IT IS TIME TO GET OFF THE ROLLER COASTER

 

We walk.....we move....we live.....we make our decisions...we function every day in one of two ways....
By sight....
Or by faith....
Scripture confirms which approach to life we should take.

II Corinthians 5:7
We walk by faith and not by sight.
The Message Bible puts it like this: It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going.
Simple truth....if we claim to be a follower of Jesus, we live by faith.
We no longer can claim to operate by our senses alone. In fact, living by my senses got me into the mess that brought me to Jesus for salvation. Me trying to be the captain of my ship. Never mind that I had dashed the ship to pieces on the rocks of life. I was at the helm following what I thought to be the right path.

Lot of talk about faith. Lot's of people all up into faith. Great word "faith". It brings peace to some. But there is another word that creeps into this equation of living by faith that destroy's all peace and seeks to rule our hearts. What word would that be? Feelings.

You don't measure faith by how it 'feels'. You don't say that you're living by faith, when in fact you are on the roller coaster of feelings. The two do not, nor will they ever harmonize. It just isn't going to happen, yet this whole "feelings" thing has derailed many a follower of Jesus. We so desperately want feelings and faith to work hand in hand. To bring some assurance to us (through out feelings) when we are moving in faith. Well I can only speak for myself, but feelings are not a measure for how much faith you have. Faith that God is who He claims to be...Faith that He will do what He has promised to do is not bound or defined by my feelings.

My feelings can be sky high or down in the deepest pits and neither place is a measure of how great my God is. Feelings only serve to let me see and understand exactly how much more I need to have faith in God than to rely on my own senses (or feelings).

According to Hannah Whitall Smith's writing in the book I am currently going through (and quiet slowly might I add) is that, as human's, we have a hard time in relation to God because we want to "feel "that everything is right and amen. We cannot believe we are saved until we "feel" like we are. We cannot accept the fact that we are forgiven of sin until we "feel" like we've been forgiven. And because we do not "feel" these things, we cannot believe that God has taken us in hand and is leading us forward. Even though the truth of Scripture contradicts what we are feeling, we have a tendency to reject the truth and fall upon the sword of our feelings. Now I love it when my feelings line up with what Scripture says....and I experience this wonderful bliss of being in tune with what God is doing. But following by faith has to be the first and only measure of my choices, not my feelings.

The one thing that caught my eye in all of this is how she frames the way we approach life.
Hanna Whitall Smith wrote, "As usual, we put feelings first, and faith second, and the fact (or truth) last of all." We fail to grasp the simple understanding that God's unchanging rule in everything is Fact First.....Faith Second....and Feelings last of all. 

She goes on to write "We must believe before we feel, and often against our feelings,if we would honor God by our faith." Such is the life that you and I have been called to.
A life of faith....
Not one ruled by our feelings.

God on you...
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KEEPING THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING

 

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles , and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

This passage of Scripture from Hebrews describes a life spent in following Jesus, as being like a foot race. The main point we should see is that we are called to "run light". We are told to "Throw off everything that hinders us"....those things that distract us....take our attention away from what is important...we've got to get rid of them. Next we are instructed to rid ourselves of the "sin" which so easily entangles us. The idea here is those things ( behaviors and and attitudes) which seek to slow us in our journey, and even stop us or sidetrack us, we need to rid ourselves of such. 

Question # 1 - Think about what things have hindered you in moving forward in your relationship with Jesus.

Romans 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision (or room) for the flesh, to fulfill the lust that may rise up in you.
When the verse says "Make no provision", it means give if a place in your thoughts. Don't allow every thought that comes to your mind to just roll around in your brain. Why? Because if I allow a thought to gain access to my focus, then it becomes a larger desire. The desire then captures my attention, which, if left unchecked, has the potential for me to act on it.  Now, don't get me wrong in what I'm writing. You CANNOT STOP A THOUGHT FROM ENTERING YOUR MIND!!!! But you don't have to entertain such things.

If we allow these old thoughts access, we will inevitably find ourselves giving in during a time of weakness. Did you notice that the Romans 13 passage instructs us to "PUT ON" the Lord Jesus? Whenever I read this passage, for some reason I think of a very thick overcoat. Something that I put on to protect me against the weather. Well, when I am hidden in Christ, and I keep myself aware of being this way, hidden, then I am protected against whatever may come to me. 

