HE WILL MEET US!!

 

The Ark of the Covenant. Ark, meaning box, was built by the Israelite's under the direction of Moses who had received instruction from God on "how to".  In Exodus 25:22 we read where God tells Moses, "I will meet you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel."

Imagine that! God gives a specific location where He will be and that He will communicate from that place. Instruction....
Guidance.....
Encouragement.....
Discipline.....
All given from this location. You might be busy during the day, but at some point drop what you were doing and walk over to the Tabernacle. Everyone did not have access to this Ark, only the High Priest. But even as one of the many Israelite's, you could at least be near when the High Priest went into the Most Holy place. You could watch as the priest's took the tabernacle down and moved the ark. As cool as this was, what God has done for us through the work of Jesus Christ is more amazing. I understand the fascination that the Ark holds for people. But what God has brought forth for humanity is beyond comprehension. No longer do we have to go to a tabernacle and offer sacrifices. No longer do we have to have someone else hear God for us. No longer do we have to rely on a system of ritual and tradition. We have a high priest who entered the Holy Place once and for all time, pouring his blood out to pay the ultimate price for the salvation of humanity.
If you notice the picture of the ark, you'll notice the two angels (Cherubim) on the cover or lid. Seems as thought the idea of Cherubim has been a staple in God's kingdom.

Genesis 3:24 - After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cherubim are a class of angels that guard access to God's presence (Ezek. 28:14). God, in the Exodus 25 passage, states that He would dwell between the Cherubim. Now let's flash forward to a tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem. A place of the dead. A place that holds nothing but memories of loved ones that have gone on. But here in this place we will find something very interesting. In this tomb the body of Jesus had been laid. Early on the first day of the week, women have gone to finish the burial preparation of Jesus. When they arrive they are greeted by a sight that has a familiar ring to it. John 20:12....."She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the others at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying."  Sound familiar? Two angles? Ark of the Covenant? 

God gave the Law to Moses and at the Ark, it was placed inside. Here the reality of man's ability and future was sealed. The Law gave definition to sin and sin brought forth death and destruction to humanity. But in the tomb, the Law was satisfied through death and resurrection of Jesus. Mankind would no longer die in their sins, because salvation had come. Now, here in this tomb, stood two angels to proclaim to the world that "He has risen!" What began as a gold box built by the hands of sinful man, ended with the power of the Holy Spirit invading death and taking back the glorified, risen Son of God. And it is because of this that I have access into the presence of God. It is because of this I can come boldly to the God's throne of Grace. It is because of Jesus, that the Law no longer holds sway over me. Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!..If that doesn't set you on fire, then your wood is wet.

God on you.....
mb

IT AIN'T MAGIC

 

Nehemiah 2:18
Then I told them of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build!" So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Story of Nehemiah...
God directed him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls that surrounded the town. Big task. hard work. But God said do it. Funny part in this call to work is that God empowered Nehemiah and all that were with him to accomplish this task. Nehemiah did not have an army of construction workers at his disposal to tackle this job. He had everyday people who may have done some construction, but the task was a call from God to finish no matter who said yes to it. Young, old, probably even the elderly. Maybe even those with disability. All called to work a project given to Nehemiah to finish. Why do it? Because God said to.

One thing we see over and over in recovery, is that some people don't want to do the work. They want the life....or at least they say they do, but they will not work the steps. They will not go to a meeting. They will not change anything. They just want their external circumstances to change. They want the pain to stop, in spite of their continuing to make bad choices. They want to get off the legal merry-go-round, but they won't quit making bad choices. In their minds, recovery=no more bad circumstances. They want this without any effort on their part. Sorry Charlie....it doesn't work that way.

Just like Nehemiah, the call to recovery is a call to rebuild the walls of your life.
To remove the rubble of years of bad decisions so that a new way of living can be constructed. Work? You bet. Are you alone in this task? No way. The God who flows through those Twelve Steps will empower you to see it through all the way. But you have to do the work. What's that old saying from the Big book? "God does for me what I cannot do for myself?" I think that's the way it goes.  After all, aren't we in search of a HIGHER POWER who could restore us to sanity? I think maybe yes we are. What is sanity? The ability to make sound decisions about my life. Well, once I make a sound decision, what next? Duh! Carry it out in your daily life. Act on the sound decision. Move in the direction it is leading you. In other words.....ACT! 

