It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will. (AA, pg 85)
There is no end to the work which men and women must endure in AA.
The "disease" of alcoholism lurks behind every corner. Those individuals who want to work this program will find that the program works them into death itself.
Imagine the kind of life which a man or a woman is called to live, according to the Twelve Steps.
This life is based on looking at oneself, looking out for faults, trying to take care of every contingency in which a man or woman may fall back into drinking, or engaging in any other perversion.
The more that I see how hollow and demanding this program really is, the more that I want to inform everyone as much as possible to stay away.
Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross to give people a program of recovery.
He died on the Cross to resurrect us from death to life, to grants us all things in Himself, that we may enjoy His standing before God the Father.
We no longer have to look at ourselves or to ourselves in order to prosper, but rather we are called to see ourselves now and forever in Christ Jesus:
"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)
He is our life, not an addendum, or an addition, or a supplement.
He is certainly more than a program or a plan of action.
AA places on its members nothing but demands, even though the Book claims that the whole program is a simple plan of action.
The truth is much worse. The program of action can never be done, and men and women who are suffering find themselves receiving no help, but more rules to follow, plus some sponsor whom they have to listen to, as well as the meetings which merely recycle the frustration and emptiness of the members themselves.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
The Real Meaning of Self-Centeredness
How often do people in the AA meeting hear that they have to stop being self-centered?
Much of the time, the focus is on getting out of one's pride, away from "ego", to stop focusing on oneself so that members of AA can help each other.
Frankly, this exhortation away from self-centeredness makes people more self-centered.
Men and women who are trying to break free of alcohol addiction end up focusing on their thoughts and feelings even more. Instead of drinking, of course, these individuals drink excessive amounts of coffee, eat pastries to know end, and they talk about themselves and their problems at length in the meetings.
We cannot break free of ourselves through a program, and the pressing need to for a higher power "as we understood him" is outrageous in itself.
Our conception of God will inevitably reflect ourselves, since this concept draws from our experience.
How can anyone not be self-centered, then, if the very high power which people rely on remains a manifest of oneself?
What does self-centeredness really mean, anyway?
All of us have to pay attention to ourselves, whether we are caring for our bodies, our attending to any other needs in or lives.
There is indeed something very wrong with a person who does not watch his health, maintain his wealth, who has no regard for himself.
No matter how confused I had become on this issue, I still heard and repeated this mantra of being drawn away from self to be of service to others.
So, I worked with other people, I kept working the program, I helped others as much as I could.
But the quality of life which I was looking for, I still did not have.
I found that I was still struggling with all kinds of issues. People still could make me mad. I did not have the time and energy to do the things that I wanted to.
There never seemed to be anything worth doing, anyway.
Still, I was focused on myself, even when I did not want to be focused on self.
So, what does it really mean to be self-centered?
There is more to it than just thinking about yourself.
To be self-centered means to be just that -- centered on self.
If you wake in the morning convinced that everything in some sick way depends on you, then you are self-centered in the truest sense.
If everything that you do is geared to supplying some emotional need in your life, then you are self-centered.
Most people do good deeds not because they care, but to find a cure for their apathy, frustration, boredom.
The emptiness in all too many people's lives begins and ends with the focus on self.
Oh, how I suffered with this terrible malady.
I woke up every day convinced that as long as I felt of thought or did things a certain way, then I would be A-OK.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The notion of rest, the idea that every issue did not have to be resolved at the end of the day, was foreign to me. I wanted all my problems fixed. I would not be content until the content of every issue had been contained, if you will.
A life based on feeling good, being at peace with myself through my efforts, dominated all too much.
A life driven by feelings instead of the truth, a life based on starting and finishing everything in and of oneself -- such a life manifests self-centeredness.
You and I did not create this world, and we do not exclusively create our experience, either.
At its most simple, the notion of "self-centeredness" means that a person believes that everything revolves around him, depends on himself, cannot be resolved without his aid or say-so. Our thoughts and feelings inform our reality when we are self-centered, instead of being Christ-centered.
I cannot write this enough -- to be "God" centered when speaking of some generic deity is not enough. For to the degree that we rely on our limited conception of God, to that extent do we inevitably trust in our own efforts, weak and beggarly. and forfeit the glorious goodness of God Almighty revealed to us through His Son Jesus.
Christ-centered is the calling, for everything is centered on Him.
Much of the time, the focus is on getting out of one's pride, away from "ego", to stop focusing on oneself so that members of AA can help each other.
Frankly, this exhortation away from self-centeredness makes people more self-centered.
Men and women who are trying to break free of alcohol addiction end up focusing on their thoughts and feelings even more. Instead of drinking, of course, these individuals drink excessive amounts of coffee, eat pastries to know end, and they talk about themselves and their problems at length in the meetings.
We cannot break free of ourselves through a program, and the pressing need to for a higher power "as we understood him" is outrageous in itself.
Our conception of God will inevitably reflect ourselves, since this concept draws from our experience.
How can anyone not be self-centered, then, if the very high power which people rely on remains a manifest of oneself?
What does self-centeredness really mean, anyway?
All of us have to pay attention to ourselves, whether we are caring for our bodies, our attending to any other needs in or lives.
There is indeed something very wrong with a person who does not watch his health, maintain his wealth, who has no regard for himself.
No matter how confused I had become on this issue, I still heard and repeated this mantra of being drawn away from self to be of service to others.
So, I worked with other people, I kept working the program, I helped others as much as I could.
But the quality of life which I was looking for, I still did not have.
I found that I was still struggling with all kinds of issues. People still could make me mad. I did not have the time and energy to do the things that I wanted to.
There never seemed to be anything worth doing, anyway.
Still, I was focused on myself, even when I did not want to be focused on self.
So, what does it really mean to be self-centered?
There is more to it than just thinking about yourself.
To be self-centered means to be just that -- centered on self.
If you wake in the morning convinced that everything in some sick way depends on you, then you are self-centered in the truest sense.
If everything that you do is geared to supplying some emotional need in your life, then you are self-centered.
Most people do good deeds not because they care, but to find a cure for their apathy, frustration, boredom.
The emptiness in all too many people's lives begins and ends with the focus on self.
Oh, how I suffered with this terrible malady.
I woke up every day convinced that as long as I felt of thought or did things a certain way, then I would be A-OK.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The notion of rest, the idea that every issue did not have to be resolved at the end of the day, was foreign to me. I wanted all my problems fixed. I would not be content until the content of every issue had been contained, if you will.
A life based on feeling good, being at peace with myself through my efforts, dominated all too much.
A life driven by feelings instead of the truth, a life based on starting and finishing everything in and of oneself -- such a life manifests self-centeredness.
You and I did not create this world, and we do not exclusively create our experience, either.
At its most simple, the notion of "self-centeredness" means that a person believes that everything revolves around him, depends on himself, cannot be resolved without his aid or say-so. Our thoughts and feelings inform our reality when we are self-centered, instead of being Christ-centered.
I cannot write this enough -- to be "God" centered when speaking of some generic deity is not enough. For to the degree that we rely on our limited conception of God, to that extent do we inevitably trust in our own efforts, weak and beggarly. and forfeit the glorious goodness of God Almighty revealed to us through His Son Jesus.
Christ-centered is the calling, for everything is centered on Him.
AA Makes People Futile and Unhappy
"It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.
If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.