As I run this life-race, and my focus remains on Christ, my heart and intent or strengthened so that when a temptation comes to me, I fully realize my own weakness and turn to Christ rather than embrace the temptation.
You see, this whole recovery thing isn't about being strong. It isn't about being able to stand and weather every wind of temptation and craving that comes my way....it's about being in touch with my weakness, and running to Christ.....turning to Christ when the temptation comes. 

II Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have  it to the full  (or abundant).

Don't allow the "little" thoughts a place, so that they turn into big sins....

God on you...

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NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEM

 

The illustration above point out a truth that many do not want to hear. A truth that some refuse to speak on from the pulpit and in the church.

Our government thinks the solution is more education. Teach the people...give them instruction..and they will do what they deem to be right. Herein is the problem. Any choice that is made comes from heart conviction. If the heart be sinful, then the choice will not be truthful or even holy.

The heart reveals the nature and character of people.

I remember during now former President Bill Clinton's first campaign for the presidency, the Republicans kept hammering at his character. Clinton's response? Character doesn't matter, it is the issues. I never will forget the sinking feeling that came to my spirit when I heard this statement. Character doesn't matter? It is the character of the man that determines the decisions he makes.

A heart that is not or has not surrendered to Jesus can only produce one kind of behavior.

Listed in Galatians 5 we read that list.

Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and the things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

God presents mankind in another verse, Jeremiah 17:10 -  The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it? The heart? Not that organ that pumps blood, but the very core of our being. The connection between our will, our ego and our intellect where our decision on how to act and what to do come forth. IF the heart is wicked and evil, then our actions and behaviors will reveal this.

One of the hardest things for someone in addiction to understand is that their addiction is a secondary thing. It is a symptom of a greater thing. The truth is that we suffer from a broken relationship with Jesus. Our hearts are wicked and full of sin. Sin? Sin is my self chosen independence to live my life with no interference from God on any level. When the woman was deceived in the garden of Eden by the serpent, the serpent put fort the idea that God has holding back from Adam and Eve. The serpent told her, "God surely knows that when you eat of the fruit, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God." Imagine that! The subtle promise that we can be like God. If I am like God, then I won't  need him. That is the very point that mankind traded away the promises of God.  Ever since that time, we have lived outside the will of God because of our sinful hearts and the nature that drives us to do that which is contrary to God's will.

It takes a heart-transplant from the divine heart of God to take us out of this old lifestyle.
King David knew this when he wrote in Psalm 51, "Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

According to the Twelve Steps:

Step #1 -  the total awareness that we are powerless to do the right thing. As Romans 7 reads.."That which I want to do, I do not do. That which I do not want to do, that is the very thing that I do." My friend that is powerlessness.

Step #2 - We come to believe in a Power that is greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity.

Sanity comes with the heart change which produces a life change.

Step #3 - We made a decision to turn our WILL and our LIFE over to the care of God as we understood Him .

We look to every excuse and reason to validate our bad behavior except to the truth of God.

Therapy will not relive the pain and destruction of sin.
Medication will not free you from the bondage of a life separated from God.

Group-thought and Validation will not confirm the reality of Jesus' saving grace.

We find the answer for our life and for our future at the foot of the cross.
There forgiveness is applied to a life a sin.
There we find the unspeakable joy of the Lord. A joy that the world can neither comprehend or duplicate.

It is the shed blood of Christ that ushers us into the "new" life we have been searching for.

That is why I write daily.
To share with you the joy that has been brought to my own life.

To share Jesus with you....
May you find Him today for yourself.

God on you....

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The Heart Of A Mother

 

John 19:25
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother................

What must it have been like to watch your son die. The son you gave birth to. The son you carried in your womb for nine months. Seeing him not just hanging from a cross, but nailed to it for all the world to see. Oh, you remembered the words of the angel Gabriel when he came to you years ago. Those words had brought you comfort and peace during times of great struggle and pain. But on this day the pain seemed greater than ever, and there seemed to be no way that you would ever be able to move beyond it.

You prayed that it could be you hanging there instead of your son. Those around you tried to get you to leave. "You don't need to be here....You don't need to view this." But this was your own son.

"Yes I do.

