Welsh Revival Evan Roberts John Wesley Hebridean Revivals

Like John Wesley, I need to be "Strangely Warmed"
I am dry tinder in need of a spark.
A spark of divine origin that comes when the Holy Ghost of God settles up humanity.
More than the spark.....
More than the ignition to fire....
More than the dry tinder of my heart
is the incredible purpose of God.
To understand that He has come for a reason.
Yes, Love is part of it.
But the greater is Kingdom!
Rule and Reign of Lord God Jehovah in a corrupt world, governed by corrupt men who load the backs of others with oppression.
That God would manifest Himself in a reviving work among mankind to bring all to the cross of Christ....
Here, at the cross, we find the great equalizer.
Here we all stand as guilty men and women.

Never were the words of Romans 5:10-18 truer than they are today.
"There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands. There is o one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not ever one."
Guilty of sin and in need of a savior.
Only Jesus.
Only His blood....
We are in need of you Lord.
Come and meet us in this hour, Lord, Come.
Let the words of John 12:32 be the foundation of our belief....
..."And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL people to myself".

Oh God, have we waited too long and moved beyond Your Revival?

Have You removed your hand from our nation?

Are we ripe for Your judgement to fall upon us?

In judgement, remember mercy...
Come, Holy Spirit, blow over us and removed the dust and cobwebs that have covered our hearts. That we may feel the fresh wind and fresh fire of your presence once again.

Come!

God on you this morning.
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The Exchange of William Andrews

Step # 3 / We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God.

Romans 12:1

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice----the kind He will find acceptable.

Please take a few minutes and listen to the testimony of William Andrews (former Auburn University and Atlanta Falcon fullback). There is no hole so deep that God is not deeper still. These words still ring true that were spoken by Corrie Ten Boom. 

God on you....

Mbb

LIGHT

 

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden...Mt.5:14

The picture above pretty much sums up how it feels to be a part of a fellowship in recovery. The words "Recovery Church" highlighted in white inside a block of blackness. Yes we are a light in a world of addiction darkness. Yes, it is a battle we fight everyday. Some days are good days and we some who have lived in that darkness step into the light. Some days not so good as our ranks grow thinner as death claims one.

But we don't quit....we don't stop....we are there to help...to encourage...and yes, even pick each other up at times. But we don't stop. When one returns to the darkness, we don't discount them and write them off, we pray.........we reach out.......we notify others of the fellowship to be aware of what is taking place.

I like it that Jesus sated "WE" are light...Not that our meetings and services are light. You may ask yourself, "Really? A bunch of broken down souls who cling to clever sayings and witty steps?" Yes....really we are light. But you have to understand that the light we claim to be, is because of the light that lives in each of us who have given will and life over to the care of Christ. You might not understand exactly how this plays out with us and through us, that's ok. We don't understand a lot of it, we just know that it's real, and that this HIGHEST POWER we call Jesus is what has made the difference in our lives.

God bless you this day....

Michael Bynum /  pastor- ReCovery church on Broad Street.

CURTIS

 

Curtis.....

So many memories...
So many laugh's we had together....

Like all of us, there were good times...

and there were bad times....

I got word of your death yesterday.
As I listened to the voice who informed me, it was like the 

very words sucked out the air in  my lungs....

This was followed by the pain...
A pain that those who follow this recovery path have felt

way too many times.

The pain of loss...
The pain of grief....

The pain that we have lost one more.

The darkness that surrounds the truth about addiction and recovery is simple.

When one dies...

There are others who are still out there who don't yet know of this HIGHEST POWER we speak of who could restore us to sanity....

JESUS!!

Because they don't know Jesus, they walk a fine line or existence that

could end at any moment.

To say that Curtis' humor was dry would be an understatement..
When he told a joke....you were usually covered in dust....

As long as I've known Curtis, every time we parted ways, he said the same thing....

"I'm glad you got to see me today!"

Today, my friend, you know the unveiled truth of what we only claim to 

believe in.

I will miss you..

For you, no more struggles....

No more battles....

Rest.

God on you all this morning

Michael B.

BREAKING FREE

 

It is almost an a combining of two opposites.... In order to move ahead in your recovery you have to surrender. But if you surrender to the draw of the old life, you will find yourself going back down that old path that leads to destruction, ruin and eventually death.

