GREENE STREET LETTERS: I SURRENDER 25%? NOPE----ALL OR NOTHING

Monday, August 16, 2021

I SURRENDER 25%? NOPE----ALL OR NOTHING

As a kid I would find myself attending summer revivals. They were not like today's revivals, in that they usually lasted a week or longer. There were daytime services usually attended mostly by women since at this time most were mom's and housewives.

Night time found the whole family attending (for the most part). The service would seem to stretch to infinity and beyond (at least in my kid mind and brain). You thought that it would never end. Oh there were moments when the preacher would say something that caught your attention. A Bible story used as a text filled with vocal inflection and punctuation to emphasize a point.

As the service would wind down, the invitation would be extended for those who needed to do some business with Jesus to come down to the front. This is the part that impacted me the most. Several different songs were sung in an effort to stir hearts to respond. The one that always drew me forward, even as I thought to myself, "I ain't going down there"...was I SURRENDER ALL.

I woke up with this song on my mind this morning. I woke up with the words softly coming from my lips. Could it be that such is the mind set that God expects from everyone who "went forward" to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior?" Could it be that we really never move beyond the idea of surrendering all to Christ? That such is a daily declaration that needs to be more than words to a hymn, but rather a heart cry to one who offered us real life? I think maybe the answer is yes.

So today, the words of that song are running through my heart and mind. I pray that I don't let them settle to simply being words that have no action on my part. I pray that if I'm declaring these words, then let my life reflect the truth behind them. That a life spent following after Jesus is a life in a state of constant surrender to Him and His will.

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me Savior wholly thine
May Thy Holy Spirit fill me
May I know Thy power divine

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior .....I surrender all

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, August 16, 2021

I SURRENDER 25%? NOPE----ALL OR NOTHING

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD