Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/31/12 - Finding Courage Despite Opposition

"Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand agai

nst the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s." Acts 6:8-15 NLT

Sometimes we as Christians and people in recovery living in countries that grant freedom of religion forget what it was like for our forefathers in the early church. For the first 400 years of church history it was many times a death sentence to believe in Christ. Even now there are places in the world where being a Christian can be a fatal. It was the same for drug addicts seeking recovery in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's. It was illegal for two known addicts to be in each others company so they had to seek out secret 12 step meetings. In some countries now the solution to addiction is a bullet in the head, but folks want to be free so bad, want a relationship with Christ strongly, want a new way of life so much that they will risk death to be clean and free and justified.

In the text Stephen is just such a man. Stephen was one of the first 7 deacons and an evangelist, who was so grateful to be free of his bondage that he was willing to stand before the Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin, and profess the his faith in Christ even though he knew it meant certain death. That is courage.Yet when we are led by the Spirit to talk to someone who is hurting or struggling about Christ and about recovery we hesitate mainly because we are afraid of the person's reaction. We allow fear of a little ridicule to keep us from making an impact in a person's life.

When we look at the pain and suffering in our communities its time for us to find a little of Stephen's courage and make a difference even if all we do is share our story with someone who is where we've been delivered from.

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Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/25/12 - Step 3 - Putting Faith Into Action

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then yo

u won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin."

Step 3: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God through Jesus Christ. (12 Steps for Christian Recovery)

Most of us by the time we get to the 3rd Step have begun to see the evidence of how much are lives are changing and how many times we were actually under God's protection even while we were still lost. We see how the beginnings of our relationship with Him is dramatically altering our the path of our life, how we have moved from a course of destruction to a path to peace. However, we are still carrying some burdens of our old life that are holding us back.

The "strip off" reference in the text is actually Paul referring to the ancient Olympic Games that were held regularly during his lifetime. In Paul's time Gentile men wore long flowing robes that the competitors would strip off right before running their race. Taking off the robes kept them from tripping or being weighed down. Even today runners while runners wear track suits to keep their muscles warm prior to the race, they strip them off as they are getting ready to run. Whats on underneath is an outfit designed to hug the body and reduce wind drag.

As we prepare to make the decision to be committed to Christ and our recovery, as we get ready to run our race, we may find ourselves encumbered by the weight of our old life. It is time to shed that life in order to run the race of our new life. There will be enough challenges without extra weight. The text also tells us to keep focused on Jesus because He has already won the race and has moved most of the worst obstacles out of our way. If we just keep our eyes on Him and follow in His footsteps we will finish our race as well. When we are tempted to give up all we have to do is remember what He endured for us. For those of us in recovery the fact that we are no longer living in a living hell also becomes a motivation to keep going. Keep the focus and finish the race

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/24/12 - Step 7 - It's Only A Process If You're Progressing

"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the p

ast and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made." Philippians 3:12-16 NLT

Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

One of the challenges in our walk with Christ and in our recovery is not get to a point where we are too comfortable and stop growing. Some of us hear that we will never be perfect so we no longer see the need to progress. A favorite saying in recovery is, "It's my process." The phrase is often used to justify why we still haven't grown in a particular area or why we are still acting out on a particular behavior. The problem is the definition of process requires progression. If we aren't getting better then its not a process. We're just stuck. Step 7 talks about removing our shortcomings, those things that cause us pain and keep us bound up, so that we can develop more of God's character.

In the scriptural text, the Apostle Paul tells us while we will never reach perfection in Christ, it is our responsibility to continue to get better, to continue to grow spiritually. Verse 14 in the King James Version reads, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." This means that regardless of the situation or our circumstances or how far we've come the race isn't over yet. There is still more work on ourselves to do. Lets embrace the work. Lets finish the race. Lets get better a day at a time. Lets let our character continue to be more like God's. Let's keep pressing.

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/23/12 - We May Go Through But We WILL Get Through!

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT

One of the biggest lies we can tell new Christians and folk new to

recovery is, "Now that your saved and recovering or delivered, life will be perfect and you will never go through anything." The reality is that going through is just a part of life and being in recovery and a relationship with God doesn't exempt us. Sometimes it makes us more of a target because the enemy doesn't usually mess with anybody he's already got.

We still have to deal with death, illness, financial issues, tragedy, personal conflicts, etc. Sometimes our situations can seem overwhelming, but if we hold on to God's unchanging hand we will get through. Living life on life's terms means facing our situations not running from them. We just need to remember that we're not going through by ourselves. God is right there and He won't let us go. He didn't bring us this far to drop us off. Life will show up, and sometimes we will get knocked down, but God will never allow us to be knocked out!

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/19/12 - Get Off the Fence

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to r

eceive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do." James 1:5-8 NLT

When we first begin our recovery and a relationship with God many of us are on a fence with one side being all about this new way of life and the other about where we just came from. As much as we want to be "all in" our recovery and our relationship with Christ it's hard not to still be attracted to the life we lived for so long. Eventually most Christians grow out of this to the point that we only feel an occasional tug from the other life. We see it for what it truly is, an animalistic existence that is self destructive in nature and brought us mostly misery, where as our new life has brought us peace, freedom and joy and a life finally worth living.

However, some of us can't ever seem to get off the fence. We are either substituting our issues with something else or we can't completely get away from our original issue. In other words we got off the drugs but can't stay out the casino or maybe we don't drink anymore but we still going to bars. Whatever it is we just can't seem to shake the attraction to our old way of life so we stay on the fence unable to really grow spiritually and are still in pain without even realizing it.

God is offering us a way up and a way out, a way off that fence. He knows that as attractive as that life might be, the pain is slowly killing us. He wants us to stop "catching hell and calling it fun." All that is required is for us to completely surrender to Him. Even our best days on the other side or even on the fence can even begin to compare to being secure in this new way of life. In Christ there is real peace, real freedom, real joy, real love, real acceptance, and even real fun. Even when we encounter painful situations or make mistakes there is real comfort and real forgiveness. Maybe its time for us to stop living in an illusion and buy into whats real.

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Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/18/12 - No Matter Who You Are (Or What You've Done) God Has A Devine Plan For Your Life

"In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has n

ot chosen any of these.” Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.” So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah." 1 Samuel 16:10-13 NLT

All of us come to Christ with a past. Sometimes it is even more so with folk in recovery. Even though God has forgiven all of us once we surrender to Him, many of us live like we are still in spiritually unworthy state that says my past is too bad to really be accepted by God. We can't let go of our own guilt and shame so we allow ourselves to think that God is ashamed of us as well. We get stuck in a "we're not worthy" mentality and we begin to believe that we are inferior other believers. We even are sometimes judged by others because they have a hard time believing that God could use us either.

Samuel found himself in similar situation when he was sent by God to anoint a new king over Israel after the current king had been repeatedly disobedient. What's not mentioned in the text is that Jesse's family was not a typical family to choose a king from. They were not related to the current king. They weren't in the military. They weren't in the king's court. They weren't government officials. They weren't wealthy or influential. They were simple shepherds. David was the last of Jesse's sons not the first. In those days it was the first born that was the inheritor. The rest either worked for their brother or struck out on their own. Here the Lord is asking Samuel to anoint the last son of a shepherd, who according to the world is a nobody, the next king of Israel. But as God reminds Him earlier in this chapter, "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (verse 7)

That's exactly what God does when He looks at us. He doesn't look at our past or our imperfections or our education or our status in life. He doesn't care how much or how little we have. He only cares about our willingness to be in relationship with Him and to follow His Word. So its time to stop looking at ourselves as unworthy and see ourselves how God sees us. He sees us as His children made in His image and likeness who He wants to see become who He has called us to be. Stop selling yourself short and buy into God's plan for you.

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/14/12 - Loving Correction

"And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, 'My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.' As you endure this divine discipline, remember that

God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong." Hebrews 12:5-13 NLT

One of the hardest things to admit about ourselves is that sometimes, in our imperfection, we don't always learn from our mistakes or that our self destructive behavior is sometimes still comfortable for us. We sometimes, even though we've been in relationship with God and in recovery for years, find ourselves stuck in a pattern of behavior that stunts our spiritual growth. When we get stuck like this God will sometimes, like any good Father, attempt to correct our behavior. We find ourselves being spiritually disciplined to get us back on track. Like any child discipline is not going to feel good, but it is necessary. We may be tempted to act like a child and tell God He is too harsh or think that He doesn't love us, when in fact He is doing it BECAUSE He loves us. Not disciplining us would mean He didn't care enough to try and stop us from destroying ourselves.