We do not have the luxury of sitting around waiting for recovery to bop us on the head like an apple falling off the tree. It doesn't work that way. But I see plenty of people with that mindset. To them recovery is being in treatment, away from all outside influence that may cause them to use. They do not do anything to address the real issue of their addiction, which is a heart problem. A broken relationship with God. I know there are physical ramifications to addiction. I know that there are mental aspects to addiction. But I also know that every addiction begins with a choice made to take that first drink...that first hit...that first needle and that first puff. But everyone one of those is a choice. Such begins with a dark heart listening to the old sin/nature. That dark voice that whispers inside "I want what I want, and I want it now!". Such a voice comes from the heart that is separated from God.

Recovery is work....
No one can do it but you....
But you don't have to do it in your own effort or ability....
You don't have to do it alone....
God is there...

God on you...
mbb

CAN'T WORK THE TWELVE STEPS AND NOT BUMP YOUR HEAD ON THE CROSS

 

Luke 9:23
And He said to all,"If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself (disown himself / forget / lose sight of himself and his own interest / refuse and give up himself) and take up his cross daily and follow me (Cleave steadfastly to Me / conform wholly to My example in living, and if need be, in dying also).

Recovery from addiction is more than the absence of drugs and alcohol.
Recovery is more than the absence of any mood altering chemical.
If that was all recovery was about then there wouldn't be any problems.
I would take you into a treatment program.....
lock you in a room.....
shove food and water under the door....
keep you there for 49 days, and then release you.
I guarantee you'd be free from the presence of your D.O.C in your system.
But the odds are that you'd go right back into that old lifestyle.
Why?
Because the problem isn't the drugs or alcohol.
The problem is you.

Recovery is the mending of a broken relationship.
We are born with a bent to do the wrong thing, to make the bad choice.
This bent manifests in different ways.
Not everyone who is born turns out to be an addict, but they still possess this bent none the less.
We born separated from God.
Oh, He is constantly reaching out to us, but because of this bent in our nature, we run from Him.
Sometime in the midst of running, we turn to other things for comfort, or to help us deal with our problems.
This is where everything goes south for someone with an addictive personality.

No one ever starts out to be an addict.
It is a progressive trail that takes the individual in a downward spiral toward destruction.
Addiction is really a lifestyle of compromise.
You will compromise family and friends for a feeling.
You will compromise your morals and values for a high.
You will compromise your freedom for the next hit.
And so on, and so on, and so on till you find yourself hitting rock bottom.
Sometimes you'd think that hitting bottom would bring a person to the senses to the fact of what has happened to their life. In some cases, when an addict hits rock bottom, they grab a shovel and dig a little more.
Sad but true.

So what is the answer for those who find themselves in this state?
If you check out the big book of A.A., you'll find a section titled "There Is A Solution". Isn't that a strange way to title a chapter? To be bold enough to state that for anyone in addiction there is a solution to the problem they are facing. So what is the magic bullet for this epidemic?
"A Vital Spiritual Experience".
There I said it, or rather I quoted it from the book.
The recognition that you don't have a drug or alcohol problem. 
You've got an identity crisis.
You have forgotten who you are.
And you have forgotten whose you are.
The greater need to break free from addiction is found in the love and forgiveness offered to you by Christ Jesus.
Of, and just for the record....
I'm not talking about church-Jesus...
Or denomination-Jesus....
Or religious-Jesus.
I'm talking about the real-deal Savior of all mankind.

Real recovery begins at the cross of Christ.
An acknowledgement of being powerless.
An acknowledgement of a life that has become unmanageable.
You have looked within and found no answers to your problem.
Now you have looked outward and found, in Christ, a POWER greater than yourself. Someone who could speak a Genesis week into your life and bring order out of the chaos.
Finding such a POWER you turn will and life over to His care. That is the very heart and basis for the verse at the beginning of this post. 
Jesus throws out an invitation to anyone who would desire to follow Him.
You loose the old ways....
You embrace a new way.....
You find new life in this relationship with Him.
Life that has escaped you in the past.
Why not reach out to Him today...
What do you have to loose?
Only....
Guilt...
Shame....
Fear....
Hopelessness....
and the list goes on and on...

God on you..
mb

WIND CAME TO TOWN

 

Psalm 150:6 - Let Everything that breathes sing praise to the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Nori and Barbie Kelley were in town this past weekend. Bringing praise and the Word, these two go by the name WIND. Funny how you can know something with your head, but forget it with your heart. Somewhere along the way it gets shuffled to a mental junk drawer along with your to-do list, and that book you've been meaning to read. Left there long enough, these things you once thought were important now gather dust and become no use to you. As time passes, they become covered with the dust of forgetfulness and you loose sight of them.

