IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT

 

Romans 6:3-4

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Any time we get to baptize someone at ReCOVERY Church, it is a joy and blessing. Such happened last night. I know that on the surface, it just looks like we put someone in water, push them down, then lift them up. And in the natural that is exactly what takes place. But on the Spiritual side (which we see by faith) a death and resurrection takes place.

There is a divine separation as the old man (sinful heart and nature) is buried. Symbolically, when we lower someone under the water, that is the same as if we put their body in the grave.

There under that water, they are cut off from the world. When we bring them up. Let me stop right here.....they don't get up by themselves. They don't rise up in their own strength or ability. There are hands that lay hold of them and lift them from the water. What does this mean? it means that I can't resurrect myself from my old life. I can choose to kill that sin nature that is at the very core of who I am, but I cannot resurrect myself into a new life. The Holy Spirit of God is the one who accomplishes this. 

So when we lift a person out of the water, they are not the same one who was buried. The transformation is complete, as they have identified themselves with Christ.

II Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. Old things have passed and behold all things have become new.

So the individual who came to be baptized last night, was not the same one who left after the service was over.

Please pray for this person as they grow and mature in Christ.

It was a good night.....

It was a God night......

God on you....

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Revival by Robin Mark with Lyrics

Hatred flows no longer down dark alleys or side streets. It has spilled over onto the main thorough fares and streets of towns across our nation.

Division has become a weapon in the hands of those whose minds are blind. Blinded by the god of this age.

Hope seems to be in short supply. 

People have rejected God.....

His Word is seen as nothing more than a collection of outdated sayings and pie-in-the-sky philosophy.

Church is what your older relatives use to attend.

And out there floating among all this chaos is a dark voice.

A voice that soothes and comforts a fearful heart with empty promises.

The voice offers drugs and drink of every sort, all guaranteed to take away the pain and worry.

It is a tempting offer, and some choose to accept it, only to find the emptiness that dwells within.

Yet, the division, the hatred, the ungodly mindset continues.

If ever there was a time for God to pour out a Revival upon our nation, it is now.

If ever there was a people in need of saving, we are those people.

I cannot stand back and point my finger at others and declare, "God! Come to them...revive them...restore them..."  No! I have to look in my own heart and declare..."God! Come to me....revive me....restore me!"

I have been praying for such a move of God for a long time....

I will not stop because I  know our nation is ripe for such a move.

We are as dry wood, and you and I both know that it only takes a spark to fire up dry wood.

Let revival begin with God's house and restore our first love, that we may be who you created us to be.

Think on theses things, and see if your own heart cries for revival.

God on you....

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TOMORROW NIGHT @ ReCOVERY CHURCH

 

Looking forward to tomorrow night. Another opportunity to gather and just "BE" with God.

Sometimes, I think we have fallen prey to the idea that anytime we come together in a service or a meeting, we have to "DO" a list of things, or give the impression that busy-ness is a godly trait. I am in no way advocating that we just come and sit and stare at each other...no. I am saying that whatever we have planned should always be held loosely, giving the Holy Spirit room to move among us as He desires. God's plans are greater than mine, so I defer to Him.

The verse that has been on me all week is Revelation 12:11. When it comes to the topic of recovery and the Twelve Steps, we think we have an understanding of exactly what is happening to us as we move through them. But one of the things I have felt called to do is to look at the "POWER" and "PRESENCE" of Christ in this journey to sobriety.

Sometimes, early on, the battle is with substances: Alcohol, assorted drugs, and the lifestyle associated with using. So in our minds, we believe that if I simply clean up my act, get rid of old friends, change the places I use to hang out, and go to meetings, then everything will be peachy-keen. A friend of mine has a saying that I have never forgotten. "If you take a drunk horse thief and get him sober..........you still have a horse thief."

We have addressed the what of the addiction. We've identified that there is a problem. But we have done nothing to address why? I've had some tell me, "I don't have a problem....I just like the way it makes me feel." I know they were truthful, but in their answer (which they cannot see) is their problem. Character defect! Which came first? The sinful heart and nature that gives credence to being selfish. "I like the way it makes me feel." I like it so much that I did not care who I hurt, or who I had to use to get what I wanted.

