Month: April 2011

God gives me opportunities

29th April 2011 aeboyle Personal Growth, Testimony Comments Off on God gives me opportunities

When God creates opportunities in my life it is still up to me to participate.

As I reflect on my recovery where I am now, where I have come from and how I got here, I realize the importance of acting on His leading in my life. If I hadn’t participated nothing would have changed.

Thank God for supplying what I needed to do what he wants.

Colossians 4:3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.

Recovery is simple but not easy!

29th April 2011 aeboyle Living Life Recovery, Personal Growth, Prayers, Salvation, Strength Comments Off on Recovery is simple but not easy!

I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate– I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it. 1 Corinthians 2:3

Recovery can be a scary prospect. To move away from addiction, that, even though it is painful is comfortable. When we first come to recovery we are told things like:

• You have to go to meetings.

Many of us have spent our lives in addiction avoiding relationship with others Or, it was our drug of choice that permitted us to relate to others. Now alcohol and drug free we are told ‘you are going to have to meet regularly with others and share your shame’

• You have to learn and apply the principles of recovery.

Learning for many of us (our school years) were not a happy time. Now when we want to straighten out our lives we are told we not only have to learn but we have to apply what we learn, which involves changing our lives.

• You have to trust God and turn your life over too him.

We may have a distorted idea of God and find it difficult to not juust to trust Him but to believe He actuaaly exists.

In John 14:6 Jesus say’s “I am the way the truth and the life” (read this post at http://livingliferecovery.com)

When we enter recovery for thefirst time it is a confusing process, we feel incapable of doing what we need to do to get it right. The ‘Good News’ is there is a ‘way’ forward and that ‘way’ is relationship with God.

Be prepared to share

28th April 2011 aeboyle Messages, Prayers, Salvation, Strength, Testimony Comments Off on Be prepared to share

All of our talents can be used to make a contribution to God. Remember God draws on our unique talents to draw others to himself through us

May this God of peace prepare you to do every good thing he wants. May he work in us through Jesus Christ to do what is pleasing to him. Glory belongs to Jesus Christ forever. Hebews 13:21 

Proper use of our God-given talents

27th April 2011 aeboyle Life Experience, Obedience, Personal Growth Comments Off on Proper use of our God-given talents

Do you trust God to govern you fairly? Each of us has special talents that God has given to us. He wants us to use them in service to Him and others.

Target Excess Target excess to receive sufficient.

27th April 2011 aeboyle Life Experience, Living Life Recovery Comments Off on Target Excess Target excess to receive sufficient.

What makes a healthy ministry? The answer is obvious: A healthy congregation….

Why the Holy Spirit put this thought in my head I don’t know, but He did so in this post I will share with you what we discussed.

As Christians we are all commanded to take God’s message to all nations. To share the message of the Gospel worldwide: As I meditated on this point the Holy Spirit prompted me to consider the ministry of successful churches and ask what do they all have in common?

1. A dynamic preacher.
2. A visual world presence.
3. Vibrant relevant music.
4. A strong and committed
leadership team
5. Strong reliance on God’s
power working in and through
there church.
6. Commitment to prayer and
personal relationship with
Christ.
7. Access to good spiritual growth
resources.
8. Healthy fellowship groups.

This list is neither complete or in order but how it came to me.

The other thing they all do is ‘target excess to achieve sufficient’. For me this is a profound message from the Holy Spirit. I know it shouldn’t be. Jesus preached to crowds in which many of the people were never going to get it, but it didn’t stop Him sharing the message of Salvation boldly with them.

For me one message delivered “cast your net wide and don’t be concerned about who is listening. I have that covered”

I don’t know who else needs to hear this message but here it is.

Matthew 4:23-25 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme– that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all. More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the”Ten Towns”across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.

Recovery leads to good conduct

26th April 2011 aeboyle Living Life Recovery, Personal Growth Comments Off on Recovery leads to good conduct

It is easy to think of recovery in the terms of ‘to stop using’. Prior to coming to the ‘Bridge Program’ I spent time in a rehab in Western Australia and attended A.A. Meetings regularly. But that was all I did -,’stopped using’. I did nothing about stopping my destructive habits. The result was relapse.

The best way to stop destructive habits is to build constructive ones.

When we consciously turn our lives over to God, repent, make restitution and seek His will daily recovery takes on a whole new meaning and value.

Healthy Relationships

25th April 2011 aeboyle Personal Growth, Testimony Comments Off on Healthy Relationships

Our hope for a lasting, growing future must involve healthy relationships. With God and with others. Without healthy relationships lasting, growing recovery is impossible.

Scared of Scars

23rd April 2011 aeboyle Life Experience, Personal Growth, Testimony Comments Off on Scared of Scars

Many of us have been impaired by alcohol or drugs. Some will carry the damage permanently. We shall be wise not to magnify our afflictions too much, or they will rule us.

Instead of magnifying our weaknesses we must learn to magnify the Lord. This is a good antidote to self-pity.

Mary on becoming pregnant with the Son of God for the purpose of His dying on a cross and being resurrected to heaven learned the reality of (Philippians 2:13) It is God working in and through us that equips us to will and live His purpose.

And that’s a reason to dance!

Luke 1:46-47 Mary said, I’m bursting with God- news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.

What are you doing for Easter?

21st April 2011 aeboyle Life Experience, Messages, Personal Growth, Salvation Comments Off on What are you doing for Easter?

Luke 23:20-21 Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again. But they kept shouting back,”Crucify! Crucify him!”

How would you feel? Sentencing an innocent man to the death penalty by the inhumane method of crucifixion just to satisfy the crowd?

Pilate didn’t want to so he gave the crowd the option of setting Jesus free. But it was never meant to be that way. God planned Jesus death because without it their could be no example of true love, loyalty and no resurrection.

In addiction, compulsion and recovery we to are guilty of sentencing others to death, not by crucifixion but by addiction. We all know the only way to true, lasting recovery and know others who will benefit from learning and following ‘The Way, Truth and Life’ yet we don’t share with them.

Instead like the crowd our attitude is “I’m okay, stuff you Jack”

During this sacred Christian Celebration of the greatest sacrifice ever made, if you know someone who needs recovery and assistance in finding the ‘True Path’ reach out to them. Invite them to visit church, with you and introduce them to the ‘One True Higher Power’

Am I Enough?

18th April 2011 aeboyle Life Experience, Testimony Comments Off on Am I Enough?

Do I depend on God for my sense of adequacy? For the task of representing Christ “Am I enough”. For the position of head of my household “Am I enough?”. To live out God’s purpose “Am I enough?”

The answer on my own “NO” but with Christ a definite “YES”

God has given me the Holy Spirit to speak with God’s power. He keeps His eye on me, protecting me as I walk with Him.

Realising it is God who makes us competent and useful helps us to overcome our inadequacies. Serving Him requires complete focus on not what I can do but on what He can and will do through me.

2 Corinthians 2:15 Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation– an aroma redolent with life.

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