"We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. We were prepared to look at it from an entirely different angle. We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us. In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill. How could we escape? We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how? We could not wish them away any more than alcohol.
This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick.(AA, pg 66)
Alcoholics Anonymous lies to people, claiming that other people, and our reactions to other people causes to be upset.
Then the program claims that our reactions of anger and frustration must be our fault as well.
These premises are false, based on the notion that our feelings are a response to other people.
No.
Our feelings are a response to what we are thinking. If we are thinking about ourselves all the time, convinced that everyone and everything around us should be geared toward our happiness, then we will find ourselves feeling resentful much of the time.
If a sense of injustice remains lodged in our spirit, if we sense that the world is unfair, or that we have to do everything ourselves because the “Higher Power” whom we believe in will not help us, then a sense of frustration and bitterness will define our lives.
Resentment, bitterness, guilt, shame, -- all result from our perception that we are the center of the universe, or result from a deep-rooted attempt to correct ourselves and remedy our own situations.
Feelings just are, and they are a response to our thinking. When we believe the truth, then lo and behold, we are set free.
Our feelings cannot distract us from this life, if we acknowledge that our thoughts and feelings are not the final arbiters of our existence in this life.
The passage which suggests that “alcoholics” are not allowed to be grouchy, or to get upset, in itself has created must of the frustration which makes men and women upset!
There can be no greater source of wrath in our lives than the wicked notion that we must not get angry, or that we must do something about the easily offset emotions in our lives.
Paul writes to the Ephesians:
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” (Ephesians 4: 26)
Of course, our understanding of Paul’s exhortation in this verse depends on our growing knowledge of Christ and Him Crucified as the fullness of all things, as well as a growing awareness of our stance in Christ, that through Him we are blessed with all spiritual blessings.
Alcoholics Anonymous forces on its members a negative identity, one broken forever, one based on a daily upkeep which no one can keep up for any length of time.
Such a life of identifying with a failing, looking at one’s feelings, chronically fearing that one may relapse into drinking, and attending meetings where men and women bemoan their lost lives or celebrate the fact that they did not drink for that day: only that kind of life leads to futility and unhappiness.
If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.
"We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. We were prepared to look at it from an entirely different angle. We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us. In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill. How could we escape? We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how? We could not wish them away any more than alcohol.
This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick.(AA, pg 66)
Alcoholics Anonymous lies to people, claiming that other people, and our reactions to other people causes to be upset.
Then the program claims that our reactions of anger and frustration must be our fault as well.
These premises are false, based on the notion that our feelings are a response to other people.
No.
Our feelings are a response to what we are thinking. If we are thinking about ourselves all the time, convinced that everyone and everything around us should be geared toward our happiness, then we will find ourselves feeling resentful much of the time.
If a sense of injustice remains lodged in our spirit, if we sense that the world is unfair, or that we have to do everything ourselves because the “Higher Power” whom we believe in will not help us, then a sense of frustration and bitterness will define our lives.
Resentment, bitterness, guilt, shame, -- all result from our perception that we are the center of the universe, or result from a deep-rooted attempt to correct ourselves and remedy our own situations.
Feelings just are, and they are a response to our thinking. When we believe the truth, then lo and behold, we are set free.
Our feelings cannot distract us from this life, if we acknowledge that our thoughts and feelings are not the final arbiters of our existence in this life.
The passage which suggests that “alcoholics” are not allowed to be grouchy, or to get upset, in itself has created must of the frustration which makes men and women upset!
There can be no greater source of wrath in our lives than the wicked notion that we must not get angry, or that we must do something about the easily offset emotions in our lives.
Paul writes to the Ephesians:
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” (Ephesians 4: 26)
Of course, our understanding of Paul’s exhortation in this verse depends on our growing knowledge of Christ and Him Crucified as the fullness of all things, as well as a growing awareness of our stance in Christ, that through Him we are blessed with all spiritual blessings.
Alcoholics Anonymous forces on its members a negative identity, one broken forever, one based on a daily upkeep which no one can keep up for any length of time.
Such a life of identifying with a failing, looking at one’s feelings, chronically fearing that one may relapse into drinking, and attending meetings where men and women bemoan their lost lives or celebrate the fact that they did not drink for that day: only that kind of life leads to futility and unhappiness.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Jesus: In the Word and on the Cross
"I don't want Jesus on the Cross. I don't want the Jesus in the Bible. I just want Him."
Such talk was all too common from someone I knew in AA.
Such thinking, such talk is just plain foolish.
Without the Crucified, Christ can be nothing and do nothing for us.
Without the Word of God, we cannot know Him more, we cannot see Him, and we cannot understand all that He is for us.
AA tends to make people religious fanatics who trust their feelings, their experience, their understanding of matters.
Yet all of this focus on our origins, our thoughts, or anything within us cannot help us.
We need to live on the living revelation of Christ Jesus in the Word, for in the Word He revealed Himself to His disciples:
"26Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24: 26-27)
He expounded on Himself, which includes His suffering.
If He did not suffer, then we would still suffer. He was condemned so that we would be blessed.
It's just that simple, and we cannot receive this blessed assurance as long as we are convinced that we do not have to read the Word of God or recognize His Finished Work at the Cross.
AA attempts to annul both, and such heinous folly must be avoided for any who want to reign in life (Romans 5: 17).
Such talk was all too common from someone I knew in AA.
Such thinking, such talk is just plain foolish.
Without the Crucified, Christ can be nothing and do nothing for us.
Without the Word of God, we cannot know Him more, we cannot see Him, and we cannot understand all that He is for us.
AA tends to make people religious fanatics who trust their feelings, their experience, their understanding of matters.
Yet all of this focus on our origins, our thoughts, or anything within us cannot help us.
We need to live on the living revelation of Christ Jesus in the Word, for in the Word He revealed Himself to His disciples:
"26Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24: 26-27)
He expounded on Himself, which includes His suffering.
If He did not suffer, then we would still suffer. He was condemned so that we would be blessed.
It's just that simple, and we cannot receive this blessed assurance as long as we are convinced that we do not have to read the Word of God or recognize His Finished Work at the Cross.
AA attempts to annul both, and such heinous folly must be avoided for any who want to reign in life (Romans 5: 17).
Freedom From Self Not Found in Self
When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. This applies, too, to other spiritual expressions which you find in this book. Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which then seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth, but if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own conception, however limited it was. (AA, pg 47)
My own conception of God will inevitably be colored by my experiences with people who talked about God, or the religious adherents whom I contacted in the past.
Like many people raised in a "Christian" home, I was brow-beatend with an Old Covenant understanding of God, one bent on punishing me for every mistake I made, a God who was still angry with the world, and would hurt me if I stepped out of line.
The New Covenant reveals a God of grace:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
My own conception of God will inevitably be colored by my experiences with people who talked about God, or the religious adherents whom I contacted in the past.
Like many people raised in a "Christian" home, I was brow-beatend with an Old Covenant understanding of God, one bent on punishing me for every mistake I made, a God who was still angry with the world, and would hurt me if I stepped out of line.
The New Covenant reveals a God of grace:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
This New Covenant is based on the fact that God will not remember my sins anymore.
Why does He not remember my sins? Has He gone soft on sin? On the contrary -- He is faithful and just to forgive my sins. Why? Because of all that Jesus has done:
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)
And
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1: 7)
The grace of God we cannot understand, let alone conceive. Either we believe it, or we don't.
