Tag: Featured

Salvation ~ A Gift From God

13th May 2021 aeboyle 2019, April,, Messages Comments Off on Salvation ~ A Gift From God

Romans 10:5-15 Moses said that a person could become acceptable to God by obeying the Law. He did this when he wrote, “If you want to live, you must do all that the Law commands.” But people whose faith makes them acceptable to God will never ask, “Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down?” Neither will they ask, “Who will go down into the world of the dead to raise him to life?” All who are acceptable because of their faith simply say, “The message is as near as your mouth or your heart.” And this is the same message we preach about faith. So you will be saved, if you honestly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you if you truly believe this and tell it to others. The Scriptures say that no one who has faith will be disappointed, no matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help. All who call out to the Lord will be saved. How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news.

 

  1. EVERY PERSON HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE SAVED

If you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

 

* Without qualification, this applies to everyone
Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.  Romans 10:12-13

 

* Salvation is specifically offered to individuals, not to groups

 

  1. CONFESSION IS AGREEING WITH GOD THAT WE ARE SINFUL
    * It is the holy spirit who brings conviction to the heart of man

But the fact of the matter is that it is best for you that I go away, for if I don’t, the Comforter won’t come. If I do, he will—for I will send him to you. “And when he has come, he will convince the world of its sin, and of the availability of God’s goodness, and of deliverance from judgment. John 16:7-8

 

God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ. Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus, and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others. Ephesians 2:7-10

 

*A person first believes with God that he is a sinner and then externalize their agreement with their mouth

Romans 10:10 For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.

 

Why “with thy mouth?” In this way, we verify our faith and its personal application—unlike a people who when asked whether they are saved say, “Mum told me I was when I was a little girl.”


The salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is what we preach—is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths. For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:8-9

  

III. THERE IS AN INITIAL CONFESSION (Step Three) AND CONTINUOUS CONFESSIONS (Step Ten)

Initial confession indicates a change in our position from darkness to light, from death to life, or a rebirth.
Jesus said, “With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3

 

*After our transforming experience, we must continue to confess our sins to God for forgiveness
This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. So if we say we are his friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins. If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned. 1 John 1:5-10

  

  1. WHAT MUST WE BELIEVE TO BE SAVED?

 

*Without faith in the resurrection, there can be no salvation
1 Corinthians 15:12-18 Since you believe what we preach, that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying that dead people will never come back to life again? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ must still be dead. And if he is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless; and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, and of course that isn’t true if the dead do not come back to life again. If they don’t, then Christ is still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and you are still under condemnation for your sins; in that case, all Christians who have died are lost!

 

*Since Jesus is Lord, He also raised Himself
Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. Romans 6:9


Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has forgiven us and given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ? No! For he is the one who died for us and came back to life again for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us there in heaven. Romans 8:33-34

 

Jesus said, “this is the miracle I will do for you: Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up!” John 2:1

The fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again someday. 1 Corinthians 15:20

 

*The Holy Spirit, being part of the Triune God, also raised Jesus from the dead.
If the Spirit of God, who raised up Jesus from the dead, lives in you, he will make your dying bodies live again after you die, by means of this same Holy Spirit living within you. Romans 8:11

 

  1. THE RESULT OF THIS BELIEF AND CONFESSION IS SALVATION

*Salvation is an act of God, not us, and it can never be taken away.

 

Jesus promised,” I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from me.” John 10:28-29

 

Growing Up ~ Spiritually

27th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October, Thought For Today Comments Off on Growing Up ~ Spiritually

Recovery requires a change of character that can only be obtained through a relationship with Jesus.

There’s no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you’re treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God. 1 Peter 2:20

When I entered recovery people expected me to fail. Some are probably still waiting for the day when it all comes crashing down. Not their fault! When I first entered recovery in 1987, I made a lot of the right noises and won the faith and respect of people just to let them down when I relapsed. Relapse taught me things about myself I would never have learned without it. I am not suggesting people relapse. But for me, it helped me to build a better character by helping me to understand my need for rigorous honesty. It helped me to mature because all I had done previously was abstain from alcohol and drugs.

  • Are you ready to take full responsibility for your own maturity?

