12 Stepping!

[Bobby Landreth]

Welcome to this blog. I am inviting you to visit the inside of of my mind and how it works, but most of all, I will allow you to look into my heart, this new heart that I wake up to every day. This Heart that is the same Heart that I was born with (plus the triple bypass from 2000)but it is different. I have noticed...each day I wake up it is getting stronger and bolder! Stop and listen to your heart beat, what do you hear?

I remember when I first actually allowed Jesus in to my heart to stay. I mean when I allowed or became willing to allow Him room. I would invite Him in, like most folks when I had messed everything up to the point I couldn't fix it, get on the knees and invite Him in...for real this time! Something was different this time, I felt different than before. I did notice that each time I would invite Him in...It was different each time. After I was done with Him working in my Heart(ok Jesus I have it from here Thanks for your help)and then put Him on the back corner, are you with me here?

Each Time I allowed Him into my heart, He would change me, He would make a difference and I started realizing that He was also changing that 18" difference....that space between your heart and your mind. It started to stick, it started to changing everything, the way I was looking at everything and everyone. See what would happen before is like Jesus going around checking out all the rooms in my heart. He started wanting to make changes, because after all He is the King of Kings..the Lord of Lord and He shouldn't have to live around such filth...such garbage, could He? He wanted the very best for me..so He started making suggestions(my friend calls this "nudging"), He started bringing things to me that needed to be gotten rid of. Hurts - Habits - Hang-ups - things I was addicted to, all the un forgiveness and bitterness and anger, did I mention un forgiveness? I had join a 12 step programs.

I tell you this because of the many years how I treated Him. I used Him and He never mentioned the many times before each time I called on His name(like we would to each other if we treated each other like we treat Him)He could have, but He never did. He would just love on me! Each Time He visited, He Always Made Me a Better Person. He never left me...I left Him, I got too busy for Him... It became all about me and my wants and what I thought I needed, the things I thought "I" needed to be done.

I mentioned the 12 steps programs? Step 1 is to realize I am powerless and that I am not God. A brokeness had to take place, He can in and started putting the pieces back together, time and time again. You remember Paul said "You become a new creation and give up the childess things?" I waited for the changes to come and after so many years, I began to realize somethings were not there anymore, He had removed them...wiped them clean out of my heart! What happened was I became willing to allow Him to stay and start the relief efforts in my heart! I had a real realationship with Him, never had before, thought I did....never happened.

I tell you this story because this is what I believe in my Heart of Heart He wants the Church to Hear! We are told that the Church is Jesus' Bride right? Have we(I did say we..so don't get your boxers in a bunch)be treating Her as that?

I believe there was a "crossroads" where we made some choices or decisions that was not about Him. It might have been budget issues, or member issues. It might have been some hurt issues, un forgiveness issues. Somewhere down the road at that crossroads we took our eyes off His eyes. We started staring at the teeth of the lion's in that den. we might have left anger or fear make some choices. We might not be staring at that once beautiful Bride of the King Of Kings - the Lord of Lords as His Bride, but as a building or piece of property. Somewhere it was not about Him, but about us. Somewhere we started treating her like a scarlet? Jesus Please forgive us!
Old recovery saying; "if you want something different than what you have...then you need to do something different than what you have been doing!" Guess what in 12 steps we also learn, "if we continue to do the same things, the same ways, we should not be surprised when we continue to get the same results." But don't we?

We can continue to move in the other directions and possibly get farther away from His will for the Church, His Bride and could we lose His Favor? Do we not realize that the Health of The people in the Church is only as good as The Church they attend? What if the Church Prayed about "Every" decision it makes and (wow here is a biggy)and waiting on the Lord to Answer? It is His Bride, we say it is His Home, but we don't allow Him to make decisions.....have we put Christ in a Nursing Home?

Step 1 Church.... We the people realize that we are now powerless over the choices we have made, the decisions we have made and we have decised that we are not God and we are willing to go back to the basics just as Christ Bride. Praying - P*U*S*H -Praying Until Something Happens! Start Loving "All" people as God's Children. Embracing them as Jesus Does. Reaching out and Ministering to them and loving them were their might be, Planting seeds Believing He will Harvest...that is not ours jobs, harvesting is His! Remember Jesus said we were to be "Fisher of Men?" Have you ever gone fishing with dead stinky bait? We do that everyday don't we? When we get back to His Basics, our nets get full!

Churches sometimes can not see this... I Pray that if your reading this, that you will step back and take a good look. Maybe there was a "crossroads" at your Church Family. Make sure you don't get wrapped up in DENIAL and look around the issues and say they aren't there. These are our issues, but give back to HIM Church and repent. When was the last time you heard Jesus' Heart Beating in Your life or At our Churches?

If you need help with this issue Pastor/Bishop/Elder/Deacon/Brother in Christ Let me know....this is what we do at www.AllAboutTheCross.org . Please drop us a note and let us Pray for you and your Church Family. I Love You and God Loves You!

In HIS Steps 1-1,000,000
Bobby Landreth