Freedom from self is not found in self, but rather in that we receive a New heart, a new Spirit because of all that Jesus Christ has done for us.
And then we receive Christ in us, our hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27)
Monday, September 16, 2013
AA Takes -- Jesus Gives, and Gives Some More!
AA is negativity based.
Members of this cult wake up every morning believing that they are alcoholics, that their lives are unmanageable, and that they must turn their will and lives over to some "Higher Power" who supposedly gives them power to live through the day.
Where does this power come from, but from the very person who has no power, since the "Higher Power" is an individual member's conception of God defines this Higher Power?
AA ends up taking from people every day. They step into a life in which they have nothing, and they must live a life keeping at bay, just one step ahead of the disease.
In Christ Jesus, we are granted his gifts of righteousness and unmerited favor every day, and we are invited to keep receiving these gifts throughout our lives.
"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 17)
We live by God's grace (1 Corinthians 15: 10), we enjoy all His gifts because of God's grace, and all of these things speak to our standing in Christ, for as Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4: 17)
AA demands, just as the law did, telling people that they had to measure up to a clear standard, yet providing no way for anyone to do that.
Under grace, in Christ, we receive the power to do all things through Christ (Philippians 4: 13), and we can trust that He will supply all our needs (Philippians 4: 19).
Jesus is all give because He gave it all for us at the Cross.
He died for all our sins, and by His blood we enter into a new, everlasting covenant, one in which He promises to be our God, in which He writes His laws on our hearts and minds, in which we receive a new spirit and He causes us to know Him intimately (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
While AA requires members to work Twelve Steps, to attend meetings, to visit alcoholics and other "down-and-out" individuals in prisons and other public institutions, Jesus Christ simply asks us to believe on Him and He takes us from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places with Him (John 6: 28-29; Ephesians 2: 4-6)
Because Jesus is life, and He is our life "(Colossians 3: 1-4), we are no longer living from our own efforts, trying to figure everything out and provide everything on our own.
It's all of Christ, and He has given us all things in Himself, blessing us with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1: 3), and causing all grace to superabound in our lives (2 Corinthians 9: 8)
Members of this cult wake up every morning believing that they are alcoholics, that their lives are unmanageable, and that they must turn their will and lives over to some "Higher Power" who supposedly gives them power to live through the day.
Where does this power come from, but from the very person who has no power, since the "Higher Power" is an individual member's conception of God defines this Higher Power?
AA ends up taking from people every day. They step into a life in which they have nothing, and they must live a life keeping at bay, just one step ahead of the disease.
In Christ Jesus, we are granted his gifts of righteousness and unmerited favor every day, and we are invited to keep receiving these gifts throughout our lives.
"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 17)
We live by God's grace (1 Corinthians 15: 10), we enjoy all His gifts because of God's grace, and all of these things speak to our standing in Christ, for as Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4: 17)
AA demands, just as the law did, telling people that they had to measure up to a clear standard, yet providing no way for anyone to do that.
Under grace, in Christ, we receive the power to do all things through Christ (Philippians 4: 13), and we can trust that He will supply all our needs (Philippians 4: 19).
Jesus is all give because He gave it all for us at the Cross.
He died for all our sins, and by His blood we enter into a new, everlasting covenant, one in which He promises to be our God, in which He writes His laws on our hearts and minds, in which we receive a new spirit and He causes us to know Him intimately (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
While AA requires members to work Twelve Steps, to attend meetings, to visit alcoholics and other "down-and-out" individuals in prisons and other public institutions, Jesus Christ simply asks us to believe on Him and He takes us from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places with Him (John 6: 28-29; Ephesians 2: 4-6)
Because Jesus is life, and He is our life "(Colossians 3: 1-4), we are no longer living from our own efforts, trying to figure everything out and provide everything on our own.
It's all of Christ, and He has given us all things in Himself, blessing us with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1: 3), and causing all grace to superabound in our lives (2 Corinthians 9: 8)
True Humility Has Nothing To Do With You
The AA Big Book spends a great deal of time talking about humility.
At the same time, though, the program never defines this key assent.
Frankly, the program cannot, since humility means not focusing on ourselves but rather seeing Christ and Him Crucified in all things.
Contrary to the common phrases floating around in AA, those cliches which sap the life out of any reasonable discussion on matters, humility is a lot more than what we think or do not think of ourselves.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself. People who esteem themselves poorly actually esteem themselves too much. Someone says: "I hate myself! I'm so ugly!" are not making any sense. If they truly hated themselves, they would be delighted that they were ugly.
Yet ultimately, their attitude about their appearance demonstrates that they wish that they were pretty, or that they are thinking of themselves as they should be as compared to how they are.
Furthermore, humility is not thinking less of yourself, either.
The focus on self in itself is part of the problem. AA does not solve this problem of self, but actually makes it worse because the program teaches members to take their inventory, talk about their faults and their feelings with other people, then go out and do something to work the program.
How anyone can claim progress and not perfection sums up the great failure of this program.
A desire to improve one's life, maintain one's emotional balance, all of that ends up creating more problems for individuals.
There is no way that we human beings can improve our flesh: our senses, our thoughts, our feelings.
We live in a dead, fallen world, where things just do not measure up.
The notion that we can try harder and thus do more will never suffice.
Paul relates the unending frustration of trying to improve his behavior by living under law:
"21I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7: 21-25)
There is sin and death in ourselves, and we need life, not a new program to live.
I recall one instance when I was speaking with a young man, and he related that the harder he tried to be good, the worse it got. All of his efforts amounted to more frustration. The same block hits up professionals in all endeavors. They slump in their efforts, or they hit a snag in trying to accomplish something, and instead of letting go and letting their skills flow, they try harder and harder, only to find that their capacity to perform actually diminishes.
Our flesh, our self-effort, produces more of self and less effort, fewer, poorer results.
That's all there is too it.
There is a better way, indeed, but not through the Twelve Steps. The Way, the Truth, and the Life provides us all things.
This life is provided for us by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus:
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)
and
"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)
Jesus Christ is our life, and He is life.
We do not create humility by focusing on ourselves, or even our not focusing on ourselves.
Such a repetitive, empty effort creates more self, more frustration.
Instead of focusing on ourselves, we are called to focus on Christ and receive all things from Him:
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)
and
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? " (Romans 8: 31-32)
True humility has nothing to do with us, whether we think of ourselves, try to not think of ourselves, or do anything else which involves our efforts.
Humility is all about God, and seeing Him more and more:
"Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous." (2 Chronicles 12: 6)
and also
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." (James 4: 6)
Grace is unmerited favor, and we receive this grace through the Beloved, in Jesus Christ:
"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 6)
Humility has nothing to do with us, and rather everything to do with all that Christ Jesus has done for us and is committed to keep doing for us.
At the same time, though, the program never defines this key assent.
Frankly, the program cannot, since humility means not focusing on ourselves but rather seeing Christ and Him Crucified in all things.
Contrary to the common phrases floating around in AA, those cliches which sap the life out of any reasonable discussion on matters, humility is a lot more than what we think or do not think of ourselves.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself. People who esteem themselves poorly actually esteem themselves too much. Someone says: "I hate myself! I'm so ugly!" are not making any sense. If they truly hated themselves, they would be delighted that they were ugly.