So along comes WIND that blows over these forgotten truths, and suddenly your heart is stirred to remember. The Holy Spirit brings them to the forefront where you suddenly are aware of what has happened to you as time has slipped by. You remember why you believed the way you do. You also see how the years have changed you so that what was once important seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle.

That is what happened to me last Friday night as I was at the church, along with a group of other folk, to worship with WIND. They played, they sang, they spoke, and as they did, God's wind blew into my heart and uncovered those hidden things I had allowed to slip away. 

#1 - My highest calling and purpose as a creation of God is to worship Him. Why? Because He has an ego? No, God has no ego. I worship because He is worthy to receive my praise and worship of Him and to Him. 

          A.) Don't confuse worship as just being music. Music is a vehicle in which we can offer our love and attitude of gratitude to a God who has saved us. Worship is a 24/ 7 / 365 lifestyle! Everything I do should be worship unto God.

         B.) Somewhere along the way, I forgot this. I had replaced it with "busyness"...what's worse is that it was religious busyness. But in the room last Friday night, I remembered. I told God how sorry I was that I had allowed His truth's to get buried under my own efforts and will. How sick am I? Just very grateful this morning that God sent His WIND to Gadsden to blow away the dust of religion so I could remember His truth.

It has been a really good weekend. Breakfast giveaway on Saturday (which WIND played at). We fed some folks. Got to pray for a lady who had the flu. He husband came with her to get some breakfast, she remained outside because she didn't want to anyone to catch it. Some of the women who are a part of the Core leadership group went out to pray healing upon her, to break this flu off so she could breathe.

Went to the 4 o'clock service at Gadsden Vineyard yesterday and led worship. God was gracious to manifest Himself in our presence as we sang praise and worship to Him. Todd Bagley brought the teaching. Just what I needed to hear. This morning I see myself as having been put back together by God. I do not know what this day may hold...what situations I may face, but I do know that as I follow Jesus into it, I will weather whatever comes my way.

I've rambled enough. Thanks for letting me share.

Michael b

STABILITY IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM

 

Got up this morning, but things didn't feel any different. Still had some stiffness and "crinkle-cracks" that come with age. Despite my feelings change had taken place.

Time had changed (at least the way we measure it). The world had changed because of events that took place while I slept. Weather had changed as the temperature dropped during the night. Change was all around me. We all changed by the fact that we were another day older. life is about change, and nothing we say or do can stop it from dragging us forward.

No amount of anti-aging cream will keep you younger looking. That is just a fact of life. So as our planet whirls in its path around our sun, spinning from night to day, how is it possible to navigate this tsunami of change that seeks to drown us all? Well, I thought you'd never ask. We find a monumental statement in the book of Malachi. A bedrock statement that even time or change can chisel away on. A truth that has stood the test of time (and will continue to do so)

Malachi 3:6 - "I am the Lord, and I do not change."

Hebrews 13:8- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever."

So what is it I'm trying to say? When life gets you by the throat and you feel like everything is coming apart...turn to Jesus. He is (as Scripture tells us) a rock...a solid place on which to stand and not be swept away. Change is a part of life, but the real test is how do we handle all this change. Who are we going to lean into when life-winds blow hard?

Seek Him today, while He may be found. As Step # 3 tells us...."Turn will and life over to His care (Because He cares for you).

God on you this Sunday morning!

Michael b.

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

                                        Excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's

"The Cost of Discipleship"

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Privation is the lot of the disciples in every sphere of their lives. They are the "Poor". They have no security, no possessions to call their own, not even a foot of earth to call their home, no earth society to claim their absolute allegiance. Nay more, they have no spiritual power, experience of knowledge to afford them consolation or security.

For His sake they have lost all. In following Him they lost even their own selves, and everything that could make them rich. Now they are poor-----so inexperienced, so stupid, that they have no other hope but Him who called them. Jesus knows all about the others too, the representatives and preachers of the national religion, who enjoy greatness and renown, whose feet are firmly planted on the earth, who are deeply rooted in the culture and piety of the people and molded by the spirit of the age. Yet it is not they, but the disciples who are called blessed---theirs is the kingdom of heaven

The kingdom dawns on them, the little band who for the sake of Jesus live a life of absolute renunciation and poverty. And in that very poverty they are heirs of the kingdom. They have their treasure in secret, they find it on the cross, and they have the promise that they will one day visibly enjoy the glory of the kingdom, which in principal is already realized in the utter poverty of the cross.

