http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:50:24 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/ http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188994-here-goes.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:29:43 GMT I don't need to get into the war stories. You've heard em all. I googled and found you guys. I read Fluffy's post and felt a sense of calm that I am not alone. I am a Christian and so is my hubby. Well, he says he is and has changed from when I first met him, tremendously.

He quit taking Xanax 7 months ago thanks to the LORD. That was AWFUL! TRULY Awful!

He has an addiction to prescription pain medications. He has an autoimmune disease Grave's disease, no thyroid, sciatica pain, narrowing of the joints in the knees from osteoarthritis from Graves and right now, he is battling a bad case of the shingles from stress. I used to think he wasn't addicted to pain meds because I've watched him eat ibuprofen like skittles when he did as I requested and stopped the narcotics. He messed up his stomach and had to start taking Nexium for it. So I figured an addict wouldn't take Ibuprofen like that so I allowed the pain meds again. Big mistake.

My husband is never mean to me. It's just the lies, irresponsibleness, the money spent on them, all that other stuff. I have asked him to get help before. Nothing changes. He tells me he will take them the way they are prescribed and a day later, the whole bottle is gone.

I will never divorce my husband. Anytime I have those thoughts, I know it comes from the father of lies. My husband is a good man. He got addicted after having his thyroid removed. They had him on so much medication. I really do believe my husband does have chronic pain but I don't want him to see him throw his life away anymore than he already has. What do I do?

I know I need some co dependency counseling. Where do I find that for free?

Thanks for listening. I know God will fix this. I will wait for Him anytime. I just need some support other than my own head so I don't have to keep feeling like I have to spend my life trying to create new ways to get him to stop. :react ]]> Christians In Recovery Suffocating http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188994-here-goes.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188963-favorite-church-sign-sayings.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:57:36 GMT Please feel feel to add yours! :) Takers eat well Givers sleep well Please feel feel to add yours! :)


Takers eat well
Givers sleep well ]]> Christians In Recovery rayofsunshine http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188963-favorite-church-sign-sayings.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188947-unfailing-love.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:07:34 GMT Week of November 20, 2009


by Max Lucado

"Love," Paul says, "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:8 NIV).

The verb Paul uses for the word fail is used elsewhere to describe the demise of a flower as it falls to the ground, withers, and decays. It carries the meaning of death and abolishment. God's love, says the apostle, will never fall to the ground, wither, and decay. By its nature, it is permanent. It is never abolished.

Love "will last forever" (NLT).

It "never dies" (MSG).

It "never ends" (RSV).

Love "is eternal" (TEV).

God's love "will never come to an end" (NEB).

Love never fails.

Governments will fail, but God's love will last. Crowns are temporary, but love is eternal. Your money will run out, but his love never will.

How could God have a love like this? No one has unfailing love. No person can love with perfection. You're right. No person can. But God is not a person. Unlike our love, his never fails. His love is immensely different from ours.

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous.

Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us" (1 John 4:10 NIV).

Doesn't this thought comfort you? God's love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you. (Deut. 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don't feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: "I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I'll call the unloved and make them beloved" (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself" (Jer. 31:3 NLT).


UpWords: The Teaching Ministry Of Max Lucado
From A Love Worth Giving
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado ]]> Christians In Recovery cmc http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188947-unfailing-love.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188826-pleasing-god.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:41:12 GMT Wednesday, November 18, 2009



But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing.
Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing,
and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.
2 Corinthians 5:9 MSG

When God made you, He equipped you with an array of talents and abilities that are uniquely yours. It's up to you to discover those talents and to use them, but sometimes the world will encourage you to do otherwise. At times, society will attempt to cubbyhole you, to standardize you, and to make you fit into a particular, preformed mold. Sometimes, because you're an imperfect human being, you may become so wrapped up in meeting society's expectations that you fail to focus on God's expectations. To do so is a mistake of major proportions—don't make it.

Who will you try to please today: God or man? Your primary obligation is not to please imperfect men and women. Your obligation is to strive diligently to meet the expectations of an all-knowing and perfect God. Trust Him always. Love Him always. Praise Him always. And seek to please Him. Always.