Yet ultimately, their attitude about their appearance demonstrates that they wish that they were pretty, or that they are thinking of themselves as they should be as compared to how they are.
Furthermore, humility is not thinking less of yourself, either.
The focus on self in itself is part of the problem. AA does not solve this problem of self, but actually makes it worse because the program teaches members to take their inventory, talk about their faults and their feelings with other people, then go out and do something to work the program.
How anyone can claim progress and not perfection sums up the great failure of this program.
A desire to improve one's life, maintain one's emotional balance, all of that ends up creating more problems for individuals.
There is no way that we human beings can improve our flesh: our senses, our thoughts, our feelings.
We live in a dead, fallen world, where things just do not measure up.
The notion that we can try harder and thus do more will never suffice.
Paul relates the unending frustration of trying to improve his behavior by living under law:
"21I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7: 21-25)
There is sin and death in ourselves, and we need life, not a new program to live.
I recall one instance when I was speaking with a young man, and he related that the harder he tried to be good, the worse it got. All of his efforts amounted to more frustration. The same block hits up professionals in all endeavors. They slump in their efforts, or they hit a snag in trying to accomplish something, and instead of letting go and letting their skills flow, they try harder and harder, only to find that their capacity to perform actually diminishes.
Our flesh, our self-effort, produces more of self and less effort, fewer, poorer results.
That's all there is too it.
There is a better way, indeed, but not through the Twelve Steps. The Way, the Truth, and the Life provides us all things.
This life is provided for us by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus:
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)
and
"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)
Jesus Christ is our life, and He is life.
We do not create humility by focusing on ourselves, or even our not focusing on ourselves.
Such a repetitive, empty effort creates more self, more frustration.
Instead of focusing on ourselves, we are called to focus on Christ and receive all things from Him:
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)
and
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? " (Romans 8: 31-32)
True humility has nothing to do with us, whether we think of ourselves, try to not think of ourselves, or do anything else which involves our efforts.
Humility is all about God, and seeing Him more and more:
"Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous." (2 Chronicles 12: 6)
and also
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." (James 4: 6)
Grace is unmerited favor, and we receive this grace through the Beloved, in Jesus Christ:
"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 6)
Humility has nothing to do with us, and rather everything to do with all that Christ Jesus has done for us and is committed to keep doing for us.
We are Humbled When We Allow Him to Serve Us
And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries." (2 Chronicales 12: 7-8)
The people of Judah were held accountable for abandoning the law of the Lord.
When they humbled themselves and recognized that the Lord is righteous, and only He, then God's wrath was turned.
We need His righteousness more than anything else, and we receive this gift when we believe on Jesus Christ, who became sin that we would become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
Part of being humble is allowing God to serve us, to work in our lives.
God clearly state that they would be servants of the King of Egypt so that they would know God's service.
Man just will not relax, will not rest and let Him work.
Yet time and again, God would offer to His people Israel to rest, that He may work:
"Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest." (Jeremiah 31: 2)
and
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
Jesus Christ is our rest, for He has fulfilled all things for us by dying on the Cross, rising from the dead, and representing us at the right hand of God the Father as our High priest forever.
He wants us to receive from Him:
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 11: 45)
We are humble when we allow God to serve us.
The people of Judah were held accountable for abandoning the law of the Lord.
When they humbled themselves and recognized that the Lord is righteous, and only He, then God's wrath was turned.
We need His righteousness more than anything else, and we receive this gift when we believe on Jesus Christ, who became sin that we would become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
Part of being humble is allowing God to serve us, to work in our lives.
God clearly state that they would be servants of the King of Egypt so that they would know God's service.
Man just will not relax, will not rest and let Him work.
Yet time and again, God would offer to His people Israel to rest, that He may work:
"Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest." (Jeremiah 31: 2)
and
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
Jesus Christ is our rest, for He has fulfilled all things for us by dying on the Cross, rising from the dead, and representing us at the right hand of God the Father as our High priest forever.
He wants us to receive from Him:
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 11: 45)
We are humble when we allow God to serve us.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Not Outgrow, but Cast Out All Fear
Perhaps there is a better way - we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.
We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear.(AA, pg 68)
Fear is a corrosive thread, indeed, as described by the AA book:
Notice that the word "fear" is bracketed alongside the difficulties with Mr. Brown, Mrs. Jones, the employer, and the wife. This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn't deserve. But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling? (AA, pg 67)
Yet fear is not man's greatest problem as most people understand fear.
We have to go deeper.
Why are people afraid?
Now, certainly most people fear death, but in reality a great number of people choose to kill themselves rather than deal with life on life's terms.
Most often, the greatest trouble for individuals has to do with condemnation, rejection, and reproach.
Individuals are most often afflicted with terrible, frustrating memories, or they find themselves in bondage to terrible habits and addictions which they cannot overcome.
The source of this frustration begins and ends with our attempts to overcome ourselves, and we try to overcome this sin, this death in our own efforts, and such efforts are useless.
We need life, and that more abundantly, for every man, every son of Adam is born dead in trespasses.
This fear is based on separation from God, and this separation from God is a result of sin:
"10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3: 10)
Adam was afraid because He was naked, i.e. he was ashamed.
This reproach kills us, gives us a sense of loneliness, emptiness, nakedness in our flesh.
We need the life of Christ to break us free from this spirit of fear.
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 15)
and
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1: 7)
Because fear is a spirit, we cannot get rid of it through our efforts, through rationalizing, through any human efforts.
Then what gets rid of fear in our lives?
John gives the answer:
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4: 18)
How does John define this perfect love?
"10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)
What does this love do for us?
Look at the key elements of the New Covenant:
"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Fear is a corrosive thread, indeed, as described by the AA book:
Notice that the word "fear" is bracketed alongside the difficulties with Mr. Brown, Mrs. Jones, the employer, and the wife. This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn't deserve. But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling? (AA, pg 67)
Yet fear is not man's greatest problem as most people understand fear.
We have to go deeper.
Why are people afraid?
Now, certainly most people fear death, but in reality a great number of people choose to kill themselves rather than deal with life on life's terms.
Most often, the greatest trouble for individuals has to do with condemnation, rejection, and reproach.
Individuals are most often afflicted with terrible, frustrating memories, or they find themselves in bondage to terrible habits and addictions which they cannot overcome.
The source of this frustration begins and ends with our attempts to overcome ourselves, and we try to overcome this sin, this death in our own efforts, and such efforts are useless.
We need life, and that more abundantly, for every man, every son of Adam is born dead in trespasses.
This fear is based on separation from God, and this separation from God is a result of sin:
"10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3: 10)
Adam was afraid because He was naked, i.e. he was ashamed.
This reproach kills us, gives us a sense of loneliness, emptiness, nakedness in our flesh.
We need the life of Christ to break us free from this spirit of fear.
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 15)
and
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1: 7)
Because fear is a spirit, we cannot get rid of it through our efforts, through rationalizing, through any human efforts.
Then what gets rid of fear in our lives?
John gives the answer:
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4: 18)
How does John define this perfect love?
"10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)
What does this love do for us?
Look at the key elements of the New Covenant:
"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
God is our god, no matter what we face, and He leads us from with. His spirit of adoption, His spirit of power, love, and a sound mind takes residence within us.