In those times when we do stumble or loose our way, the old life seems like the only option. The old way of dealing with life has a kind of twisted, comfort to it. By that, I mean that the at least we know how to play the game of that old life. The unknown of the recovery journey sometimes overwhelms us.

There are some verses from Isaiah 40 that have spoken to over the years. They have spoken to me at low points in my life when I wanted to just give up and stop following Jesus. They seem to fill my head, heart and spirit when the darkness closes in and I am just bone-tired from the battle and the journey that life has thrown at me.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable."

"He gives POWER to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait (hope) on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall wak and not faint.

What I read in this is that "God will do for me what I cannot do for myself." He will fill me and empower me when, there in the muck and mire of failure, I turn my faith, my hope and my trust to Him. THEN----I will arise with new strength of purpose to move forward and leave the darkness of temptation behind.

Think on these things today.

God on you....

Michael B.

(Many thanks to Anthony Mintz for creating the graphic for ReCovery Church).

WHO SPEAKS LIFE INTO YOU?

 

This isn't going to be a posting of how I have discovered the missing piece that the church is lacking. I haven't. It isn't going to be me telling you what's wrong with church, for as much wrong that may exist...the church still does a whole lot that is good and right. Sometimes I think we forget that the church is a group of fallible humans worshiping an infallible God. Imperfect beings giving themselves to One that is perfect. On the other hand, I'm not going to make excuses for our imperfections...we are called to be a work in progress, as we allow God's Holy Spirit to transform us into the people God desires us to be.

So what is this post about?
It's about our need for a "PAUL" in our lives.
A "Paul" that would love us and speak truth to us. We all need that voice from another human being who is telling us what we need to hear. Not in a busy-body kind of telling...but one who is in touch with God and is willing to be that person who will encourage us....edify us...and yes...speak those things that we may be ignoring that we know God wants to address in our lives. A voice that will say the hard things to us that are necessary for our growth in Christ.
I'm reading the book of Philippians and it just occurred to me (I am somewhat slow) that there was a real love relationship between Paul and the church at Philippi. You can feel it as your read the opening words in Chapter one. "I thank my God in all my remembrances of you. Always offering prayers with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel form the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers of grace with me."

Don't get me wrong about what I have insinuated here in this posting. I'm not trying to replace God speaking to us, or rejecting hearing God through the study of His word, but we need people around us who will not only encourage us, but correct us as a fellowship. I have such people around me. The one thing that has come out of working in recovery is that it has to be done with a heavy dose of truth in everything you say. I have to have a voice that will call me when they see me being to  heavy handed, or to easy, letting things slide. Attitudes and behaviors that you know are part of the trail leading back to an old lifestyle that will end badly. 

I keep going back to the original mandate God gave me when we started The  ReCovery Church. In no uncertain terms He said, "It is MY meeting...I will grow it...I will heal it...I will be in it." What was my part in all of this? To simply stay out of His way and cooperate with Him. This means that sometimes when I think I've got a really good message..it may not be the message He wants given. Many is the time I've stood up to speak and have a knowing inside that God wants to say something else. To tell you truth, such times are unnerving because you are moving into uncharted waters. But God has been faithful, and continues to be, as He will provide what is needed to be spoken. 

As part of our ongoing view of ReCovery Church, i always ask out core leadership to be in prayer, and to seek God for the direction He wants us to follow. One person recently called me to share what they had heard. It was a hard word, but one that needed to be shared. It gave a clear picture of what the path ahead of us will hold, and our need as a fellowship to prepare. Such is the voice of "PAUL". This individual has a track record of hearing God, so it was easy to truly believe that what they had heard was true. They loved our church enough to share it. This person was looking out for the welfare and good of the group. That is the true heart of a "PAUL". The realization that we are all in this together, serving one God with a common purpose. As I tell folks...."this life of chasing after Jesus isn't all sunshine, puppy dogs and unicorns. It's messy....it's hard...and it's a journey more about not giving up than it is having our comfort needs met. Somehow, I believe when it's all over, it will have been worth it.

God on you..
mb 

EYES OF FIRE (from 2009)

                                                    "....and his eyes were as a flame of fire."

Rev. 1:14

When you read this verse, what mental picture do you see?

When you think of Jesus and that his eyes resembled

flames of fire...what comes to your mind?

Is he angry?

Is he mad?

Do you see judgment?

Do you picture the wrath of God being poured out on the world?

Or

do you see love?

Do you you see love like a fire on a cold winters night?

a flame drawing you in to be warmed.