It is impossible to please God doing things motivated by and produced by the flesh.
Bill Bright

Whether we think of, or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer when we have no other object than his love and the desire of pleasing him.
John Wesley

God is not hard to please. He does not expect us to be absolutely perfect. He just expects us to keep moving toward Him and believing in Him, letting Him work with us to bring us into conformity to His will and ways.
Joyce Meyer

All our offerings, whether music or martyrdom, are like the intrinsically worthless present of a child, which a father values indeed, but values only for the intention.
C. S. Lewis

Today's Prayer

Dear Lord, today I will honor You with my thoughts, my actions, and my prayers. I will seek to please You, and I will strive to serve
You. Your blessings are as limitless as Your love. And because I have been so richly blessed, I will worship You, Father, with thanksgiving in my heart and praise on my lips, this day and forever. Amen




New Life Daily Devotion, New Life Ministries ]]> Christians In Recovery cmc http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188826-pleasing-god.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188806-blessing-thorns.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:01:49 GMT One of my favorite Thanksgiving stories..... tissue alert! The Blessing Of Thorns Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her... One of my favorite Thanksgiving stories..... tissue alert!

The Blessing Of Thorns
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose annual holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come.

What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder.

"Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered aloud. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?"

The shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I... I need an arrangement, "stammered Sandra. "For Thanksgiving?

Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special?" asked the shop clerk.

"I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued.

"Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. " Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said,
"Hi Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused
herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped...there were no flowers. "Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers!?! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. "Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest.

"Uhh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uhh... she just left with no flowers!"

"Right... I cut off the flowers. That's the Special... I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that?" exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband, "continued the clerk," and for the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel.

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra. "I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for good things in life and never thought to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.

"Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God." Just then someone else walked in
the shop.

"Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man. "My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement... twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks to Him for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too... fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?" asked Sandra. "Nothing." said the clerk.

"Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me. "The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra.

"I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you'd like to read it first."

It read:
"Dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to you along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look much more brilliant."


