Dusting Off The Shadow Man

Looking back on my past, I find  out exactly how much I have changed. All the darkness and sin that defined me seems like a bad dream . Who was I? I was a shadow man...
The reality is now I am no longer that person. The reality of today is that my life has been invaded by a Higher Power that has given me purpose.
Purpose found in today...
Not in yesterday.....

Life is still a struggle, but much more manageable following Jesus through the daily mess.
The shadow "Me" seeks to rise up from time to time,usually when I am going through some dark times...He whispers to me to consider letting him back in. But I remember all too well the misery that was heaped upon me, because I chose to follow "self" rather than Jesus.

The shadow man sounds like a friend, but he isn't. He only wants to beat me down into submitting to his every whim and desire. No thought really to me or my well being. Shadow man only seeks to use me till there is nothing left. Drain me of every emotion and feeling I have until I am but a shell of who God created me to be. I choose not to listen to that old voice that surfaces from time to time.

No sir...
I will have nothing to do with shadow man. Like the Apostle Paul, I will press forward (all the while forgetting what is behind) toward the upward call. I am able to forget what is behind me, because I have deal with it.
Confessed...
Repented...
Forgiven....
Made amends....
Moving on...
My hope is found in the One who took me out of the mess I use to call life.
My hope is a living hope that has been birthed in me by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.
Explain it?
Can't.
I just know He's real.
I just know that I have been changed.

Maybe this resolve that has been born in me is why shadow man continues to chase after me. To draw me away from the hope I've been given.
To lure me with the baubles and beads, and the shiny things of this world. Pretty to look at...catches my attention....but has no value what so ever.
I press on!
Thank you Jesus for your saving power.
A Power that could (and has) restored me to sanity.
So if you are out there this morning, and you are lost in the shadows, unable to find your way out.
Cry out to Jesus...
No, I really mean it! Cry out.. Cry out at the top of your lungs..."Save me Jesus!"
He will hear....
He will answer your cry....
He will come to where you are.
That's a promise.

God on you...
mbb

He Is A Very Capable Shepherd

Psalm 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters.
The care and love that Jesus shows to his "sheep" is beyond my feeble brain's ability to comprehend such a heart.
He makes me lie down......He knows that left to my own will, I will expend myself on things that do not matter. I will fill up my life with useless activity that profits nothing. I will burn myself out worrying about things that are beyond my control. I guess this is where the serenity thing comes into play. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change." 

Jesus knows that I need rest, not just bodily but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So from time to time, He MAKES me lie down. Even if for nothing else other than to give my brain and mind a rest. I think one of the first things I notice when Vicki and I go on vacation or just get away for a few days, is how my mind is rested and renewed. This, in turn, really brings about a change physically and emotionally. Rest is needed. Rest reconnects us to the Father when we physically and emotionally rest in Him. Psalm 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God.....

But notice also in Ps.23:2 the shepherd picks out the best spot for this rest to take place. A place where there is plenty of food and water. To me this is a place where there are ample portions of the Word and the Spirit. This two, Word and Spirit, are food for my soul. Food that brings health to my inner parts. Lifting up the heart and restoring faith and hope in my dry places. I look to Jesus as the source of my spiritual as well as my physical well being. 

Isaiah 40:11 
He shall lead his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
I love this illustration of the heart of Jesus. The ultimate shepherd, not because he has too but because he wants to. A shepherd who laid down his life for the flock in order to protect them from the evil one who prowls looking for someone to devour. 

Part of AA is saying the Serenity prayer.
A prayer that finds stability of mind....
Stability of spirit....
Stability of purpose 
in the relationship with Jesus Christ.
Not that our situations and circumstances are stable, sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't.
The Serenity prayer speaks of the peace and stability that comes within and allows you to not be tossed about by emotion or indecision. It gives the ability to face what I cannot change. It gives me strength to confront and change that which I have ran away from in the past. It gives me wisdom to know which is which.

God....

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.
Taking, as Jesus did,

this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it.

Trusting that You will make all things right

if I surrender to Your will,

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with You forever in the next....

Amen!

Written By:

Reinhold Niebuhr

In His Hands

Everything I'm searching for

if found in His hands...

For He holds the present...
Moving toward the future....

With the power to free me from my past.

In His Hands.....

The gentle caress of those hands

upon a tired face...
Healing touch that is defined by His Grace..

To love, to care, to lift and breathe life into

my frail body...

All found In His Hands...

Hands that show the scars put there by the

worst of humanity...

How could we ever lay hold of His Hands?

But we did...
He allowed us to place a Romans spike in the palm.
He laid there on that cross when He could have called

down 10,000 legions of angles to defend Him...
But He didn't..
He received the sin nail

In His hands.

So why would I want to be anywhere else

but In His Hands?

Why would I seek to control my own life..

when the darkness of my own heart wants

to see me destroyed?

This day....
This moment...
I choose to stay

IN HIS HANDS!

God on you...

mbb

The Power Of Simple

Pondering life this morning...
I know...it's a pretty heady subject to be rolling around in my brain, especially since I haven't had my first cup of coffee.
What about life? What has me so wrapped up in my thoughts?
Well, to put it bluntly, the simple things that we sometimes lose track of.

The simple things we find in the natural surroundings, as well as the simple we find in the kingdom. We have a tendency to not recognize the value of simple. I remember that one of the things that amazed me, when I was out at Rapha, was the appreciation that came to those who found new life in recovery. I remember seeing men standing outside at night, looking up at the stars, commenting.."Do you know how long it has been since I looked up at the night sky..it's so beautiful." Or how they would go on and on about the taste of coffee, and food in general since they were clean. These simple things are powerful, and they help to keep us grounded.

Me, I love the smell of fresh cut grass.
I love my wife's egg salad, which is usually a Saturday lunch staple here at Casa Bynum. I love laughing with friends over some silly story or joke. I'm crazy about old black and white westerns, where you did know the difference between good and bad by the color of the hat that was worn. I love the sound of snow falling, and the thunder and lightning far off when a summer shower is moving in. 

I could draft a list a mile long of the natural things...the simple things that mean a lot to me.
On the Spiritual side, I love to simply hang out and be with God's people. Every stinking Saturday night my flesh gets up around 2 p.m. because I know that I'm going to be heading out to the church for VRC. "Why don't you stay home....Why don't you just call someone and get them to be in charge...You need your rest, you've been going hard all week." You see, I know this is my flesh..that sin nature that seeks to leverage some measure of control over me. But as sure as the old side begins its conversation in my head, the Spirit of God in me rises up and reminds me that God is going to do something tonight and I would not want to miss it. He was right, I don't want to miss out on what God is doing. So I go, and I have never been disappointed by doing so.

Simple things? Never doubt the power of a simple gesture toward others when it comes to the Kingdom of God.
I get a text message every Friday morning, shortly after 3 a.m.
"Just to remind you that Jesus loves you, and so do I!!"
How cool is that. This person takes time out of their early rising to text me and remind me of a great truth. I cannot explain what an encouragement this is. Simple, yet powerful.

Never underestimate the power of a smile to someone who is down.
A smile...a gentle word of encouragement. Oh not that syrupy, Hall-mark kind of sentimental encouragement...but rather the simple, powerful truth of the Kingdom.
Never downplay the power of a hug or handshake...Such translates the idea of the love of God.

I have a good friend who related an experience he had at his first A.A. meeting. He explained that he had to get drunk to attend because it was almost overwhelming for him to do so. The thing that always grabs me when I think on his story is what made the most impact on him. It wasn't the testimony of those who were in similar situations as my friend. It wasn't anything from the Big Book. The thing that impacted my friend the most was that someone met him when he walked through the door, handed him a cup of coffee and some cookies, and said, "Come sit with me".  Like I said, it is the Power found in the simple things. May you find such Power today.

God on you...
mbb

Revival

Psalm 85:6
Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?


Definition of REVIVAL
"God's quickening visitation of his people, touching their hearts and deepening his work of grace in their lives." J. I. Packer 

I've been praying for a "recovery" revival for a number of years. I believe it is on God's heart to have a visitation among those who are trapped in the hell we call addiction. I also truly believe that such a revival will not take place until all of us who serve and answer a call to recovery submit ourselves totally to the work of God's Holy Spirit.

Allowing this move of God to start with us.
Cleaning out our own closets of the hidden, secret sin that we think we can hide from God. Oh, we may not be taking up the pipe, the pill or the bottle, but we have secrets of our own that we hide beneath our Pharisee robes. Dare we be transparent and honest? What would people think? Well, I think maybe the more important question we should be asking ourselves is "What does God think about our hidden sins?" We may not be using or slipping around in the darkness to visit old friends in old places, but are we holding onto grudges? Is there bitterness in our hearts? Do we harbor unforgiveness? And the most important thing of all....Have we ignored the things of God? Have we forgotten our first love, Jesus? Have we become so saturated with doing and going that we fail to realize the importance of simply "BEING!" Being the kind of child that pleases the Father. Being a servant to those who come through our doors to the meetings each week. More than that, are we servants in our daily lives?

Every time I begin to pray for God to come and bring revival, I have this picture of a huge fire...I mean a ginormous fire, with flames towering into the night. Flames that light up the darkness driving back the dark and shadows. All around the fire are people who have come to see what was happening. And the main question they ask is "What is on fire? What caused this fire?" The fuel for such a fire to take place is our hearts that have been touched and awakened by God.  IF we allow this revival, this move of God to begin with us, we will see people come to a saving knowledge of this Jesus we have fallen in love with.

I do not want to be the one who stands in the way of God's plans.
I do not want to have a hard heart and a stubbornness that keeps others from finding the life that God has invited all to join.
I want to be a part of the fire...
I want to be a Romans 12:1 kind of person.
A living sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto God.
I want His life, not mind.
When we all can come to this point........
I think maybe we will see true revival in our meetings, in our lives, and in the lives of others.

God on you..
mbb

Them Bones Still Have Life

Ezekiel 37:11
....."We have become old, dry bones----all hope is gone."

