Theological Viscosity

Oil.....
A lubricant that reduces friction. Holy Spirit is a symbol for oil. The Holy Spirit reduces the friction of life. He spiritually slicks me up and causes me to run and operate at a higher efficiency that I normally could. 
Oil.....
Produced in Bible times by the olive tree. The number of times the olives are crushed determine the purity of the oil. The oil produced by the first pressing or crushing was always given to the priests for use in the Temple to keep the lamps lit. God always gets the first fruits of everything. He deserves it!

In II Kings 4 we have the story of the widow's oil.
We have a widow whose husband has died. He was a member of the company of prophets associated with the prophet Elisha. Because of the husband's death, creditors have come around demanding that the family debts be paid off. The widow has no other source of income and, as such, stands to loose her two sons. The sons will be taken into indentured servitude until the debt is paid off or the year of jubilee happens. Jubilee is a year given by God where all debt was forgiven, all land returned to rightful owners and all slaves set free. This idea does not bring much comfort to the woman knowing that she will be left alone to fend for herself.

In verse 11, Elisha asks two questions that seemingly have nothing in common.
1.) "How can I help you?"
2.) 'What do you have in your house?"
Maybe the woman was thinking...."Why did he ask me what I had in my house? Does he want me to have a yard sale and get rid of all my personal belongings? Dpes this guy think that a yard sale is going to take care of my debt?"
Very strange questions.
The one thing about this story is that God wants us to see that the things we think or of no value.....the things we would never list as being a source of salvation or the answer to our problems, are the very things that God desires to use.
Why? Because when God uses the common things......the unsightly things...........the things that no one else would or could see the value of, the He gets the glory. That's my God! In the hands of this widow, it would simply be a jar of oil......but given to God, it becomes so much more.

Notice what the woman says.....
"Your servant has nothing there at all...."
Then as an after thought, she says....."Except for a little oil."
Why not flour?
Why not mayonnaise?
Why oil?
Because God was teaching a lesson about Himself and His ability to this woman, using oil was a means of conveying the truth. 
Some commentaries have stated that the oil mentioned here in II Kings 4 story is probably a flask of anointing oil (since her husband was a prophet). When it comes to the Kingdom of God.....and His Holy Spirit............a little goes a long way.
A little faith moves mountains....
A little meal can feed 5,000......
A little portion of the Holy Spirit will empower you in ways you can't imagine.

Next Elisha tells her to go around to her neighbors and round up every pot and pan she can find.
Don't you know this little exercise opens the door to some mighty probing and interesting questions from her neighbors....
"Sure you can borrow my pots and pans. What are you doing? Having a family reunion? Cooking for a big family gathering hoo-ha!" Do you need some help with the meal?" It isn't a meal, what is you're doing....you know these are my good pots and pans."
Funny part in all of this, the poor woman was as clueless as the neighbors. She asked for help from the prophet Elisha, and now she is moving in obedience and faith. She doesn't know what is next, she only knows she is to carry out what she was told to do. You know, I want to be like that. I would have asked "TWENTY" questions to Elisha. 
1.)How many pots and pans do I need
2.) Does it matter what size they are.
3.) Do I need to arrange them in any certain order
4.) Why do I need all I can find...why not just 10 or 20.
5.) What does the flask of oil have to do with pots and pans.

The woman is instructed to go into her house and shut the door and begin to pour out the oil.
The house would symbolize our hearts.....
We already have written that oil is symbol of Holy Spirit.
Now the amount of oil the woman had did not change....she had a little.....
but as she began to pour, the oil did not run out.
You see when we look at God working in our lives....we sometimes don't see the full extent.
We see just little bits and pieces, yet as the work continues and we began to submit to the Holy Spirit more and more.....He never runs out. IT isn't that our container or home is bigger......We can keep pouring and allowing God to work because there is no end to what he can do.

