June 3^rd, 2012

There are things I suggested last week that you can do to help yourself in your new walk as a Christian in recovery - finding like-minded Christians and a pastor who loves Jesus and desires to help you, cleaning your life out of leftover alcohol and drugs and all their related stuff. These things are important and they will help you stay on the right track, if you are serious about your new life and recovery.

I remember not being too thrilled about trusting people when I first got sober. That was a hard one for me. I didn’t trust anybody, frankly. But I made a start by trying to trust just one person. Then , another. And a little while later, another. Until I had a small group of people in my life that I knew would not hurt me and that I trusted. You know, you can ask your new Friend Jesus for help finding a person you can trust. He is waiting to help you, because He believes in you. Getting your life together, healing from your addiction, is something He has always wanted for you. All you have to do is ask: “Jesus, I really need some help here. I need to know who I can trust in recovery. I need a Christian friend to help me do this. Please show me who is that person. Thanks, Jesus."

It’s always been a bit of recovery wisdom to have a friend and helper who is the same gender as you are. This is a time of great vulnerability – and that includes being vulnerable to temptation. Having a person helping you thru who is a potential sexual temptation is NOT a good idea. Remember, as a child of God, as a born-again Christian, we have turned away from our old ways and our old sinfulness, received forgiveness from Jesus, and have started a brand-new life, following Him. Let’s not muck things up by getting involved in a relationship that only serves to distract us from our new life. Jesus would never send you a tempting person – but Satan would. Choose wisely.

Your new friend should also be someone who is familiar with the 12 Steps, who has worked thru each step in his or her own recovery. I would listen to someone who has learned thru experience before I would listen to someone who only read it in a book. Look for a friend who has worked these steps and can guide you as you work them, too.

Last thing for this week: it’s a very good idea to start and end your day with a conversation with Jesus. Start the day by asking for help to get thru it without using, and end the day by reviewing all you have to be thankful for – and for not relapsing that day. Saying ‘help’ in the morning and ‘thank You’ at night is a tried and true way to build a strong recovery, a day at a time.

Bringing our lives in line with God’s idea of how we should live is the heart of Step Three. It takes a long time to fully do this – most of us work on making small changes, one after another, over time, for the rest of our lives. This is good. After all, it’s your heart that God looks at, not your outside.  Progress, not perfection. See You next week!

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June 10th, 2012

 Another tool in your Step Three 'toolbox' is the idea of letting go and letting God work. Hah! Easy to say,hard to do!  It goes against our addicted grain, so to speak,  for us to let go of control.  But as i have said before, we have already proven   that we aren't  very good at steering our own ship - we needed a Captain who knows what He is doing ! If you have asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Lord and Savior,  then Jesus is that Captain.





Here’s a passage from the Bible, written by the apostle Paul, who sent it in a letter to the Christians in Rome :

“For I am convinced that nothing can separate us from His love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away…Nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when He died for us.” Romans , Chapter 8, verses 38-39.

That verse is giving us a clear idea how strong God’s love is for us, and how safe we are in his love- nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing can keep God’s love away from us.   God is bigger and stronger than anything and anyone. And his love was shown in the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, because God loves us and wanted Jesus to make that sacrifice for us. God did that so that he could be our Father and we could be his children, and the issue of sin was taken care of.

Letting God run my life seems a lot easier when I remember how deeply I am loved by him, and how strong his love is for me. The apostle Paul wrote in a different letter that love never fails – and he was speaking of the kind of love Jesus has for us. I am thinking that maybe it is a good idea to try trusting God with my life. He loves me so much. He is stronger than anything and anyone. His love will never fail or dry up or go away.It is a forever love.

Talk to Jesus this week about your feelings and thoughts on letting go and letting Him steer your life. Be honest ! He already knows how you feel, but He wants to hear from you and talk with you and help you through this big decision. You won’t be sorry. You are so loved.

See you next week!

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