 

 

Prayer: Lord help me today to grow up spiritually

Word for Today

27th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October, The Word For Today Comments Off on Word for Today

HONESTY

Your level of honesty demonstrates the quality of your character

Honesty lives confident and carefree, but Shifty is sure to be exposed. Proverbs 10:9

Honesty brings blessings from God

Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top. Psalms 37:7

Knowing More about God

26th October 2019 aeboyle Living Life Recovery Comments Off on Knowing More about God

When you enter ‘Spiritual Recovery’ and realise God had to be looking after you how could you not want to know more about Him? That’s what happened to me! Realising God cared about me and would help me recover.

Experience

26th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October Comments Off on Experience

Don’t just learn, experience.
Don’t just read, absorb.
Don’t just change, transform.
Don’t just relate, advocate.
Don’t just promise, prove.
Don’t just criticize, encourage.
Don’t just think, ponder.
Don’t just take, give.
Don’t just see, feel.
Don’t just dream, do.
Don’t just hear, listen.
Don’t just talk, act.
Don’t just tell, show.
Don’t just exist, live.”
― Roy T. Bennett

Listen and Obey

26th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, Acrostic, October Comments Off on Listen and Obey

Listen and Obey

Be sure that you don’t say no to the One who speaks. People did not escape when they said no to the One who warned them on earth. And what if we turn away from the One who warns us from heaven? How much less will we escape! Hebrews 12:25

A belief I have held since entering Bible-based recovery in 1989 is “Most people fail in recovery because they don’t plan not to.”  Many people with good intentions and the right motivations enter rehabs and do well. Then at the end of their time, they leave rehabs and go back to ‘the real world’ without a plan of how they are going to manage their addictions and compulsions going forward. Sure they plan to attend meetings but what else? The ‘Big Book’ of ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ says ‘We deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling and powerful.’ And, the reality is unless we have a plan of how we are going to live differently, act differently and think differently we are setting ourselves up for failure.

As we begin to experience success in recovery it is easy for us to convince ourselves we no longer need to apply what we have learned through the process. It is easy for us to convince ourselves we have our addictions and compulsions beaten.

When we start thinking that way we are on the ‘Road to Relapse’ Living Life Recovery requires careful planning of living and applying all we have learned to our daily living so we can continue living and growing spiritually with God’s help.

RELAPSE handout 

RELAPSE

22nd October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October, Recovery Comments Off on RELAPSE

We are all the most vulnerable to relapse when life is going well. When things are going well we tend to stop listening to God because we think we can now handle things on our own. We start to neglect to go to meetings, reading the Bible, praying and doing other things we used to do when we were first introduced to recovery.

Complacency leads to relapse. God is the source of power for all recovery; success in recovery needs to be accredited to Him and what He is doing in and through us and our lives. Failure to acknowledge Him will lead to relapse

Disappointment can lead to relapse. When things don’t go the way, we think they should we are left at a crossroads, with two choices. Keep moving forward or go backward. When things don’t go the way we think they should we need to become actively involved in changing them.

Pride leads to relapse. Arrogance disqualifies us from moving forward in recovery. Self-sufficiency and superiority are killers in the process.

 

PRIDE

  1.  Pride lures us away from God
  2. Pride undermines what we have learned
  3. Pride distorts our views of ourselves – God – others – recovery

 

SELFISHNESS

  1. Selfishness is a rejection of God and all He represents
  2. Selfishness is self-destructive
  3. Selfishness is at the heart of most of our problems

 

COMPLACENCY

  1. Stops us relying on God
  2. Stops us asking for help when we need it
  3. Removes us from the recovery process

 

DISTRACTION

  1. Distraction stops us being consistent
  2. Distraction lowers our awareness of our true position
  3. Distraction stops us trusting God

 

PREVENTING RELAPSE


COMMITMENT TO GOD

  1. Must be complete
  2. Must be consistent
  3. Must be lifelong
  4. Must put Him first and above all else

 

COMMITMENT TO OTHERS

  1. Should not compromise our recovery
  2. Should reflect our relationship with God
  3. Should encourage both us and those we are in relationship with

 

Scripture

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So, when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with You, and even to die with You.” But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.” Luke 22:31-34

It is easy to lose faith when things go wrong. As we experience problems in recovery we may feel our recovery is worthless and no longer worthwhile. We may get angry at God because He is not doing what we think He should. Peter suffered the worst relapse. Complacently believing He would never do anything to deny his relationship with Jesus. “I’d rather die”, he said.

  • Why in the recovery process are we surprised when it gets difficult? Why do we think because we are in recovery and have God in our lives everything is going to be easy?