Fire like the flame of a candle that brings light

and pushes back the darkness.

It isn't much light but enough to

overpower the darkness.

Our perception of Jesus really does affect the way we interact with him'

This is why it is so important for believer's to know

their place and position in Christ.

We recite a declaration everyday here at Rapha at the end of every class.

This declaration speaks of our position in Christ if we are saved.

It reads like this:

Because of Christ's redemption

I am a new creation of infinite worth.

I am deeply loved

I am fully pleasing

I am completely forgiven

I am totally accepted

I am absolutely complete in Christ

When my performance reflects this new identity in Christ

That reflection is dynamically unique

There has never been another person like me in the history of mankind

Nor will there ever be

God has made me an original

One of a kind

Special person

And so are you

All of those attributes listed are not from anything that we have done

It is a by product of who we are in Christ.

That through my salvation

I have been justified

I have been reconciled

I have been sanctified

and I have been restored

To a right relationship with Jesus.
Wow!

God on you today.....

mb

BEHIND ALL OUR CHOICES IS "WHO DO I TRUST?"

 

Today's reading in Oswald Chambers devotion caused me to see God in a new way. I guess more than that, I saw myself in a new way that has caused me to rethink some old suppositions I have held on to.

Chambers writes about the disciples listening to Jesus describe what must happen to him when they arrive in Jerusalem.
Luke 18:34
And they understood none of these things, and this saying was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Seems to me that I have allowed myself to build upon my relationship with Jesus with my own understanding and the prideful thought that I am smart and can discern the great mysteries of God. How foolish I am to think that in my own human effort, I can dissect the intents and wisdom of God. God has no need to divulge the secrets of the Kingdom to me. His is to simply say, "Follow me." My part is simply to follow resting in the knowledge that God is in control.

Chambers writes:
There comes the baffling call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly. It is implicit. The call of God is like the call of the sea, no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in comradeship with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out his purposes.

This is why Jesus' call to "FOLLOW ME" is so strange to us. My lack of trust in Jesus propels me to ask Him, "Where are we going? What will we do when we get there? How long will be gone." If truth be known, my questions reveal the selfishness that burns in my heart. In my own little dark world, it is still all about me. "I'll follow Jesus but you have to fill me in on all the particulars."
Jesus' call is very simple.
Leave everything and follow.
Jesus led his disciples to a place where their hearts were broken.

Truth be known, at the root of all recovery is the question, "Who am I going to Trust?" We have lived according to our own thoughts, wants, needs, desires, using them as the basis on how we decide and make our choices. Now, in this new relationship with Christ, we have been asked to put those away and simply trust Him. Sounds scary and at times it is. But trusting Christ is the path to true life and freedom from our past.Chambers goes on to write.

Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed like failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's because God's purpose is never man's purpose. If we are in communion with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, we shall no longer try to find out what His purposes are.
We will simply trust and obey. There is rest and peace in ceasing from our striving as we walk with Jesus. There is a calmness that will be given to us as we simply assume the pace and receive the grace of our Lord.
Find that place today.....
And live.

God on you....
mb

BACK TO THE BASICS

 

Kind of revisiting some thoughts on recovery. Why? Because during this pandemic, we have seen attendance at meetings go down. People, for whatever reason, have pulled back. I'm sure that there are those who do not feel safe being a a group of people. I get that. I'm sure that there are some who have gotten very comfortable with the idea of "live streaming" a meeting. While that is a good thing, it really takes away the one thing we all need as a people in recovery.What would that be?  Contact! Face to face----talking----sharing----accountability.

Going back through some of my old note from when I was at Rapha, I found the following definition of recovery. "The entire process of healing from the painful effects of dysfunctional behavior."  Think of it like this; God created us with a glorious purpose that would be revealed as we grew. Sin warped and twisted that purpose. So recovery is the process of restoring that which sin has taken away.

Now here is the real kicker. Recovery is for everyone. Not just those who are in bondage to alcohol or drugs. Truly for some recovery is specialized. For those in addiction recovery includes restoration of sobriety, but it goes beyond abstinence from drinking or using.

There are some who by sheer determination stop using, but they become emotionally and spiritually hard and brittle from the strain of fighting the urges to use. The goal of real recovery is to live a life of joyful obedience---(are you ready for this next statement?) To maintain abstinence because WE WANT TO....not because we have to.

Here is the heart of what recovery really is from the workbook Conquering Chemical Dependency. "Recovery means developing the Christ honoring lifestyle that meets the needs we tried to satisfy with our drinking and using."

As with any journey, it begins with the first step. So does recovery. If you decide to take this step, it will seem scary, and everything in you will scream "You can't do this!" But believe me, the goal is to just focus on this day and this first step. Truth be known, all you can do is this first day. Yesterday has passed on....tomorrow has not yet arrived.....so all we have is this day.

STEP # 1- We admit that by ourselves we are powerless over the substances we have used (whether alcohol or drugs)---that our lives have become unmanageable.

The truth of this step is found in Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

As a recovery Church, we are here to help you begin this journey. We are connected to a number of other meetings that have the same goal as we do. If you are struggling today, then leave a message on our RECOVERY CHURCH ON BROAD STREET Facebook page and I will contact you.  And if you don't remember anything else .....know that God loves you, and so do we.

God on you.....

Michael Bynum

I NEED REVIVAL

 I have for some time, watched as the powers that be in our nation and in the church of turn the Word of God for profit.

To profit themselves.To profit their congregations.To build upon shaky foundations that will not stand, allowing people to find solace in a false understanding of who God is and what His purpose is.

I have watched as the Word of God has been watered down to bring people to a Jesus that is unrecognizable. Definitely not the Jesus of Scripture. Maybe that is the reason I am feeling this fire to write........I watched it happen. I haven't done anything.
We have become so fearful of not getting people into church that we have abandoned the very foundations and truths of the Word to embrace a call to the masses in an effort to get them inside the church. Once there, we dare not offend them with such words as "sin" or "Hell" for fear they will leave. The church of Jesus Christ is not predicated or built on nickels and noses.

 In Matthew 16, Jesus makes the statement concerning him being the Messiah...."Upon this rock (or this truth) I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail."
We have wrestled the church from the hands of Jesus to build it according to what the world wants. God help us!
We no longer hold to truth. Truth is a catch word, a photo op, an opportunity to say what ever it takes to get people to back their cause and their agenda.
My friends, there is only one cause. The Kingdom of God. As to the agenda, there is only God's agenda.

I know that even as I write these words, some will read them and consider me to be an angry man. Maybe for the most part I am angry. But my anger comes from knowing myself and understanding that it is so easy to slide over into a "JESUS FOR ALL PEOPLE" mentality. Jesus for all is not the Jesus we read in the Bible. He did not lessen the way to the Father by excusing people and their sins. He spoke plainly and sternly about the way to the Father. "I am the way, the truth and the life...no one comes to the Father but by me." We open the door to everyone to come to Jesus and remain the way you are, lest we offend someone. As Bonhoeffer wrote "We have created Cheap Grace! Come and have your sins forgiven, without changing your lifestyle at all."

We have taken a Jesus who loves and turned him into a Jesus who excuses everything. A Jesus who is tolerant and open to suggestion. We, who were created in the image of God, have now created a God in the image of us. God help us.

I watched a clip from YouTube on a prayer that was prayed at a political rally  in which the man praying finished his prayer with the following words...."In the name of Jesus who died against the forces of injustice, Amen." Jesus did not die because of injustice. Jesus died for my sin. End of statement. He died to pay the price for the sins of the world, once and for all time.

I can no longer stand by and say nothing.
I can no longer be a pharisee and hold everyone accountable except for myself.
We have become fat and bloated on self esteem and have lost sight of our wretchedness.
Like the church of Laodicea, we cry, "I am rich and have need of nothing."
God looks at us and says, "You are wretched, poor and blind."

Now is the time for revival.
Now is the time to return to the Lord.

Michael B.

SUNDAY---WHOSE DAY IS IT?

 

If you do a word search for "SUNDAY", the majority of pictures and images you will find involve sunrises, big honking cups of coffee, folded newspapers, and a lot of phrasing that boils down to "you've had a hard week, now it's time to take it easy." In other words, Sunday seems to be a day for "self". Why? well evidently you deserve it.

Now I wish not to fall on the side of becoming a religious zealot or a pharisee. Skulking around looking for those that I can bash over the head with rules and regulations. Nor do I wish to flit around like a religious Johnny Appleseed, dispensing grace as the cure all and forgiveness that God pours on all. 

