Sober living with Jesus

Step 1 in Celebrate Recovery: 1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7:18 NIV One of the things Karen and I have been doing recently is attending a Bible study in another town close to Willimantic where there are many people both new to a relationship with Jesus and also to living sober one day at a time. We have developed a passion for this and Karen, in particular, has reached out to some of the girls that are new (and some not so new) to forge strong friendships as we fellowship together on our journey to be more Christ-like every day. Having been a longtime member of a 12 step organization, I am not so worried about fighting the urge to have another drink or use another drug -- although I know that it is important to remember where I came from, so I ...

Click here to take a journey through Psalm 23 .

So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. -Romans 7:14-17 (NLT) Alcoholism: is it a disease or is it simply sin ? (from the outset of this post, let me state that the words alcoholism and addiction are considered interchangeable for the purposes of this writing). How we view alcoholism is key to how it is treated. How we see it and what it really is may differ, but the key issue is getting the symptoms relieved so the soul can be treated . For the record: I am an alcoholic/addict-- I have known this for many years and am 16+ years sober. I attend a 12 step fellowship, have a sponsor, am a sponsor and am involved in the ser...

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. -Galatians 6:1 (NLT) What Paul writes about has been done for me more than once. I am under obligation to do the same for others. More than an obligation, it should be viewed as a privilege and a pleasure to do so. If I don't, I am doomed to fall back into the same life I lived before. Remember, you can be saved but still be miserable. Also, as James so clearly said, "faith without works is dead." If you want to keep it, give it away. Last week I made a decision to attend more meetings. Over the past few years, I have slowly migrated away from them and taken on more church-related activities. In fact, I had actually got down to pretty much one meeting a week. While that may be OK for some people, I know I need more. I love my Church and it is an importan...

Today's Question: Do you have a favorite Bible translation or version, and, if so, what is it? Please get back to me and let me know. Please also include what it is that you like about it more than others, if anything?

Recently, I watched a Saddleback church broadcast in which Rick Warren identified the following problem with Alcoholics Anonymous: people that are sober for many years still identify themselves by their name and that they are alcoholic. According to him, that is still identifying with and living in the problem. Of course, he touted his church's own "Celebrate Recovery" program as being different and first identifying as a follower of Jesus and then mention a problem with Alcohol. I don't know if I would have become and stayed sober had there been a 'Celebrate Recovery' meeting around when I first arrived on the sobriety scene. Actually, I rather doubt it. What Rick Warren fails to understand is the very necessary identification one alcoholic has with another. I needed to hear people that were sober for years identify themselves as alcoholics. I needed to know they were just like me and that drove the point home. I have attended Celebrate Recovery in recent...

As you can see, I've been remiss in posting to this blog.  I have, however, been busy with my other blog at http://scriptureliving.blogspot.com and hope you will take the time to check it out.  Please check my page about the Apocrypha, as I'll be posting some interesting stuff there very soon...