--
Please Include The Following Text When You Forward This Email
timsinspiration.com ]]> Christians In Recovery rayofsunshine http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188806-blessing-thorns.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188688-seances-spirits-12-steps.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:50:17 GMT "Do not seek out mediums and spiritists; do not seek out and be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:31)
Author Richard Burns, better known as Dick B., has been churning out books and articles on the alleged Christian origin of Alcoholics Anonymous for years. The prolific author has written ‘Anne Smith’s Journal,’ ‘Dr. Bob and His Library,’ and many, many others. Regrettably, in his nearly thirty books Dick B. has never acknowledged the influence of spiritualism upon the creation of the 12 Steps.
His books, however, have deeply influenced the Body of Christ. People frequently justify A.A. attendance with statements like, "Well, Alcoholics Anonymous was originally Christian." Or, "The 12 Steps are based on the Bible." A common misconception is that one or both Alcoholics Anonymous
cofounders, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, were Christians.[1]
In A.A. circles the cofounders are affectionately known as Dr. Bob and Bill W. Promoting one of his more recent titles, ‘The Conversion of Bill W.,’
Dick B. writes, "It’s an account of the many ways the Creator seems to have touched the life of Bill W. and, through him, the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous."[2]
The title alone gives the impression that A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson came to Christ. It is certainly true that Wilson was used powerfully and spiritually—but not by the God of the Bible. Wilson, in bondage to spiritualism, communed for decades with unclean spirits. This should be of paramount concern because Wilson was not only the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, but also the man who wrote the 12 Steps.
Because there are so many movies, television shows, and novels glorifying communication with the spirit world, many in the Body of Christ may be unaware how fiercely the Lord our God forbids attempts to contact the dead.
"There shall not be found among you…a medium or a spiritist or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord."
(Deuteronomy 18:10, 11, 12)
Why does the Lord declare people who do such things "detestable?" Because they have turned to a spiritual source other than the Lord God. This is a clear indication of a complete lack of Fear of the Lord. In addition, it is never the dead that are contacted but, rather, deceitful spirits posing as the dead. These spiritualistic practices therefore simultaneously disrespect the Lord and place those who undertake them at risk.
Examined over several decades, it is clear A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson repeatedly and willingly gave himself over to familiar spirits. A.A.
historian Ernest Kurtz notes, "So profound was Bill’s immersion in this area that he at times confused the terms ‘spiritualism’ and ‘spirituality.’"[3]
"As for the person who turns to mediums and spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My Face against that person and will cut him off from his people." (Leviticus 20:6)
In ‘PASS IT ON,’ A.A.’s official biography of Bill Wilson, Lois Wilson recounts some of her husband’s experiences of 1941. Saturday was generally the scheduled day for these psychic adventures. "Bill would lie down on the couch. He would ‘get’ these things. He kept doing it every week or so. Each time, certain people would ‘come in.’ Sometimes, it would be new ones, and they’d carry on some story."[4]
So, "every week or so," Wilson would open himself to this entity (or entities), and "certain people would ‘come in.’" Today this is known as channeling. Author and A.A. apologist Dick B. has written of Wilson’s spiritualism, but gives it no emphasis as a factor in the origin of either A.A. or the 12 Steps.
Writer Matthew J. Raphael is far less coy. A member of Alcoholics Anonymous himself, Raphael observes, "it might be said for the cofounders at least, A.A. was entangled with spiritualism from the very beginning."[5]
Raphael explains, "Wilson himself seems to have been an ‘adept,’ that is, ‘gifted’ in the psychic sense; and he served as a medium for a variety of ‘controls,’ some of them recurrent. ‘Controls,’ in the lingo of spiritualism, are the discarnate entities who seem to usurp a medium’s identity and literally speak through him or (far more usually) her.
Sometimes a control answers questions; sometimes a spirit seems to
materialize."[6]
One of the most beloved pieces of 12 Step literature is the collection of essays, ‘Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,’ written by Wilson in the 1950s. This popular book is often called, simply, the "12X12." While working on it, Wilson exchanged letters with Father Ed Dowling, a Catholic priest Bill often looked to for advice. In his letter of July 17, 1952, the A.A.
cofounder informs Dowling he is receiving help with the book from the spirit world.
Wilson writes, "One turned up the other day calling himself Boniface. Said he was a Benedictine missionary and English. Had been a man of learning, knew missionary work and a lot about structures. I think he said this all the more modestly but that was the gist of it. I’d never heard of this gentleman but he checked out pretty well in the Encyclopedia. If this one is who he says he is—and of course there is no way of knowing—would this be licit contact in your book?"[7]
On July 24, 1952, Father Dowling responds, "Boniface sounds like the Apostle of Germany. I still feel, like MacBeth, that these folks tell us the truth in smaller matters in order to fool us in larger. I suppose that is my lazy orthodoxy."[8]
]]> Christians In Recovery CAPTAINZING2000 http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188688-seances-spirits-12-steps.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188682-new-member-true-believer-tough-situation.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:57:07 GMT Hi guys my name is Will, I'm 23 and have struggled with addiction to drugs since I was 17 or 18 but was on a stimulant for ADD since I was 8 or 9 but I grew up in a family that believes in God but didn't always go to church and my parents ended up divorcing.....anyways I'd like to say first off that somewhere in my mind, body or spirit I know there is a God and I know that what the bible says is true, I spent 3 or 4 days surfing the message boards of the web for help with anxiety/addiction and depression from people but I constantly found people arguing, or contradicting eachother...something just wasnt right and told me the answer didnt lie there.....so I turned to searching for bible passages that related to addiction and one after the other hit me like a brick, made me tear up and cry and my conscience just kept agreeing with every quote and it all makes sense....here is my question, im just getting over the abuse part where I deny i have a problem or say i dont care ill just die an addict, and im in the stage where I'm not abusing any drugs but I am taking a drug for anxiety, a drug for sleep and ritalin..... and I smoke cigarettes, and it's very difficult for me to sit and read bible quotes about addiction and have them hit home and make sense and give me hope but then it's time for my next dose of anxiety medication, i feel like a hypocrite and that I'm actually doing a worse thing but taking the pill or smoking that cigarette right after rreading what it is I need to read to make me think 1. there definitely is a God so stop considering what if there isnt 2. never has any passage from the bible EVER made me think hmmm...that doesnt sound right or that cant be true 3. i can quit all these addictions but i need to step down gradually..... I don't know, if I truly believe in God and want to change shouldnt i just be able to read his Word and stop even if it means not sleeping and having racing thoughts and suffering? but then I read something else from the bible that says basically that God will decide when to assist.......I guess I'm just torn because over time the drugs have altered my mind (well, really the devil has altered it) into thinking "well you read the passage from the bible that promises his help and you still went and had a cigarette, either he doesnt care or isnt real" sorry this is so long and I hope you all don't think I'm high on all these meds right now and just typing whatever i feel right now, im on the lowest dose of ativan possible and my whole life I've had this strange idea built into me that says "you know there is a God spiritually but acknowledging that physically means quitting drugs and going through withdrawals" so the belief is there and reading the bible does change my emotions and i have recently stopped taking painkillers/stopped drinking/stopped smoking pot/cut my cigarette use in half/ but to help with the withdrawal and also with my depression/anxiety I'm on ativan and I don't know whether it is possible that God has led me here and allowed me to have this drug prescribed to me because it has cleared some anxiety and allowed to me to get on this website and ask for guidance and to get online and seek help through scripture..otherwise id be going crazy and seeking other drugs probably....... haha thanks to anyone who tries to tackle this ...any answer would be appreciated ]]> Christians In Recovery wdawg05 http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188682-new-member-true-believer-tough-situation.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188600-temporary-setbacks.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:46:30 GMT Sunday, November 15, 2009 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance... Ecclesiastes 3:4 KJV The occasional disappointments and failures of life are... Sunday, November 15, 2009



