Let God Help

I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:5-6
Carrying out social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of the poor. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. Proclaiming the Message: telling others who God is and what He has done in and through your lives is an important part of the recovery process. One of my favourite experiences in the Salvation Army services was Testimony Time. Where people from the congregation had opportunity to tell others what God was doing in their lives at whatever step of the Spiritual Growth process they were at. One of my favourite times in recovery meetings is the Sharing Time. Where individuals get a chance to do the same thing. Our stories disclose in a general way – What we used to be like – What happened and What we are like now.
God has a plan and a purpose for you and a plan and a purpose for me. and, I thank Him today our plans got to intervene. For that we should give abundant and bountiful thanksgiving too Him..
Luke 5:22 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Why do you think such things?
God knows what we are thinking! We can’t hide certain areas of our lives or shut God out of them. He can break any barriers of resistance way may raise. He can un-lock the area we don’t want Him to see.
There are areas in all of our lives of which we are ashamed. Guilt, regret, resentment, and unconfessed sin foster disablement and distrust. The GOOD NEWS is within us all is the power to let go and let God take control of these areas within us. desperation and despair can be overcome by placing our faith and trust in Him and allowing Him to help us with the areas we feel we need not let Him into.
Your suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. God, is both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and never, never quits. Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, your God. And here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, Is most patient, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe. If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, He’ll help you catch your breath. Disciples so often get into trouble; and, God is there every time.
Sometimes with self inflicted-pain, we have felt sorrow, shame, and blame. The ‘Good News’ is Jesus meets us right where we are. We don’t have to fix everything pre-recovery [or there would be no need for recovery] He sees our pain and offers us sanctuary and rest during our distress. He is our example of true humility. By His example, we can admit our need for God’s intervention in the things we cannot change. In John 4:34 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started.” He will give us all we need to overcome every hurdle that presents and keep us safe until we learn His will, His way of living, and implement it in our daily living.
Just for today Lord nourish me and nurture me in all that I do. Show me what I need to do what You want me to do and provide me all I need to do it.
We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living,
Too often we think the answer is within us. We think we know all the answers. Here is my question for today “If you have all the answers how did you end up in recovery?” We won’t discover the best way of living by living by our own knowledge and desires. God wants to bring out the best in us. To do that He expects us to give our best to Him. at the beginning of 2022 if we want to move forward spiritually, mentally, and physically we need to decide today to commit our lives to God’s care. Recovery is about the discovery of our true identity. We require help to discover who we really are and to face up to some of the truths about ourselves. God knows what we need to go through and he is committed to equipping us to go through it, if we are.
Lord just for today help me to commit to Your plan fro my life and listen for Your voice as I go through the day. Show me what I need to know and need to do to discover Your purpose and carry it out.
God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth.
God’s power can deliver us from our addictive and compulsive behaviours and attitudes, but only if we are prepared to be rigorously honest with Him. To avoid His displeasure we need to apply what we learn from the Bible, the Holy Spirit and the Twelve Steps.
Lord, help me today to help You to help me avoid Your displeasure by being honest with You and applying what You teach me through Your Word, Your Spirit and the Twelve Steps.
AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF CHANGE, I WILL IDENTIFY AND RECORD EVERYONE I HAVE HARMED AND THROUGH PRAYER BECOME WILLING TO MAKE RESTITUTION TO THEM
Matthew 6:14 “Forgive people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you.
One of the problems with the process of recovery is – not everyone is in recovery, even though we all need it. We need to remember this fact when it comes to making our list. The purpose of recovery is to help us live better lives through personal change with God’s help. It is not to make others love us or accept us more and it is not for others to change because we have.
The fact is as we grow spiritually and change our habits and attitudes we may still come across people who will treat us badly. In those instances, we need to stop, say a prayer, and leave them in God’s hands.
Prayer: Lord help me today to accept that recovery is about You helping me to change myself not others.
Sin may feel and seem right for a season.
I BELIEVE GOD EXISTS, THAT HE CARES ABOUT ME AND HE CAN HELP ME TO REGAIN CONTROL OF MY LIFE.
Romans 7:15-20 What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
Paul shares three lessons he has learned in dealing with his sinful nature:
Knowledge of ‘the rules’ is not enough.
Romans 7:9 I went along without paying much attention to it. But once sin got its hands on the law code and decked itself out in all that finery, I was fooled, and fell for it.
Self-determination us not enough
Romans 7:15 What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise.
Turning to God doesn’t eliminate the temptation
Romans 7:22-25 I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Becoming like Jesus, learning and obeying God’s will for our lives as we progress in the process of ‘Living Life Recovery’ is a life long process. We cannot earn God’s favor through good behavior. It takes work on our own character to develop into the people God is calling us to be. None of us need recovery because life has worked out for us. We tried and we failed in our own strength. 2021 is the year to discover His strength and His power and live according to His guidance and commandments.
Living Life Recovery is a safe place where people can come, share and investigate the realities of God’s promises for themselves.
We believe that as we investigate God’s promises for our lives and practice the ‘Spiritual Principles of Recovery’ as outlined in ‘God’s Word’ we will find the strength and freedom we need to live productive and peaceful lives.
We welcome anyone who has a sincere desire to change their lives. To rise above the pain and turmoil caused by dependencies and compulsive behaviors their own lives or the lives of a loved one or friend.
On completion of my list of sinful habits, I will confess them to God and to someone that I trust. Join me this week for week three of Step Five