If you take a look at the passage from Revelation 12, it reads, "And they have defeated (Or overcome) him (the devil) by THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, and by their TESTIMONY, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die."

Say what you will, but that verse contains a foundation for living. For meeting any and all situations that you may face. I know it reads all religious with phrases and words that seem to not make any sense. Blood of the Lamb? That would be the shed blood that Christ gave during his torture and time on the cross. What does that have to do with my addiction? Well, your actions stem from a heart that is in rebellion to God. Such is what "SELF" is all about. I don't need God....I don't want anything to do with God....I don't want to hear about God.

Living such a life puts you outside the will of God and his offer of life: Abundant life here and now, and eternal life once you die. In order to receive such a gift, a debt had to be paid in order for you to be offered such an incredible gift. Jesus took your place, my place, and the place of every human ever born on that cross and emptied himself as payment for our sins.

Hebrews 9:22- For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Without Jesus' gift of taking our place, we would face a debt that we could not pay, and have relationship with God.

So tomorrow night we are going to take a look at the Revelation passage in the light of being free from addiction. Bottom line in all of this? We all are in need of recovery ever since the couple in Genesis disobeyed God and had some fruit to eat.  We are all in need of salvation.

See you tomorrow night!

God on you...

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PAST? PRESENT? OR FUTURE?

 

Isaiah 53:6

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's PATHS to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

One of the most incredible things (to me) that happens when you come to Christ for salvation, is the break that occurs in your heart and mind to your past.

Forgiveness frees a person from all the baggage their past weighs them down with.

It's not a slate that is wiped clean so that you never see it or think about it, rather it is a healing that takes place within a person that frees them from the pain, shame and guilt that their past attacks them with.

It would be great if God would simply wipe away all traces of bad memories, bad thoughts, and all the toxic emotions that come with our past, but He doesn't. Here is where the miracle occurs to me. God takes our past, full of our sin and rebellion against Him, and He removes it from us. In other words, we are forgiven, and it is to God as if we'd never sinned. There is a cleansing and a healing that comes to us when we confess, repent and turn to Him.

So when the memories come creeping up concerning our past, God takes the shame and guilt away so that all we have is the memory. We can truly say, "Yep! That's what I did......but praise God, I'm forgiven and free". I like the way the Big Book of A.A. describes this thought process. "We do not wish to close the door on our past, nor do we wish to live there." In other words, our past has value when we use it to move forward in this new life we have been given by Christ. 

If my past truly has any value to it at all, it is to be fuel to move me to obey Christ even more. It allows me to see the selfishness and destruction that I created because of my rebellion against God. If my past could be defined it would be, "I wanted what I wanted, and I did not want anyone trying to run my life." Sounds good and all independent doesn't it. Well, it was a prison of my own construction that lured me into a thought process that led me down a dark, dark, path.

So today, I want thank God for the complete healing that He brings to those who are saved. As II Corinthians 5:17 tells us...."If was are in Christ, then we are a NEW CREATION....the old has gone, the new has come. Sounds good to me, how about you?

God on you...

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WHY?

 

Luke 6:46

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

Ouch! That's kind of a heavy questions this early in the morning. That is one thing I love about Jesus---He cuts right to the chase. Doesn't monkey around with the truth.

He is addressing His disciples (V.30) but there is a crowd that has gathered to listen, so I'm pretty sure He was including them. The heart of this verse and the question Jesus asked is even more relevant today in our time. I believe that people who are in addiction, want to be free from it. I believe that they truly want the pain and destruction to go away, so that when an invitation to be "SAVED" by Jesus is given, they are sincere in their desire to be free. But here is where the rub comes in. It is the whole "Make Jesus Lord of Their Life" thing that they either are not ready to surrender to, or they simply do not understand what it means.

What Does It Mean to Say That Jesus Christ is Lord? For Jesus to be Lord of your life means that He is the ruler, the boss, the master of your whole life. He cannot be Lord of a part – He must be given control of the entire life - the whole life. ... He wants to be Lord of our spiritual life and of our physical life. When we read the 3rd step of the Twelve steps, we read where that are to turn WILL AND LIFE over to the care of God. When someone steps in to take care of you, then there is an expectation that we will do what they want us to. Same here, except it is on a much larger scale that we can think or imagine. 