That is why Proverbs 3:5-6 is so important to me.
It is a reminder that I must, must, must trust in the Lord with all my heart......The place where oil flows.....
And lean not on my own understanding....my brain....my noggin.....my intellect. 
The woman learned quickly that God provided for her and her family in ways that she never thought possible. From that little bit of oil that she possessed. When she looked, she saw a limited supply. When God looked, He saw unlimited healing and provision for her and her family.
I kind of like God's view better.
How 'bout you?

God on you.....
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One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Salvation

Had to go into town yesterday to take care of some business, and along the way I stopped by American Thrift Store. I have taken up the habit of making the rounds of our local thrift stores to peruse the book section, seeing what finds I may come across in the book section.  

I have built a good reference library from my finds, and am always eager to see what has been discarded. Which brings me to today's posting. As I moved down row upon row of books, there it was. I haven't seen too many other copies of this book, and as my eyes came upon it, I began to wonder about why it was here among the other cast off's. Now I know that a body can only hang on to so many books, and at some point, people have to decide what to do with them. But in my own case, there are certain books that I will never discard because they keep me grounded in my daily life, and I refer to them time and time again. Books such as The Cost Of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds me that the grace of God is not to be treated like these books that have been relegated to the thrift store. No longer of value. Spiritual Authority by Watchmen Nee, gave me insight into the nature of God's authority and what is expected of me as a follower of Christ. 

As I moved down row after row of colorful book covers, there it was. A copy of the Big Book of A.A.
It looked brand new. No pages bent. It wasn't soiled or had coffee stains on it. There was nothing underlined in it. No notes written in the margins. Not even an entry inside the cover of who this book may have belonged to. "How did you get here?" I thought to myself. More importantly, "Why are you here?" 

Did someone who was struggling in their addiction receive this book from a person who loved them and wanted to see them have and experience real life free from the pain and darkness of addiction? Did the owner of the book even open it and read the message of hope found within the pages? 

"Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program."

Maybe the owner of this book was not ready to recover. I totally understand that mindset. Maybe the simple fact of owning such a book was an admission that they needed help, and in the deceitfulness of the human mind, the thought came that "If I discard this book, then no one will ever know the problem I am struggling with." Such is what I call "Addicta-logic". Secretly I will admit I have a problem, but I know that I can come up with my own solution that will turn everything around. Sorry, Charlie...You can't be the problem AND the solution. It just doesn't work that way. Besides, if you had read a little more of this book, you'd have read where the addict/alcoholic always looks for the easier softer way to turn life around. In other words, they are not ready to give themselves to a simple program that provides a framework and discipline that is applied to daily life.

The program has no power to change anyone....
The Power that comes to us is from turning will and life over to the care of God.
God's saving grace, and subsequent filling of His Holy Spirit is the missing piece in our inability to break free of the sin/addiction prison that has plagued every effort to be sober. Even at the point of moving into this new found sobriety, we discover that our new relationship with Jesus is so much more than what we thought it would be. Sobriety is just a small piece of what we find as we make spiritual progress in our daily walk.

SO, there in that thrift store, I reached out and pulled that book off the shelf.
At the check out counter, the cashier rang up the book and said to me..."That will be $1.00 please."  One dollar. Think about it...for one dollar I purchased a book that pointed the way to a new beginning for someone in addiction. For one dollar, I got a book that, as a good friend of mine has stated so many times, "Will cause you to bump your head on the cross if you work it." In other words, you will find Christ as the Higher Power who can free you.
Such a valuable book should be worth more than a dollar, don't you think?

God on you..
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John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

See the photo above? Of course you do...
These are two very special people to Vicki and me....
Nori and Barbie Kelley....
I could make a list of the things they do, but time and space do not permit me to....
Suffice it to say that these two folks have incredible hearts for God and His Kingdom call.

Musicians? You bet....
Talented musicians....look it up in the dictionary and you'll see "Nori And Barbie"...
Now take the talent and skill these two possess and couple it with a love for Jesus, and you got yourself two dynamic worship leaders. Throw on the humility these two possess and you can't help but love them.

These two have traveled the world for Jesus....
Russia....
Japan, where they lived for an extended period of time. By the way they are preparing to go back in a few weeks to help churches there and serve in whatever way God leads them.
Ireland...been there....ministered there...
Mexico....ditto.
England....you bet....
And on and on and on.
Because like the wind, these two travel wherever.