What an incredible visual that depicts life in addiction....Let me rephrase that....
What an incredible visual that depicts existence. There isn't any life to be found in the downward slide into the darkness of addiction.

Addiction does not take into account the reason a person starts to use.
Addiction does not differentiate between ethnic groups....educated or uneducated...college graduate or high school drop out. After all, addiction is an equal opportunity destroyer.

Little by little, bit by bit, life is traded away for a feeling...
Future's are exchanged for a moment that eventually piles up to become a destructive past that will only define any future you may have.

I love the story found in Ezekiel 37. God takes Ezekiel out into a valley that is filled with dry, dead bones. No life at all...not ever marrow is found in these bones. They have laid out under the baking sun that sucked every bit of life from them. Having no life only breeds the idea of having no hope. When hope is gone there's not much more to live for.

Same with addiction. When you reach a certain point in this downward journey, hope is lost and there is a resolve that you have crossed the point of believing that you can be saved. You begin to wander day to day under the direct false belief that "I am what I am...I am hopeless...I cannot change." With that being the dominant thought, why would you ever believe that it was within your reach to be helped out of this proverbial valley of dry, dead bones. Here in lies the rub, so to speak. We truly have to seek a power greater than ourselves to lift us up and provide "breath" for us to have this new life. We are incapable of doing this ourselves. As I have written so many times before....that Power has a name..........and that name is Jesus.

If you look at verse 10 of Ezekiel 37, you'll see that this exchange of the old life for the new one has a purpose behind it. We read where Ezekiel obeyed God by speaking to this valley full of dry bones. Doing so started a reaction as the Spirit of the Living God came in contact with the Dead bones. Death never wins over the Spirit. Bone found bone....rattling across that wilderness floor. Foot bone moved and found the leg bone it was supposed to be attached to. God took a chaotic mess and brought divine order and purpose to it. Ezekiel writes..."Breath came upon them.....they stood upon their feet." Are you ready for this next part? They became an exceedingly great army.

Interesting choice of words.....great army.
Army has a purpose behind it. War....conflict.
So this valley of dry bones, when rightly touched and assembled by the hand of God had a purpose to its very existence.
Do you not see that when you step back and look at the larger picture of recovery, you'll see a vast army of dead men and women being brought back to life. An army that will go back into the darkness and snatch others from their own "dry bone" existence. We are an army that has been touched by Almighty God...filled with gratitude for what has been freely given to us by Him. Such gratitude not only fuels us to move forward in our personal life, but also reach out to others along the way. Seek God today....ask Him, "What would you have me do? He'll show you. You can bet on that.

God on you...
mbb

The Little Foxes Will Do You In

(Reprint from August 2013)

Song Of Songs Chapter 2:15

"Quick! Catch all the little foxes before they ruin the vineyard of your love, for the grapevines are all in blossom."

Interesting verse this morning, isn't it?

What does it have to do with anything? Well, if you look closely you'll see some good instruction on what to beware of.

Scripture presents us with the image of our Lord as the true Vine and Christians as the fruit bearing branches. Every believer is a branch, a little vine in the true Vine, Jesus Christ, bearing fruit for God. Unfortunately, the fruit of many branches are being destroyed and the vines devastated by little foxes. Every lesser sin is a little fox which spoils the branches by tearing them apart and devouring the grapes. Thus Solomon said: Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. (Song of Solomon 2:15) and James warns, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (1:15).

Understand that what is symbolized here (the little foxes) are not wolves in sheep’s clothing that we read about in Scripture. The symbol of the little foxes are not the obvious evil sins that stand out for others to see.The little foxes are the sins that are all too often overlooked or ignored, but are nevertheless ruining the vineyards that are in bloom. The little foxes are sin that we excuse. "It really isn't hurting anyone." That may seem true, but it is destroying your ability to produce the fruit God wants to come from your life.

However small or young these little foxes, or sins, may be, they still carry within themselves a destructive nature. Foxes are sly creatures, mischievous and deceitful, hungry and voracious. They are cunning and will come upon us under cover to feed upon the fruit of our vines and it does not take them long to fatten into big foxes. The once little sin well fed and long nourished, outgrows any other sins in our sin nature, or flesh. These little foxes, now small and nourishing themselves on our vine, destroy any growth that has taken place in our lives.


The problem with little sins is that if they are not caught and destroyed, they grow. The so-called little “white lie” soon becomes the golly-whopper big “black lie.” As these little foxes fatten themselves , and grow more evil,  the once pure in heart becomes dark, hard, and full of secret sin. We must catch the little foxes before they ruin the vineyards.


For someone who is on the road to recovery, it is the "little foxes"...the little sins, left unchecked that will derail us and move us back toward our old lifestyle. That is why a support group and a sponsor are so important to aid us in staying clean and sober. We confess when the little foxes come to destroy the tender young things God is growing in our hearts. We do not move back into the shadows and live our lives with this secret. We drag it out into the glorious light of God's forgiveness where it can be deal with. 

Guard yourselves today....
Don't excuse the little foxes in your life that seek to destroy the vineyard God is growing in you.
Think on these things...

God on you....
mb