JUST JESUS

 

John 10:9
"I am the door.........If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

The words of Christ.
He refers to Himself as "the door".
An opening....
An entry point...
An entry point to salvation. 
Funny how we think church is the entry point. That Sunday School is the entry point.
We spend vast amounts of energy and time to get people to church, hoping they find Jesus.
Nothing wrong with Sunday School, or church. But what if the entry point, the door so to speak, was Jesus + love? What if we loved people toward the real door, Jesus? The one thing I really want to get right before I exit this old world, it's learning how to love like Jesus did. Not some syrupy, sugary mess that does  nothing but soothe the flesh/old nature. No! I want to give away heaven-love, divine-love, Jesus love. 
I just want folks to run into the Jesus that changed my life. Changed my life and called me to join Him in the greatest adventure a body could know. Navigating this thing we call life, here on earth, all the way to the end........and then some. It's an adventure because there are going to be some bumps along the way. Oh pish-posh...let's get real. We probably are going to get ourselves stuck in a ditch and need hauling out. Then there will probably be....
Pitfalls....
Traps.....
Dishonest people who will not have your best interest at heart.
People who will try to manipulate you.
People who look like they too are following Jesus, like you, but are really wolves in sheep clothing. They live to draw followers away into spiritual darkness.

The mission, or reason we exist, of Vineyard Recovery Church is very simple. We want to help others find "the door".
We want to shed ourselves of any religious trapping or jargon that might cause someone else to put up a wall (emotionally and/or spiritually) to not hear the great news that Jesus really is who He claims to be.

Some have accused me...well, maybe accused is to harsh of a word...
Let's say that some have suggested that my teaching is very shallow.
I prefer to think of it as simple.
The people we are blessed to serve come with all manner of baggage.
Low self worth....
They don't trust many, if anyone at all.
They are very skittish to anything that smells, looks like or sounds like what they have constructed in their minds to be church.
Such is one of the reasons that we hold our service on Saturday night. It won't fit their mold of what they think church is or should be.
We want to love them into a place where they can receive the truth about Jesus, and what He desires for them.

We really believe that the Holy Spirit is fully capable of speaking to everyone who comes through our doors on Saturday night. So it isn't my job to wrangle, beg, cajole anyone into making "A decision for Christ". He, the Holy Spirit, is a lot better at bringing conviction to someones heart than I am. If a person leaves our meeting on Saturday night, and Jesus is the last thing on their mind and heart.......we haven't done a real good job at what we've been called to do. But if they leave with questions about themselves AND about Jesus...well, that will be fertile ground for the Holy Spirit to work in. That is our desire.

One last thing...
We are not looking to build anything.
A church...
A congregation...
We're going to let God do that. What He decides to build may not be all under our roof.
It may go to some other town.
It may settle in some other existing church and be the catalyst that causing someone else to find the "Jesus door".
You see what some refer to as Vineyard Recovery Church is a lot larger than the number of folks who gather on Saturday night.
It covers many towns and communities.
It is carried out by those who have come to be with us for at least 7 weeks, sometimes more.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't measure what God has done, and continues to do with our meeting, using the old standards and measurements some churches still use. I want VRC to be measured by the quality of people who have come rather than the quantity of people. 

We meet every other Saturday night at 7 p.m. Our next meeting will be on SEPT. 3rd.
You are welcome to come and see what we're all about.
I've had several people ask if you have to be an addict or alcoholic to come to our meeting. No. Everyone is welcomed.
We're all about talking about the real POWER behind the Twelve Steps. That would be the Triune God.....Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
So as a people, we of VRC want to "Follow In His STEPS!"

God on you...
mb