Leaving The Past Behind… Everyday we awaken to a new day. The only problem is we rarely see it in those terms. Usually, we awaken with at least some of yesterday lingering in our heart and / or mind. When we step away from the past, and leave it at the feet of our Father, the current day usually goes far better than we had ever imagined. This is not an accident. Completing an honest to the core 4th, 5th and 6th Step of AA does wonders for the soul.…
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Interests Of Others If you’ve ever considered suicide you already know there is a deep yearning that seems to go unknown, that knows no depth and becomes something that consumes the whole of a person. It is a dark, lonely place that can not be easily abandoned without help. Few people walk out of their own accord. By the end of this day some 177 people will die from a drug overdose. Most will be accidental but a fair amount will be intentional. Tomorrow this same number of people will…
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The Full Armor of God On occasion I actually remember the Armor of God only works when all the parts are put in their proper place. If one piece is out of balance, well, it is highly ineffective. Sure a piece here, a piece there will assist our walk, but it will not offer the full protection of our Lord, Christ Jesus. When I put this website together I wanted the first thing people encountered to be “Today’s Armor” as a reminder to suit-up for the day! Since we do…
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Considering Others First Other people. It’s a funny thing how most of us respond to other people. Our reactions usually take our feelings, circumstances and situation into account before the person we are interacting. I do this a lot and feel confident a lot, if not most, of you do this as well. The way I react to others determines wether that moment will be loving, angry, fearful or beautiful. There are a wide range of other subtleties that could come into play, however, most of them could be boiled…
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Faith Through Works? The Book of James has played an instrumental role in my study of the Bible. One of the things I like most is the repetitive nature that James uses to drive home “faith without works is dead”. Being as hard-headed as I am it’s important to have most ideas, sayings and teachings told or shown to me multiple times. On rare occasions I will get it on the first go but it helps me, a lot, to have something repeated multiple times so I am better able…
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World Without End To lay me down, to understand and accept the riches of His glory, to bask in His grace and mercy, to share this with others and ask the Holy Spirit to fill the space, not only between, but within is all that matters. We must give it away in order to keep it – “it” can be anything, but when we are discussing God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit we are continually reminded of His glory, His power and His position in our life. Jesus sits…
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Freedom of Thought I was listening to Pastor, Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, a couple of days ago and he said something that was not only funny but hit the mark pretty squarely. He shared a meme that he had seen that went something like this – the left side of brain has nothing right in it and the right side of my brain has nothing left. That about sums it up for me. The left-right paradigm explained in one, very brief statement. Our world is filled with people that wish…
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If Only We Believed There are no words to describe the pain, fear and guilt that drove me to take drugs, for the first time, at age 9. Likewise, there are no words to describe the abundance of these tools of the enemy that kept me in addiction from age 15 to 40. Having been to church, having an understanding of Jesus and actually dedicating approximately a year to studying the Gospel, and other writings surrounding a variety of religions, did not help to fill the God-shaped hole within. The…
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Where To From Here? The image above is of a mustard seed. The smallest of seeds that grows and grows into a very diverse plant. Used for everything from food, to fuel, to a pesticide and a parable. As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, at least for me, where to from here is a central question. Being on the look out for opportunities to share the Gospel should always be on the forefront of my heart and mind. This is a central theme of AA as well – carrying…
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Wallowing In The Mire One of the “lessons” I learned in AA was to do today what I did yesterday and see how that works out. Of course this means nothing if the day before our lives had not been given to Jesus Christ and we had made some changes. For me this means a steady diet of prayer, counting blessings and doing my best to help another person. Keeping a God focused, God centered life is the only way to keep sin (addiction / slavery) at bay. When I…
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