Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Step Twelve A.A.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28: 19-20

Not exactly the same but the concept is similar. Come to believe, then pass it on to others, showing them how to live a life of success. Why is this so important? We say you can't keep what you have unless you give it away. While that seems to make no sense whatsoever from a worldly perspective it makes total sense from a spiritual point of view.

How about this: Greater love has no one but this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 The ultimate example of this was what Jesus did for us, and then in everyday life, when a soldier jumps on a grenade to save his buddies, when a mother puts her life on the line to give birth, you understand this if you have seen or believe this.

The object in this life we have is not just about us, it's about the impact we have on others after we have learned how to live and what is most important. We pass this on to our children, grandchildren, friends, co-workers, other recovering people and people searching for the meaning of life.

As always Jesus said it best: Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Missionaries, soldiers, mothers, volunteers, they all understand this. This is our service to mankind - giving back when it sometimes makes no sense to do so.

​Think about that!

Perchance have I finally figured it out, love is not always a great big shout
It comes in all sizes, all colors and forms, love has so few regular norms
God taught us it's big and its bold, real love never gets old
We see it in a child, so fragile that it makes us act wild
Protective, nurturing always kind, stop, then do a rewind
Read 1 Corinthians 13, it will blow your mind
Not just a feeling today, it's action for every day
It makes us act crazy, empowers us to serve
When it comes to us feels like more than we deserve
Love lights up the sky like a million stars
Love was never what we found in those dim, dark bars
What is love? It is God's array of a beautiful creation
It's in the electricity of His Spirits sensation
It propels us compels us dispels division
Creating the promise of a good decision
It's in the air, it's everywhere, do you feel it passing
It's Him to me, me to you, you to them, it's everlasting
Love never ends but this blog will right about now
Go grab you some seeds, and start to plow
Love will start to spread like new grown cotton
All because he gave us his one and only begotten!

​Thank you God! Glenn

This is for the marginalized, the dis-enfranchised, the odd-balls and anyone else who feels like they don't fit in!

I heard a sermon this past Sunday by Steven Furtick titled "Concealed But Not Cancelled". You can pull it up on YouTube it's part of what I am basing this blog on which was also the topic in two groups led by me this week. One of his text points came from Judges 3:12-30, and I have added a bunch of commentary to it.

Less than 15% of the world's population is left-handed and there are mixed opinions on what being that way means but here's a sample: There's a right-handed bias in the design of tools,  left-handed people are subject to deliberate discrimination and discouragement and in some societies are considered unlucky, or even malicious by the right-handed majority. Other languages convey awkwardness, dishonesty, stupidity or other undesirable qualities about them. That could describe many of us who feel less than.

In the story of yet another deliverance for the Israelites, God chooses a left hander to free them from oppression. His name is Ehud from the tribe of Benjamin, that name meaning "son of my right hand' in Hebrew, and those Benjamites were considered a right-handed tribe. Ehud made a sword 18" long and concealed it the quiver on his right leg which is of course the opposite of where folks would get patted down who were right-handed. Smart!

Another characteristic of a left-hander is that they are creative and crafty. Long story made short, Ehud tricks everyone into leaving him and the king alone, kills him, walks out, blows his horn of triumph, then leads the Israelites in battle to defeat 10,000, and be set free for 80 years of peace.

Great story, and if you think about it God uses the looked over, left out and less than as he did in multiple situations in the Bible to accomplish his will. That's why alcoholics, addicts, felons, all the oddballs can have their weakness turned into a weapon by the Lord.

The Israelites were in captivity for 18 years so Ehud made a sword with an inch for every year of oppression. When you think about it it's about 18 inches from our head to our heart, and for those of us considered honorary "left-handers" that's the distance needing convincing that we are more than conquerors when he leads us.

My take on this extended to todays circumstances: God can take a felon who has fallen and turn them into a hero who is ballin'. Believe it, Ehud certainly did!

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