Friday, May 25, 2012 - Consistently Continuing (3)

“and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it”:  Suppose we looked in a mirror and found we had something smeared around our mouth.  We’d be pretty dumb if we didn't immediately wash our face and clear up the problem. In the same way, we need to routinely look at ourselves in a spiritual mirror. When we notice something is wrong, we can immediately, with God’s help, make the proper adjustments. 

Get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself. For if you just listen and don't obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God's perfect law -- the law that sets you free -- and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1)

If we put off taking care of a problem that we are aware of, it will not go away just because we avoid dealing with it. The dirt on our face, which the mirror revealed, will not go away until we remove it by washing our face.  The same applies to a problem that could lead to relapse in our recovery, it needs to be corrected when we become aware of it.  While flexing our “spiritual muscles” we may hear God’s encouraging word or His challenge regarding the issue.  We might realize we need to receive healing or need to repent.  If we take inventory according to God’s heart and God’s truth, we will take the appropriate action to clear the problem.

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”  (Hosea 6:3)

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - Consistently Continuing (2)

“personal Inventory”:  We invited God to help us live life based on His principles.  Our old ways are being replaced with new skills and a new relationship with God which is challenging.  Taking personal inventory will enable us to assess if the challenges are just the temporary pain of new muscles being built or if vulnerable areas are being exposed. It’s important that our personal inventory starts here.  We may experience some discomfort in the fact that we are not where we anticipated we would be at this point in our recovery.
 
What are we doing from day to day, even moment to moment, to train ourselves to hear and respond to the voice of God?  Are we challenging ourselves to do things like pray and study and read and reflect on the word of God, particularly when we don’t feel like it?  If we follow this discipline we will discover surprising truths about how God says life works, though it is dramatically different from what we have practiced or what we experience in society.  Our choice is, will we surrender to this new way of living as the healthy way or thoughtlessly fall back into old habits?  Our ongoing inventory helps us see how we are growing in putting God’s way of life into practice.

  “By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. People who live on milk are like babies who don't really know what is right. Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong.” (Hebrews 5:14).

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - Consistently Continuing (1)

If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24 NIV)

 

“Continued to take personal inventory”:  It is amazing to see what a human being can achieve through consistent disciplined effort. How many times have we watched athletes and marveled at the ease with which they perform their sport? We know that they developed that ability through rigorous training which is what sets the athlete apart from the spectator. As we continue the discipline of taking personal inventory on a regular basis we will achieve the ease of living at peace with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbor.  

 

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.”  (1 Timothy 4:7-8 Msg.)

The word translated “exercise” specifically refers to the disciplined training done by gymnasts in Paul’s day. As Christians, it is necessary to disciple ourselves to read the word of God and develop a habit of listening to God, rather than simply relying on our own thoughts. We need to learn God’s principles for healthy living and allow those principles to reshape the way we think and act.  On a daily basis we need to let God’s teaching challenge and stretch and develop us.

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012 -- CONVERSATION THAT CHANGES ME (3)

When we pray God tells us the truth.  Our minds have listened to false information so long we are convinced that is how life really operates.  We need to have the "familiar" changed for reality.  God wants to show us both our true limits and His wonderful possibilities that will transform us and our way of approaching life.  God wants to give us the power to choose for new thoughts, new attitudes, and new behaviours.

God promises: “When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue them and honor them. (Psalm 91:15)

But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength.  They will fly high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Life with God is about relationship and for a relationship to be healthy the needs and desires of both parties need to be shared and honoured.  What matters to God?  What’s on God’s heart?  How can we live our day in a way that responds to the many ways God has cared for us and helped us?  We both benefit when we pray.  God’s kingdom of love and peace is extended and we experience the purpose and joy that God intended for us.  Only God knows what shape and form our lives need to be in to receive His goodness.  We can spend lots of time telling God all the things we “want God to do for us” OR we can ask God to show us life as He sees it and to help us pray things that He knows are truly good.  God wants to be our friend and live in a love relationship with us.  Prayer is God’s way of nurturing that relationship.

MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 - CONVERSATIONS THAT CHANGES ME (2)

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Prayer is not designed to change God.  It is designed to change us.  Prayer is not calling on God to bless our activities.  Rather, prayer brings us close to God, shows us His will, helps us understand life in a new way, and prepares us to obey this new plan.  Prayer reminds us that God is the creator and we are the created.  To come to God in prayer reminds us that there is more to life than our own experience and our own perspective.

Jesus promised: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. … He will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness. (John 16)

What should I say when I pray?
•List the many things in today that are good and for which you are thankful.
•Tell God things that you appreciate about Him.
•Tell God the truth about your choices, your thoughts, and your behaviours.  Ask for forgiveness for things you have done wrong, things you have believed wrongly, actions you have not taken that would have been responsible and helpful.
•Receive God's forgiveness, God's healing, and God's power to change what is going on inside of you and to give you new power for what is ahead
•Pray for God’s will and God’s plan in situations around the world

Friday May 18, 2012 -- CONVERSATION THAT CHANGES ME (1)

If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. (James 1:5)

As Christians we believe prayer is a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  God created us for a love relationship with Him.  If you love someone, you want to spend time with them.  If you love God, you want to spend time with Him. The time we spend in God’s presence is what we call prayer.  One of the best reasons to pray is simply to spend time with the One who loves us and whom we love.  God is pleased when we talk with Him, both expressing our appreciation for His friendship and asking for His help and guidance.

God wants us to be like Him in all the wonderful character qualities that give life and hope to the world around us. God wants us to work together with Him to make and remake things that need touches of care and beauty and healing.  Prayer is God’s way of helping us co-operate together to get the job done.

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012 -- GENEROUS FORGIVENESS (3)

How impossible it would be for us to take the risk of making amends had God not taken the first move. Even though He was perfect, Jesus came to earth, and to our lives, to bring us close to His love and truth. We failed Him in so many ways and yet He approached us with the assurance of forgiveness and acceptance if we would simply confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.  God didn’t wait for us to come.  He prepared in advance. He reached out to us when we didn't dare approach Him. We have to have this reconciliation with God, through His gift of Jesus, before we can  begin to work towards  reconciliation in the troubled relationships of our past.

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19)

You and I can never begin to make up for all the wrongs we've done. God forgives us in Jesus and no longer counts our sins against us. Operating out of this secure foundation of forgiveness, we are given the grace and strength, to support our efforts of making amends and seeking reconciliation with others. Yes, making amends is a responsibility we must take very seriously if we want to protect our sobriety.  However, making those amends within this "God has forgiven me first" focus brings new power and deeper satisfaction because we act based on gratitude. We act in humble service to God rather than in self-centered service to our needs in our program of recovery. We act based in humility, remembering from where we've come. We act in faith, because we know that unless God covers our amends with His grace and healing, we will be ineffective.


“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thes. 5:11)