Maybe Sunday should contain a time of reflection....a time of mediation of God's word. A time to remember what God has done for all of us.. A time to remember where we have come from spiritually.....where we currently are in our relationship with Christ....and maybe even ask, "Where are we going from here?"

I don't think you are going to open up your morning paper (if you get one) and see these words."Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted." Why this? Because my sin put him in such a place. In His obedience to His Father, Jesus became sin for us.

Think about this!  Every lie we ever told, Every lustful thought we ever had. Every flame of hatred we carried in our heart....Jesus took those upon himself and paid the price that is demanded by sin.

Everything we ever stole.....Every grudge we ever held on to........Every unforgiveness we would not turn loose of....all of these were birthed from hearts that declared "I will do it my way! I don't need you God!" Jesus took those also. But more than Him just paying the price for our sin, He also replaced all the darkness in our hearts with the presence and guiding influence of the Holy Spirit.

So you go about your Sunday, turning on the TV only to hear these words....."But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

Maybe today would be a good time to revisit some of God's truth and remember what has been done on our behalf by a loving heavenly Father. Just saying....

God on you.....
Michael B.

HTIAF - SOME PEOPLE GET IT BACKWARDS

 

(From June 2017 posting here on this blog)

Bad math? 2 + 2 = 5?
New math?
This is actually an example of how we view God and the way He works in the lives of people.
It doesn't compute in our minds.
WE want everything about God to make sense to us.
We want to be able to "figure" it all out so as to understand Him.
Sorry...it doesn't work that way.
You see, God gave us this incredible gift that would aid us in our daily life.
What gift?
FAITH!

In other words, those who are part of His collective spiritual family, operate and conduct themselves with this faith.
We move under the assurance that God is who He says He is, and will do what He has promised He would do.

We don't try to rationalize everything that comes our way or that we experience. We take it by faith.
Now comes the part where some will say, "But what if we are thinking we are acting in faith, but we are really being deceived by the devil?" Some people are so wrapped up the devil and his cronies, and their ability to lie to us, that they loose sight of God's ability to lead them. TO be honest with you, I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about the devil. Oh, I run into him daily as he tries to draw me into thoughts and attitudes that are contrary to the word of God, but I keep my focus on what God desires for me.

Hebrews 11:1 in the Message Bible reads: 
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It is our HANDLE on what we can't see.

I like that! Faith is our handle. Faith is the very thing I lay hold of, like the handle on a suitcase, that enables me to carry every thing God has given to me. I carry my belief's....I carry my purpose.....I carry my prayers......I carry my call to the do the kingdom work of God.....by faith. Faith makes the load easier to manage because, after all, God IS who He claims He is...and will do what He claims He will do. Faith.

Since you have it...
Why not exercise it today...
Faith...
Don't leave home without it.

God on you...

THE TRIP ISN'T OVER----BUT IT HAS BEEN LONG AND IT HAS BEEN STRANGE!

 

Joel 2:28 - ...Your old men shall dream dreams....and your young men shall see visions.

I think I may have fallen into that portion of the Joel passage where I shall dream dreams. Doesn't take much effort to dream. Sleep....lying down....being still. Notice that it doesn't say that the dreams would be good dreams. On the other hand, it didn't say they would be nightmares either.

I think (my opinion--please don't try to make a theology out of it) that it speaks more to a position or place in this journey we call life. Everything I encounter, everything I read, everything I see is filtered through my life experiences. What does this mean? It means that my world view is founded on my personal journey I've had with Jesus. All of these happened at a specific time and place. 

My formative years were the 1950's.  My rebellious years were the 1960's. By rebellion I mean that period of time where I was trying to understand who I was in this whole ramble-tamble thing we call life. No Virginia, I did not protest the war or become a radical. In fact I ran into some folks who showed me Jesus in a way that I'd never seen before. 

The 1970's were (for lack of a better term) I learned how to be an adult. Some days I was really good at it.........some days not so much. Vicki and I married and began to have our family. Two sons, Chad and Joshua, were born, and suddenly the responsibility of being married included having children. Vicki and I have always said that we "raised our children and each other."

1980's and 1990's were a blur of science projects, ball games, helping with studies, bringing discipline to our sons. Watching them grow and move from grade to grade in school. It was also a time of college for them.

Chad married Robin in 1999....Josh married Heather in 2004, and Vicki and I marveled that we hadn't done too much damage to our sons in our parenting.