For Jesus to be Lord of my life means that I do not pick and choose when that is. I do not wholly give myself to Christ only to hold back certain behaviors or beliefs because I am not ready to turn loose of them. Addiction is "All Or Nothing" lifestyle. I don't know any half-hearted addicts. Same with having this new saving relationship with Christ. It is an all or nothing lifestyle. But the benefit is that Christ will equip me, empower me, direct me in the way that I should go, so as to move away and beyond that old lifestyle that was killing me. You see, addiction is basically "slow suicide". 

Jesus, in John 10:10, states that He has come into our time and space to give us life....and that we might have life abundantly.

Meth never promises this....

Heroin cannot give you this....

Alcohol doesn't have this at the bottom of the bottle...

Crack sure won't make things better....

But there it is....

Jesus' own words.

Who would make such a statement such a statement as this? Life and life Abundantly?

Who would make such a statement? One who could back His words up, that's who.

Make Him LORD of your life today....

God on you.

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WHAT AN AMAZING GOD!

Every person who stands to preach or proclaim the Word of God has detractors and supporters. Voices that cry "False prophet!" or "Truly a person of God!" I am no different. I have been spoken against by others on several occasions. Each time, I find myself asking God, "Show me the truth concerning these attacks." If there is spiritual blindness in me, help me to see and to seek Your removal of it.Such is the persecution that comes with preaching the truth. I am above no one. I submit myself to God and to others that they may show me any falsehood or deception in my heart.
My message? "JESUS the CHRIST!" His blood and His blood alone is the open door to a relationship and new life in God.

HE Alone Stands As The Power To Heal The Heart And Free Anyone From Addiction!

The reason I began this post in this manner is that I know some have their opinions concerning Reinhard Bonnke. No matter what you think, or how you feel...he stands to proclaim the Word of God in places that not too many actually visit. He goes into the darkest places (spiritually) in Africa to bring the news that there is freedom for the captives and liberty to the prisoner. 

I remember the first time I saw one of the crusades he was leading. It was years ago and I was going through an illness and could not sleep. I got up from bed and made my way to the living room, turning on the TV.
There I saw a camera shot of not thousands, not tens of thousands, but a million people standing to here the Word. As Reinhard Bonnke proclaimed the gospel of Jesus, I began to weep thinking to myself, "This is beyond comprehension!" Here in America we think we have done something if we can get a football stadium full. Here, in Africa...in Laos.....a million people had shown up for one thing....to hear the word of God.

Have the hearts of this nation become so dull that we no longer have need of such a message as the gospel? Are we complacent and apathetic to the point that we have no fear of God (that is called lawlessness)? Oh God! That you would burn Africa with Your Holy Spirit and bring healing and revival.
God! Do not forget us here in America...in some ways we are more lost than those in Africa. We had the Word and traded it for the temporal things to satisfy our flesh. In your mercy, remember us and send revival!
God on you...
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WHAT IS IN STORE FOR THIS WEEK?

 II Corinthians 4:16- Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

What a comforting thought.

That inward part of me- spirit, soul, body- is being renewed day by day. The shell of the outside is wasting away....feeling the effects of aging...getting weaker and slower...but the inward part is as relevant and vital now more than ever.

But I think maybe this "inward renewing" comes from being disciplined in our daily walk. Through study of the Word........prayer........sharing our story.....giving of our tithes and offerings.......helping others. In other words, being about the kingdom business in our daily lives.

I don't believe the renewing just happens. If I have a garden and I don't tend to it, it will become overgrown and taken over by the weeds and undergrowth, choking out the very life of what was planted. Same in our relationship with Christ. Yes, Salvation is a free gift from God to all who believe. But this "gift" has to be tended. 

And this daily renewal is not found by being a "Lone Ranger". One who isolates themselves away from others. We were created for relationship. We thrive when we connect ourselves to a community of like minded people. The incredible part in all of this is that a bond is formed by the Holy Spirit unlike any other. I have often said that if the Holy Spirit had tied me to a church family, I probably would not hang out with others. Without the Holy Spirit, we had nothing in common.....our interests were completely different....our view of life was not on the same wave length. But because Salvation brought us to God, and the Holy Spirit brought us to each other, our own personal stuff has been laid aside for a greater good.

That, my friend, is how the Kingdom operates. Think on this today!

God on you.....

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