They will be leading worship this Saturday night at Vineyard ReCovery Church.
They will also be playing Friday evening at the Vineyard, as well as leading worship on for the Sunday morning service.

So if you come to the meeting Saturday night, you'll probably see a lot of huggin', back-slappin', laughing and hand shaking. In other words, we are going to have a family get together. Catch up on what's transpired since last we met. It will be good to have "WIND" in town, even if for a weekend.

Vineyard ReCovery starts at 7 p.m. /  Come out and join us!
I'll leave you with a video to whet that appetite.

God on you...
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Born To.....?

Matthew 2:1-2
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

Springsteen sings "Born To Run"....
The Bible declares Jesus as "Born to Die".
Isn't it funny how we separate the babe from the man.
We embrace the baby Jesus as one who was innocent and in need of being taken care of.
When you think of Him this way, you can see why God was so particular about who He wanted to raise His Son.
In my mind, Mary was the ultimate Mother.
She may not have understood all that was going on as Jesus grew to manhood, but she knew that God had picked her for this incredible task.
On this side of the cross, we can rationalize and pontificate the death of Christ. Yet the truth is, it was a mother's heart that had to be present in the death of her son. It didn't matter at the moment that Jesus would rise from the dead. First he had to die, and he had to die in front of the woman who had carried him for nine months and had given birth to him.

All those names we bandy about so easily today....
Messiah...
The Christ....
Redeemer.....
Was He all of those to Mary?
Sure He was....
But He was also her son.

Do you think that His followers grasped the whole "Dying for the sins of the world" thing? I think they heard Him speak on this several times, but I don't think they fully understood the twist and turns this journey to the cross would take. But yet Jesus walked it out all the way. From the cradle to the cross...
From the stable to the tomb, Jesus never wavered in His commitment to do the Father's will.

Shouldn't that be my commitment also?
To "Do the will" of my heavenly Father?
I think maybe the answer is yes.
To come to the complete understanding of the price that was paid for me to experience real freedom, real life with God, and have the hope of glory that in the end, when I die I will be present with Him.

That my highest calling in this life is to worship God with everything I have, and everything I am.
I owe Him everything.
He laid hold of me and brought me out of sin darkness into the light of real life.
No longer do I need the things of this world to entice me or trap me.
I choose to give will and life over to His care as I understand Him to be today.
And I pursue this God to know Him better.
Not a knowing that is found in collecting information...
But the knowing that comes from an ongoing relationship with Him.

I have celebrated a few Easter's in my time....
And each year, I determine to see it differently.
This year, I have been trying to read and understand what it was like to have been a follower of Christ during His lifetime.  To have heard Him speak fully about the cross, His death and resurrection, yet not understand what was going to take place. I think I have touched the place where the human heart lacks the ability (unless given by God) to comprehend the ways and plans of God. Looking at my own life, there have been times where God has called me into a new direction for my life, and even though I have the written promises of God that tell me He has my life in His hands, I am stilled filled with fear and doubt. I know that He would not call me to a place and not see me through. I know that He would not call me only to drop me like a sack of tater's, as if this were some sort of cosmic joke. I know that this isn't God's plan for any of us.

So just as Jesus had a cross in His life...
So do I....
I take it up daily as a reminder that I have given my life to Him.
Physically, I will never have to hang on a cross.
But because He did, I need to remember the price that was paid for me.
That my sin account had been emptied out and stamped "paid in full".
He did that for me...
He did that for you....

In The Beginning....Admission Of Being Powerless

Step # 1
We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.
          Romans 718 - I know that nothing good lives in me....I want to do what is right, but I can't.

The awareness of our sin nature (some refer to it as the "flesh"...the old nature....the "old man") is the admission of our powerlessness when it come to our using or drinking. Even with this awareness, that old nature will still dictate how we should go about the business of getting ourselves (straight).

