Secret's That Aren't Really Secret

Well, here we go....
Moving into summer here in Alabama....
Heat...
Humidity....
Mosquitoes.......
Ain't it grand....
I don't care what anyone says, I love living here on Greene Street.
I know such is a matter of preference but mine is all about our home here.
Sitting in the back yard watching the birds flock to our feeder for a last snack before night falls.
A regiment of squirrels flocking around the base of the feeder guarding it for who knows why.
They try to run the birds off, but to no avail.

Sitting out back with my wife, I am content.
I am at peace....
And that means everything to me.
The words of the apostle Paul come to my mind....
Philippians 4:13
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

To me, what Paul has shared is the key to life here on earth this side of heaven.
Now when Paul states that He can do everything....
What he really is saying is, "I can face and go through every situation no matter what comes my way."
These aren't empty words that sound good....
Such a belief has been tested in the fire of life, and in the struggles that are common to those who truly are followers of Christ.
Paul states that no matter what comes his way, he is able to confront and deal with it all.
How?
Through his relationship with Christ....and the ongoing surrender of his will to embrace Jesus' will.
So even with the surrender, how can Paul make this statement?

Because Christ returns strength to those who operate in this manner.
His strength given specifically to address whatever the situation is.
How much strength?
Whatever it takes for us to address our circumstances.
Now that is some kind of promise is it not?
What if it were true?
Huh?
IT IS TRUE!!!!
There is a level of peace that only Christ can give back to us when rely on Him and not our own strength....effort on our part.....our own wisdom...etc. .. In other words, when I get out of the way, and allow Christ to have His way in my life....I am content. I am at peace. I can make it today.
Think on these things, and let God speak to your heart.

God on you....
mbb

Who We Be

Exactly who are we?
People in transition.
People who have crossed over into "new" life.
A work in progress.
Straining forward to the Upward call of Christ.


We have lived in the darkness far longer than we care to remember.
Now the dawn of hope breaks over us everyday through the Word of God and the presence of His Holy Spirit in us, over us, around us.


It's all about Surrender.
Giving up.
We has spent our lives giving up.
This time the giving up is different. It is a surrender to one greater than us that has the power to restore us to sanity.
Sanity?
The ability to make sound decisions that lead to good consequences.
Sanity!
We had surrendered ourselves to the rock.
We had surrendered ourselves to the needle.
We had surrendered ourselves to the joint.
We had surrendered ourselves to the bottle.
We chose to bow our knee and worship the high.
Repeatedly we performed this ritual so many times that it became second nature
We did it out of habit until it became a habit.
A habit that consumed the very focus of our lives.
We surrendered ourselves to the darkness...and there in that darkness, we lost all hope.
But You!
You broke through and even though we might not have verbally heard the words, our hearts knew the truth. That You truly were The way....The truth.....and The life.

You lifted us up...
You took us out...
You filled our very being with Your presence...
And You set us on a course of learning how to live.


Vineyard ReCovery Church is a community that is seeking answers which can only be found in Christ.
Our Theology?
I Corinthians 2:2
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Christ at the center of our life, gives my life purpose and strength to be lived and walked out everyday.

We are a community of hope.
Our worship is simple and direct.
We sing "to" God and not about God.

Our services are every Saturday Night at 7 p.m.
God On You This Morning....
Mbb

Post For Monday March 4, 2019

Greene Street Letter: March 4th

"Rejecting God....Rejecting Life"

2nd Chronicles 36:15-16
And the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy.

Those are kind of freaky words........"Until there was no remedy."
People had gone so far in their rejection of God that there was nothing there to save them. No hope. Left to their own will and dark hearts.

I think sometimes people use Jesus as a kind of "get-out-of-hell" card, only to be used when things get rough or they get uncovered in some deed or behavior. Once the glaring light of exposure covers them, they want to whip out their card and be free from any penalty or judgement.
How many times does God give us?

I don't think it says.
I know we are to forgive those around us 70 times x 7. That's a bunch. Actually what Jesus was implying by this is that we are to forgive over and over.
But in the case of the verses in II Chronicles, it's talking about rejecting God himself.
The oldest sin in the world.....
Genesis Chapter Three sin......
"Here eat this fruit and your eyes will be opened and you will be like God!"
If I'm like God........
I don't need God...hence sin becomes our master.
We are, at least in our own minds, want nothing to do with God. Living in such a manner, we reject God's offer of salvation over and over.

Funny thing I discovered in my own heart......
The more I rejected God......
The colder and harder my heart became toward Him.
I am so grateful that I felt that conviction of the Holy Spirit and turned from my old life of sin to embrace Jesus' offer of life with Him.

I fear that many in this country have rejected God to the point that our nation is without remedy.
Does that mean that I give up and simply do nothing.
No!
IN fact God has begun to stir me to pray even more.
1.) Pray for the professing church because judgement begins at the house of God.
2.) Pray for the situations that our country is facing asking for God's mercy to be poured out and souls awakened from their spiritual death unto new life.
3.) Pray for God to raise up an army of intercessors....."God is looking for a few godly people."
To coin a phrase that some view as antiquated....
"PRAY FOR REVIVAL"

I believe with all my heart that God is granting great favor to those who are trapped in addiction.
How can I say this?
Because back in 1998 when I first started working in addiction and recovery....there weren't many of us doing this. But it was like an explosion went off when suddenly you had Celebrate Recovery and other such groups popping up at churches all over the city.
God was calling the addict and alcoholic out of the darkness of sin and death into the light of new life.
The remedy was here....
The remedy was now....
The remedy? The shed blood of Jesus.
Applied once to a broken and contrite heart, removes all stain of sin and darkness.
It doesn't get any better than this.
I want to tell others about this Jesus so that it can never be said, "There was no remedy."

God on you....
mbb