because it builds hope within us. It tells us that no matter how hard or bad things get here on earth, at some point the Lord Himself. Do you see that? The Lord Himself will descend. He isn't going to send angels after us. He will come.

The custom in Jewish Weddings was for the husband, during the betrothal period, to work and prepare a place for the couple to reside in. Did Jesus not say that he was going away to prepare a place for us and that it he was going away, would he not come back and get us? I think the answer is yes. This brings comfort to us on so many levels. It soothes my spirit and lets me know that what I am going through here on planet earth is temporary.

Some say the rapture is pie-in-sky-theology.
My friend, I say it is Jesus-in-the-sky-truth.
Read the words of I Thessalonians 4:13-18 for yourself.
Take heart!
Jesus is coming back to call his bride unto himself.......and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus!
God on you..........
mb

Life's Lessons Through A Norma Guitar

 Today's posting is personal to me. It started with a thought yesterday, and it ended with confession of an attitude that I had years and years ago. We all like to see ourselves in a way that might not be true to what others see in us.  There are things we have said in the past.....attitudes that we carried around that, even though we might not have put words to the attitude, those around us knew that something was going on.

The guitar you see at the left is a picture of the very first electric I ever owned. The year was 1967 and I was 15 years old. Back in the day, as a young boy, you came alive when one of your friends spoke those magic words..."Hey, let's start a band." Such efforts among teenagers was commonly referred to as "garage bands" because that was the place such bands were relegated to by parents in an effort to soften the roar of the amps and the tempo challenged pounding of the drums.


My growing up years were no different. Friend of mine called me one day and said that he was starting a band and wanted me to play rhythm guitar. I would not be honest if I said that I didn't have visions of the Beatles running through my brain. It was a band! It was playing music! It was girls screaming and fainting as we played! Well, two out of three isn't bad. I had been taking guitar lessons for about 6 months and had down most of the major chords....still had trouble with that dastardly "F" chord.

At the time, I only had an acoustic guitar, and my 15 year old mind told me that a real band had a need to be electrified. I asked my mom and dad if I could buy an electric. Being that this was probably the first thing I not only showed an interest in (music) but had a smidgen of talent, dad told me that he would look into helping me get an electric guitar. Just hearing the word "electric" in front of the word "guitar" sent shivers down my spine. Strings that would resonate with power, sound, fury and all those other things 15 year old so called musicians dream of.

Here's where everything goes sideways in my 15 year old mind.
My band mates came from families that were a bit better off than my own. My family was not destitute or lacking for any of the basic needs....there just wasn't a lot left over if you know what I mean. Anyway, all the guys in the band played first rate instruments. Fender guitar's and amp's...the drummer played a set of Pearl drums (as best as I can remember). So naturally my mind told me that I needed the best also. Didn't happen.

My dad came home one afternoon shortly after my invitation to join the band with a guitar...not a Fender...Not a Gibson....Not even a Gretch......but a Norma. What? Norma? Who even makes a guitar and then calls it NORMA!  To make matters worse, the guitar was metal-flake orange. It almost glowed in the dark. My mom and dad were not guitar savvy. Dad had done the best he could, and here I sat with a look of disappointment on my face. I was a selfish, unappreciative brat. Never mind that he'd probably spent money he didn't have, so that his son could play in a band. Now, he had to watch as I became a musical martyr wearing my metal-flake orange millstone around my neck for all the world to see. My dad did not deserve the way I treated him, and he certainly didn't deserve to have a son who acted like a horses rear.

Looking at the pictures of my "Norma" guitar made me wish I could go back and undo the way I acted toward a man who loved me and only wanted me to be able to be a part of something that he really didn't understand. Because it was important to me....it became important to him.

I wish I could go back and put my arms around him and say, "Dad...thank you for loving me enough to buy this guitar." I wish I could have had a heart of gratitude toward a man who worked extremely hard to keep food on our table and a roof over our heads. I wish I could apologize to him.

Funny how memories and pictures can reveal your heart. As I sat there staring at these pictures, the only comfort I took away was the simple fact that I've grown a bit since 1967. That my selfishness is long since gone, and that I look to the needs of others over my own.

I wish I still had that guitar. I wish I could strap it up one more time and stand defiantly in the face of every Mel Bay book ever printed,  doing Pete Townsend windmills as I show my mastery over an "F" chord.

I guess the gist of my posting today is for all of us to be careful about our words and our attitudes.
Don't give the best speech you'll ever regret....
And truly take to heart "Do unto others as you would have them do to you."
Thanks dad...for the Norma guitar.
I hope that somehow I made you proud along the way....that the 15 year old boy that you saw on that day grew up and became a man.

I want to close with something that shocked me as I researched my old Norma.
These particular guitars have become somewhat of a collector's item.
The pictures I used in this post today are from a man who runs a vintage guitar shop.
Today that Norma guitar sells for over $800.00
Who knew...

God on you....
mbb

Six Years Sober...Six Years Following Jesus

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the Lord,"Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way (paths), and walk in it. Travel its path and you will find rest for your souls." But you reply, "Not that's not the road you want!"

Big Book Of A.A.
Rarely have we seen anyone fail who does not thoroughly follow our path.

He is there every Saturday night....
Never misses.
The funny part is no matter which recovery meeting I go to, he is always there also.
This has been his lifeline to a path that he has followed.
This has been the instrument and way God has used to him finding peace, and a relationship with God.

Saturday night, he came up to me after the meeting wanting me to see something. It was his 6 year chip. Six years! May not sound like a lot some folk's, but this was huge to him...and may I add, to me!
We celebrated there in that room....

His story isn't much different than anyone else.
A life of loss...
A life of darkness....
A life sliding down the slippery slope that ends in death, jail, or institutionalized. But somewhere along this downward slide, something clicked. God became more than a concept. God became more than words on a page. God became real. And this touch of God to the heart of this walking-dead man brought him back to life. It was a hard path at first. This new life did not seem normal. It was a struggle, but he kept on. Each day took him a little farther away from the darkness of his old life.

So this morning, I give all my kudo's to Mr. Mark Branch.
Well, done my friend, well done.
Father God...
May we all learn from Mark's journey.
May we all become a bit wiser in our approach to life by the way Mark has lived his life.
This day, I pray that you would grant Mark blessings and peace as he faces every challenge that comes his way.
Thank you for sustaining Mark over these past 6 years.
In Jesus name
Amen.

And might I add one more hearty AMEN!!
God on you...
mbb

Truth I Need To Be Aware Of

(Today's posting is taken from Debbie Handy's blog. Very powerful...very true....Please take the time to read this and let it speak to your heart).

I am indebted to my home group for this word. 

Love you, guys!

Friday evening . . .

anticipation all week . . .

beautiful home,

warm, inviting . . .

candles glowing . . .

hugs, laughter, stories . . . 

something wonderful in the kitchen -

cake, goodies, 

coffee from a fancy machine . . .

one table, seven chairs . . .

sweet communion of saints . . .

more laughter, stories, even a little joking around . . .

and then . . .

everything, everyone stills for a moment,

settles . . .

two words,

red-letter words,

simple words from a not-so-simple man,

a not-so-simple life plan,

not a suggestion but maybe a command - 

Don't worry.

"I'm only human . . .

Everyone worries."

Yes, we are human.

Yes, everyone worries.

But . . . should we?

We've read, we've studied, we've quoted the red words,

but have we HEARD the red words?

Do we believe, live the red words?

Do they dwell in our heart?

Worry has many traveling companions.

Alongside worry stands fear.

Close by stands lack of faith.

Behind lack of faith stands unbelief,

Doubt holds unbelief's hand.

All of these come with questions.

Why, God?

Is God?

Will God?

Where are You?

My ways are not your ways.

Seek ye first . . .

I've got this.

I've got you.

Nothing - NO THING - surprises me.

Trust . . . obey . . . believe . . . rest . . .

Boils down to trust, perspective.

I see the whole picture.

I have a plan.

Have to somehow tame our thoughts and imaginations . . .

When they get to spinning like whirlybirds in a hurricane,

we get lost and lose perspective.