The old nature will whisper to us that we can deal with our problem. We don't need any help. We don't need others poking their noses in our business. In other words, the old sin/nature will seek to hide itself in secrecy, knowing all along that we will fail in such endeavors. But this way of thinking soothes our guilty / shame ridden conscious by convincing us that we are finally doing something right. Problem is..........we can't be the problem and the solution to our lives predicament .  But we keep trying, only to be met with failure as we keep trying to follow the path of the easier softer way.
We promise ourselves that we will never use again, summoning up our greatest effort of will power, only to fail by using and/or drinking.

We tell ourselves that we are going to taper off a little at a time....But when pressed by family or friends as to how long this "tapering off" is going to take, we reply...a month or up to/ and including a year. Which means we aren't really tapering, we simply trying to regulate it.

We begin to substitute other substances for our drug of choice. Maybe convince ourselves that drinking is half as bad as using meth or shooting heroin. Some call this "Cross" addiction. Well, it's a cross all right...one that you nail yourself to so you can continue that slide to a slow death.

Bottom line  in this recovery stuff....
You aren't going to change until you hit the bottom in your thoughts, in your heart, and in your life.
When you've run out of games to play...
When you have no one else to scam or manipulate....
Or as a friend of mine has so aptly stated...."When your sick and tired of being sick and tired..then you're ready to change". 

I love how Paul the apostle described this process of finding a POWER greater than himself. A Power than was greater than his powerlessness.
Romans 7:24-25 - Oh, what a miserable (wretched in KJV) person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Coming to terms with our current state of life....
Seeing ourselves as we truly are.....
Admitting that I have an area of my life that I cannot control, and because I can't control it, it has taken over not only the area of my using, but has destroyed everything good and decent in my life.
I traded my family and friends for the high.
I traded all my possessions for the high.
I traded my freedom for the high.
I traded whatever future I may have had for the high.

But now through my admission of my powerlessness over my using, I am starting the search for THE POWER that is greater than my own.
Step # 1 is an anchor we cannot ever forget for it hold my entire recovery in place. In some ways, it is like the first piece of the armor of God we read about in Ephesians 6. Step # 1 is our "Belt of truth" that holds all the armor in place. Step # 1 is our belt of truth that holds all our recovery in place.

God on you...
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Fired Up

Luke 24:45
And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

I don't think I've heard very many messages that point to this verse in Luke.
Not a thought that many give heed to....
Maybe that is why some teach that before you or I read the Bible, we should pray for God to open our hearts and minds to comprehend what we read.

So why the picture above of a church burning?
Because that is a desire of my heart...to see meetings come alive with the Spirit of God stirring in the middle of those present.
You see, to me, in the picture I see a church on fire. But the only reason it's on fire is because those in attendance are on fire. Fire of God's Holy Spirit that has the power to lift us all up into the presence of God when we gather to worship.

Saturday night at VRC, Debbie Handy taught on the presence of God.....
She led worship, and her songs were all about us coming into the presence of God. He was there in our meeting....
It was what I refer to as "Family" evening. Small group of regulars that had come together to celebrate the goodness of God through what had transpired in their lives the week before. 

There was fellowship.....
There was worship....
There was a teaching of the word....
There was ministry.....
There was encouragement to go out and chase HIM this coming week....
And God was there in the middle of it all, moving on our hearts.
Who could ask for anything more....

So this morning, I'm having Step # 11 thoughts in mind....
What is Step #11?
I'm glad you asked.
I want this week to be filled with me Seeking to improve my conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation, asking only for His will to be done in my life, and for the power to carry it out.

I'm asking for God to fire me up....
Burn away all the dross and mess of this world that has contaminated my heart.
To purify me!
To let my steps (moving through daily life) be sure and steady.
To not let my mind or heart be drawn away from Him,  so as to chase the dark desires that only my flesh can bring up.

To remain sober....
To remain in His care...
To never forget the power of His love in my life when I accept it.
Not a bad deal, is it?
I didn't think so...
Go find God today!