But there's more:
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)
A better translation reads: "Herein is love perfected among us"
The more that we see ourselves in Christ, the more that we grow in full understanding that as Christ is, so are we in this world, then we walk in power, and any fears in our lives dissipate into nothing.
Fear cannot be reasoned away, nor do we outgrow fear, but as we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, we find any fears that face us flee!
Fear is a Spirit, Beloved, and not yours! Fear is not of God, for God is love! This love gave His Son to die for us, that He would live in us and bless us with all spiritual blessings!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
AA Makes You Self-Centered
There is nothing worse than thinking that everything depends on you.
The Alcoholics Anonymous program gives the impression that every member chooses his or her own conception of God, but the truth is that every person must submit to the Twelve Steps and the god which requires individuals to work that terrible program in order to stay sober.
The Twelve Steps do not work.
Furthermore, they impress on individuals the terrible lie that everything ultimately depends on them.
How is this the case?
Why should I trust in some "Higher Power" which I have come up with, as if my thoughts and feelings alone can manifest the fulness of this higher power?
In effect, this higher power is just the power of my imagination, and our ability to picture the future is always flawed, and our emotions merely reflect what we are thinking.
Who would have thought that my conception of God would merely point me back to myself?
The Bible indicates that will happen:
"18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1: 18-21)
If we esteem anything but the one true God as God, then we walk in darkness.
This darkness of self is very deadening, indeed.
What good is a Higher Power that you can carry, when we need a God who will carry us?
What good is a Higher Power if the death and destruction around us still escapes a ready answer?
AA inevitably makes us self-centered because the very Higher Power we claim to depend on is no higher than our own thinking, than our muddled experience.
Like a mouse becoming a rat, so too any member of Alcoholics Anonymous tries to implement this "God concept", only to crash and burn in a program which puts all the pressure on the person to work a priogram which no one can work, let alone succeed.
AA makes you self-centered, focusing on what you must do, on the service which you must bring, on the program which you must work.
Yet Jesus has done all the work for us:
"I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." (John 17: 4)
Jesus cried out on the Cross:
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19: 30)
The Alcoholics Anonymous program gives the impression that every member chooses his or her own conception of God, but the truth is that every person must submit to the Twelve Steps and the god which requires individuals to work that terrible program in order to stay sober.
The Twelve Steps do not work.
Furthermore, they impress on individuals the terrible lie that everything ultimately depends on them.
How is this the case?
Why should I trust in some "Higher Power" which I have come up with, as if my thoughts and feelings alone can manifest the fulness of this higher power?
In effect, this higher power is just the power of my imagination, and our ability to picture the future is always flawed, and our emotions merely reflect what we are thinking.
Who would have thought that my conception of God would merely point me back to myself?
The Bible indicates that will happen:
"18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1: 18-21)
If we esteem anything but the one true God as God, then we walk in darkness.
This darkness of self is very deadening, indeed.
What good is a Higher Power that you can carry, when we need a God who will carry us?
What good is a Higher Power if the death and destruction around us still escapes a ready answer?
AA inevitably makes us self-centered because the very Higher Power we claim to depend on is no higher than our own thinking, than our muddled experience.
Like a mouse becoming a rat, so too any member of Alcoholics Anonymous tries to implement this "God concept", only to crash and burn in a program which puts all the pressure on the person to work a priogram which no one can work, let alone succeed.
AA makes you self-centered, focusing on what you must do, on the service which you must bring, on the program which you must work.
Yet Jesus has done all the work for us:
"I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." (John 17: 4)
Jesus cried out on the Cross:
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19: 30)
It's All Up To Him, Not You
Alcoholics Anonymous is just a different form of Hagar, the bondwoman who served as a surrogate for Sarah, the wife of Abram, later Abraham.
This account is recorded in the Bible in Genesis, then fully expounded in Galatians:
"21Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." (Galatians 4: 21-26)
Every Christian in the Body of Christ is called into Sonship in Christ, and so we have the Spirit of Sonship within us, crying "Abba, Father!" (Galatians 4: 6)
If we are sons, then we are no longer slaves, and thus we no longer identify with the slavish system of laws and commandments, all of which were meant as a form of guardianship for the Israelites, until the fullnes of time would come (Galatians 3: 24-26)
In this new life of grace and peace under the New Covenant, we are no longer called to die under the oldness of the letter, the Old Covenant which was imperfect because man could not keep it, and because of the New Covenant is now vanishing away (Hebrews 8: 13)
Alcoholics Anonymous is another return to rules and regulations, one which places the focus back on you and me instead of leading us to look to the Author and Finisher of Faith, Jesus Christ.
We need a Savior, not just once from death, but a Savior who saves us every day.
That Person, Jesus Christ, came and witnesses to the Israelites during the days of His ministry on this earth:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
Unfortunately, most of us treat Jesus like a one-day solution, as if He who has been from the beginning cannot see us through our troubles, from beginning to end.
It's all up to him, people. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If the world hangs on nothing, what makes you think that you have to do something to make the world go round? Jesus holds all things together:
"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (John 3: 35)
and
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10: 28)
and
"15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1: 15-17)
It's all up to Him, not you, so forget the Twelve steps, and step into His rest!
This account is recorded in the Bible in Genesis, then fully expounded in Galatians:
"21Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." (Galatians 4: 21-26)
Every Christian in the Body of Christ is called into Sonship in Christ, and so we have the Spirit of Sonship within us, crying "Abba, Father!" (Galatians 4: 6)
If we are sons, then we are no longer slaves, and thus we no longer identify with the slavish system of laws and commandments, all of which were meant as a form of guardianship for the Israelites, until the fullnes of time would come (Galatians 3: 24-26)
In this new life of grace and peace under the New Covenant, we are no longer called to die under the oldness of the letter, the Old Covenant which was imperfect because man could not keep it, and because of the New Covenant is now vanishing away (Hebrews 8: 13)
Alcoholics Anonymous is another return to rules and regulations, one which places the focus back on you and me instead of leading us to look to the Author and Finisher of Faith, Jesus Christ.
We need a Savior, not just once from death, but a Savior who saves us every day.
That Person, Jesus Christ, came and witnesses to the Israelites during the days of His ministry on this earth:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
Unfortunately, most of us treat Jesus like a one-day solution, as if He who has been from the beginning cannot see us through our troubles, from beginning to end.
It's all up to him, people. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If the world hangs on nothing, what makes you think that you have to do something to make the world go round? Jesus holds all things together:
"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (John 3: 35)
and
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10: 28)
and
"15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1: 15-17)
It's all up to Him, not you, so forget the Twelve steps, and step into His rest!
Monday, September 9, 2013
Your Conception of God = Yourself
Tell him exactly what happened to you. Stress the spiritual feature freely. If the man be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he likes, provided it makes sense to him. The main thing is that he be willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles. (AA, pg 93)
There is nothing more seductive and devious than inviting people to create their own conception of God, as if some Higher Power of their own choosing has any power.
Think about it long enough, and the premise of this terrible cult falls apart.
If I believe in a god whom or which I can conceive of, then how can this Higher Power really have any power?
I can only think up what I have experienced, what I know.
God is supposed to be all knowing, is He not?
He must know much more than I, and He must be able to be and have and do more than I can, too.
This evil cult works quite well in selling people on the notion that they can create their own god and live out their lives as gaily as they please.
