GREENE STREET LETTERS: Life

Thursday, April 19, 2018

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...
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.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Life

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD