2022 | Spiritual Foundations | Week Four
Welcome to ‘Spiritual Foundations – Week Four’ It’s been a little while coming. My hope is to post a video each week from here on in.
Tag: Spiritual Foundations
2022 | Spiritual Foundations | Week Five
2022 | Spiritual Foundations | Week Five
This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines. John 3:30
We are all sinners. Jesus is not! He came with one purpose: “To save us!” Doesn’t that make Him more important than us?
Putting the purposes of God first in our lives is not always the easiest thing for us to do. Especially if we have been experiencing a lot of crises in our lives. But it is the wisest way for us to move forward in recovery.
Successfully growing, continuing in spiritual recovery and maturity can only be achieved by putting our faith in Jesus. He is the One True Higher Power, and we need to learn to trust Him completely, in every area of our lives.
– What things are you holding onto right now because you don’t trust God enough with them?
Prayer: Just for Today Lord help me today to in faith. To put my trust completely in You and realize it is not about me but about You and Your purpose for my life.
- FAITH IN GOD = BELIEF IN JESUS
Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. John 14:6
Hebrews 11:1 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.
Hebrews 11:6 It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
2. HOW MUCH FAITH DO I NEED?
“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”
Matthew 17:20
Philippians 4:19 You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.
Romans 3:23-24 Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity, he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
3. (WIFM) – WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME
They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live.”
Acts 16:31
Psalms 37:4-6 Keep company with God, get in on the best. Open up before God, keep nothing back; he’ll do whatever needs to be done: He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval.
Proverbs 3:6 Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Joshua 1:9 Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take.”
2022 – Spiritual Foundations – Week Three
LIFE IS VALUABLE
Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.
1 Timothy 4:8
Living life in recovery according to God’s will makes life valuable. Through this process God asked us to choose life through following Jesus rather than leading life according to our own sinful desires.
God wants us through the process to stop trying to control our own destiny and let Him guide us. This makes sense based on the way we lived prior to recovery and the fact that Christ knows better than us what is good for us and what we need to keep moving forward in life.
God also asks us to submit to Him in order that we might lose our self- centredness and understand the value of our own lives and the lives of others i n our circle of influence.
– What value do you place on your life and the lives of others now that you are progressing spiritually in recovery?
Prayer: Lord help me to place the same value on life as You do.
- GOD CREATED US
God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27
Hebrews 11:3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.
John 1:3 Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him.
- GOD LOVES US
Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.
Ephesians 1:4
Romans 5:8 God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
Zephaniah 3:17 God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs.
- GOD VALUES US
We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.
Hebrews 4:15
1 John 3:2 Friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him.
God’s name is a place of protection— good people can run there and be safe.
Proverbs 18:10
Establishing Spiritual Foundations
Living Life Recovery is a Process of Rebuilding Lives
Nehemiah 2:11-20 I arrived in Jerusalem. After I had been there three days, I got up in the middle of the night, I and a few men who were with me. I hadn’t told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with us was the one I was riding. Under cover of night I went past the Valley Gate toward the Dragon’s Fountain to the Dung Gate looking over the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken through and whose gates had been burned up. I then crossed to the Fountain Gate and headed for the King’s Pool but there wasn’t enough room for the donkey I was riding to get through. So I went up the valley in the dark continuing my inspection of the wall. I came back in through the Valley Gate. The local officials had no idea where I’d gone or what I was doing–I hadn’t breathed a word to the Jews, priests, nobles, local officials, or anyone else who would be working on the job. Then I gave them my report: “Face it: we’re in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come–let’s build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer.” I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, “We’re with you. Let’s get started.” They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work. When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they laughed at us, mocking, “Ha! What do you think you’re doing? Do you think you can cross the king?” I shot back, “The God-of-Heaven will make sure we succeed. We’re his servants and we’re going to work, rebuilding. You can keep your nose out of it. You get no say in this–Jerusalem’s none of your business!”
- Nehemiah started out as a government worker (a cupbearer – guardian of the Kings cup – taste the Kings wine to make sure it wasn’t poisoned) Then became a building contractor called in to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
(You never know what God has in store for you)
Step One: I admit that my life is a mess and I am out of control.
