What We Are Made Of

The kids are back. Its is so good to have them back. In my earlier posts I commented on learning from them. I also commented on myself. If you don't know me, I used to be alot of things. I am an average guy from an average childhood from above average parents. My folks taught me everything I needed to know to be successful in life. The problem was I did not apply it in a fashion that led to success. I did most of life the hard way. My way. I like to tell folks that sure, I knew Jesus. I knew Him well enough to run from the responsiblity of the way we are to be. I knew the right way but the farther that life took me away from the right way the more impossible it seemed to just get back to the starting line. You know, that place where you even feel like you can ask God to help you. I have learned that we cannot clean ourselves up, work our way back and sober up so we can be presentable to God. When it sucks the worst is when we need Him the most. The most frightening thing I have discovered about my life is that the "sucking" part was disguised as a normal way of being. my life was broken from the start and I didn't even know it.

I gained an immeasurable amount of wisdom because Christ let me survive in brokeness long enough to find Him. Brokeness relieved by relationship with Christ is loss turned into wisdom. When we survive life long enough to develope a relationship with the Creator of the Universe we have some seriously valuable information that is designed to be shared with others. It is not for us to hide our life experiences but to share them with others in the glorious hope of introducing others to Christ. I have some things to share with you.

Yesterday my 11 year old boy told me he wanted the Amazing Grace DVD by Louis Giglio. I told him that I'd never heard of it until last Wednesday when I was leaving The Union Resuce Mission where I teach the Men's Recovery Center's Discipleship Class. We spend ten Wednesdays in the last three months of their nine month drug rehab studying Max Kucado's workbook, Discovering The Heart Of Jesus. I Also have developed ten life applications that are patterned off the Ten Commandments designed to better prepare these men to re-enter society and maintain their relationship with Jesus and not fall prey to relapse. As we were leaving our last class on 'Wednesday, several men came in and said they were going to watch the Amazing Grace video. When my son mentioned it to me yesterday I knews there was no coincidence, we went and purchased it together. Last night, he, his Mom and I watched it togather. To sum it up, it was great. We were all crying because of the Magesty of God and the way the Holy Ghost moved in us as we heard the Truth.

I found it even more touching because the lesson we had at the Mission this past Wedneday mirrored the Amazing Grace video. The kind of thing that gives you the chill bumps. I was the lost man once. I was the wore out, broken, hopeless drug addict that found refuge and healing at the Mission. I was Godless and desperate and Jesus was waiting for me there. Now I am honored to help these men find the purpose and joy available through relationship with Christ that the Mission provided for me.

We had covered the Tenth Commandment last Wednesday, "Thou Shalt not Covet." The life application was "Living with satisfaction and contentment." We discussed at length the nature of covetousness and how to recognise the relationship you have had with Jesus for almost nine months now.
We often forget that our relationship is a confidence builder. We forget that all conversations directed to Jesus, to others about Jesus, our private thoughts and contemplations regarding Jesus are all prayer. These are the elements of relationship with God. These are the acts that define Paul's statement to "pray without ceasing."
These are some elements of the conversation I had with the men this past Wednesday. Then we got to the place in conversation where the Holy Spirit takes over the direction of conversation and it became evident that these guys didn't understand that the "thing" in Jesus Christ was the same exact "thing" that is in them and me and you, in all of us that know Jesus as our Savior. The God of Creation put Himself in Jesus. The essence of God is in the identity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was and is in Jesus and is in us today. We are tied and linked to Jesus by the very DNA of God Himself. That is why the Bible says we are heirs, even joint heirs with Christ. The Bible calls us Royalty. We are thusly called because we have been grafted into Gods family. We are called His children. We are bought and paid for by the blood sacrifice of Christ. Wholly owned and tenderly kept by this same universe building star breather that Luis Giglio describes in his DVD. If you are feeling low useless take heart. If you are broken and lost realize now that you are one change of heart, one sentence of desperation, one exclamation of surrender from falling into the open arms of the Christ that hung the heavens with His voice and gave His life for you. You are one moment from the need that screams at your insides in the darkest and most quiet of moments. In your DNA is the truth. The knowledge of this truth is caked and coated with the scabs and refuse of this world. The lost, broken, desperate life that you live is what melts this barrier from your Truth. When you feel that "thing" in your guts screaming at you for help. Thats the moment to cry out to Jesus. He will be there. You already know what this means cause most likely you've done it a time or two. If you want help in figuring out how to navigate this experience, please post a responce to this blog. I live to help you. Jesus did this for me. He wants to do it for you too. Thank you and God bless you.