I will not leave my son." In your heart of hearts you knew this was God in flesh. You knew that. You fully understood the miracle that had taken place in your own body years ago when the Holy Spirit had come upon you with such power. In that instant, all the laws of nature and genetics were suspended and God invaded your time and space. You knew this. But you also knew that you and Jesus were connected in a way that no one ever could or ever would understand. 
You gave birth to Messiah....the Christ, but no matter what title may be attached to him, he would always be your son.

You had raised him to not be selfish.
Here on this day, He was carrying out the ultimate act of unselfishness.
He was giving his own life and blood as payment for the sin of the world. Sin that was birthed in the past...sin that was active and alive in the present...and sin yet to be birthed. Your son took it all upon himself and became the perfect lamb to be sacrificed as payment so that the debt would be cancelled.

You remembered the times you washed him and dressed him, singing his favorite songs. He loved music and the way it lifted the heart during dark times. He loved to sing songs to God, his father. You taught him this. But on this day, there were no songs. In three days there would be the ultimate victory song of resurrection. But that was 72 hours away, and 72 hours were an eternity.

You watched over him while he slept. Your prayers covered him. Yes, he was the Son of God.....but he was your son, and you were his mother.

In an age where people are measured by their accomplishments, Mary would simply pass as a nice woman who never achieved much with her life. How wrong could we ever be if we hold to that assumption. Today is a day to celebrate the one who gave us life. Our mothers. Mary was given one task to fulfill. Allow herself to be the one who birthed the Son of God. OF all the women in the world, God looked down on her as being the only one who could give him something he did not possess. A human body. 

She gave her very life to raise her son. Nothing else was more important. She saw his first steps. Heard his first words. Nursed him. Bandaged his cuts and dried his tears. Why? Because he may have been the Son of God....but he was her son also.  She kissed his face and laughed with him, and how he loved to laugh. She was his mother. You see, to me, that is the funny part in all of this. You can call Mary whatever you want. You can regal her and lift her to the heights.....but she was and always will be what some assume is the simplest of tasks. A mother. 

Peter, a lowly fisherman, went on to become a mighty man of God, eventually crucified on a cross also.

Paul wrote most of the New Testament and planted churches every where he went.

John, exiled to the isle of Patmos, was transported into the very throne room of heaven where he was shown wonders and visions of what was to take place.

James, the half brother of Jesus, was to become the father of the church in Jerusalem.

And the list goes on and on of the great people who gave their lives for the gospel of Jesus.

But Mary! That young virgin whose life was being mapped out through the engagement to Joseph. She gave up her life and body to become the vessel through which Messiah would come. And with those incredible words she spoke upon learning of her being chose by God, forever placed her name among the heroes of the faith. "Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word."

Happy Mother's Day...
Vicki...
Betty....
Mom.....

I honor you on this day for the sacrifices that you have made and the lives you have lived out in front of us all.

God on you....
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OCCUPYING THE FUTURE

 

Joshua 1:6
....Only be strong and of good courage.

Joshua 1:7
.....Only be strong and very courageous.

Joshua 1:9
.....Only be strong and of good courage.

Joshua 1:18
.....Only be strong and of good courage.

Moses had led Israel out of Egypt, and has been headed toward the Promised Land.
Forty years and an entire generation has passed.
Now, led by Joshua, the nation stands at the banks of the Jordan river. Directly ahead of them lays this land God has promised to give them.
For Forty years all they have heard is "The promise land....the promise land....we're going to the promise land." But now, here it is.

God has told them to go in and occupy it. Take it as their own. Drive out the pagan culture that has put its roots down deep into the soil of that area. There will be battles to be fought. But (And here is the kicker) God  has promised He would go with them and aid them in their effort to take the land.

It's no wonder There was fear among the people about crossing over.
This was not a well-oiled military machine like the Assyrians.
This was a nation of former slaves who fought when they needed to.
But this nation of ex-slaves had one thing going for them....
God had delivered them, and He would be faithful to the word He had given them that they would possess this land. So 4 times in the first Chapter of Joshua, the people were told to "Be strong and courageous."

So what does all this have to do with today?
Well, we've heard for years the word "Recovery".
"You can have a new life!"
"You can face the future and turn the page on your addiction!"
But when it comes to crossing over into this new life....well, that's another story.
We stand on the banks of our future staring across at the unknown.
We want to cut and run back to our old life.
It may be a painful past but it was ours, and we knew how to play the game, didn't we?