A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance...
Ecclesiastes 3:4 KJV

The occasional disappointments and failures of life are inevitable. Such setbacks are simply the price that we must occasionally pay for our willingness to take risks as we follow our dreams. But even when we encounter bitter disappointments, we must never lose faith.

When we encounter the inevitable difficulties of life-here-on-earth, God stands ready to protect us. Our responsibility, of course, is to ask Him for protection. When we call upon Him in heartfelt prayer, He will answer—in His own time and according to His own plan—and He will heal us. And, while we are waiting for God's plans to unfold and for His healing touch to restore us, we can be comforted in the knowledge that our Creator can overcome any obstacle, even if we cannot.

As long as a man keeps his faith in God and in himself nothing can permanently defeat him.
Wilferd Peterson

The enemy of our souls loves to taunt us with past failures, wrongs, disappointments, disasters, and calamities. And if we let him continue doing this, our life becomes a long and dark tunnel, with very little light at the end.
Charles Swindoll

God is a specialist; He is well able to work our failures into His plans. Often the doorway to success is entered through the hallway of failure.
Erwin Lutzer

God sometimes permits us to experience humiliating defeats in order to test our faith and to reveal to us what's really going on in our hearts.
Warren Wiersbe

Today's Prayer

Dear Lord, even when I'm afraid of failure, give me the courage to try. Remind me that with You by my side, I really have nothing to fear. So today, Father, I will live courageously as I place my faith in You. Amen



New Life Daily Devotional/New Life Ministries ]]> Christians In Recovery cmc http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188600-temporary-setbacks.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188502-sensitive-wine-talk-church-small-group.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:09:40 GMT Every month our church small group members share about how God has been relating with us in the context of evening prayers from about 8 to 10 p.m and after that we have a shared meal (all of this is... Every month our church small group members share about how God has been relating with us in the context of evening prayers from about 8 to 10 p.m and after that we have a shared meal (all of this is at someone's home) from 10 till midnight. Wine comes out and I have not been tempted as such. We only started doing this recently - it is about the sixth time I have been but our groups' members have been together (as a large group) between 15 and 25 years. However I noticed this time particularly that our host (who is an extrovert and has a bit of a hold over some of the other group members) was having a heavy go at several bottles and the conversation was getting very frantic and worldly, much of it about secular television. I don't have a TV and don't feel comfortable around Christians that use TV much except for gospel TV. Then the host gave bottles of alcoholic drink away to some of the guests as they were leaving.

I was trying to lay myself open to spiritual influences and came away with a hangover and my will paralysed (well, more so than usual). I thought the Bible said to watch our conversation and to redeem the time and I think the Scriptures were written with the present times in mind.

Our church teachers told us explicitly we should use wine at the dinner party part of the proceedings. I had a word on the phone with the group leader who is a medium wine consumer - not very big - and his reaction to my comments about the domination of TV subjects over the conversation was that he would disapprove of our dinner parties becoming 'mechanised' (his word for any guidance about the content of conversation - he is of the school that believes in leaving relationships to chance).

I feel his and the host's approach to the teachers' sayings is itself 'mechanised' if anything is. The leader asked, did the presence of wine trouble me (knowing I am in recovery) and I thought he meant did I get directly tempted so I said no. Though I mean something different, should I get back to him and say "well yes" because I think the tone of the conversation will be more open to edifying things if there isn't wine?

I would expect these problems (about spiritual awareness) from a totally new church group but not one that has been going for more than a dozen years. The church teachers can be a bit bossy sometimes and members don't always think out the mostly good reasons behind most of the things they tell us to do (they prefer to 'blindly' follow them - of course I know we might need to do that occasionally :c031: )

After 10 is late to eat anyway but I think my concerns would still hold at an earlier hour. ]]> Christians In Recovery Found http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188502-sensitive-wine-talk-church-small-group.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188483-hope.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:07:19 GMT Friday, November 13, 2009 When You Are Low on Hope by Max Lucado Water. All Noah can see is water. The evening sun sinks into it. The clouds are reflected in it. His boat is surrounded by... Friday, November 13, 2009


When You Are Low on Hope
by Max Lucado

Water. All Noah can see is water. The evening sun sinks into it. The clouds are reflected in it. His boat is surrounded by it. Water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the west. Water.

He sent a raven on a scouting mission; it never returned. He sent a dove. It came back shivering and spent, having found no place to roost. Then, just this morning, he tried again. With a prayer he let it go and watched until the bird was no bigger than a speck on a window.

All day he looked for the dove's return.

Now the sun is setting, and the sky is darkening, and he has come to look one final time, but all he sees is water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the ...

You know the feeling. You have stood where Noah stood. You've known your share of floods. Flooded by sorrow at the cemetery, stress at the office, anger at the disability in your body or the inability of your spouse. You've seen the floodwater rise, and you've likely seen the sun set on your hopes as well. You've been on Noah's boat.

And you've needed what Noah needed; you've needed some hope. You're not asking for a helicopter rescue, but the sound of one would be nice. Hope doesn't promise an instant solution but rather the possibility of an eventual one. Sometimes all we need is a little hope.

That's all Noah needed. And that's all Noah received.

Here is how the Bible describes the moment: "When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!" (Gen. 8:11 NIV).

An olive leaf. Noah would have been happy to have the bird but to have the leaf! This leaf was more than foliage; this was promise. The bird brought more than a piece of a tree; it brought hope. For isn't that what hope is? Hope is an olive leaf—evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk.

Don't we love the olive leaves of life?
"It appears the cancer may be in remission."
"I can help you with those finances."
"We'll get through this together."
What's more, don't we love the doves that bring them?
Perhaps that's the reason so many loved Jesus.

To all the Noahs of the world, to all who search the horizon for a fleck of hope, he proclaims, "Yes!" And he comes. He comes as a dove. He comes bearing fruit from a distant land, from our future home. He comes with a leaf of hope.

Have you received yours? Don't think your ark is too isolated. Don't think your flood is too wide. Receive his hope, won't you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it.

Love always hopes. "Love ... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4-7 NKJV, emphasis mine).


UpWords with Max LucadoFrom A Love Worth Giving
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado ]]> Christians In Recovery cmc http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188483-hope.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188365-interdenominational-associations-step-4-a.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:19:41 GMT Back in the 'seventies when there was a lot of disparaging between churches as to whether they were dead, errant etc. I was a youth in my teens, a child, and very impressionable. In the eighties it hadn't improved much and I was still young.

Coupled with my church leadership having gone through a period of dumbing-down my religion, I found myself throwing out most features of my religion and looking down on those who still maintained some of them.

I deprived myself of the benefit of faith in good doctrines for most of my life because of others' trivial mindedness and immaturity in the midst of whom I ventured my own immaturity in a way but I was seldom proactive in this, mostly on the receiving end especially at first.

What a huge tangle for my first ever Step 4 coming up, it will give me traumas to revisit, and more than heart breaking, it is aimed straight at the point where I would be putting faith in God.:c020: ]]> Christians In Recovery Found http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188365-interdenominational-associations-step-4-a.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188345-ninety-nine.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:51:11 GMT There were ninety and nine that safely lay In the shelter of the fold. But one was out on the hills away, Far off from the gates of gold. Away on the mountains wild and bare. ... There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.

"Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?"
But the Shepherd made answer: "This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep."

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry,
Sick and helpless and ready to die;
Sick and helpless and ready to die.

"Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way
That mark out the mountain's track?"
"They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back."
"Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?"
"They are pierced tonight by many a thorn;
They are pierced tonight by many a thorn."

And all through the mountains, thunder riven
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of Heaven,
"Rejoice! I have found My sheep!"
And the angels echoed around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!
Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!"

Lyrics: Elizabeth Cecelia Douglas Clephane
Music: Ira David Sankey ]]> Christians In Recovery IO Storm http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188345-ninety-nine.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188264-peace.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:27:53 GMT Daily New Life Tuesday, November 10, 2009 He Offers Peace Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled,... Daily New Life

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
He Offers Peace

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
John 14:27 NASB

The beautiful words of John 14:27 remind us that Jesus offers us peace, not as the world gives, but as He alone gives. Have you found the genuine peace that can be yours through Jesus Christ? Or are you still rushing after the illusion of "peace and happiness" that the world promises but cannot deliver?

Today, as a gift to yourself, to your family, and to your friends, claim the inner peace that is your spiritual birthright: the peace of Jesus Christ. It is offered freely; it has been paid for in full; it is yours for the asking. So ask. And then share.

Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.
Catherine Marshall

Christ alone can bring lasting peace—peace with God—peace among men and nations—and peace within our hearts.
Billy Graham

God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
C. S. Lewis

God's peace is like a river, not a pond. In other words, a sense of health and well-being, both of which are expressions of the Hebrew shalom, can permeate our homes even when we're in white-water rapids.
Beth Moore

Today's Prayer

Dear Lord, I will open my heart to You. And I thank You, God, for Your love, for Your peace, and for Your Son. Amen





Steve Arterburn/New Life Ministries ]]> Christians In Recovery cmc http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188264-peace.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188257-thanksgiving.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:27:00 GMT Thanksgiving (http://www.cpmsglife2.org/MSG/Pres/td/td1.html) Thanksgiving ]]> Christians In Recovery CAPTAINZING2000 http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188257-thanksgiving.html http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188208-money.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:35:33 GMT Daily New Life Monday, November 9, 2009 The Love of Money For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced... Daily New Life
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Love of Money

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil,
and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10 NASB

Our society is in love with money and the things that money can buy. God is not. God cares about people, not possessions, and so must we. We must, to the best of our abilities, love our neighbors as ourselves, and we must, to the best of our abilities, resist the mighty temptation to place possessions ahead of people.

Money, in and of itself, is not evil; worshipping money is. So today, as you prioritize matters of importance for you and yours, remember that God is almighty, but the dollar is not. If we worship God, we are blessed. But if we worship "the almighty dollar," we are inevitably punished because of our misplaced priorities—and our punishment inevitably comes sooner rather than later.

God is looking over the entire earth for men who have the proper attitude toward money and who will use it according to His direction and not according to their own interests.
Larry Burkett

If the glories of heaven were more real to us, if we lived less for material things and more for things eternal and spiritual, we would be less easily disturbed in this present life.
Billy Graham

Christians have become victims of one of the most devious plots Satan ever created—the concept that money belongs to us and not to God.
Larry Burkett

Greed is enslaving. The more you have, the more you want—until eventually avarice consumes you.
Kay Arthur

Today's Prayer

Dear Lord, I will earn money and I will use money, but I will not worship money. Give me the wisdom and the discipline to be a responsible steward of my financial resources, and let me use those resources for the glory of Your kingdom. Amen ]]> Christians In Recovery cmc http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/christians-recovery/188208-money.html