Like a two year old forced to sit for an hour on his mother's lap,

we get antsy . . .

impatient . . .

whimpery.

Like the newly liberated Israelites,

we grumble . . .

complain . . .

cry out for Egypt . . .

wonder if God knows what He's doing.

Wondering makes us wander.

Somewhere we have to stop the madness . . 

put down our foot . . .

say . . . and believe -

"In the great hand of God, I stand."

He's got this . . 

and everything else . . .

the "whatevers" of a lifetime.

Whatevers are inevitable.

Instead of driving us into worry,

they should lead us to the "what-so-evers" of God:

things that are true,

honorable,

right . . . 

things that are pure,

lovely,

admirable . . .

things that are excellent and worthy of praise -

the only thing worthy of our praise is God.

Think on these.

When the whatevers come,

turn our thoughts on Him . . .

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus . . . 

and the things of earth (even our worries)

will grow strangely dim

in the light of His glory and love."

The what-so-evers change our perspective

and calm our wanderings.

This was our little group's word for this year . . .

for life.

"Come, thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace . . .

Praise the mount.  I'm fixed upon it . . .

Hither by Thy help I come . . .

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart, O, take and seal it.

Seal it for Thy courts above."

Worry . . . wandering . . . leaving the God I love . . .

maybe not this day, this week, this month, this year . . .

the rest of our days.

I want to enjoy the good, 

see the beautiful,

rest in Your arms,

dwell upon Your lap.

Still, my wandering heart . . . and mind.

That Moment Of Clarity

Step # 1
We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol/drugs----
That our lives had become unmanageable.

Job 6:2
If my sadness could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales, they would he heavier than all the sands of the sea.

What thoughts rage in our minds and hearts as we approach this first step to a new way of living.
"I want to quit...."
"I can't quit....."
The very idea of not being able to quit our drugging and drinking  is fueled by the toxic emotions of guilt and shame.
Guilt----for what I've done.
Shame----for who I have become.
These two combine to form a barrier that stands in the way of our recovery.
This barrier keeps the pain in.....
And hasn't it been pain that we've been running from?
Sure it has.
Our friend....our lover....the drugs and alcohol, promise us that they will remove the pain so that we don't feel it anymore.
These are the times when we are so confused and overwhelmed by the pain in our life that we wish we could die.
No matter what we do, we are powerless to change things.
Powerless to make our situation better.
The weight of the pain and the accompanying sadness seem to push down on us until it seems as though the very life we possess is being squeezed from our bodies.
We can't see why our hearts don't break and allow to death to free us.

Job felt that way...
Nothing left to live for....
The inability to change things in his own life...
"If my sadness could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales, they would be heavier than all the sands of the sea....Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant me hope. I wish He would crush me. I wish He would reach out His hand and kill me...
I do not have the strength to endure. I do not have see anything in sight that encourages me to carry on.Do I have strength as hard as stone? Is my body made of bronze? No, I am utterly helpless without any chance of success (Job 6:2-3, 8-9, 11-13)

Job had no idea that the end of his life would a gazillion times better than when he made these statements. A divine restoration would come to Job. I know that today may seem like another in an endless time of darkness and hopelessness...but know that with the simple admission we find in Step #1, you are taking the first steps to moving out of the darkness into a new way of living.

"Rarely have we seen anyone fail who has thoroughly followed our path...."
What is a path? Nothing more than a worn out trail produced by others who have walked in the same direction. A path is easy to follow. A path is clearly seen. Such is this road to recovery. Millions have walked it before you. It is clearly marked and ready for you to take your place among those who are living clean and sober. Notice I said "living".....not existing. Sobriety and this relationship with Jesus is about living....real life.
Think on these things.....

God on you....
mbb

Recovery, Sobriety, And Abundant Life

Haggai 1:5-6 (The Message Bible)
Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money, but you haven't much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you're always thirsty.

Funny how we think addiction and drunkenness is a modern problem. Well, it isn't. The one thing I know is that it is more of a problem now than at any other time in our nation's history. Not to beat a dead horse, but when I was growing up, there weren't any treatment programs around here. Probably A.A., but nothing along the lines of what we have today.  