God on you...
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My Choice...Or God's Choice

I Chronicles 13:4
And all the congregation said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

The power of choice...
I want what I want...I want to do what I want to do...
Or..
I want what God wants.This passage from II Chronicles concerns the moving of the Ark of the Covenant (that gold box from Raiders of the Lost Ark) to Jerusalem. The people said...."Hmmmm! It seems okey dokey to me. Lets do it." The moving wasn't the bad part. It was the way the people decided to transport the Ark. Their way cost a man his life. Well, that doesn't sound fair. Truth be known, God doesn't deal in fairness, especially when it is the mind of sinful man that is deciding what is fair and what isn't.

I only want "fair" when it benefits me.
I only want "fair" when I don't get my way.
I only want "fair" when it is something I really want.
Well, I have learned that God has a definite plan and way to approach Him. 
Just like the people in the I Chronicles passage, they decided on how they would approach God and it cost them.
They took it upon themselves to act in a manner that was contrary to the way God had given in Scripture.
On the surface, it looked like a good deed. "Let's bring the Ark back to Jerusalem!" But it was the way they brought the Ark back. It wasn't the way God had laid out for the Ark to be transported. Their selfishness and lack of respect for God cost a man his life. As the Ark was placed on a cart and was being take back to the city, one of the oxen stumbled and the Ark shifted. A man named Uzza reached out to steady the Ark and when he touched it, he died.

How much of what I do are things that seem "right" in my own eyes but are an offense to God. I can even do religious deeds that have no use or be blessed by God. Why? Because I did not consult God on whether or not He wanted me to do it. I heard Dudley Hall say, "How would you like to spend your whole life baking apple pies for God, only to discover that God doesn't like apple pie." It would be a wasted effort.
I don't want to waste myself on things that aren't pleasing to God. I don't want to fall prey to only doing what "seems right in my own eyes." I want to be obedient and listen for God's instruction and they carry it out.

Sure do hope I learn and grow up before I grow older.
Never forget---God is love. Not that God loves, or God created love....God is, by His very nature, love. And for this reason, His heart is for us. He desires to communicate His will to us. Not only that, beyond the communication, He desires to empower us to carry out that will. So don't waste yourself on your own soulish nature. Spend your energy listening for God. Then follow!

God on you....
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Life

Cut grass yesterday....
Cool breeze....
Sun shining...
Perfect day....
Grabbed a glass of tea and sat down on the patio to survey my kingdom.
My "almost 1-acre" kingdom....
"Looking good my friend...looking good," I thought to myself.
There was a sense of satisfaction that came over me, and it more than just feeling good about getting my grass cut.
It was a satisfaction filled with contentment..
Contentment on who I am and where God has brought me from.
It was a satisfaction about life.

One of my most favorite verses in all of scripture is the very last verse in the book of Job. Job 42:17.
If you know anything about the Bible, then you've heard about this old man.
Had it all, if you measured material possessions.
Lost his entire family except for his wife.
Had some so-called friends who came and tried to pontificate as to the "Why" these things happened in Job's life.
Then God restored the loss in Job's life (GET THIS!) after he (Job) prayed for his friends.

So the latter part of Job's life was better than the first.
But it's the last verse that is the kicker.
"Job died an old man, full of days."
I don't look at this as a bad thing...
Life is who you are in spite of the things that happen to you.
Sometimes life is what you make of it.
We can sit around bemoaning our lot...
"It ain't fair! Why me?" Or we can get up and pursue this God with everything in us.

Life is more than what you have...what you possess.
Life is good times and bad...
Life is sadness, depression, gloom and despair...
But life is also joy and happiness, laughter and tears.
Life is hugs by the grand children...
It's looking at your own children as they have grown to adulthood and seeing them carve out their own place in this world.
Life is not defined by what we have.
It is defined by who we are...........and who we belong to in our relationship with God. I belong to Him because He paid the price to ransom me from the power of sin..the penalty of sin...and the presence of sin.

And yes, life is death..
Life will extend far beyond the boundaries of this world, and where I go once I shed this mortal coil will be determined by who I have my heart, soul and life to.
As for me...
I choose to chase after Jesus.