- His co-worker Ezra was a scholar and teacher of the Scriptures
(Nehemiah knew what his strengths were and weren’t)
(Nehemiah was a man of prayer, faith, vision, and perseverance) - Through 52 days of rebuilding the wall together, the Jews rebuilt relationships
(When we work together we change) - After the rebuilding Nehemiah called on Ezra to teach the people from the Scriptures showing them how to rebuild their lives
(Recovery apart from God doesn’t last)
Focus Verse: Nehemiah 2:17 Then I gave them my report: “Face it: we’re in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come–let’s build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer.”
1Timothy 1:19 (CEV) Some people have made a mess of their faith because they didn’t listen to their consciences.
Deuteronomy 31:29 (MSG) I know that after I die you’re going to make a mess of things, abandoning the way I commanded, inviting all kinds of evil consequences in the days ahead. You’re determined to do evil in defiance of GOD–I know you are–deliberately provoking his anger by what you do.”
Judges 10:14 (MSG) “Go ahead! Cry out for help to the gods you’ve chosen–let them get you out of the mess you’re in!”
Job 8:3 (MSG) Does God mess up? Does God Almighty ever get things backward?
Job 30:19 (MSG) Thrown facedown in the muck, I’m a muddy mess, inside and out.
Psalm 9:7 (MSG) God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world’s mess right.
Psalm 14:6 (MSG) Do you think you can mess with the dreams of the poor? You can’t, for
God makes their dreams come true.
Psalm 30:1 (MSG) I give you all the credit, GOD– you got me out of that mess.
Psalm 40:17 (MSG) I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you’ve got what it takes– but God, don’t put it off.
Psalm 71:2 (MSG) Do what you do so well: get me out of this mess and up on my feet. Put your ear to the ground and listen, give me space for salvation.
Psalm 79:9 (MSG) You’re famous for helping; God, give us a break. Your reputation is on the line. Pull us out of this mess, forgive us our sins– do what you’re famous for doing!
Proverbs 6:3 (MSG) Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You’re in that man’s clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate.
Proverbs 13:17 (MSG) Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things, but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 (MSG) God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.
Isaiah 3:6 (MSG) One brother will grab another and say, ‘You look like you’ve got a head on your shoulders. Do something! Get us out of this mess.’
Jeremiah 16:18 (MSG) “They won’t get by with a thing. They’ll pay double for everything they did wrong. They’ve made a complete mess of things, littering their lives with their obscene no-gods, leaving piles of stinking god-junk all over the place.”
Jeremiah 22:20 (MSG) “People of Jerusalem, climb a Lebanon peak and weep, climb a Bashan mountain and wail, Climb the Abarim ridge and cry– you’ve made a total mess of your life.”
Ezekiel 36:32 (MSG) “‘I’m not doing this for you. Get this through your thick heads! Shame on you. What a mess you made of things, Israel!
Romans 3:24 (MSG) God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity, he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
1Timothy 1:19 (MSG) Keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in. There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith.
Isaiah 19:14 (NIrV) The LORD has given them a spirit that makes them feel dizzy. They make Egypt unsteady in everything it does. Egypt is like a person who drinks too much. He throws up and then walks around in the mess he’s made.
Isaiah 28:8 (NIrV) They throw up. All of the tables are covered with the mess they’ve made. There isn’t one spot on the tables that isn’t smelly and dirty.
James 3:16 (NIrV) Are you jealous? Are you concerned only about getting ahead? Then your life will be a mess. You will be doing all kinds of evil things.
Why Recovery?
I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways, I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. My text has been, Those who were never told of him– they’ll see him! Those who’ve never heard of him– they’ll get the message! Romans 15:18-21
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 1 Corinthians 3:10-13 NLT
Thought For The Day
The Twelve Steps are foundation stones for the recovery process. Foundation stones are designed for building on.
We are all unique. God created us all in His image but He also created us as individuals.
Today I want to encourage everyone to find out what works for you. There is only one way to achieve recovery as far as I am aware. That is God’s way!
Do not be pressured by others to do what they did. You are not them.
Take time to get to know God and His plan for you and then establish your foundations built on how He guides you. God will not guide you in any direction that goes against his Word,
- What is God saying to you about His plan for your life?
