Taking Action

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

One of the most important things Celebrate Recovery has given me, in addition to freedom from alcohol, is the ability to take “right action.” It says the promises will always materialize if I work for them. Fantasizing about them, debating them, preaching about them and faking them just won’t work. I’ll remain a miserable, rationalizing dry drunk. By taking actions in working the 12 steps in all of my affairs, I’ll have a 2^nd life beyond my wildest dreams.

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An Open Hand

Bible reading: Matthew 16:24 – 28

Step 3: We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Principle 3: Consciously choose to commit all of my life and will to Christ care and control.

“Happy are the meek.” (Matthew 5:8)

Many of us who struggle with addictions have spent much of our strengths just trying to hold on to our lives. Maybe we fear loosening our grip to let someone else take care of us. We may be doing a lousy job of caring for our own life, but we still hesitate about letting go. Perhaps, we are afraid that if we do let go, no one will be there to take hold of us.

In the Old Testament we often hear about people being “consecrated” to God.  This meant that they were making a decision to turn the remainder of their lives over to God for whatever purpose he desired. The root of this word literally means “an open hand” as opposed to a close. They had a ceremony to let go of what they were holding onto for their own lives, and to proclaim that God was welcome to take hold of them. Jesus told us, “For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again” (Matthew 16:25 – 26). By now we probably recognize that we were losing our lives anyway, no matter how hard we tried to hang on.

Once we decide to let go of the control of our own will in our lives, something wonderful is promised. Jesus says of those who turned their lives over to him: “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from.” (John 10:28). When we finally find the courage to let go, God is waiting to grasp our lives firmly and hold them securely for all eternity.

Holding on, we lose what we have; letting go, we receive more.

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Expectations vs. Demand

Expectations vs. Demand

Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.

Dealing with expectations is a frequent topic at meetings. It isn’t wrong to expect progress of ourselves, good things from life, or decent treatment from others. Where we get into trouble is when our expectations become demands. We will fall short of what we wish to be and situations will go in ways we do not like, because people will let us down sometimes. The only question is: “What are we going to do about it?” Wallow in self-pity or anger; retaliate and make a bad situation worse; or will we trust in God’s power to bring blessings on the messes in which we find ourselves? Will we asked him what we should be learning; do we keep on doing the right things we know how to do, no matter what; do we take time to share our faith and blessings with others?

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Belonging to God

Belonging to God

Bible reading: Daniel 3:14 – 27

Step 3: we made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Principle 3: Consciously choose to commit all of my life and will to Christ care and control.

“Happy are the meek.” (Matthew 5:8)

Our decision to turn our will and our lives over to God will be tested. By making this decision we set our lives at odds with the crowd. This will include most of our old friends and maybe even members of our family. We should expect some heat and not be shocked when it comes. But God will be with us in the fire, to preserve us and bring us through.

In the book of Daniel we meet 3 young Jewish men who were taken captive and relocated to a strange land. They entrusted their lives to God and refused to worship the idols of Babylon. The result was so strong that when they were threatened with death by fire they replied, “if we are thrown into the flaming furnace, our God is able to deliver us to us: and he will deliver us… But if he doesn’t, please understand, sir, that even then we will never under any circumstances serve your gods.” They were promptly bound with ropes and thrown into the furnace. The King was amazed at what he saw. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted, “I see 4 men, unbound, walking around in the fire, and they aren’t even hurt by the flames! And the 4^th looks like a God!” (Daniel 3:17 – 18, 25).

God was right there, taking the heat with them. The only thing they lost by turning their will and their lives over to him was the ropes and bound them. Those were burned up in the flames. When we’re challenged because of our decision to turn our lives over to God, we can expect God to be there for us, too.

Nothing can bind us when God wants us to be free.

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We Can’t Think Our Way Sober

To the intellectually self-sufficient man or woman, many people in Celebrate Recovery can say, “yes, we were like you – far too smart for our own good… Secretly, we felt we could float above the rest of the folks on our brainpower alone.”

Even the most brilliant mind is no defense against the disease of addiction. I can’t think my way sober. I tried to remember that intelligence is a God given attribute that I may use, a joy – like having a talent for dancing or drawing or carpentry. It does not make me better than anyone else, and it is not a particularly reliable tool for recovery, for it is a power greater than myself who will restore me to sanity, not a high IQ or a college degree.

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Discovering God

Bible reading: Acts 17:23 – 28

Step 3: we made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Principle 3: Consciously choose to commit all of my life and will to Christ care and control.

“Happy are the meek.” (Matthew 5:8)

Before we can turn our lives over to God, we need to have an accurate understanding of who He is. It’s crucial that our lives be turned over to the God who loves us, and not the “god” of this world who seeks only to deceive and destroy. The apostle Paul described the deceiver this way: “Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him [the deceived person] blind, unable to see the glorious light of the gospel that is shining upon him, or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Has Satan deceived us? How can we be sure that we have a true understanding of God?

When Paul addressed the men of Athens he said, “I saw your many altars, and one of them had this inscription on it – ‘to the unknown God.’ You have been worshiping him without knowing who He is, and now I wish to tell you about Him… His purpose in all of this is that they [all people] should seek after God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him – though He is not far from any of us. For in Him we live and move and are!” (Acts 17:23, 27 – 28).

Even though God may be unknown to us, He is near and willing to reveal himself. God has promised, “You will find Me when you seek Me, if you look for Me in earnest” (Jeremiah 29:13). Turning over our will involves becoming willing to accept God as He is, instead of insisting on creating Him in our own image. When we seek God with an open heart and mind, we will find Him.

As we seek God, He makes himself known to us.

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I wrote and used this in our Action Lesson, Lesson 6, on Wednesday evening in our Celebrate Recovery Large Group Meeting.

Jesus says, “Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke—for it fits perfectly—and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens” (Matthew 11:28–30, TLB).

Just a quick word about yokes.  Pretty much everyone knows what a yoke is.  If not, it is the picture on the left.  It goes around the neck of two oxen, pairing them together so that they can pull a load together, equally.  When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  I paraphrased a little here.  How can that big log over our necks be light?  How can the plow that we are pulling be an easy load?

Look at the picture.  The cloth that the rabbi has over his head is also called a yoke.  In the days of Jesus, the rabbi’s yoke was decorated in such a way as to signify a way of teaching.  If you know anything about martial arts, each Sensei, or teacher, has his own dojo, or school of technique.  The same with the rabbi’s.  Their school of thought was identified thru their yoke, and the markings on it.  So a student, or a rabbi who had studied under a certain “master”, would have the same markings.

When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”, in essence, what He is saying is to take my teachings upon you.  I don’t have all the burdens of the law to weigh you down.  Remember when He was asked by the Pharisee’s, which was the greatest commandment?  He replied, “”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:36-40 NIV

Two commandments instead of 633 laws.  And, those two concern one thing.  Love.  If we follow those two commandments, there would be no need for any of the others.  Not the other 8, that Moses had on the stone tablets, or the other 631 that were added to fill in the loopholes that people tried to find.

And Jesus’ yoke?  His burden?  If we are under His teachings, then we also fall under His grace.  That grace that forgives us, even before we were seeking Jesus.  That grace that takes away all condemnation, guilt and sorrow for the things that we have done in the past.  That grace that washes us clean, and white as snow.  That same grace that continues to wash us as long as we continue to accept the power of Jesus Christ to change our lives, and submit to Him, and live our lives under His yoke.  That is one burden that I will gladly bear.

The Root of Our Troubles

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