While we're being chastised we basically have two choices, we can endure it, try to learn the lesson behind it and correct the behavior or we can sulk, pout and be resentful and probably be more disobedient. The first choice will help us grow into better servants and into a deeper relationship with God while the second will probably have us cause ourselves more pain.

One of the things we need to understand about God is that He doesn't just discipline us because He's holy and hates sin, but because He know that everything that He has called sin is actually harmful to us. When we are honest with ourselves we will admit it's destructive as well. Most loving parents will tell you that disciplining a child hurts them more than it hurt than it hurts the child, and God is no different. Its not even about making the "punishment" fit the "crime" but about simply teaching the lesson. Some of us can simply be told not to do it again and we'll will never do it again. However, some of us a more hard headed and it requires something stronger to get our attention.

Finally, we can be confident that unlike our imperfect, natural, human parents, God is never unnecessarily harsh because He's having a bad day, or because He's frustrated at His job and takes it out on us. He never runs out of patience. He is never overwhelmed or too busy for us. He is never so angry at us that He forgets we are His child. He never gives up on us or stops loving us. He never stops giving us another chance. He never loses His temper and thinks we are a mistake, because He doesn't make mistakes. His discipline isn't used as tool to relieve His anger at us but to simply help us be better. God is love and sometimes that perfect love means He will help us face our imperfections and grow.

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/7/12 - Step 9 - Taking Responsibility For Our Past

"Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they wil

l surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live." Ezekiel 33:10-16 NLT

Step 9: We made direct amends whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Many of us when we first come to Christ and into recovery not only come from pain and suffering, we have caused pain and suffering. In order to satisfy our habits we lied, stole, skipped out on debts, made false promises, etc.

While the step process has made us aware of it and usually had us asking God for forgiveness, the eighth and ninth step put a face on that harm. We didn't just steal, we stole from SOMEBODY. We lied too somebody. We abandoned somebody, etc.

We face our past and take responsibility for it because once we have faced it and owned the past, it can no longer hold us hostage. Part of taking responsibility for our past doesn't just mean asking God for forgiveness, we must also ask the people we've harmed for forgiveness as well. Only we don't just apologize, we attempt to make it right. If we stole a TV, we replace it. If we owe money, we pay it back. If we were bad parents then we allow God to make us the best parents we can be in the here and now. If we lied then tell the truth and we keep on telling the truth. Whatever it is we make it right. It is more than just an apology, we are giving evidence that God has changed our lives.

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/4/12 - Commitment Is Not Supposed To Be Easy

"Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shiver

ed in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm." 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

Everybody who comes to Christ and into recovery as a new soul loves hearing how much better life is as a result of serving God. When everything is going are way it's easy to be committed. But what happens when the pink cloud wears off and we begin to face challenges. Can we be committed then? What happens when life shows up and we find ourselves in a state of uncomfortability even though we are no longer living the way we used to live. What happens when believe we're living to the best of our ability? When we've been the best person we know how to be and we still struggle? Can we be committed then?

The apostle Paul talks about this in the text. When most of look at his life we see the successes, the miracles performed, the souls saved and delivered, the closeness of his relationship with God, but we don't see the struggles. We don't see the hard times. We don't automatically see that wrapped up in the successes are the beatings, the imprisonments, the shipwrecks, the hard work, the long journeys, the false accusations, death threats and even the eventual execution all because of his commitment to his beliefs.

We do the same when we see other successful people. In our minds we see the success as if it just happened without seeing the sacrifices it took to achieve that success. The reality is commitment to anything requires sacrifice. The biggest lie we can tell new Christians and new recovering folk is that life is going to get rosey because you got clean and saved. We will go through stuff because it's a part of life and because the enemy or the "disease" will through every thing he can at you to keep you from the purpose God has for your life. Don't fall for the trap. Be committed to God and to your recovery. Be committed to the divine purpose for your life. Don't run at the first sign of trouble. Don't give up because God hasn't moved fast enough for you. Real commitment isn't supposed to be easy, but it is worth it.