 

ACROSTIC

Reserve a daily quiet time

  • Time to pray
  • Time to read the Bible
  • Time to meditate on God’s Word

 

Evaluate

  • How are you going?
  • Where are you in the recovery process?
  • Is there something or things you need to change

 

Listen to Jesus

  • How’s your prayer life?
  • How’s your obedience
  • Are you avoiding something?

 

Alone and quiet time

  • Time to relax
  • Time to rest
  • Time to do something you enjoy

 

Plug into God’s power

  • How is your connection?
  • Are you letting God lead?
  • How’s your obedience?

 

Slow down

  • Are you doing too much?
  • When was your last day off?
  • How is your time balanced?

 

Enjoy your growth

  • How disciplined are you?
  • How have you changed in the last twelve months?
  • When did you last celebrate your recovery?

 

 

 

CONSCIENCE ~ A Gift From God

20th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October, Thought For Today Comments Off on CONSCIENCE ~ A Gift From God

This morning in my devotional time I read from the ‘Life Recovery Devotional’ the ‘Day 20, Step 10’ reading. Which was headed ‘A Sensitive Conscience’  As I read it a thought occurred to me, which became the title of today’s ‘Thought For Today.’ 

None of us got up one day and thought to ourselves “It’s a nice day outside I think I will leave everything I know and enter a life of continued spiritual recovery.” We had all reached that place in recovery called ‘Rock Bottom’ and were prompted by what we now know is the Holy Spirit that if we carried on living the way we were living and doing the things we were doing we weren’t going to survive much longer. Today’s reading in the ‘Life Recovery Devotional’ says The word ‘conscience’ describes the act of perceiving our will and God’s will simultaneously and when we make a conscious decision to live God’s way our conscience becomes clear.

The Bible says in John 8:7-9 of the word conscience.

They [teachers of religious laws and Pharissess] kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, He wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone.

I am sure we can all understand the shame of or own guilt when confronted by God with the realities of our own lives.

Today’s Scripture is:

 

1 Corinthians 8:12 says “It is a sin against Christ to sin against your brother by encouraging him to do something he thinks is wrong.” Again I am sure we can all relate to this verse and identify times in our lives when we have taken others along for the ride in our poor decisions and bad habits. In the scripture above Paul encourages Timothy to put God first always and “fight well in the Lord’s battles.”  to ‘Cling to his faith in Christ’ because that is the way to clear our consciences and keep them clear. Paul goes on further to warn Timothy of people who have ‘deliberately violated their consciences and lost their way.’

This post is headed ‘CONSCIENCE ~ a gift from God’

1 Timothy 6:20  says to “guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts.”
1 Timothy 4:4 says “Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out.” Through our consciences, the Holy Spirit led us to recovery, whether we see that yet, or acknowledge it. Through our consciences, God is giving us the way and the means to replace our wrong ways of living with His ways of living. It is up to us to accept ‘The Gift’ 

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 says “The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way–never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.”  Now is the time for ‘clearing the ground and building lives of obedience.’ using the gift of conscience that God has given us.

Tolerate Different

18th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October, Recovery Comments Off on Tolerate Different

Colossians 3:13 Put up with each other. Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you

Tolerating the differences. We all have them and some of them can be really annoying. God created us all in His image. He in His wisdom gave us all personalities and if we are going to survive the process of recovery we are going to have to tolerate each other’s differences.

I often like to tell people about the process of my recovery and the amazing things God did in that process just for me. I have been challenged by people who think I am too sure of myself. I’m not, what I am sure of is my Saviour and my Higher Power has a plan for me and if I continually seek to find, understand and implement His plan nothing can ever happen that will make me want to return to being the person I used to be.

Accept Different

12th October 2019 aeboyle 2019, October, Thought For Today Comments Off on Accept Different

2 Corinthians 10:18  When someone boasts about himself and how well he has done, it doesn’t count for much. But when the Lord commends him, that’s different!

When we big note ourselves and don’ t accept the contribution of God and other people to our recovery we can miss out on a lot of valuable experiences. Sometimes we fail to accept others it is because they are not like us. They don’t think like us, they don’t act like us, and we think they don’t understand us.

One of the things I have enjoyed most in my recovery journey has been the opportunity to meet with so many different people from so many different backgrounds and cultures. God created us all in His image but in His Wisdom He also made us all individuals for a purpose.

 

Prayer: Lord,  today help me to accept everyone, to accept and embrace their differences and remember they too are created in Your image.

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