GREENE STREET LETTERS: MAKE IT COUNT

Monday, January 4, 2021

MAKE IT COUNT

The words floated through my mind like a very faint thought. But they became repetitive. Over and over I kept hearing the same words. It was last Saturday night during the meeting of ReCovery Church. I was listening to someone else teach, so it was a real pleasure to be able to take in what was being shared.

The message was built around the passage in Ephesians 6 concerning the armor of God, and (wait for it) football. The idea of being part of a team, and the necessary things that separates the great players from the others. Just as a football player has equipment that he puts on to participate in the game, so does a believer to go out into the world and face our opponent each day. The teaching pointed out the need to go out and face what 2021 might hold for all of us. This is when the phrase.....the words...formed in my mind.....

"MAKE IT COUNT!" Make what count? Time? My efforts....

"MAKE IT COUNT!" Over and over I kept hearing the words...Then it dawned on me (sometimes I am the slow one to catch on to what God is saying). 2021! Make it count. Don't take any day for granted. Don't be lax in what God has called us to. Then came the passage from Ephesians 5: "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is."

There it was...right there on the page. I understood what "Make it count" meant. We have been called to take back the day...the time we've been given and redeem it for the Kingdom of God. To walk, talk, move, think and interact with love toward those we meet. Loving others is not to be an after thought, or something to be considered. It is the fuel of God's kingdom.

Love God! Love others as I love myself!" If I practice this...If I make it a part of my day, I will take back and redeem the time that the enemy wished to occupy. If I move in the love of God, I will be redeeming the time that Satan wants to rule in.

So, I guess if anything else needs to be said, it would be "MAKE IT COUNT" and lets see how 2021 unfolds.

God on you...

Michael B.

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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, January 4, 2021

MAKE IT COUNT

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD