Tender Moment @ VRC

I Corinthians 3:23
And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

What a night at VRC.....
Last night was a keeper....
The picture above kind of sums it all up.
Baby dedication....
Little Zoe Michelle Wood, all of 15 days old was brought to be dedicated to God.
It wasn't an infant baptism, but more of a ceremony where the parents agree to raise her in the ways and teaching of God.
Very tender time.
I never tire of such things as this happening in our midst.

Here in the middle of all the death and destruction that addiction seems to thrive on, we have a new life brought into our midst.
A new life that hasn't been scarred by the hands of this world.
A new life that hasn't been touched by the madness and pain of addiction.
Here was Asa and Sarah, the parents who have made the turn from such darkness, and now are dedicating their daughter that she should be taught the love and hope that they have found in Christ.
Now that's some good stuff.....

What was wonderful about this simple act, was the look on the faces of those present. This incredible look that they were being included in this act of hope and understanding that these parents had found God, and now they were going to raise this new born girl in the right way.
Yeah buddy, last night was payday for me.

We celebrate any moment that will lift us up into a greater understanding of who God is, and what His purpose is for our lives.
We celebrate with hearts of thankfulness and gratitude each time we gather on Saturday night, that we made it another week.
I look forward to the day when there will not be a need for Vineyard ReCovery.
There won't be a need because addiction will no longer exist.
You may call me a dreamer, but there will come a day when such is not needed.
Read the book, you'll see.
But for now, we will come together every Saturday night and celebrate the person and presence of God in our midst.
We will dedicated our newborn's.
We will worship and sing to God with hearts of gratitude for how He is changing us.
We will listen to His word as it is proclaimed and pronounced in our midst.
We will learn to love each other as God loves us.
We will continue to seek Him for a healing touch in our lives and in our hearts.
Then we will leave and share our story with people we meet.
That is why we meet on Saturday nights.....
And it is good.

God on you...
mbb

Contact

Good morning....
I'm kind of running late this morning.
Trying to ease into the day, rather than head-butting it into submission.

Today....
Twenty-four hours...
We'll sleep part of it...
We'll spend time eating and drinking to nourish our bodies...
We may spend part of it, since it's Saturday, in recreation or rest.
Me personally, I choose the latter, but because I say that doesn't mean it will happen.

I guess what I'm getting at, is that we have all manner of possibilities out there waiting on us today.
Some will be pleasurable to our senses.....
Other possibilities may be very drastic or dark...
Some will enhance our day...
Some may determine the course of our future days.
No matter which, we are ill equipped to handle them without the Spirit of God living and working inside of us.

As followers of Jesus (if that is truly who we are looking to each day) we have an obligation to seek Him out for wisdom and direction.
Something the church is long on talking about and short on actually doing. For some reason, we want to pigeon-hole Jesus just in case we actually need Him during the day. He's truly is our "get-out-of-jail" card that we will pull when the day goes horribly wrong.
This is not the way He wants us to live.
Relationship is about interaction at every moment of every day.
Now lets not get silly in this...
I do not believe we need to seek Jesus' direction for which pair of socks we need to wear today...
Nor do I need Him to show me which cereal to eat ( Rice Kripies ...or Captain Cruch). You get the idea....

So today, set your mind, heart, spirit and soul to stay in conscious contact with Jesus. In other words....let today be a Step #11 Day.

God on you...
mbb

Lamps And Light Bulbs

It would be so easy for me to sit here and try to explain or tell you what following God really meant. I could clothe it religious speech and jargon that really would not explain it. I could try and use big words to give you the impression that I am a learned man but that wouldn't work either. I guess the best way to describe what a day to day walk with Jesus really is about, is found in Psalm 119:105----Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

What does that verse mean?  Lamp? Light for my feet? How does that translate into my every day walking around, eating, sleeping life? It means that first of all I have to read and study "YOUR WORD". Not trying to find a hidden gem of knowledge but to simply pull out the truth for me. Notice that the word becomes a light (in the Psalm passage). The word become illumination and understanding and helps me to spiritually see what I need to do when I come to circumstances and situations that block my way. No more relying on "what I think I should do". No more "doing what I want to do." I told the group at my Bible study out at Rapha that for the first time in their lives don't do what you want to do.....do what you ought to do.

