Some Riches You Can't Put In Your Wallet

3 John 1:2-4
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.

The words I find in 3 John, give language to the thoughts that I carry around each day. I wish for everyone who reads this blog.....everyone who is seeking God....everyone who has turned their back on addiction in order to be saved by the One True Higher Power....that they prosper. That this prosperity extends beyond a bank account or an accumulation of material possessions and goes right to the heart our new, changed life.

There is one that does not wish to see you prosper in health and spirit, for he knows that such growth only empowers you to stay beyond his reach. Oh, he'll come round and try to knock you off you game, but that is all the more reason that we should press into this new life.

I live for the stories that you share with me about your triumph's and failures...for I know that real growth comes when we stumble and fall. We may fall, but we don't stay there. We don't wallow in guilt and shame and allow ourselves to be held in place. We confess, repent, get up and walk on. Sounds too simple doesn't it? The truth usually is pretty simple. We have a tendency to complicate the obvious and trivialize the momentous. It's all about a spiritual progress. Learning from our mistakes and making sure that we don't repeat the same mistake twice.

The sharing of stories is scriptural.
Proverbs 27:17 tells us that "Iron sharpens iron",  When a story is shared, it creates a bond between two people.When that story is directed and covered with God's Holy Spirit, it creates life between the two. It causes faith to increase It produces hope that stands against the darkness this old world holds. It causes us to keep on keepin' on and not give up. That is why I so enjoy phone calls and letters....facebook messages and visits from men who have gone through the program and have been changed by the Power and Presence of God.

One last thing....
Don't discount your own story.
Some people feel as though their story isn't dramatic enough. Don't believe this!
If you have been saved and are living in Christ, then your story is totally one of victory.
You were formally dead.....
Dead in sin.
Yet the voice of Almighty God spoke into the deadness and commanded you back to live...
A new, spiritual life of freedom from the bondage of sin/addiction.
In fact....your story and your life may be the only Bible some people ever read or see.
Don't discount what God can do through you.
Think on this today....

God on you....
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Monday Moving Forward

No pictures for the blog posting today....
Blogger.com seems to be a bit sticky and wouldn't load right.
Sorry bout that...
I know that some of you live for the pictures here daily at the Greene Street Letters.
Now that was some kind of hyperbole, wasn't it?
There is a lot more to life than this blog.
I am grateful for the opportunity to write here.
I am equally grateful that some find it worth reading.
This is, to me, the mystery of God.
How He uses people who aren't really qualified to work in His Kingdom.
That is one reason the world looks at us so strange, and with a bit of hatred in their eyes...
To the world, you should have credentials or diplomas or at least the endorsement by someone who does.
The world tends to fall back on the argument that those who lack education are backwards and not worth reading or listening to.
Throw in the fact that I was born and live in the Southern United States of America and my credibility goes down quickly...
Well, butter my behind and call me "Biscuit".

What gives me the opportunity to write on this blog?
God has called me to do so.
There are days I wake up with nothing to write...
nothing to share....
And I make my way to the living room, coffee in hand, Bible under my arm when suddenly a thought or a verse will come to my mind. I'm still not sure whether the thought has originated in my own mind, or if God has spoken to me. But I decide to chase it and see where it takes me.
What  I have found is that someone, somewhere needed to read that particular posting for that day.
It is this knowledge that God indeed speaks through the postings of this blog that keeps me getting up every morning and writing.
That someone I may never meet....
Someone I will may never hear from...
found something on this blog that made a difference on a particular day in their life. That they may, in fact, have run into the real-deal God and He changed their life.

I also know that I am the least important part of this equation....
I think that falls into the category of knowing my place in this relationship with Jesus...
I figure if He can use Balaam's Donkey to speak....
Then I am expendable. Have no problem with that.
So what does 2013 hold?
Well, for one thing, the focus of our meetings on Saturday night at Rapha will be focused on "THE GOD OF THE TWELVE STEPS." A wise man once told me, "You can't follow the 12 steps and not bump your head on the cross." I concur.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up on the steps.....
we forget the Power who can make the steps work.That power being Jesus.
So I'm excited about where God is taking us this coming year.

This Saturday night, Seth Barber will be speaking....
Debbie Handy will be leading worship...
So be in prayer that God will once again come into our meeting.
That we will gather to meet with Him.
See you then!
God on you...
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If I Stand

Psalm 5:3-4
Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God.
For to you I will pray. My voice, You shall hear in the morning, O'Lord.
In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.

The federal government does is not my source of strength and provision.
The president may rule, but there is a rule that far exceeds his authority.
The military of this nation may have power beyond my comprehension, but there is one who has all POWER! His name is Jesus...

As the song says...."the stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the giver of all good things."
SO if I stand let me stand on the promise that You will see me through.
And if I fall, let it be on the grace that first brought me to You.
Ask God to grant you greater vision for your heart this morning.
See beyond what your eyes reveal....
See with your heart.

God on you...
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You've Got To Get IN!

Genesis 6:22
Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Genesis 7:5
And Noah did according to all the LORD commanded him.

He built it....
He supplied and stocked it....
He preached about it to his neighbors....
It was there when the rain started to fall....
But at some point, Noah had to get in the ark.
It wasn't enough just to point to it and proclaim how great God was...
Noah had to get into the ark.

I am always amazed at the fact that Noah was the last righteous man on earth.
The entire population had given into sin and had spiraled downward to such a degree that God
was ready to start over....
You see, I truly believe that humanity was given every opportunity to repent and change the way they lived....
They chose not to.
Because of this choice, there were consequences involved.
But Noah and family got into the ark.
Inside was life...
Outside was death...
Outside it didn't matter how much wealth you possessed...
Outside it didn't matter what your social status was...
You died...
It's the same today.
A rejection of Jesus and his offer of salvation pretty much sums up your fate.
Can't blame Him...
We have a choice to make, even in this day and time.

We can choose to receive Jesus as Lord over our life....
We can choose to receive Jesus as the one who can save us...
And through our choice, we are placed in him...He is our ark.
The two verses listed above, to me are the very heart of why Noah was chosen...
He did everything God commanded him to do.
He followed the steps of building the ark...
He followed God's directives on stocking the ark...
He listened for God's voice and when it was time, Noah heard God and took his family and went into the ark.

Now is the day to "hear God".....
He still speaks and he still longs to have an ongoing relationship with us.
Noah walked within the boundaries of God's grace and mercy. He did not allow himself to be tainted by the world or society that he lived in.
Sin flourished in this ancient world....Man was depraved to the point that his heart and mind continually were on evil. This was the rule of the day except for one man...Noah.
This man focused himself on hearing and following God.
When I am in Christ....following him, my faith in who Jesus is allows me to see the coming "flood" of sin that wants to destroy me. Being in Christ allows me to follow God's directives that ensure my salvation. (I'm not talking about working for my salvation...I'm referring to simply doing the things that are part of the discipline of walking with Jesus).

So...I look around at my life and see the destruction already done...and the coming destruction headed my way if I don't change.
Since I am the problem, I cannot be the solution.
The solution for my state of life has to exist outside the realm of my own intellect and ability.
There must be a Higher Power that can deliver me from the flood of sin/addiction.
That Higher Power would be my ark of safety....Jesus.
I give myself...or place myself in Him, will and live, turning them over to His care.
The rest is simply me waiting...listening and doing what I am told to do...
Are you "IN" the ark?
Or are you on the outside?
Hmmm....looks like rain to me....

God on you....
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Music....31 Flavors Just Like The Ice Cream Place!

Oh the incredible creation of music....
Of the creation of voice and the marriage of the two....
To take the very breath given by God and use it to proclaim his greatness and majesty.....
Why?
Because He is worthy to receive it....
Why?
Because I have been saved by His redeeming love and hand from an eternal destiny of hell and separation from Him.
Let everything that has breath....Praise the Lord!
Praise Ye The Lord!

God on you....
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I'm Walking....Yes, Indeed

Genesis 5:24
And Enoch walked with God.......

What does it mean to "Walk with God?"
You hear that term, "Walk", all the time if you go to church or you do a lot of reading of the modern pastors/teachers.
To me, the term "Walk" means that as we move through our day, we live our lives....make our choices.....based on what Scripture tells us. It's not simply keeping the rules, or the do's and don'ts of the Bible...it is a change of heart through this new relationship I have with Christ (some call it being born again).
God clearly defines the boundaries of this relationship. When I remain within those boundaries....I am given the grace and blessings of God to move through this life without fear of turning to my old ways again. In fact, the longer I walk in this new life, the farther and farther my old life moves away from my thoughts, and my heart.

To those who are caught between addiction and this new life of recovery, the old lifestyle screams at them, telling then that recovery is a life of bondage. Bondage to do things that will limit and restrict the choices of the old life. Truth be known, the two lives are not compatible and will never coexist with one another. One has to die so the other can live. But addiction lies to the human mind telling it that the Twelve Steps are nothing more than a prison.
1.) You'll never have fun again...
2.) You'll be miserable forever.....
3.) You'll give up your right to run your life.....
How insane is that line of thinking, yet many have listened to it and walked away into the darkness only to be destroyed by their addiction.

Here are some things that I have learned over the years in my own relationship with Christ.
1.) Walking with God is a blessing. It isn't binding or restrictive in any way. In fact, it opens me up to see and live in ways I never thought were possible. God's boundaries for us actually promote life....not death.

2.) Walking with God means that we have "abundant" life here and now....and eternal life upon our death. In other words...it is a "win-win" way of living.

It is very common for someone struggling with their addiction to rebel against any and all help that would point them in a new way to live. To rebel against God's word and His offer of real life is something that each person must face. Walking with God means that we are rescued from the power of sin that keeps us in our old lifestyle.

My prayer today:
Lord, we repent of rejecting the boundaries of Your Word in our lives and relationships. Help us to be obedient and walk with You, and not against You.
In Jesus Name....
Amen....

God on you...
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Back To The Beginning: January 1st

Reset the calendar....
Begin a whole new year....
Resolutions to be made, so we can break them...
Lot's of hangovers this morning from people who have no quitting sense..(God bless you..may you learn).
I'm back to the book of Genesis.
Back to the future....
You have to go to the beginning to understand how it all will play out in our future.
In Genesis 1, we see the Trinity God (God, the Father..God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit) at work bringing forth from nothing, our world as we know it.

Genesis 1:3..........."And God said".........
Don't you find it strange that God used the power of speech to create?
He could have simply thought it into existence...
He could have simply waved His hand and it all would have appeared....
But He chose to speak....
He chose to say it...
He chose to to communicate.
Here in is the power of words....
Of course He is God and His words carry more power above and beyond what ours do.
But God gave us the ability to communicate for a reason.
He gave us the same power of speech that would proclaim His greatness and His love.

God spoke into existence our entire creation....
Then, He admonishes Adam to name all the creatures.
Letting the man participate in this creation through the use of his own speech.
He allowed Adam to pronounce the name of each animal, thereby making each unique from the other.

After the fall into sin, the mouth that named the animals name comes under the influence of satan, whose mouth the woman believed. The world would never be the same. It would be under a "curse".

What does all this mean for me today?
1.) God does not place us in a tempting world to be devoured by its pronouncements. Rather, He does so that we may overcome it (the world) by pronouncing the His words of life (Gen. 2:15-17)

2.) God commands us to speak words of life into His creation. To proclaim His healing name in the midst of sin and destruction. (Gen. 2: 18-20)

3.) God made us for fellowship with Him, which includes conversation and communication (prayer and listening).(Gen. 2:21-24)

One of the most dangerous and powerful tools given to us is the ability to speak.
Our words create the world in which we live. I am called today to learn how to season my speech with the WORD of God. To learn how to heal and not harm. To help and not hamper those around me.

Happy New Year from the "B's" in Attalla.

God on you...
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