GREENE STREET LETTERS: Beware What You Declare

Monday, March 26, 2018

Beware What You Declare

We call it the last supper....
Jesus and the disciples, gathered to celebrate Passover....
He knows that one of them is going to betray him on this night...
He knows which one it will be....

"Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly , I say to you, one of you will betray Me."

And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him.."Lord, is it I?"

What do you think? Was there a cloud of guilt in the air. Did Jesus' statement cause each man to stop and think..."Have I done something that would point Jesus to me?" That had to be a moment of tension as each disciple looked at the man on either side of himself. "I know that it isn't me...what about these others."

Go on down a few verses in Matthew 26, and you'll find Peter's reply to Jesus telling him that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter's reply reveals some truth that I think we all need to come to grips with.

Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."

Now we would consider such a reply to be noble...
We would look at Peter as being a steadfast man who verbalized a heart that loved Jesus. But look at Peter's choice of worlds. " I will never be made to stumble." Made to stumble? Flash forward to the time after Peter's denial there in the courtyard as Jesus' trial is going on. He wasn't made to stumble. Peter chose to deny Jesus. When confronted with being associated with Christ, Peter, fearing his own death, chose to deny Jesus.

We shouldn't be too hard on old Pete.
We may have acted in the same manner. I glad that the story doesn't end with Peter's denial...his desertion of Jesus. I'm glad that there is a continuation of Peter's story as well as the rest of the disciples in Acts 2. When the Holy Spirit came in fullness. When these frail men rose up to be the caretakers of a young church that was birthed on that day. Men who once ran away at the darkest hour, now moved down a path that ended with their own death for following Jesus.

Maybe I need to stay parked on these verses from Matthew 26, looking at my own life....the call Christ has given me....and the path I am following. Believe you me..I do not want to make bold statements of what I will and will not do for Jesus.
Think on these things...

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.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Beware What You Declare

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD