Sober living with Jesus

The "Set­-Aside" Prayer "Dear God, please set aside everything I think I know [about myself, my disease, the Big Book, the 12 Steps, the Program, the Fellowship, the people in the fellowship, and all spiritual terms, and especially about you God] so I may have an open mind and a new experience [with all these things]. Please help me see the Truth. Amen." I don't remember where that prayer comes from; I found it in a file containing prayers that I had stored on Google Drive. I'll say this: it is one of the most necessary prayers I've prayed in a while and my hat is off to whoever thought it up.

Cover via Amazon A long time ago I was told that spiritual principles don't conflict. My life experience has shown that to be true. Quite often I read different meditation books and some of them do not contain Bible verses or specific references to Christianity. Instead of talking about Jesus, they tend to stick to a generic 'God' and let you fill in the blanks with whatever your conception of that Higher Power might be. However, while minus some of the theology that I believe in, the principles are generally the same and the wealth of spiritual 'gold nuggets' I can mine from such books is priceless. Such a book is the Twenty-Four Hours A Day book. While perhaps one of the most "religious" meditation books out there in use by many A.A.'s, it still tries to maintain a "one size fits all" structure to its writings. Today's reading (December 11) discusses the difference between many doctors' view of A.A. as group therapy [wh

We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:19 (NIV) This morning, I picked up my wife's copy of a devotional publication she receives called Our Daily Bread . In today's reading, the author talks about a children's ministry where the kids are rewarded for their good behavior with prizes. One boy, who is offered a reward for behaving well, refuses it and says that he behaves well because he wants to and doesn't need a prize for doing as he wishes. When we love God, we wish to please Him. We should all strive to be like that young boy in the story and do the right thing because we want to, expecting nothing in return. Of course, the hard part is that, as believers in Christ, we know there's a reward! So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. -2 Corinthians 5:9 (NIV)

Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever. -1 John 2:15-17 (TLB) Wow. Tough words. Most of us that read such things are probably thinking to ourselves that we still have affection for those worldly things and may even question whether we truly love God or not. I submit to the reader that the fact they are concerned about the matter probably shows that they do love God and want fellowship with Him. Certainly, there are times when I battle with things of the flesh--such as lust, pride and the desire for material gain. The point is,

He controls the times and the seasons; he makes and unmakes kings; it is he who gives wisdom and understanding. -Daniel 2:21 (GNT) I saw this scripture posted on Celebrate Recovery's Facebook page and wanted to share it with everybody who might not be on Facebook or 'like' the Celebrate Recovery page. Autumn is probably my favorite season of the year [hard to say for sure because I like them all] and it is a good reminder of who gives it the beauty that is has. Living in New England as I do, I am blessed with an obvious change of seasons and the outdoor beauty that it can bring. Even the dead of winter can be made splendorous in appearance by the sparkle of ice or the clean brightness of freshly fallen snow. Being alive and sober through God's grace has allowed me the use of my senses to truly enjoy the world around me and brings a newness to it all. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all you have done and continue to do for me. Praise God for sobriety.

The healing of Tobit - by Bernardo Strozzi. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Never do to anyone else anything that you would not want someone to do to you. - Tobit 4:15a (GNT Apocrypha ) That is obviously a converse statement of the "Golden Rule' taught by Jesus:  “Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets. -Matthew 7:12 (GNT)  When I read it last night, it gave me pause to stop and think about people in my life that I sometimes struggle with. Some I know, but many I don't. They could be the 'other driver' on the road who is in my way when I am in a hurry to get somewhere. You can tell how well a tree has been cared for by the fruit it bears, and you can tell a person's feelings by the way he expresses himself. -Sirach 27:6 (GNT Apocrypha) As a Christian, claiming a relationship with Christ requires a but more than a few mumbled words on a Sunday morning. I believe I was s

That was the topic and title of a sermon I listened to Saturday afternoon on the Internet by a Pastor who I am fond of named Mike Dodson. As usual, his message was timely for me. In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. -Philippians 4:8 (GNT) When I got sober, it was [first and foremost] because I was ready and willing to do so and asked God for help. It began (as everything does) with a thought. Often in my life, bad things began with thoughts like "one more time" or "this time will be different." Sometimes, near the end, it was more like "I just can't control myself and don't care anymore. I am what I am." It is true that God does not control thoughts. We have been given free will--which means we have the freedom of our thoughts from which we may act on. Obviously, if God did control thoughts, we would not have

Last night I went to a "Celebrate Recovery' meeting in Groton,CT at the Lifehouse Foursquare Church. This coming Monday I shall attend another meeting of Celebrate Recovery, this one at the Groton Bible Chapel [I can't seem to get out of Groton most weeknights]. Having spent many years in a mainstream 12 step fellowship, I want to make it plain that I love it and recognize wholeheartedly that I am there as a result of prayer. Moreover, I could never imagine the number of people helped by it who would have otherwise not found any recovery from alcohol or other substances. However, I have been sensing the need for something more Christ-centered and this seems to fit the bill. [I don't want to give the reader the impression that I am replacing my involvement with regular twelve step fellowship meetings with something else; this is meant to augment my recovery--not fundamentally change it]. I will not attempt to explain Celebrate Recovery or offer any in-depth

[Republished from an original post in March 2009 to an old blog of mine] Typically, it’s far easier to teach a scared person [or one suffering from their own mistakes] spiritual practices that help ease the pain or fears associated with their condition.   It’s like taking up the practice of “foxhole praying” when times are bad… “Get me out of this and I’ll…” I found an extensive [although undocumented] article on Wikipedia that does a fairly good job at defining spirituality, in terms of what it is and is not.   It’s one of those words that is best defined by what it can do for you rather than what it actually is, much as love is a difficult word to define because of its scope and depth.   Rather than regurgitate what is written there, it might be a good idea to go to Wikipedia.org and read it. Having been a member of a twelve step fellowship for many years, I have often heard the term bandied about and presented as an absolutely essential part of the recovery program.   In

My wife and I have a decent marriage (fantastic when I consider that we are both in a 12 step program) but do have our spats on occasion. One of the things I have become painfully aware of is that the severity and length of our discord is lengthened when one of us crosses the line and says the mean, hurtful things that can lurk there. Those things have only one purpose -- to be hurtful -- and are rarely accurate, anyway. They have no part in problem solving or conflict resolution and are also the most difficult to forget. Recently we had one of those nights where I felt wronged and reacted with anger at her attitude. The rest of the night was 'on the cold side' and when I awoke this morning and commenced to read my daily dose of the Bible, today's verse from the book of Proverbs was no accident: Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. -Proverbs 10:19 (NLT) Now I shall take that advice. Have a great day!

Sometimes the biggest problem I think Christianity has is the Christians who populate it. There are so many diverse opinions and judgments that it can be overwhelming. Much of it accomplishes the devil’s work very nicely, in my opinion, by distracting our brothers and sisters (myself included) from the task at hand of winning hearts and minds for Christ. There are many who believe that those who are divorced, have practiced any sort of alternate lifestyle or ‘living in sin,’ don’t give 10% or more of their earnings to a church fellowship, etc. cannot be Christians (at least in good standing). Perhaps there is some obscure doctrine they teach or believe in (often that has little or nothing to do with anything) that eliminates them from God’s mercy. By the criteria some people use, I can’t imagine who would be allowed into the kingdom. Clearly, scripture tells us that we are saved by grace and not of works. This is explained quite simply and clearly in Ephesians 2:8:  God saved you b