I was handed a copy of a new book written by a man who has way more initials at the end of his name than I do mine. Pretty smart fellow I would say. Seems as though he has come up with a cure for alcoholism. Don't get me wrong, I'm not making fun of this fellow, or sport of what he wrote about. In his opinion, the cure is found in an "opioid" blocking medicine that takes away the craving to drink. Not going to argue with him. Like I said, he has way more many initials at the end of his name that I do. 

But such thinking doesn't seem to address the real problem.
What is that problem?
Self! Me! The big "I".
I will continue to carry the message till I die that people don't have drug and alcohol problems......they have a living problem.
What is the heart of the Twelve Steps?
Me! I'm the problem. I have chosen and created a life outside the loving will of the one who created me....God.
I'm suffering from the Genesis 3:5 syndrome...
The serpent told the woman in the garden of Eden that God was holding out on them. He was keeping back some important information that would actually benefit her and her husband. 

What information?
Well, here goes..
"God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
So what was the serpent inferring?
#1- The couple was blind. They were somehow not seeing the entire picture of life in this garden. They were not getting the entire picture of who this God is and what He expected of them. In other words, the serpent told the woman that God did not trust her or her husband with the COMPLETE truth.

#2 - If you eat this fruit (even though God told you not to)....you will be like God, knowing good from evil. Wowzer's..what a line of hooey! But to someone who swallowed the bait, the idea of "Being Like God" is pretty enticing. Because (here it comes) "If I'm Like God....I don't need God!"
There it is...the whole shebang! Self has taken over and rejected the rule, the love, the provision that only God can give us. 

Ever since those two fruit-loving bozo's went crazy, mankind has been infected with this sin disease.  So if my actions are dictated by "Self-run-riot" then I truly do need a power greater than me who could restore me to sanity (or the ability to make sound decisions). Enter Jesus as the ultimate HIGHER POWER
to restore and make new all the destruction of my past behavior. And one last thing.....I'm not going to sit here and insult you by saying that sobriety cannot come by other means and ways. It can. I know people who have gotten sober without Jesus. But they ain't living...truly living. They are just sober. 

What I'm trying to say is that there is a way beyond just being sober that will take you into a new dimension of living. Like Jesus said in John 10:10..."I have come that they may have life...and that they may have it more abundantly."
Don't know about you, but I don't think that kind of thing come in a pill. Might be wrong, but don't think so.

Make it a good day!
God on you..
mbb

Great Night @ Rapha

II Corinthians 4:7
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great POWER is from God, not ourselves.

Good ol' Paul...
He calls the human body "fragile clay jars".....
Jars are meant to hold or contain something.
To have something stored inside for safe keeping.
Yet this ongoing state of being shined on by God's Holy Spirit is in fact that great power we read about in the Big Book of A.A.
A Power greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity.

When you mention the word "power", it means different things to different people. Some think of it as a tangible ability to overcome obstacles that stand in their way. Some think of it as a physical state of being that takes you to a different level of living. No matter what definition you may come up with, when talking about God, it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in my life that enables me to be who God created me to be (which was not an addict/sinner) and to do what He is calling me to do. In other words, our POWER is divinely given to us by God to aid us in moving forward in this life under His direction and guidance.
How cool is that?

Last night's Bible study at Rapha was a keeper.
I taught on how the simple decisions we make are really the most dangerous is we aren't careful.
II Samuel Chapter 11...
King David was not where he was suppose to be, and it cost him dearly.
Didn't seem like a big deal at the time. He was suppose to be with his army, which had left Jerusalem to wage a military campaign. But He didn't go. This simple decision put him in a place that lead him down the path of adultery, lying, manipulation, and eventually murder. All of this because David thought he would stay behind.