Yet just like the bad boys in Pinocchio, who turn into slave-driven donkeys at midnight, so too does this freedom to choose my own god turn into a deadening slavery, one which demeans a person into following twelve steps to nothing, to nowhere, and with no escape.
Even for those who choose Jesus Christ as the Higher Power, Jesus is forced through these twelve steps, which in fact diminishes Jesus' deity.\
Can anything be more offensive or outrageous?
Jesus is beyond our calculation, beyond our understanding.
I do not need some idea of God in my head.
I need the real deal, He who is from the beginning, who holds the universe together in His hands, who has everything taken care of, whether I am paying attention or not!
There is nothing more seductive and devious than inviting people to create their own conception of God, as if some Higher Power of their own choosing has any power.
Think about it long enough, and the premise of this terrible cult falls apart.
If I believe in a god whom or which I can conceive of, then how can this Higher Power really have any power?
I can only think up what I have experienced, what I know.
God is supposed to be all knowing, is He not?
He must know much more than I, and He must be able to be and have and do more than I can, too.
This evil cult works quite well in selling people on the notion that they can create their own god and live out their lives as gaily as they please.
Yet just like the bad boys in Pinocchio, who turn into slave-driven donkeys at midnight, so too does this freedom to choose my own god turn into a deadening slavery, one which demeans a person into following twelve steps to nothing, to nowhere, and with no escape.
Even for those who choose Jesus Christ as the Higher Power, Jesus is forced through these twelve steps, which in fact diminishes Jesus' deity.\
Can anything be more offensive or outrageous?
Jesus is beyond our calculation, beyond our understanding.
I do not need some idea of God in my head.
I need the real deal, He who is from the beginning, who holds the universe together in His hands, who has everything taken care of, whether I am paying attention or not!
Christ -- More than Religion, and More than Relationship -- Righteousness!
He looked straight at me. Simply, but smilingly, he said, "I've got religion." (Aa, pg 9)
Religion does not set a man free.
Religion merely ties a man down to different traditions, none of which can make a man holy, but in fact can bring forth the very sin which man wishes to eliminate in his life.
Jesus Christ did not come to give us rules, but a relationship in which He is our righteousness and we rest in Him:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
and
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
and
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1: 30)
and
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
This righteousness we receive in Christ because He died for us and He is raised for our justification.
Every believer lives in Christ, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality and power.
This same message is crucial, and must be preached.
Christ is not religion, and He is more than relationship. He is our righteousness, and apart from Him, we are nothing and we can do nothing (John 15: 5).
Religion does not set a man free.
Religion merely ties a man down to different traditions, none of which can make a man holy, but in fact can bring forth the very sin which man wishes to eliminate in his life.
Jesus Christ did not come to give us rules, but a relationship in which He is our righteousness and we rest in Him:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
and
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
and
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1: 30)
and
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
This righteousness we receive in Christ because He died for us and He is raised for our justification.
Every believer lives in Christ, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality and power.
This same message is crucial, and must be preached.
Christ is not religion, and He is more than relationship. He is our righteousness, and apart from Him, we are nothing and we can do nothing (John 15: 5).
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Why I Was Bitter (How Jesus Makes Everything Better)
What is bitterness, except that we work so hard for something, and we do not get what we were working for.
Or worse, we get what we wanted, and yet what we get is still not enough for this sense of emptiness in our lives.
Such was my fate one year, when I had found the job that I had always wanted, only to find that I was still empty, still frustrates, that I was trying to hold this life up together on my own, on my own.
I had believed that everything still depended on me, and all of that effort was not enough.
We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 3: 4-8)
Yet like many Christians, I believed that receiving Jesus Christ as my Savior was just an initial reception. I was on my own for the rest of my life, to figure out what I was supposed to be doing, and who I was supposed to be meeting with or getting engaged in.
I had no directions, no ideas, no clear direction for my life.
And I had believed that I was on my own for everything.
Such a sense of demand and confusion will make anyone bitter, including me.
But I have since learned that Jesus Christ did not just die on the Cross for my sin. He also died to grant me His life, His standing, and all the blessings connected with being a son of God.
"Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17, ASV)
When God sees us, He sees us in Christ. In a sense, He is not dealing with us as us, but with every believer as we are in Christ Jesus!
So, for me to think that I have to strive and fret just to get through this life frustrates everything that Jesus Christ has done for me.
Any thinking or believing, acting or doing based on my doing will only frustrate the New Covenant, in which Christ Jesus promises to take care of us in all things:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Or worse, we get what we wanted, and yet what we get is still not enough for this sense of emptiness in our lives.
Such was my fate one year, when I had found the job that I had always wanted, only to find that I was still empty, still frustrates, that I was trying to hold this life up together on my own, on my own.
I had believed that everything still depended on me, and all of that effort was not enough.
We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 3: 4-8)
Yet like many Christians, I believed that receiving Jesus Christ as my Savior was just an initial reception. I was on my own for the rest of my life, to figure out what I was supposed to be doing, and who I was supposed to be meeting with or getting engaged in.
I had no directions, no ideas, no clear direction for my life.
And I had believed that I was on my own for everything.
Such a sense of demand and confusion will make anyone bitter, including me.
But I have since learned that Jesus Christ did not just die on the Cross for my sin. He also died to grant me His life, His standing, and all the blessings connected with being a son of God.
"Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17, ASV)
When God sees us, He sees us in Christ. In a sense, He is not dealing with us as us, but with every believer as we are in Christ Jesus!
So, for me to think that I have to strive and fret just to get through this life frustrates everything that Jesus Christ has done for me.
Any thinking or believing, acting or doing based on my doing will only frustrate the New Covenant, in which Christ Jesus promises to take care of us in all things:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
and then
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-35)
If Jesus Christ supplies all things, and we have all things through Christ because of His death and resurrectkion at the Cross, then we bring nothing but our willingness to receive from Him all things.
For this reason, Paul would tell the Ephesians, and all believers, to be gracious to others just as God for Christ's sake has been gracious to us (Ephesians 4: 31-32)
Do you know how gracious God is to us through His Son Jesus?
Romans 5: 17 could not explain it better:
"for if by the offence of the one the death did reign through the one, much more those, who the abundance of the grace and of the free gift of the righteousness are receiving, in life shall reign through the one -- Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 17, Young Literal Translation)
Because of all that Jesus Christ has done for us, because the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from all sin (:1 JOhn 1: 7), we can rest in the knowledgfe that Jesus is causing all grace to superabound in our lives (2 Corinthians 9: 8). This grace is more than potential, but certainty that He favors us in every endeavor which He works within us both to will and to do:
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15: 10)
I was bitter because of other people, what they had said, done, committed, perpetrated, whatever.
Then I would reason carnally.
"If it weren't for this person or that person and what he or she did, then I would have been able to. . ."
The phrase that gave everything away for me:
"I could have"
I do nothing without Jesus, for He blesses me with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1: 3)
The issue for all believers, including myself, is that we have too poor an understanding of all that Christ Jesus has done for us, and more importantly that to this day He is ministering on our behalf, He is working within us and around us.
I had believed for too long that I was stepping into this world myself, and that I had to make sure that I never felt angry or frustrated, or else my feelings and thoughts would impede my ability to let God live and work in me.
Nothing could be more wrong:
"
Jesus is Our Rest (Not Our Program)
Many people in church will claim that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship.
