Ease Into The Day

Saturday.......wow! I'm off.
I haven't been off on Saturday in 14 years.
I will still go out to Rapha tonight for our service, but I'm off.
I was able to, what Vicki and I refer to "ease into the day."
That means we wake up at the usual time (some where between 5:15 and 5:30) but don't feel obligated to get up. We just kine of lay there and talk and doze...you know....ease into the day. To be able to do this today was a real present.
Thank you Lord!
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Jeremiah 7:8
Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

I have really started being careful about what I say and what I believe from others around me.
Doesn't mean I don't trust those around me, I do.
It means when someone comes to me and makes statements concerning God or church or religion, I go straight to the book.
I know that I have an advantage over some since I am a pastor and part of what I do is study Scripture.
Never the less, I have to weigh out these things against the Bible. What does God say? Not what do I think. Or what is my opinion.
I work with some really great guys and part of the enjoyment of what I do is our interaction. We are constantly visiting and talking with each other about things that are going on in the camp (Rapha) or in our own lives. We seek each other's council and wisdom but, in the end, we take it to God to get the final verdict, so to speak.

Deceptive words that cry out to be trusted will lead us down a path that we really don't want to go down.
In the passage in Jeremiah, He (Jeremiah) is warning the people that what they say and the evidence of their behavior does not match. They are living a life that is contrary to what they proclaim to believe. I guess the biggest deception comes when we hear the enemy whisper to us, "It's o.k....go ahead and do (insert what ever it is you are going to do)....God really doesn't care about that. After all, you're a good person. You go to church. You sing in the choir, you give regularly....see you are a Christian." Problem is we don't get to balance out wrong with right. Justify our misdeeds and sin with our religious mindset. To me that is the most deceptive act a person could possibly do. Justify their misdeeds by saying, "God must not really be mad at me, look at all the positive stuff that is happening in my life. I share my faith and people are saved. How could they be saved if I was really, really sinning." Don't laugh, I have lived that lie before. Do you not know that the "Word of God doesn't return void?" Do you know what that means? It means that if the worst sinner in the world stands to preach or share something, God will use that message to convict and save people. God isn't excusing the one who delivered the message, but He will not empty the message of Power to save. So if you are the one who is delivering the message, and you are in sin, you cannot justify your sin by the simple fact of saying, "Wow, God is using me. He must not be too upset with me and what I have done."
Be careful.
Be quick to confess.
Quicker to repent.
Don't trust in deceptive words, even when they are coming from your own mind.
Search out the Scripture for truth in all your endeavors.

God on you....
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NEW MESSAGE IN PODCAST SECTION

I have posted new message from Seth Barber...somehow it was posted below Shane Elmores testimony. Look for "THE KEY TO LIFE".
Thanks for stopping by the Greene Street Letters

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Never Will Happen!!!

Lamentations 4:12
The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, that the adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

Lamentations is a book of wailings that were read annually by the Jews as a reminder of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. They were a reminder of an avoidable tragedy caused by sin. A reminder of a God who judges but who keeps His covenant forever.

The Jews believed that since the temple of God was in Jerusalem, then nothing would ever happen to them. Rather than a place where the people would go to honor and worship God, the temple became more of a good luck charm that would ward away the enemy. How wrong. Maybe that is why Jesus spoke the words of Isaiah to the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 15-- This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. The Jews had it all down pat. They could say the prayers, sing the songs, look the part and even cry on cue, but the heart was far away dreaming of other lovers and things that had taken the rightful place God should occupy. If you went to the temple, you'd be hard pressed to point out who was living blameless before God and who was simply doing the "religious" thing. But God knew. God always knows. He looks at the heart. He discerns the intent and motive behind what we are doing ( See I Samuel 16:7).   That is why we must humble ourselves before God. Humble: To agree with God who God says we are--The ability to follow instructions. The recognition that we are the creation and He is the creator. That everything we are, everything we have, everything we do is simply because God allows us to. I draw my next breath because God, who loves me, says I can. My heart beats one more time because God has decreed that it should. Now if God can do all of this, would it not benefit me to recognize Him for who He truly is? To acknowledge His will and submit to it?

Father God....
Thank you for today. May I never fall into a religious behavior that tries to hide any sin from you. May I live under the guidance of Your Holy Spirit who leads me into all truth. May I submit to your truth and live in freedom today.
In Jesus Name....
Amen.

God on you...
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The Strong Man

Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied, and distributes his plunder.

What an incredible picture of addiction.
Truth be known, addiction is the byproduct of a life lived under the influence.
The influence of sin.
Alcohol and drugs are the symptoms that follow this lifestyle.
Of course the symptoms are different for each person.