So in my choice of chasing Jesus, at the end, I want to be remembered as "an old man full of day."
Couldn't ask for anything more.

God on you...
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What He Said

He came out of nowhere.
He didn't look like them.
He was strange and yet there was something very familiar about him.
He didn't come and mingle in their midst trying to curry favor.
He didn't smooze with the leaders or look for opportunities to advance his own career.
In fact, he didn't have a career.
He had a call on his life.

He didn't perform any miracles.
Seas didn't part.
Ax heads didn't float.
No one was healed.
No one was raised from the dead.
Giants weren't slain, but the very foundation of an entire nation was shaken to the core by this man and the message he carried. 

John the baptizer.
He came armed with a message.
Repent.....change your minds, your hearts and your ways.
The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
He stood on the outskirts of a major city and they came to him.
From all walks of life.
From every socio-economic level you could imagine.
They streamed forth to hear and to see for themselves.
What did they see?
A man.
Dressed in ways that reminded them of the prophet Elijah. In fact some believed that it was Elijah returned.

This man revealed the cracks and holes in a religious system that was strangling the very life from a nation. What once was good and Holy was now corrupt and pretentious.
This man did it with words.
He did it with language.
Spoken forcefully and not held back for fear of what others might think or do.
Words.
Oh these weren't just any words.
These were words spoken through this man by God Almighty Himself.
This man was merely a conduit for God to act through.
But it was the Words....

When the religious rulers approached to hear this man for themselves, they were met with "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Not the way to influence people and win friends. Now they were without reason to see the truth. It had been spoken to them.

Words.....
We want flash and glitz today.
We want current and hip.
What we need are words.
Stripped down, unadorned, truth from the Word of God.
We need to "hear" God for ourselves.
We need to return to His written word.

We need to be awakened.
How does this happen?
Listen.....
You'll hear the Word of God saying, "Wake up!"
We want miracles but we will not invest the effort to see the greatest miracle of all.
A life changed.
A life changed by Words.

"Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest."

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

Isaiah 66:2
But on this one will I look. On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Reading in a devotional book yesterday morning set me to thinking. The verse for the day was the Isaiah 66:2 passage, and the question that was asked, was "Do you tremble when God speaks? When was the last time you were physically affected by the reality that almighty God had spoken directly to you?"

This led me to ask, "Have I become so hard and calloused that the Word of God has no effect on me any longer? Have I become stiff-necked and hard that I do not respond when God speaks?" Has our generation and society lost all fear and reverence to God who has poured Himself out to secure our salvation? I pray that the answer is no, but I fear that we may have indeed lost something.

Lets take a look at what happened in Scripture when God spoke.
Rev. 1:17  John lost all physical strength when God spoke to him.
Acts 9:4 Paul fell to the ground when Christ met him on the road to Damascus.
Acts 7:32 Moses trembled when God spoke to him.
Luke 5:8 Peter, when he realized who Jesus was, "fell down at the feet of Him, crying out, 'Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"

Do our meetings provide a place where the reality of who it is we have come to be with is as real as the Bible we carry? I'm not advocating that we need to whip up emotionalism....or manipulate people into responding a certain way in order to appear religious. I'm simply asking do we still have a clear understanding of WHO it is we are coming to meet with? That our focus should be to hear what is being taught, as the voice of God through the Holy Spirit in each believer should make the truth resonate inside of us. At the same time, the message, via the conviction of the Holy Spirit, should awaken the heart of those who are standing and living outside the will of God. But in both cases, we should be sensitive to God speaking to us.

Saturday night at VRC was a time of joy... A time to give a big old "Thank You, Lord!" For sustaining us and growing us over the past five years. Such times are needed, but I don't want to soothe places in our hearts by never allowing God to speak through His word to us. I don't want to excuse people from never coming to a place where the awesomeness and presence of God does not affect us all. To be honest with you, I would love to go to the building on a Saturday night, and the presence of God be so thick that we all fell down in reverence. That we had to crawl out of the building on hands and knees, just like the priests did when Solomon dedicated the Temple. Such is not impossible, but do we actually believe that God would fall in a meeting like this, or have we lost sensitivity to the Holy Spirit?

