The Light on Your Way

When we look back along the road we have traveled, we tend to focus only on the negative things. Because the past had its share of problems, many people expect the same from the future.

But this is a negative way of looking at life. The prayers of your heart every day should be, "Lead me, O Light of the world!" Jesus Christ is still the Light of the world and He has promised that those who follow Him will never walk in darkness. Take His hand in faith and trust and experience Him as the light of your life.

God said , "Let there be light," and there was light. Genesis 1:3

-- It's so very hard to try and be positive in the midst of battling an addiction, but this is when we need to stay positive the most. Because of past behaviors it's very hard to trust ourselves to make the right choices for the future and we might even be very cynical that we can. But the great thing is that we don't have to be the one leading the charge. God does. We just need to follow Him. If I allow myself to make decisions through the lens of His redemption of me, I know I'll make better choices. Don't forget about all the tools that are available for you - He created those. Use them.  The Bible, 12 step meetings or Celebrate Recovery Meetings, accountability partners or sponsors, counselors, friends, Bible studies, devotions, prayer and yes, even aids like technology apps are all things available to you from Him to help you reframe your perspective on life.

Grace for Each Moment

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Making an Idol

Ephesians 5:1818 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit

Many people wonder about the Church and it's stance on wine. And it's amazing when I hear sermons that condone drinking even a glass of wine as a ticket straight to hell.   In fact, this legalistic type of preaching really makes me sad as a Christian. Sermons like this are taking scripture out of context.  

Hold on -- I know this is a devo blog for addictions..keep reading and I'll get to my point.

This verse says that drinking in excess is wrong. Jesus himself performed his first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding.  There are many things that the Bible clearly says are wrong: adultery, stealing, drinking to excess, making things into idols.

When we use things such as alcohol or drugs or view pornography to escape the world then they have become an idol. An idol is anything that we use to replace our need for God in our lives with something else. So for some it can be watching too much TV, playing video games, our desire to be the best at any cost, over-exercising, collecting items, fantasizing, laziness - these are things that just aren't so obvious.. And that's when it would be wise to create a new healthy habit to replace the bad habit that we have chosen to deal with our deep feelings such as anxiety and feelings of no self-worth, boredom, etc.

For someone dealing with an addiction, it's a choice to totally get rid of the unhealthy habit. For some addictions such as alcohol, drugs, viewing porn it's obvious that total abstinence is going to be key for recovery. But for other addictions such playing video games, using devices, exercising, working - it isn't as clear cut. We can't just get rid of these things from our lives because they are part of every day life. And so this is where today's verse hits the nail on the head. We are being warned of not being obsessive - as that's the addiction.

So, whatever your addiction is, you have to be the one (hopefully with the guidance of a sponsor or accountability partner)  to set what your limits need to be and a plan to develop new habits to replace the old habits.

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I Am Second - Sean Little

This week we have had devotions about our past, and parents, and about moving on. It's a little long (7 minutes) but well worth the watch.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19

The Story

The music scene in Evansville, Indiana, may not be as large as New York City, but it is vibrant nonetheless. So when Sean Little performs, people are listening. Performing it is, since his energetic hip-hop/rap requires him to transform from the soft-spoken family man he is away from the stage.

But it was not always that way. Only through Jesus working in his life has he developed a peace to help him calm the dysfunction he experienced earlier in his life. Family members in jail. Few positive role models. A path that could have easily led to death—but did not.

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Honor Your Mother and Father

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12

I know this is a tough one having wrestled through it myself. And this is why I think going through the 12 step program or Celebrate Recovery program is so helpful (along with some good Christian counseling).

We all have a mother and a father. That is a fact. Some of us might have been raised by one or both or neither. And so some of us might actually have more than one mother or father in a sense.  And whatever your circumstance or relationship with your parents, I cannot speak to.

I can say that I myself had to deal with "issues".  Let's face it..most of us do.

But what I have learned from dealing through these items is the following:

1. They raised me based on what their past was shaped by (see yesterday's devotional post)

2. They are humans just like I am. They have to deal with circumstances in life. As we grow older we no longer hold our parents on that pedestal. In fact, we quickly take them off of it and replace it with something else. If you are reading this blog then you probably replaced it with drugs, alcohol, pornography etc. And only once we hit rock bottom  do we replace our parents, our addiction with the true father - our Father God. And we put Him on the pedestal.

3. And lastly, and I think the most important, is that I am an adult. Yes, I have my past, but I know right from wrong. I can make my own decisions. And I am accountable for my decisions. I am accountable to my family, I am accountable to my spouse and kids, I am accountable to my job, and friends and church. But most importantly, I am accountable to God.  And to Him, it is where my faith lies.