The Word is a lamp that I hold on to. I take the the lamp and stretch it out in front of myself (this would represent my future) to see what is out there that may cause me to stumble or fall. The Word of God becomes the light, the glasses that give me fresh new powerful vision to see.

I like the way Psalm 119:105 puts it: It is a lamp for my feet. Not my head, not my hands but my feet. Where the feet go, the rest of the body will follow. If you can't see spiritually where to go, you don't need to be walking. Let the Word be the light that shines before you. Notice how the verse reads: A lamp for my feet and a light for my path. That means that there is a predetermined course or way that has been laid out for me and I am to simple follow it. The name of this path is obedience. Pure and simple we are called to walk in obedience to God and the only way we can ever hope to accomplish this is through the illumination of His Word in my life that changes the way I view things and the way I make decisions. This is the transformation that comes through the indwelling or filling or whatever term you use when the Holy Spirit invades our lives and our time and space.

Psalm 119:130 
As Your words are taught, they give light. Even the simple can understand them.

Psalm 119:133
Guide my steps by Your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil.

Psalm 119:59
I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow Your statutes.

What are you using to direct your life today? God? Or the world?
God on you........
mb

The Real Deal Power

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of this Good News (Gospel) about Christ. It is THE POWER of God at work saving (and healing) everyone who believes.....the Jew first and also the Gentile.

He says all the right words that would lead you to believe that he was sincere in his relationship with Jesus.
But his life reveals a greater truth.....
Maybe he isn't as saved as he thinks he is.....
Harsh to say this?
Yes, it is.
But which is more harsh....
To let him go on thinking that he is something that clearly he isn't...?
Or to lovingly confront him with the truth that what he says and how he lives does not match up.

The very fact that God took care of all manner of sin that could come to a man's life is the ultimate Good News. That Jesus' primary mission here on planet earth was to take back that which was lost. What is it that was lost? The ability for mankind to have an intimate relationship with the very One who created us.

In our "Lost-ness" we sought to fill up the void that was created when man and woman fell from grace back in the garden. And the strange part is that we don't actually perceive this void as being the only thing that can be filled with God. But it's real.......and it's there in each of us. So as we grow, we set about the business of trying to fill it with different things. We have fallen under the illusion that the temporary things of this world could ever produce an eternal satisfaction in our very souls.

We try to fill the void with drugs or alcohol....
For a season this seems to be the magic formula we've been looking for.
Our pain goes away.....
We have times of great euphoria and ecstasy....
We become part of a new group of friends that join in with us.
Our problems seem to disappear, at least for the moment....
But we know now all too well where this little slice of what we thought was heaven has taken us.

We tried sex thinking that was the way to find real love.
Somewhere along the way after going through multiple partners, we are still empty inside. We may have become proficient at the act, but we do not know how to have a real relationship with another human being. Our relationships become filled with mistrust and manipulation. We think marriage is the key, so off we go to find a spouse. Only to find out that we really don't know how to life with another human being. Let's get real honest here.....even if you are superhuman and you're able to have sex for an hour......that still leaves you 23 hours that you have to live together. Seems to be developing a relationship would be the utmost of important things to do. Somehow we bought the lie that having sex means the same thing as falling in love. It doesn't.

We think that money will be our savior....
After all, money means power doesn't it?
The more you have, the more powerful you are perceived?
Strike three, you're out!
For the most part, money actually has us...
IT can be a drug unto itself.
It provides more opportunity to purchase what you think is real happiness.
But here again we've bought into the lie of society......
If money is the great problem solver, then why do the rich commit suicide?

So bottom line is that seeking God....
There in lies the answer to life's problems....
Not looking for what He can do...
But look to Him for who He is.

When God saves me, He gives me a part of Himself.
He somehow implants in me His Holy Spirit.
He becomes the compass by which I live.
I cannot lay claim to being one of His own, yet live my life by my own dictates, wants and fleshly desires.
There is a change that takes place within me.
It is a process as the old me gives way to the new me.
I'm learning to live life in a new way.
My words and my actions line up to reveal the new me.
Oh don't get me wrong...
I do not turn into SUPER-CHRISTIAN!!!!!
But the change I speak of is on-going and is proven by the way you interact in this old world.

This good news about what Jesus has done for me is POWER to my life.
It is a promise that God carries through with everyone who seeks Him.....
Turns will and life over to His care.
Sounds like a good deal to me....
How 'bout you?

God on you....
mbb

We Are All Headed Somewhere

Human footsteps...
Headed somewhere....
Coming from somewhere.....
Movement....
Leaving one place....
Moving to another.
This other place isn't always a good place to be...
Or a good place to live.
Footsteps....

We are all headed to a destination, that being eternity. Even as I sit here in my home, and the word "eternity" comes on my screen, I still can't comprehend what it means. I have an understanding of eternity. I can measure it by scenarios......If a sparrow dipped it's beak in the Atlantic ocean and took a drink, holding the water in its mouth, and then flew across America to empty his beak full of water into the Pacific ocean.......and if that same sparrow did this until the Atlantic Ocean was empty....that would be but a moment in eternity. See what I mean?

So if I'm headed to a transition, so to speak, from this side of eternity, to the other side....wouldn't what I do here affect what happens afterwards? I think so.
This is where the religion's of the world divide into many paths.
I believe there is only one path that leads to a better life after I die. That path being Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 reads: Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Life is about choices.
Choices that I make as I take the footsteps to this journey.
If you are familiar with the blog then you know I'm all about the 12 steps.
They offer a new direction for a life that has been overwhelmed by the destruction of addiction.
They offer life....
They offer a chance to change the direction of our footsteps, thereby changing the destination of our eternity.
I don't want to make the steps out to be some kind of mystical-hoo-doo...they aren't.
But given the nature of what they say, the steps can and will take you to Jesus.
As a friend of mine use to tell me...."Mikey....you can do the 12 steps and not hit your head on the cross."
You know what?
I believe it.
That is the reason I get up every day. Jesus is real and I want my footsteps to be toward Him.
That is the reason I teach the word of God every day.
I want others to be awakened to the fact that their footsteps and subsequent destiny, does not have to be toward an eternity of separation from Jesus. 

I had a good friend ask me years ago, after I had shared with him about this new found relationship I had with Jesus....."Michael...what are you going to do, if when you die you discover that all that you believed was a hoax? What are you going to do if when you die, that's it. Nothing happens afterwards. No heaven, no hell, nothing?" My reply was this....
"Well, if there is nothing...then I'm o.k. with that. I've a had a good life. I've been married to a wonderful woman....got a great family. God has allowed me to have the desire of my heart which was to make music. He has allowed me to play with some incredible musicians and to have some good, close friends. If it is all a hoax....then I've had a great life."
Then I asked my friend, "What are you going to do, if when you die you discover that it WAS real? That this Jesus is who He claims he is, and that there is a heaven and a hell.....a God and a devil...and that all the people who had spoken into your life were sent by God to get your attention?"
My friend had no reply.

So where are your footsteps taking you today?
To an eternity of life....
Or an eternity of separation?
God provided us with a wonderful road map....
It's call the Bible.
He also has given us a GPS to guide us....
He is called the Holy Spirit.
I trust that you find Him today....

God on you.....
mb

Shine Like No One's Business

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Recovered....Restored....And Revealed.
Buried under the grit and grim of life, pressure from every side

trying to shape and form you.
At the same time, keeping you hidden from the truth.
You never could see the "real" you, therefore, you never knew

your true value.

Not knowing what your value was, you thought yourself to be worthless....

No use to anyone....
With no value came the thought that you were unlovable....
After all, you were nothing more than a lump of coal hidden under 
tons of dirt and debris....

Deserving to be hidden and forgotten....