As I taught, I kept having the thought that maybe tonight I should do have a time of ministry. So upon completion of the study, I asked who would like to receive from God. One young man jumped at the chance to be prayed for. I told him to relax.....and just receive what God was going to do....don't pray...just receive. No sooner had I begun to pray for him, asking God to come and cover him with the Holy Spirit, the young man began to sway and rock. Eyes closed and head down, he would begin to tilt forward, but would catch himself. Then he would begin to fall backwards, but catch himself. I kept asking God to cover him with peace and the knowledge that HE (God) was real and wanted to have a real relationship with this young man. We prayed for a short while, and upon completion the young man we prayed for did not have words for he'd just experienced. He was sweating and laughing....looking around. All he could say was "Wow! I've never experienced anything like that before." He confessed that he really needed for that to happen. That young man had an encounter with God. No longer was the idea of God just some words on a page, or what someone taught. God had come to him, touched him and now had given this young man a frame of reference from which he could grasp who God is.

As quick as the man sat down, another jumped up to take his place. We began to pray for him. Like the first man, it didn't take long for the Spirit to come upon him. Head down, eyes closed, he began to weave back and forth,but this time his hands began to shake. I asked him a question but he could not give me an answer. This went on for the entire time we prayed for him. 

After the meeting was over, the second man who'd been prayed for came up to talk to me. Evidently he'd been struggling with a lot of issues to the point that depression was setting in. Thoughts of leaving the program had filled his heart and mind, even though he knew he should not leave. But he told me..."When you started praying for me, it felt like electricity going through my body...I became hot and yet at the same time, I was totally peaceful. All the garbage that had filled my mind was gone." Thank you God!

To say it was a good night at the Rapha Bible Study would be an understatement. God had come and touched two men who were hungry and desperate. As to every one else in the room.....they had witnessed God at work. The evening wasn't about me...or my teaching...it was about a God who loved so much that His desire was to come and reveal Himself in a way that these men could understand Him. I'll take that any day of the week.

God on you....
mbb

Will You Obey?

Abraham had watched Isaac grow. He had spent hours with him, strolling outside the camp. Showing him the stars and reminding him of how God had promised Abraham this son. "You are a promise from God, Isaac!" The little boy would look up into his father's eyes and see the love that he felt for his son.

Abraham knew how special Isaac was. Even in this, Isaac was still a boy and from time to time, Abraham had to discipline him. He never enjoyed this, but knew it to be necessary to form and shape the character of Isaac. Life was good as they traveled from place to place. A mother, Sarah, who doted on the boy, she too reflected the love of God as she knew that in Isaac was a living, breathing, physical proof of the promise of God. So that made what God asked of Abraham to shake the very foundation of his belief.

Genesis 22:2 -
"Take your son......your only son....yes, Isaac, whom you love so much.....and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."

Can you imagine the feelings and thoughts that Abraham was experiencing after hearing God speak?
"But this is the son you promised me."
"Surely God did not really mean this."
"How can I do such a thing? Why would God require this of me?"
I guess the greatest testimony to faith is in the simple act of obedience in spite of what you may be thinking or feeling.
Faith does not require reason, but simply go and do.
That is exactly what Abraham did. And as we read about his journey to Mt. Moriah, we see an incredible statement of Abraham's faith. He knew Isaac was a promised son, but he also knew that God was sovereign.
If God had promised that blessing would come to all the earth through the line of Isaac, then it would happen.
It didn't matter if Abraham offered Isaac as a burnt sacrifice, God would work through this somehow. 

Notice what verse 5 says:
"Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the young men."The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then We will come right back."
Abraham didn't know how, but he trusted that God would either not let this take place, or, if it did, would resurrect Isaac because of His promise to Abraham.

I want to live like this.
To be able to trust God even when everything in me says not to.
To walk in obedience no matter what my mind may be telling me.
As II Corinthians 5:17 reads...."We walk by FAITH and not by sight."

God on you....
mb

Thinking.....Or Actually Doing

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."

I see this all to often in the lives of people who are trying to work a program of recovery. This knowing comes too often from having "Tried" to live clean and sober. The idea of living life becomes a mental concept that is played out and carried out under the direction and guidance of the one caught in addiction. I'll inventory my wisdom and see exactly how much I know. I'll make sure that every step is covered............I just won't exert the energy or decide to surrender and turn over will and life to God.  Sometimes people don't want to enter into a path to recovery.....they just like being near the path. They like hanging out with others who have committed themselves to the program of discipline that leads to recovery. Sometimes such thoughts only serve to deceive. 