And so, working through the steps ( for me it was Celebrate Recovery but they are basically the same) I was able to forgive my parents for their choices that were wrong and honor them. But now I honor them not on the pedestal, but rather as humans with the love and grace and mercy that God shows me each day.

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Who Owns My Lips?

A careless word may kindle strife,

A cruel word may wreck a life;

A timely word may lessen stress,

A loving word may heal and bless. —Anon.

He who guards his mouth preserves his life. —Proverbs 13:3

Let's admit it. We are a judgmental people. Even if we don't want to be there is something in us that makes a small judgment. It's how we decide if we want to spend time with a person or even speak with them. Even if we don't want to, it's the humanness in us. Even in the scope of recovery we judge..why are they further along in their recovery? Why do they keep failing and acting out?

But if there is one thing we need to consider before making that judgment is that we never know what is going on in that person's life. Instead of thinking "Why do they keep failing at recovery?" perhaps think "I wonder if there is something hindering that person that I might be able to help with?" "Or I wonder if my saying some encouraging words might bless them today?"  

And we need to examine our own words and how they are delivered. If we are only thinking these words to ourselves then we at least have a filter in place. But, it's not always the case and sometimes when we feel that we are in a recovery group, then we are safe and can express some of these thoughts. 

However, we really need to always remember that we never know if our words will throw someone's recovery off because they were hurtful.  It's true - the sayings we learned from our parents hold their weight in gold. "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all." and "Talk to others as you would to be spoken to."

Let's choose to have our words be a blessing to others. Let's work hard to rid the thoughts from our mind so that they never appear as words on our lips.

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Addiction Can Be a Good Thing..huh??

Addiction can be a good thing! 

I ran across this at www.worthydevotions.com and the title caught my attention. 

Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Does it ever happen to you – that something terribly simplistic just suddenly becomes clear? I realized something about us the other day. We humans are such addictive creatures.

We always hear stories of addictions such as gambling, drinking and using illegal drugs — most of which, many of us have either never allowed ourselves to touch or been able to conquer at some point in our lives. But it occurred to me that these are just a few of many things to which we can become addicted.

I mean, think about it. The more we work and the more money and material things we acquire as a result — the more we want to work in order to purchase more of those things. The more television we watch — the more we don’t want to miss that next episode. The more we win at the leisurely games we enjoy, the more we want to play and win more at those games. The more we sleep — the more we want to sleep! The more we complain — the more we want to complain! The more we eat — the more we want to eat! We have even created nightly support group meetings for our addictions to which, if we’re not careful, we can also become addicted! And there are countless other earthly examples we can probably add! It seems that mankind is hopelessly given to the substances and circumstances around us.

So wouldn’t it be great if we could just switch our focus from majoring on our daily grind, to majoring on the things of the Lord? And then, I'm sure we would find that the more we pray and see God answer our prayers — the more we’ll want to pray and see those victories! The more we share our faith and see people come to know the Lord through us — the more we’ll want to share and see others come! The more we read the Word and gain wisdom for our lives and others' lives — the more we’ll want to read the Word and gain that kind of wisdom! The more we serve God and those around us– the more we’ll want to serve them! And there are countless other heavenly examples we can probably add!

How about it? Let’s begin doing more of the things of the Lord and watch how they multiply! I have feeling that we just might experience more joy, peace and contentment than we ever have!

For more visit www.worthydevotions.com

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God Remains in Control ESP When We Aren't

There are time when it seems as if everything is going wrong. Throughout history, nations and individuals have struggled through disasters, hardships, dangers, sorrow and adversity.

Before becoming despondent, however, acknowledge the greatness, glory and constancy of God. He called the word into existence, He created man and has kept vigil over His creation, caring for us through the ages and sheltering us in every disaster.

He is the Creator God who will never abandon His workmanship. Hold onto His promises; place your entire trust and faith in the living Christ and through Him you will survive the dangers and adversities.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Col 1:17

-- Yes, even though it seems like no one understands what we are going through, it's such a wrong attitude. First of all, there are scores of others who are currently going through your life of addiction recovery and scores more who lived through it to be victorious. We are NOT alone. God is with us. How do I know? I mean my life is so rough, how do I know He is there? Well, a few days ago we read in our devotions that we need to see the little blessings in life. Count them. Each day try and find one more than the day before. You will eventually begin to see God really is here with us and we need to wake up. He truly is in EVERY part of our lives. He celebrates the victories of passing on a drink and is stroking our face praying for us when we make the wrong choice and pass out from too much to drink. He IS there.

Have you seen Him today? I have!

Grace for Each Moment

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