It could be pornography.
Illilict sexual encounters.
Greed, lust, and the list goes on and on and on.
Bottom line is that when we are living this life that manifests itself through our sinful deeds, we are under the control of a strong man, the devil. He rules the house (our body) and does everything he can to keep his position. It is only when a stronger man, Jesus, comes along that the devil is unseated through our repentance and salvation. Suddenly, the strong man has not only lost his home, but everything involved with it. Not that home, once harboring the enemy, now becomes a temple that houses God's Holy Spirit.

I like what it says in verse 22: He (Jesus) takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied.
Armor is a defensive weapon. It is meant to protect and keep from harm, but now Jesus has taken that away.That tells me that Jesus makes the devil very vulnerable and open to attacks. Now, I don't think I need to run and look for battles to engage in, but I do need to be aware that when the devil comes to me to accuse me and bring warfare against me..............he doesn't have any armor. That means that when I stand my ground in the strength of the Lord and the fullness of God's Holy Spirit, when I quote the truth of God to the devil, he hasn't any armor to protect him from the real truth. What a concept! The devil has no armor. Now that is cool beans X 10.

I think I might pursue this idea of "Hell's Armor" in my next posting.
Excuse me while I study some more on this.

God on you....
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Preference:

pref·er·ence/ˈpref(ə)rəns/Noun

1. A greater liking for one alternative over another or others.

We all have preferences.
We all have things that we favor over and above other choices.
We like different kinds of Ice Cream. My wife loves Drumsticks Ice Cream. It is vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone. The ice cream is covered in chocolate and has peanuts sprinkled on top. Me? I'm a straight chocolate kind of guy. We each have a preference.

Sometimes preference in what we like can take a nasty turn. Sometimes we take preference and turn it into doctrine or dogma. I guess what I am trying to say is that what we prefer in the way of styles or types of churches is elevated to the point that we lash out at others who do not hold our view.
I ran into this a lot when we first started our recovery meeting at Gadsden Vineyard. I was called names by people who had preferences that were different than mine. I had people get up and walk out during a meeting, only later to inform me that I was doing the devils business.

I wanted to lash out and defend myself, but God told me to simply love them. Every time I encountered someone who differed from me, I made the effort to let them know that we did not consider ourselves as being better because we did church in a different manner. I wanted them to know that different didn't mean better.......it just mean different. But I had to be true to what God has called me to do.

Since the style or model of the Church @ Rapha is born from a heart of wanting to serve God. I am fully aware that there are many who do not like what we do on Saturday nights. I'm o.k. with that. I know that we all gravitate to where God leads us. One of the greatest works God has done in me is that He has given me the ability to love the many "Flavors" of church and to recognize and see His hand at work.

There are churches where the pastor wears a suit and tie. There are churches where the pastor wears jeans and t-shirts. There are churches where the pastor wears a robe and collar. What do they have in common? God is there.  I have learned to be very carefull about comments I make and judgements I bring on others who don't do church or meetings the way I think they should.

I think the one thing that breaks my heart as I travel around the internet, is the nastiness and hatred found among believers. Lashing out and bringing not loving judement but fleshly judgement against others who are simply trying to hear and follow God. Now before you think I am soft and want to excuse all behavior of the shepherds of God's people......I do not. But know matter what, everything we say and do should be covered in great humility on our part, and do so from a heart of love.

I have found websites devoted to "uncovering false teachers."
The list they created of these so call false teachers, contain the names of men that I have studied under and listened to for a number of years. There seems to be a pride when someone becomes a purveyor of what is truth and what isn't. I do not desire such a post nor do I seek it. I have stood and taught crowds before and in the stumbling and fumbling of what we call "preaching" I have floundered a great deal. I'm sure that someone could take my messages and rip them to shreds, calling me legalistic and a pharisee or worse....."You have a religious Spirit." That is a code word for "You full of hell and there is no truth in you." People are being branded with this name on an ever increasing way.

You know....I would hope that if such a thing happened to me, the one who labeled me with such a name, would love me enough to come to me and pray with me and restore me. I fear that I don't see much of this happening in the body of Christ. It's so much easier to lash out toward anyone who disagrees with our theology.

Romans 5:8 reads: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
How much more anti-God could you be than being sinner. Yet God did not lash out with names or accusations. He demonstrated right in front of us how to deal with this problem. Jesus Christ died for us. He opened a way that removed sin and brought cleansing and healing for every sinner who would come to Him.

When I encounter those who label and divide in the body of Christ, do I return the same behavior back to them, or do I demonstrate the love of God by going to them to have dialog? I want my every action, my every thought, my every word to be Christ-like. Before you think I have gone all mushy here and we are going to lock arms and sing "We Are The World," let it be known that Jesus could be harsh when the Father told him to be. I mean he called the religious rulers names...."You brood of vipers. You white washed tombs." But Jesus only did so under the guidance and release by His heavenly Father. I don't know if I could prove this or not, but I think most of the name calling and accusations that fly back and forth do so from the flesh and not from heaven.  What do you think?