But then a hand reached down through the muck and mire that sought to

destroy you...
The muck and mire that sought to conform you to their image.
A hand that was the epitome and definition of Power and Purity.
A hand that searched through the grime with a mission to find and

restore you.
A hand that wasn't afraid to get dirty in order to save you.
A hand that knew what it was like to be rejected....
This hand was driven by a love that could not be defined
 The hand continued the search.

Finally touching you...it knew your shape and form more than you knew yourself.

And even though the dirt lay claim to you....
The hand began to pull you....
And even though the mud and grime fought hard to hold you in place...
The hand would not be defied...

Suddenly you were free of the darkness...
You were free from the pressure...
You were free....

The hand held you close and poured the water of His Spirit over you

in order to clean you up....

It was a feeling unlike anything you'd ever experienced before...this cleansing.

Free from the past...
Free from the grim...
Free from the pressure....
The hand held you up and for the first time, you sparkled and shone as you 

were created to.

It wasn't any light you possessed....
You merely reflected the light given off by the hand that had laid claim to you.
Pure light...
Light with power...
Light with purpose...

And that is who you are you crazy diamond...

So shine...
Shine and reflect the goodness of God.
Shine on....

Matthew 5:16 -----"Let your light so shine in such a way that others may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

God on you....

mbb

Strength Through Weakness

I Corinthians 1:25
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

Flipping through my Recovery Bible this morning and came across something very interesting. "THE TWELVE LAWS OF LIFE RECOVERY". The passage begins with a statement about these 12 laws.

"These laws highlight irrefutable truths that you will discover in yourself as you experience recovery while following the Twelve Steps. As you experience these laws, you will find---perhaps to your surprise----that the laws of life recovery will give back what they initially seemed to take away."

Isn't that the view that most seem to hold to when they first come to treatment, or begin this journey to a new life following Jesus?  That their main concern is what the have to give up or lose? All they can think about is the friends that they are told they can never hang around with anymore. They resign themselves to the terrible truth that there are places they will never be able to go to again.  Such is the power that addiction holds over the individual. In the addicted mind, they are trying to resign themselves to the fact that in recovery they will never have any fun again....forever more....amen! What a bunch of hooey!

Law #1 of the Twelve Laws of life recovery
Powerlessness will result in STRENGTH.
The beginning of any journey begins with the first step. It's no different in recovery, except for the fact that this first step requires us to come to grips with some truth we have been evading and refusing to acknowledge. We are powerless over addiction.

Now this acknowledgment is not a mental thought that you speak...."Yeah, I've got a problem." It's more. It's the cold, hard truth that when you look inside yourself you find that you are helpless, hopeless and powerless. Ask yourself this question: "Have I gone to multiple treatment programs? Have I been able to sustain SOME sobriety only to fall back into old ways, old thoughts and old habits?" That should reveal the extent of your powerlessness over your addiction. The Recovery Bible makes an interesting statement concerning our powerlessness: "God works healing in our lives through what to us is weakness. As we experience recovery in our lives, we will find there is great strength in recognizing our powerlessness.

The admission of our own inability to live life on life's terms opens the door for us to seek help outside ourselves. To seek help from a power greater than ourselves. Such power has a name, and that name is Jesus. 

It's not enough to dance around with the idea of being powerless. Just like it's not a good idea to feel good about life simply because you are hanging around others who have found this Jesus and are living a life that you have never been able to engage in. Now when I said it's not good to hang around such, what I meant was that it's profits nothing if you don't engage yourself , your thoughts, your actions into finding this relationship with Christ we talk about. You can't live vicariously through others. They can point the way for you. They can be examples on what to do. They can encourage you, but you have to take that first step.

Ten birds sitting on a wire.....
One decides to fly away.....
How many birds do you have left sitting on the wire?
Ten!
He only decided...he never took action to fly away.
Recovery can be like this. You can think about it....you can plan for it....you can talk about it...but at some point for it to be real in your own life you have to actually do it.
And such begins with that first step.

God on you...
mbb