Think on this.....
When you read scripture, the same God who spoke and created a universe is now speaking directly to you. If Jesus could speak and raise the dead, calm a storm, cast out demons, and heal the incurable,  then what effect might a word from Him have upon your life...my life? The possibilities of what He could do in my life should cause me to tremble!
Just thinking today.....
Do likewise.....

God on you...
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We Came....And We Celebrated

Psalm 134:1
Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who by night worship in the house of the Lord!

5th anniversary .....
260 meetings......
Just another page in what God started 20 years ago....
We celebrated at VRC this past Saturday night.

Of course no celebration would be complete without some grub....so we grubbed it up real good. More pizza than you could shake a stick at. Something about a meal that causes people to be more social.
Part of what we do on Saturday night is to try and make those who come feel at home. A lot who come through our doors aren't very familiar with church. They may have visited one at some time, but they come with preconceived notions and concepts of what they think church is really like. So our goal is to offer a church that is somewhat non-traditional. Hear me on this! We are not a better way of doing church...we are simply a different way. Anywho! If We can get them to be comfortable, then they will let that religion/guard down. If that comes down, then we can speak truth and plant a "JESUS-SEED" inside them. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

So, as John Wimber set the model for us here at
Vineyard ReCovery, we seek to be a culture
current fellowship. In other words, we want to reflect Jesus in a way that those who come can relate to. The music...the order of our service...(sometimes that order flies out the window as the Holy Spirit has something different He wants to do) is all part of the love we have for those who are either trapped in their addiction, or have found that new life and pathway to real peace.

Walking the food! Finding a seat. If you were in the room at this point Saturday night, you'd heard voices, laughter, and a lot of chewing. For some this is their first interaction in a social setting in a long time. It was a time for us to build connections with new people who were with us for the first time. A chance to demonstrate the love of God. To create a new view that truly said..."God love you, and so do we!" 
A good friend of mine made the statement that "God loves us just the way we are...but He loves us so much that He doesn't want to leave us in our current state." In other words, real relationship means growth and maturity. Maturity...the ability to make sound decisions.

We moved into our time of celebration through the music. Usually on our anniversary meetings, we do what we refer to as "Take-back" songs. Songs that everyone is familiar with. Songs that we grew up with. So since our band is what I call "Geezer-worship"...we go a few years back.

We brought the Beatles "Come Together".....Del Shannon's "Runaway"....."Ben E. King's "Stand By Me".....Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Night". All the songs had been re-written to present Christ and the message of the Gospel in way that was slightly different. I know that such music, especially in church may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I wish you could have been on the stage when we started. The faces of those present as the first song unwound...."Can They Do This! Can they play this kind of music in church? A group of people who did not know what worship is....worshiped.

One of the things I wanted to do Saturday night was to bring together a group of recovery leaders, to share what is happening with their meetings....to share what makes them unique in the recovery circle.

Another point I wanted to get across is that we are united...
We have a common call, and we are not in competition with each other. I am truly blessed to be a part of a group such as this. So I had Nick Johnson, Barry Hooks and Seth Barber come and share a bit about what God is doing in their meetings.

We opened the floor up for questions and comments and received several for the guys to answer. We also saw a lot of gratitude from those in the crowd who are working a program. I  know there are a lot out there who are dead set against the Twelve Step Program. But truth be known, you cannot truly work through those steps and not hit your head on the cross at some point.

So, we came together this last Saturday night to Celebrate what God has done. Now, here on this Monday morning, we move forward into what God is wanting to do. I have no clue what this day holds, but I know one who does.....

Maybe such a thought as that is why I must live my life "One Day At A Time".....

Thanks to everyone who made this celebration possible.....The core leaders of VRC. You guys are the best.

Thanks to Anthony Mintz for the photo's...
Hope you don't mind me using them.....
Leave you with a little song by Joe Walsh of the Eagles. His tribute to being sober for 18 years...
"One Day At A Time".
God on you...
mbb