Underlying problem with any addictive behavior is a broken relationship. Because of our sin, we have a broken relationship with God. The very one who gives us life and has the power to enable to walk in freedom, is reject because of our stinking thinking (sin nature). Our sin commands us to live outside the influence and control of this God. The sin belittles us into believing that we know what is best, not God. Wasn't that the promise of the serpent in the garden of Eden? "God has kept from you information. God doesn't want you to see and understand as he does!" The serpent beguiled Eve with the greatest promise ever......."Eat this fruit and your eyes will be opened and you will be like God." If I am like God..........I don't need God. That is the curse we carry today.....We have convinced ourselves, through out sin, that we are like God. Able to discern the difference between good and evil. Just because one can discern the difference doesn't mean one can make the right choice. As Charlie Daniels said in his song, "When I had to choose between good and bad, I'd pick bad two out of three."

Don't just know the path. Walk it.

God on you......

Truth Hurts Sometimes

(Taken From GREENE STREET LETTERS / APRIL 2015)

Step # 1
We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.

Sometimes we just can't be honest with ourselves. We've played the addiction game so long that we have deceived ourselves.
"I want to quit using! I want to get better" are words that are used to cover up the simple fact that sometimes there are those individuals who just do not want to quit.

They have become such slaves to their own desires and wrongful wants that they, despite the pain and destruction they have caused, do not want to quit. When asked why they keep using, despite the pain they've brought to the lives of those who love them, I have heard this answer more than once. "I like the way it makes me feel."  Did you catch that? "I like the way it makes me feel, and I don't care who I hurt or destroy." The ultimate act of selfishness. The pinnacle of "self" in a life that is being driven by a sin/nature.

I have seen those who try to convince themselves that they want to quit, but even with such thoughts, they refuse to turn will and life over to God's care. Such thoughts are born in the ground of folly and foolishness. If you begin with the premise that you are truly powerless over the very thing that has control of you....then how can you overcome it in your own self-will and effort? Bottom line is this: You can't be the problem and the solution at the same time.

One thing that I do, when dealing with someone who is in addiction, is to pray that God will break off the hardness and blindness that covers them. That the truth of God would be made evident in their lives, and that they would be brought to a place where they could see the reality of the destruction they have brought about upon themselves and those around them. 

II Corinthians 2:3-4
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Whose minds the god of this age has blinded. Who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine upon them.

The even greater deception in this whole addiction lifestyle is that we have surrendered will and life over to the care of the Devil and his kingdom rule of darkness. A deception that covers our ability to think and reason. We have no need for God, what has God ever done for us. The mind that is blind reasons that it may even be God's fault that they use because He has failed to take care of them. Travel down that road far enough and you'll find yourself in such spiritual darkness you never could have imagined even existed. 

So what is the answer?
God is the POWER we've been looking for that could change us.
It's not about changing the addiction.
It's not about simply not using anymore.
We had someone speak a great truth a couple of weeks ago during a gathering at Vineyard ReCovery Church. He said, "You can take a drunk horse thief and get him sober..........but he's still a horse thief." The drugs and alcohol are not the problem. Oh they contribute to it, I won't lessen their part in this whole mess." But the real problem is me.
Here again, if I am the problem, I can't be the solution.
I am in need of a power greater than myself who could restore me to sanity. Sanity being the ability to make sound decisions.

We don't claim to have all the answers to the addiction problem.
We simply claim that we have found the value of turning will and life over to the care of God. We are learning to live life on life's terms and not cut and run when we are overwhelmed.

I want you to know that Vineyard ReCovery is a place where you can receive encouragement and support to overcome your addiction.
We are all simply trying to become the people God created us to be. We not really into religion as much as we are relationship. We have made mistakes in the past, and we may even make them in the future, but we know that we have been connected with a God who is forgiving and loving. Why not consider coming to one of our meetings. We'd love to see you,and one last thing. If you are dealing with CRO and need a court card stamped, we can take care of that for you.

God on you...
mb