Now God has not promised us a "Promised Land"....
But He has said that we could have a "Promised life".
Just like those we read about in Joshua, we have to cross over into it...
Own it....
Occupy it....
Possess it....
Fight for it....
And all the while, if we do so, God has promised us that He would be there to strengthen us, guide us, and equip us for this new life.
Maybe we need to take heed of the verses from Joshua.
That the courage I need to lay hold of, comes when I recognize my own weakness. As Paul the apostle stated, "His Power is made perfect in my weakness."

Maybe it really is the day to cross over into the new life God has promised.
What do you say?

God on you.....
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OLD DOG---NEW TRICKS

 

Old Dog...Chewed a few bones. Ran a few rabbits. Got myself caught in some spiritual barbed wire in the process. Tore up and bleeding, I found my way back home. Oh I still have a hankering to run at night, but my bones tell me I'm better off curled up next to the fire. I guess wisdom does come with age. I am a mutt! Don't make no apologies for it, in fact, I'm pretty proud to be one.
All my mistakes have given me great wisdom...not of my own but given by God. My beautiful wife proudly proclaims for all to hear...."He is teachable." That means that I learn from my "barbed wire" encounters.

Don't claim to know all there is.
God loves me.
God has forgiven me.
 My name is in the book of life, not by my own doings but by my surrender of will and life. I know it's just Jesus! Nothing else is of importance if we can't wrap our heads (and hearts) around Jesus. It ain't an intellectual exercise or a mental ascent. It is a broken heart and a wide eyed understanding that He is God and I am not.

 He created me, not visa versa. It is a conviction brought to my life by the Holy Ghost that brought about my salvation. Have noticed how many folks don't use that term any more.....Holy Ghost? Almost like they are embarrassed by it. Holy Ghost! I like it. Of course Samuel Brengle (Salvation Army) use to refer to the Holy Ghost as the Hound of Heaven. I like that term..... Hound of heaven....kind makes you want to just give up and not run because you know there is no where you could be shed of Him. Once He picks up your scent (Yes Virginia...sin has a scent to it) He will track you down and tree you. Praise God that His Holy Ghost operates in this manner or else I'd still be up that tree hiding.

Too many folks trying to be spiritually important today. "Look at me! I have a message!" Too much self promotion going on. Advertise the latest and  newest and fanciest way to find God. Seems to me if you just invite Jesus into your meetings, that would draw folks. It's a wonder Jesus every got the "Christianity" thing off the ground without a good PR Man. NO advertising, no self-promotion....wow! 

I remember a man calling me when I was pastoring  at the Vineyard. He wanted to show me how I could grow the church and increase our giving. I wasn't to pleasant with the young Pharisee. Told him it wasn't my church. It was Jesus'. He built it and he would grow it if I stayed out of the way and cooperated with Him. Pretty much worked too. We did a Saturday night meeting for 4 years and was packed out each week. Didn't advertise nothing! (Yes, I know my English is atrocious.) Saw the Holy Spirit move in some incredible ways, touching the lives of those who were broken.

Now God has me in a part of His Kingdom dealing with dead people. That is how I take it when a person comes in trapped in addiction. They are just like Lazarus in the tomb. Dead so long they stink and wrapped up with no way out. It takes the voice of Jesus calling to them for freedom to come. Doesn't matter how bad they want out, until Jesus calls, they do not possess the power to free themselves.

Most people who are trying to move into a new life of recovery from addiction don't have a real good and true view of God and His Word. I simply try to teach what Scripture says. There is power in the "taught" word of God. Don't let anyone ever tell you different. I have seen God move in a group of men when I simply taught Scripture that contradicted what they believed. I didn't have to point it out or rail against them. I taught the word and the Holy Ghost came and convicted! Praise God! He is still at work in the hearts of men and women who are broken.

I have no idea where this particular posting come from. Well, maybe I do.
I know it may not make a lot of sense, after all, I do have a tendency to ramble.
Hopefully you saw something that encouraged you.
Thanks again for stopping by GREENE STREET LETTERS and reading it.
Share it with your friends. I don't have a copyright on anything. God gives...so do I.

My life verse:  Galatians 1:10 - For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

God on you...
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MIKE-BITE VIDEO = WALKING OUT THE WORD

 

Slipping in some of David's wisdom from Psalm 119.

The importance of doing more than just reading

the Word of God, but applying what we have learned

from our reading.