Prayer: God help me listen for, establish and apply Your will for my life
Spiritual Foundations
Bible Reading: Luke 6:46-49
Focus Verse: Luke 6:49
“If you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”
Living Life Recovery helps to build SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
Obedience to God is like building our lives on strong, solid foundations. Through lives of addiction and dependencies we never really paid much attention to the foundations of our lives. We were happy to ‘Go with the flow’ Often we let other people define our foundations for living (as long as we had a good time)
Failing to build good foundations in recovery leads to destruction. I have said before and will say it again I am sure “People who fail in recovery fail because they don’t plan not to.” I have seen people time and time again enter programs and rehabs and whilst in there obey all the rules and make all the right decisions. Then, they get to the end of the designated process time and fall in a heap. Usually, because they have not considered what they will do at the end. They have not put any supports in place for moving forward because, and this happens more than occasionally they never really expected to make it to the end or they just assumed someone else had planned their ongoing support.
Jesus said in John 16:33 “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” The reality is all of us, regardless of how well we have travelled or are currently travelling in recovery experience difficulties. If it was easy everyone would be doing it and we wouldn’t value it.
Step Three says “I am making a decision to let God help me change and commit to working with Him to do so.” This decision is the most important decision we make in our recovery when it comes to setting solid foundations. I’ve made a decision to let God lead. Where He leads I will follow and no matter how good or how bad things appear to get for the rest of my life I will follow Him. This is challenging for all of us but after 30+ years in the recovery process I can tell you from experience His way is always the right way, not always the easiest but always right. Prayer and meditation are important foundations of the recovery process as is ‘Seeking God’s will for my life.” You have all probably heard the saying ‘If you aim at nothing that’s what you’ll get.’ Recovery requires a lot of self-discipline. There will be times in the ‘difficulties’ Jesus talked about where it will seem easier to go back than to persevere or move forward. At these times it is important to remember the commitment we made to let God lead and to work with Him in the process of character change.
The best foundation we have in recovery is Jesus Christ, the One True Higher Power. Our recovery will only be as strong as our ‘Spiritual Foundations’ The cornerstone of our recovery, therefore, needs to have solid spiritual grounding. Where better to receive solid spiritual grounding than at the feet of Jesus. Everything we do in life must fit into His pattern of doing things.
Two ways to destroy our recovery going forward are through tampering with the foundations or using inferior materials. It is important for us in the recovery process to find a good support group, attend it, get involved in it and find a good Sponsor. It is important we read ‘God’s Manual’ for Spiritual Living (THE BIBLE) regularly, meditate on it and apply it on a daily basis to our lives. It is important we are in constant relationship with The Holy Spirit in order to understand God’s will for our lives and gain His strength to do whatever He is calling us to do. Jesus said The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. Foundationally the best thing any of us can do in recovery and in life is getting into a relationship with the Holy Spirit in order to better understand ourselves, God and others so we can move forward in recovery and achieve all He has set before us.
Week One ~ Why Recovery
For some of us our past sins, mistakes, selfishness, and questioning is holding us back from moving forward in our lives. We may have legitimate reasons for this but continuing to hold on to pain and refusing to face the truth about our lives is stunting our spiritual growth and maturity. It is important we understand as we start to work through the Twelve Steps of Living Life Recovery and the 12 Principles of Living Life Recovery, we can with God’s help find the courage and strength we need to live productive and peaceful lives.
Welcome to ‘4o Days of Recovery’ A six-week introduction to establishing Spiritual Recovery Foundations to gaining a fresh perspective on life and on Recovery.
We hope that you will grow spiritually and in the process of recovery as you read these daily devotions and the scripture reading they are taken from, meditate on them and apply what God reveals to you.
4o Days of Recovery will help you to build solid SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS
Luke 6:49 He who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.
4o Days of Recovery will introduce you to the KINGDOM OF GOD
Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
4o Days of Recovery will help you develop GOOD CHARACTER
Genesis 22:1 God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
4o Days of Recovery will help us to CHANGE OUR LIVES
John 4:39 Many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”
Join us tomorrow as we begin this exciting journey together in Spiritual Recovery