My Thoughts

Sometimes when you read passages like Bonhoeffer wrote it makes you uncomfortable. I think the uneasiness comes from the simple fact that we know we have read truth. But it is a truth that runs counter to what the church teaches. Church has become a commodity that is dispensed every Sunday morning to consumers. Our signs proclaim..."Come and be blessed".....very seldom, if ever, do we proclaim..."Come and die". I don't think that would draw much of a crowd. Am I anti-blessing? Of course not. But the blessing that are given from the hand of God are not intended to satisfy your flesh. If anything, they are to set you ablaze for to see the Kingdom extended. To see people healed and restores. TO see souls saved and added to the Kingdom. 

Salvation is free..

It is a gift from God to all who would believe.

A gift to all who would receive.

But the life we are called to lead costs us. I think the church has done a terrible disservice to God and to those who fill the chairs and pews, proclaiming a message of come and be forgiven. Come and receive Christ and you won't have to change anything in your life. Oh, we may not actually say those words, but that is the subtle message that is being sent out. A cross-less Christ who hands out forgiveness like chocolates to children.

If you go into the main hall at Gadsden Vineyard Church, there is a painting hanging on the wall. It is the motto of the Moravian's. They were a community of displaced believers who were cast out of their own country because of their faith. They eventually settled on the estate of a German Nobleman named Count Von Zinzindorf. They established a settlement there they called Hernhut. Their motto reads........To Win For The Lamb The Rewards Of His Suffering. That became the zeal and passion of this people who truly lost everything. That their very lives were to be spent on Christ. To be about the Kingdom Business. Each member sought out God for direction in how this passion was to be directed. 

The motto of The Recovery Church is Following In His Steps.We chose this because of our focus on helping those in addiction, as well as those who are beginning this new journey in recovery. WE are believers who adhere and believe in the Twelve Steps as a discipline and a set of boundaries for recovery. Jesus is the Higher Power, we make no apologies for that. How can you read Step # 3 and see that we are to turn will and life over to His care,and then simply decide I will do what I want to do? Yo can't. When we state that we are living by Following In His Steps, we mean it. Just like the disciples we are poor in Spirit. But also like the disciples, we have inherited the Kingdom Rule of heaven in our life.

I guess this is another reason I enjoy watching God work among those in addiction. By the time we encounter someone, they pretty much have lost everything, or at least are painfully aware that if change doesn't happen, they will loose everything. They are hungry to know that this God is real. They are ready to change. That is why Saturday night's are so important to me and to the core leadership of ReCovery Church. It is a door way not only to someone in addiction, but also to us who make up the core leadership to a new way of living. Not the meeting, mind you........but the introduction of God into the dark heart and life of someone who is in bondage to drugs and alcohol.

I guess Brian Duncan summed it up best in his song, "WE ALL NEED"...when he says, "We all need a Savior".

God on you...

mb 

OPENED OR CLOSED?

 

Acts 16:14- A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

Did you catch what this verse said?  There was a lady, Lydia, listening to Paul teach. Now I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I do believe old Paul could preach a good message. Not good by this world's standards, but he had some "good seed" he was slinging out as he talked.

What happened next did not happen because this woman prayed for understanding. We have no record of her praying, asking God to help her make sense of what Paul was saying. But what happens next is something that I think a lot of folks tend to forget.

"And the Lord opened her heart to respond...." It wasn't Paul who did this. Paul was simply being obedient in what he was teaching. God had given him the message, and as far as Paul was concerned his only obligation was to handle the word correctly, and speak it. But here in this mix we see a Sovereign God bring intersection between His word, and a woman who needed to hear it. Don't casually roll over the words of this verse around in your heart and mind. Fully understand the way God interacts with us.

What power God must possess that He can push thoughts away, drive down human intellect, and clear a path so that His word can go to the very center of this woman. There was purpose in this action. God wanted her to hear this truth, not for truth's sake, but for her to be brought into His Kingdom plans. 

Now, the other part of this interaction between God and Lydia, we sometime glaze over not giving it much thought at all. That little group of words also found in the verse from Acts 16. "She was a worshiper of God." More than music....more than praise choruses, her very life was worship unto God. Maybe we should take stock in our own lives and ask, "Am I a worshiper of God?" or do we worship other things? Might not be a bad time to take a spiritual inventory of our personal life and values to see where we stand. If we choose to do so, keep in mind we don't get to make the final decision, we ask God to show us the truth about ourselves. And if we don't like what God is showing us, do we change? Or do we push His view aside to convince ourselves that we are o.k. spiritually?

Personally, I want to be like Lydia. I want to be a true worshiper of God, placing myself in a position where I can hear Him when He moves upon my heart. Thanks for letting me share this morning.

God on you....

Michael b.