***Unfortunately our 9th step devotion was never posted so here it is***

Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation 4/11/12 - Step 9 - Time to Reconcile

"So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny." Matthew 5:23-26 NLT

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

This step is the culmination of dealing with the wreckage of our past. Having dealt with and allowed God to deal with why we caused the harm so we will be less likely to do it again, and having allowed God to cultivate His character in us, it is now time to attempt to reconcile with those we hurt. Even though we might have some fear about going to those we hurt, we must put that aside so that we can finally be free. Now granted some folks may not accept the amends and we have to be alright with that because God will acknowledge our effort. We also need to understand that we don't just apologize we make amends. This means if I stole your TV, I need to replace your TV. If I took money I need to pay it back.

We also need to understand that these steps are in order for a reason. If we have thoroughly worked the previous eight step, by the time we get to this step our lives will show evidence that we are no longer who we used to be. If we had tried this immediately after we got saved and our recovery began, we probably wouldn't have been taken seriously, but now after some time clean and walking with Christ we are very different and even the people who we hurt can see the love of God coming off of us. God can work wonderful healing in their hurt and pain if we stay humble and willing.