Worthy

I have a worn dollar bill tucked away in my wallet. It's away from the other bills that are crisp, folded and ready to spend. There is a tear that almost splits the paper in half, and without a little clear tape--it's not likely to be accepted at any store. It's my reminder of value.

There is one place that will take that dollar. In fact, they will take it and give me a brand new crisp dollar bill in return for it. The bank actually has an agreement with the place the dollar came from: the Federal Reserve. If you read the bill carefully, you can find out a lot about it's origin and age. Signatures, imprints and serial numbers call out each bill as unique.

For every dollar they get, that government entity recognizes it as legal tender. Dollar for dollar, coin for coin. As long as it's a little over half there, they count it as whole.

Counterfeit bills don't make it back out into circulation. You can't even get an even trade for it. Once it's flagged, it's bagged and the route from which it came is traced to the culprit who tried to fool the system. Fire is it's destination.

Real currency that is torn, stained and ragged is returned to the Federal Reserve where they print more to replace them. And the tattered money is incinerated. Never to be seen again.

I know people who wouldn't pick up a penny, much less a damaged dollar bill. They can't see the true value laying at their feet.

Have you ever looked into the eyes of someone who's been torn apart by the world? How about someone tattered by substance abuse? What about those who are half there because a physical or emotional abuse have left them hanging? Or have you crossed paths with the one who wears their sin as clear as a torn dollar bill, and can't seem to fix it on their own?

The world will say there is no value in that person. The world will say to lock them up, take them out of circulation...they add no value to this earth.

But the Creator of that soul knows full well the value of that human. They have His imprint, His signature, He strung together their DNA...He knows their name and the path that has dropped them at His feet. Where others will step over them and abandon them, God stoops, reaches out and grasps them in His fingertips.

"There you are! I knew I'd find you...my treasure!"

And in God's hands, something amazing happens. That torn human becomes reborn. The tattered life is renewed, the battered soul is bright and fresh again. Where once stood a devalued life, now stands a priceless child of God--ready to face the fire that would've suffocated them before. Because a new life is not without it's trials and consequences.

It's time to spend your life wisely.  The price has already been paid for us. Let's look forward in 2017 and dream of God-possibilities!



"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10

Them Bones

How many of you have had a broken bone? Was it an arm or leg? What was the purpose of the cast? What would have happened if the bone started to grow back wrong? Resetting a bone can be a painful experience. There can be pins, plates and rods that are involved.  If it’s not done, the patient can be crippled for life. Doesn’t it help to know someone else who had that procedure and can walk you through what to expect?

 

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. Ezekiel 37:1-2 (ESV)

 

I told someone the other day that a Celebrate Recovery Step Study we have at Central Life is a lot like resetting a broken bone that healed wrong.

 

Now stick with me—don’t get freaked out! If you are committed to this, a step study walks you through a process of healing that is necessary and sometimes painful. The key is to keep moving forward with the next step—and never go farther than the chapter you are studying for the week!

 

We come to CR because there is something not quite right in our life—something that has hobbled us. The first study book shows you how much damage there is. There might be more than you thought. You should be prepared to work on the most crucial area first. There will be tears and bravery is necessary. You step out of denial and with the help of the Step Study leader, your accountability partners and eventually a sponsor…plans are made for emotional and spiritual surgery.

 

In book 2 and 3, the most painful part is accomplished and the pins, rods, plates and cast are in place. The healing begins. The structure seems rigid, however it is there for a reason: to keep you aligned with God’s word. There will still be some pain involved, but the laughter will come more often. You will become close friends with people that are braver than you are. It is a safe place as long as the procedures are followed.

 

Beware: quitting a Step Study or not doing the homework is like not using the cast and crutches the doctor provided. Pretty soon you will be back to the broken life that isn’t properly healed. The habits and hurts flood back in and you can acquire even more brokenness and pain.

 

It is possible, if I hadn’t been through it myself, I wouldn’t ask you to try.

 

The last book shows you how to grow and move in this healing. It’s a lot like physical therapy after the cast is off. The recovery is not complete without these final chapters. When you learn new habits, you replace the old ways of doing things so you will avoid further injury.

 

Once you complete the Step Study, you are not done with CR. In fact, the recovery in one area may reveal deeper hurts that need healing that would have never surfaced before. Going through multiple Step Studies is not a sign of failure. It is a sign of surrender to God’s healing.

 

When you have completed your first Step Study, why not consider becoming a sponsor or Step Study leader? There are many broken lives out there that need resetting. They need to see someone with similar hurts and habits that survived the process.

 

I used to invite others to CR before even attending meetings consistently. I look back and wonder how I could ever ask someone to take such a painful step if I had never attempted it myself. I am evidence that the process works.

 

My prayer for the future step studies comes from a passage in Ezekiel 37.

 

Heavenly Father, may you look upon these broken bones and breathe new life into them. Raise up leaders, sponsors and accountability partners. We need an army Father! Pour out your healing upon us. Make us ready to serve, ready to speak and ready to love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Go Green

'Tis the season for wildfires and so far we've come away unscathed. On the way to the grocery store, there are scars of fires that riddle my neighborhood. Once the fire was finally out, smoke hung in the heat of the day. It was enough to make your throat sore for days. As I drove by the blackened acres, it amazed me how much farther in to the brush you could see. Where one section was seemingly impassable by kudzu and palmetto, stark black trunks stood bare for any passerby to ogle at. After about a week, the remaining pine trees dropped their needles to the floor. A fine layer of brown seemed to carpet the charred ground.

The thing that always amazes me is after about three weeks the palmetto bushes begin to change. Before the fire, they were great green fans that sheltered animals and made any meandering through the woods very difficult. Afterwards, the plants trunks looked like writhing black snakes on the ground, easily stepped over. But give them three weeks or so, this seemingly dead plant sends out a flare of green. You see, the palmetto is very resilient and hard to kill.

It's a beautiful sight to see shots of green amongst the black. The green is so bright and sharp, it's almost as if someone tagged each plant with a garish green flag--the green flag of "Go!".

I wonder how many lives out there feel blackened and charred by a wildfire that Life has sparked. Do you only see the damage and ruin caused by words, abuse or natural disaster? The human soul is like a palmetto plant. Take time to mourn, to lay dormant and allow others to cloak you with comfort. But do not linger there because depression can set in and you will remain down, your growth stunted.

My God is in the renewal business. No matter how bad it gets, no matter how much you think you can't stand, He is there to comfort, restore and renew. Yes you will still have the scars of the past, but the new growth that comes will be like the new growth of a blackened palmetto. The contrast of life against death will cause others to stop and wonder--just who is this Jesus you believe in?