2002 Tyler was born. First grandson. 2006 Ashley was born. First granddaughter. And now here in 2020, with all the craziness Tyler has started his freshman year in college. Ashley has entered high school and will not be far behind her brother when it comes to college.

All of this begs the question--When did I get old? Well it kind of creeps up on you. You look around at society and culture and your are puzzled by what you see. I now know why my folks acted the way they did when I was a teenager.

In the mix of everything I wrote about my journey is God's hand upon me and my family. He has sustained us and provided for us. He has never failed us, even though I failed Him. Now here at the exact moment in time and in my life...I really don't have a problem being relegated to the Job portion which states "I will dream dreams." 

Sitting here in my office this morning, I am grateful. Grateful that I've reached a place where I am able to study Scripture. That He has afforded me places where I can teach and share. And I am extremely grateful to all who take time out to read what is posted on this blog and on the various Facebook pages.

Well, time for another cup of coffee and maybe afterwards a quick nap. Maybe I'll dream.......

God on you this morning

mbb

SOMETIMES PAIN IS ALL WE HAVE!

 

O.k....what's up with this title? Well, I heard a teaching on pain by a pastor, and his premise was that pain let's us know that we are alive. That something may be wrong with us. Something wrong physically, mentally, and especially spiritually.  Now no one (at least that I know of) truly enjoys pain. But in my 68+ years of living here on this old planet, I have about come to the conclusion that pain is a part of human existence.  By the way, the rest of this posting is from one I wrote back in August of 2014.  See if God might speak to you through it.

Long day yesterday.
Long weekend too.
Makes for tired body and mind.
But as the saying goes around the Bynum household..."It's nothing a good nights sleep won't cure."

Lot of pain all around.
Mental pain from memories and thoughts of past events.
Choices gone wrong.
Bad choices embraced.
Physical pain...illness....injury....diseases.
Pain that racks the body to the point, that silently (and sometimes out loud) prayers are offered up to "Take me Jesus...please take me!"
It would be easy to give into the darkness.
IT would be easy to medicate and blast yourself into a numbness of epic proportions.
But such would only mask the pain.

I'm not a proponent of suffering. Some have the idea that if you suffer, you become more like Jesus. Well, His suffering had to do with who He was and what He believed. I do believe we all will either go through such suffering or are going through at this time.
On the other hand, I hear some who treat God and His kingdom like the land of Oz, God being the incredible Wizard who lives behind the curtain. No pain...no sorrow...no trouble...."Come to Jesus and He will make everything right." I'm not saying that those who make such claims are wrong. It's just that their timing is bad. Yes, Jesus will make it all right. But not in this life..in the next one. After we die and cross over into His eternal presence, there we will find no sorrow. There we will find no tears. There we will find no death.

I'm continuing to read from Dr. Larry Crabb's book 66 Love Letters. Been parked in the book of Jude over the weekend. Here is what Dr. Crabb writes as God's response to all the pain and suffering we have to go through here in this life, and the false message of hope that others offer from the pulpit.

"Hidden beneath the happy smiles of blessings-now preachers is a spirit of discontentment smothered by confidence in their fake message (or by money and power and acclaim it brings). A grumbling that though smothered drives their theology. They bury their ache beneath their lives.
I want you to feel your ache (the pain of life) but to focus on MY call, MY love, and MY POWER to keep you on the narrow road to MY Party."

You see the message and truth of God is not a "party-hearty" till we wall drop. But neither is it ashes and torn garments accompanied by frowns and scowls. It is a tension, if you will. Living in the here and now, but fueled by the promises of what is to come. Yes! His promises include getting us through the here and now. Yes! His promises are for today. If this be true, then latch on to them and don't let go. Don't trade them for the temporary fix the world offers us. Don't turn loose of the eternal promises and presence of God.

Don't fall for the lies that are spewed which tell you that if you had more faith you wouldn't be suffering like you are.
Faith will take you through whatever you are facing today.
Faith that God is who He claims to be.
Faith that God will do what He has promised HE will do.

Jude: 24-25
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory withe exceeding joy...
To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty. Dominion and Power, both now and forever. Amen

Those two verses tell me that my God supersedes everything and anything that is on this earth. That His power and ability reach far beyond any pain and suffering I may encounter during my time here. His grace is sufficient for anything that may be waiting out there for me today.

God is bigger than any craving that may come to you today.
God is bigger than that voice that may whisper to you to return to your old ways and old lifestyle.
God is just bigger.

God on you...
mb