All I know is that I want to love Jesus.
I want to love people who love Jesus.
I want to love people who don't love Jesus.
A wise man once told me that...(Thanks Kris)
I want to see God at work in every flavor of church there is.
Bliss Church....I bless and pray that God would grow and strengthen you.
Traditional Church....I bless and praise God for the heritage and tradition that has come through you.
High Church.....I bless you for the rituals and readings that point to Jesus.
Store Front Church....I bless you for the fire that burns in your heart to see something birthed into new life.
Recovery Church....I bless you for the ones that are being rescued from the kingdom of darkness.
Is God good or what?

God on you....
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Step # 3

Step # 3
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

We make thousands of decisions every day. Some momentous and others have no consequences at all. We make decisions without any concern for the outcome or how they will affect our lives. We make decisions based on emotion and feeling rather than weighing out the best possible one to make. We are compulsive in our decision making and it costs us sometimes. Compulsion, impatient, anxious, all of these lead to influencing us in making bad decisions.

The prophet Habakkuk writes about reaping the fruit of bad decisions. The nation of Judah was running rampant in sin and evil deeds. He was concerned and prayed to God for an answer. God told him that He was going to use a neighboring country, Babylon, to punish Judah. In other words, Judah was going to receive or reap from the crop of sin and destruction they had sown.

In addiction, we find ourselves in places like Judah did at times. Sitting in jail, awaiting trial, crying out to God for help. The cry we offer really isn't a cry for change in our life. It is more a cry to escape all the bad things we have done. It isn't until I have truly came to the sober knowledge that I am powerless over myself, my drugs and my ability to make sound decisions, that I can find a Power greater than myself who can restore me to sanity. That Power being the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even after working Step #3 by making the decision to turn will and life over to the care of God as you understand Him, there will be times when you simply have to throw yourself upon God and trust Him. These are the times when you will feel His presence bringing comfort and peace as you refuse to turn back to your old ways.

Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard all about you, LORD, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us, and in your anger, remember your mercy.

All of this I write about God goes much deeper than achieving "sobriety." It goes to the very heart and core of life. Life here and now, but preparation for life eternal. It's about losing the value and moral system of life here in this society and world and adopting a new way of living that reflects the divine and eternal kingdom of God. 

To some who may read this, it will appear as foolishness. I pray that you will ask God to give you vision to see the truth. You do not have to live in addiction. You do not have to live in sin. You do not have to be a puppet of the devil, feeding every desire that emanates from within, leaving you broken and empty. You can have a fullness from God that will invade your very life and change the way you see, speak, hear and approach your daily activities. Some call this being saved or born again. Call it what you will, it truly is the best.

God on you....
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My Soul

My soul.
The central part of me that contains my will, my emotion, my intuition, my conscience, etc.....
Defined by God as the part that also contains my willful disobedience.
The sin nature.
I'm not smart enough to figure all this out. I'm sure there is someone out there who will read this and say, "Bless his little heart..he is so misguided."
Am I?
I don't believe so.
I know that there is such a thing as sin nature or, as apostle Paul called it, "The Flesh."
It is the bent in me to do the wrong thing.
The thing that leads me to be rebellious against God. To want to be independent from God doing what I want to do.
Romans 7: 14-17
For we know that the Law is spiritual. But I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For that which I am doing, I do not understand. For I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the law, confessing that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.

I don't know all the theological terms for this nature, but I do  know this.
If I look at my life, I see a lot of wrong and damage that I have done by the choices I have made. This has nothing to do with my intellect or education. It has everything to do with me being a slave to sin. See the sad part in all of this, I thought I was in control I thought I was the one running the show. I thought I was the one in control. Turns out I was wrong, I was a slave to sin, sold into bondage. Without Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I will continue to make choices that are contrary to the will of God. I have to bring my soulish nature under this Lordship I desire Jesus to have in my life.

In Luke 1:46, we read where Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been told about God's plan to birth Messiah through her. Mary has gone to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who also has been visited by God and now carries a baby, John the baptizer, who will be the one who proclaims the Kingdom of God is at hand. In verse 46, Mary says, "My soul exalts the Lord." My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My soul magnifies the Lord. In other words, Mary realizes the power and ability of God to bring the sin nature under His authority and power.

With the birth of Jesus, the old way of doing things was numbered. Redemption was here Salvation was coming to a hill called Calvary and, like an atom bomb, His death and resurrection would explode and destroy the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the presence of sin. It would create a ripple that would span down through the ages, all the while never losing power or ability. The salvation that is offered today is the same as the day Jesus declared "It is finished!"

"My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regard for the humble state of His bondslave."

God on you....
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