No better statement better conveys the central theme, the essence of Christianity.
Christ -- and I am nothing without him.
That phrase defines the Christian perfectly.
All of Christ, none of us, for Jesus takes every person out of death in trespasses to seated in heavenly places in Him.
The Bible reveals this wonderful Person to all who are willing to believe on Him and call on Him for salvation.
Jesus said to the Jews of His day during His earthly ministry:
"
No better statement better conveys the central theme, the essence of Christianity.
Christ -- and I am nothing without him.
That phrase defines the Christian perfectly.
All of Christ, none of us, for Jesus takes every person out of death in trespasses to seated in heavenly places in Him.
The Bible reveals this wonderful Person to all who are willing to believe on Him and call on Him for salvation.
Jesus said to the Jews of His day during His earthly ministry:
"
28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)
Jesus did not come to give us a program. He came to give us Himself.
The literal translation of verse 28 reads:
Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will rest you."
He is our rest, and He is all things for us:
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)
Jesus does not invite us to bear the yoke with Him, but rather to let Him lead us in all things, and we can trust that God the Father will bless us in all things because we are in Christ, who is our rest, our Life, and our everything else.
No conception of God can equal all that Jesus is! Jesus is more than a program. He is Life Himself!
Working a program causes us to fall from grace (Galatians 5: 4), when Jesus offers His energy, His power, His goodness. He asks us merely to believe on Him (which for human beings wired to do more than believe, is very challenging indeed). Let Jesus by your Savior and your Shepherd. Forget the Twelve Steps, and let Jesus reign in your life, that you may reign in this life with Him!
Bill W. Has No Friends (Just Exploited Victims)
Members of Alcoholics Anonymous often refer to themselves as "friends of Bill W."
My mother often proferred that silly statement, and then she would refer to me that way with people she met out and about.
First of all, the idea that we can be friends with a dead man already smacks of stupidity.
Friendship implies life and fellowship, not merely agreement or affiliation with doctrine.
Second of all, Bill Wilson, the floundering founder of AA, did not have friends, as much as he found easy partners to join with his duping cult to take in victims and exploit them for his pride and self-gratification.
Bill W. cheated on his wife frequently.
He stole money from his fellowssship.
He lied about his claimed religious experience, when he had been hit around the head by members of the Oxford Group, another cult based loosely on the Bible, yet distorts everything to minister to the needs of a few greedy, thin-souled men.
Bill W. was not even sober, and his program has nothing to do with promoting friendship or community of any kind.
The bickering and back-biting in meetings is just atrocious. Frequent sexual assaults also take place in TGE halls of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The spate of suicides is just too much to calculate.
Not only that, but only five percent of regularly attending members every get and stay sober, and often only with the help of mind-altering drugs.
What kind of life is that?
What kind of friend would put suffering individuals through such a mess?
Someone who is not a friend.
Bill W. has no friends, because he never had any, never wanted any. He merely wanted to exploit victims for his own self-aggrandizement.
My mother often proferred that silly statement, and then she would refer to me that way with people she met out and about.
First of all, the idea that we can be friends with a dead man already smacks of stupidity.
Friendship implies life and fellowship, not merely agreement or affiliation with doctrine.
Second of all, Bill Wilson, the floundering founder of AA, did not have friends, as much as he found easy partners to join with his duping cult to take in victims and exploit them for his pride and self-gratification.
Bill W. cheated on his wife frequently.
He stole money from his fellowssship.
He lied about his claimed religious experience, when he had been hit around the head by members of the Oxford Group, another cult based loosely on the Bible, yet distorts everything to minister to the needs of a few greedy, thin-souled men.
Bill W. was not even sober, and his program has nothing to do with promoting friendship or community of any kind.
The bickering and back-biting in meetings is just atrocious. Frequent sexual assaults also take place in TGE halls of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The spate of suicides is just too much to calculate.
Not only that, but only five percent of regularly attending members every get and stay sober, and often only with the help of mind-altering drugs.
What kind of life is that?
What kind of friend would put suffering individuals through such a mess?
Someone who is not a friend.
Bill W. has no friends, because he never had any, never wanted any. He merely wanted to exploit victims for his own self-aggrandizement.
There is Nothing Anonymous About AA
I have met so many people who gladly share (as if we care):
"My name is . . . and I am a friend of Bill W."
Or they tell us plainly "I am an alcoholic."
I cannot believe how brazenly individuals violate anonymity.
The very program which they claim to participate in mandates that they do not disclose their affiliation with the program.
The Twelfth Tradition mandates that the members of AA remain anonymous at the level of press, radio, and film so that everyone remembers to place principles before personalities.
Yet the personalities of too many members just will not permit them to keep quiet about their membership.
Not only that, but the program has now been reaching out to people through advertisements in local papers and on television.
The cult is losing its cult-like hold on members as more people seek real life and real solutions as opposed to a program which keeps them in bondage by compelling them to identify with a failing.
Terrible, just terrible.
Besides, there is very little anonymity in meetings to begin with. Members share their most difficult struggles or worst trials, and someone else who was supposed to keep these sins and defects of character in place noises them about for all to hear.
Where's the life in that? Where's the anonymity in that?
The very notion of "anonymity" rests on the real problem which afflicts alcoholics, and all individuals who struggle with addictions, perversions, or bad habits.
Shame, reproach, condemnation.
Seeking to remain anonymous does not give anyone any solace from shame or blame. The seared conscience of wrong-doing never leaves a person, even if they have confided their worst sins to a priest, a Rabbi, or any other trustworthy figure.
I had done and thought and said things that caused me great shame, but the sense of guilt and shame still never left me. No matter how many times I confided to another person the things that I had thought or done, I never felt safe, either.
Oftentimes in meetings, I would share with others the fear that I had of other people finding out what I had said or done.
The terror does not go away. The anonymity about these issues does not solve the problem.
"Someone else knows! Someone else will find out!"
Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ:
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7: 24-25)
and then
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8: 1, ASB)
No condemnation at all because we are in Christ, and in Christ all our sins were paid for.
We have a New Covenant cut for us, because Christ is our representative at the right hand of God the Father, and there Jesus justifies us and intercedes for us (Romans 8: 31-34)
We are not anonymous to God the Father, because He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows us because He reckons us alive in Christ Jesus:
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
"My name is . . . and I am a friend of Bill W."
Or they tell us plainly "I am an alcoholic."
I cannot believe how brazenly individuals violate anonymity.
The very program which they claim to participate in mandates that they do not disclose their affiliation with the program.
The Twelfth Tradition mandates that the members of AA remain anonymous at the level of press, radio, and film so that everyone remembers to place principles before personalities.
Yet the personalities of too many members just will not permit them to keep quiet about their membership.
Not only that, but the program has now been reaching out to people through advertisements in local papers and on television.
The cult is losing its cult-like hold on members as more people seek real life and real solutions as opposed to a program which keeps them in bondage by compelling them to identify with a failing.
Terrible, just terrible.
Besides, there is very little anonymity in meetings to begin with. Members share their most difficult struggles or worst trials, and someone else who was supposed to keep these sins and defects of character in place noises them about for all to hear.
Where's the life in that? Where's the anonymity in that?
The very notion of "anonymity" rests on the real problem which afflicts alcoholics, and all individuals who struggle with addictions, perversions, or bad habits.
Shame, reproach, condemnation.
Seeking to remain anonymous does not give anyone any solace from shame or blame. The seared conscience of wrong-doing never leaves a person, even if they have confided their worst sins to a priest, a Rabbi, or any other trustworthy figure.
I had done and thought and said things that caused me great shame, but the sense of guilt and shame still never left me. No matter how many times I confided to another person the things that I had thought or done, I never felt safe, either.
Oftentimes in meetings, I would share with others the fear that I had of other people finding out what I had said or done.
The terror does not go away. The anonymity about these issues does not solve the problem.
"Someone else knows! Someone else will find out!"
Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ:
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7: 24-25)
and then
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8: 1, ASB)
No condemnation at all because we are in Christ, and in Christ all our sins were paid for.
We have a New Covenant cut for us, because Christ is our representative at the right hand of God the Father, and there Jesus justifies us and intercedes for us (Romans 8: 31-34)
We are not anonymous to God the Father, because He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows us because He reckons us alive in Christ Jesus:
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." (Romans 6: 11-12)
That versus "let not sin reign" gives us the power to overcome every perversion in our flesh, including drugs and alcohol, because we see that we are dead to all of those evil motions of sin in our bodies and our carnal mind.
Friday, September 6, 2013
"Higher Power" Takes -- Jesus Gives!
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will. (AA, pg 85)
There is no rest in AA.
The program rests everything on the Alcoholic, who every day brings into his life a tired, empty vision of "What does God want me to do?"
How to know the voice of God, how to discern the truth of God speaking to the member, such information is never revealed.
Never.
This program is just plain frustrating, and on purpose.
The program from the beginning is designed to keep people dependent, to keep them coming back, and when they fail, to let them know that they simply did not work the program hard enough, well enough, were simply not rigorously honest enough with themselves:
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. (AA, pg 58)
Whatever this Higher Power claims to be for most, the program of AA still takes precedence, and thus the power remains in the group, and away from the individual.
While the Twelve Steps demands more from people, Jesus is all give:
"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? " (Romans 8: 31-32)
and
"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
"13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4: 13)
and
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 19)
and
"14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." (1 John 5: 14-15)
Forget about any conception of God. Believe on Jesus, the Perfect Man at the Father's Right Hand, and receive all things through Him!
There is no rest in AA.
The program rests everything on the Alcoholic, who every day brings into his life a tired, empty vision of "What does God want me to do?"
How to know the voice of God, how to discern the truth of God speaking to the member, such information is never revealed.
Never.
This program is just plain frustrating, and on purpose.
The program from the beginning is designed to keep people dependent, to keep them coming back, and when they fail, to let them know that they simply did not work the program hard enough, well enough, were simply not rigorously honest enough with themselves:
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. (AA, pg 58)
Whatever this Higher Power claims to be for most, the program of AA still takes precedence, and thus the power remains in the group, and away from the individual.
While the Twelve Steps demands more from people, Jesus is all give:
"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? " (Romans 8: 31-32)
and
"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
"13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4: 13)
and
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 19)
and
"14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." (1 John 5: 14-15)
Forget about any conception of God. Believe on Jesus, the Perfect Man at the Father's Right Hand, and receive all things through Him!
From a Former Stepper
Thank you Arthur!
I was once a stepper mom. Thank god for my sons my eyes were opened!
Sincerely,
Monica
To: makeaasafer@gmail.com
To the "Leaving AA" community: Please visit and hare errorsofaa.blogspot.com I was indoctrinated in that terrible cult for years -- and I am not even an alcoholic! My mother was crazy-fanatic about AA
| From: | Arthur Christopher Schaper (arthurschaper@hotmail.com) |
| Sent: | Sat 8/31/13 9:57 AM |
| To: | makeaasafer@gmail.com (makeaasafer@gmail.com) |
To the "Leaving AA" community:
Please visit and hare
errorsofaa.blogspot.com
I was indoctrinated in that terrible cult for years -- and I am not even an alcoholic!
My mother was crazy-fanatic about AA. She was taking her inventory, working her steps until she died!
Please get this blog out!
Thanks!
Please visit and hare
errorsofaa.blogspot.com
I was indoctrinated in that terrible cult for years -- and I am not even an alcoholic!
My mother was crazy-fanatic about AA. She was taking her inventory, working her steps until she died!
Please get this blog out!
Thanks!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
AA is a Head Trip -- A Bad One
Oh my goodness!
How long this has taken me to understanding.
A conception of God is totally wrong!
Totally.
I do not want to trust in a God manufactured in my mind!
I need to rest and believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God who is beyond my understanding, greater than every problem and setback, one who is Savior and Lord!
AA has no such power.
This "Higher Power" business is a sham.
I do not want something that springs out of my head.
I want the Person who holds the universe together, who lives and moves and has His being whether I feel that I understand Him or not.
I do not want to create some idea of a deity, but rather I want the God who is on my side, whether I understand it or not, whether I sense Him or not, whether I feel Him or not.
I know that He is on my side because God was against His own Son on the Cross.
Jesus became sin that I would be made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
He provides everything, because He is everything.
Since when did anyone of us get the notion that we can bring anything to the table?
Everything is a gift from God.
Let's take a look at the first verse of the Bible:
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
God creates, and He does not destroy. God is supreme, above everything and every thing.
The first word in the Hebrew displays a richness beyond which the English can only capture a glimpse.
"Bereshith" is the first word, which is often translated "In the Beginning".
B-R means "Son" in Hebrew, which speaks of Jesus!
The word is based on "resh" or "rosh", which means "head", and Jesus is the head of the Church, the Body of believers.
He is also the Head of all Creation.
The only "head trip" that counts is the trip that every child of God can enjoy with Christ as the head of our lives.
All we have to do is trust Him!
How long this has taken me to understanding.
A conception of God is totally wrong!
Totally.
I do not want to trust in a God manufactured in my mind!
I need to rest and believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God who is beyond my understanding, greater than every problem and setback, one who is Savior and Lord!
AA has no such power.
This "Higher Power" business is a sham.
I do not want something that springs out of my head.
I want the Person who holds the universe together, who lives and moves and has His being whether I feel that I understand Him or not.
I do not want to create some idea of a deity, but rather I want the God who is on my side, whether I understand it or not, whether I sense Him or not, whether I feel Him or not.
I know that He is on my side because God was against His own Son on the Cross.
Jesus became sin that I would be made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
He provides everything, because He is everything.
Since when did anyone of us get the notion that we can bring anything to the table?
Everything is a gift from God.
Let's take a look at the first verse of the Bible:
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
God creates, and He does not destroy. God is supreme, above everything and every thing.
The first word in the Hebrew displays a richness beyond which the English can only capture a glimpse.
"Bereshith" is the first word, which is often translated "In the Beginning".
B-R means "Son" in Hebrew, which speaks of Jesus!
The word is based on "resh" or "rosh", which means "head", and Jesus is the head of the Church, the Body of believers.
He is also the Head of all Creation.
The only "head trip" that counts is the trip that every child of God can enjoy with Christ as the head of our lives.
All we have to do is trust Him!
More About Flesh and Spirit, Law and Grace
Yes, yes, everyone talks about "Let Go, and Let God".
I have already written how such an empty mandate does not work, because unless you know and believe in the perfect love of God, in Christ, no one can ever trust God, especially when bad things happen, and there is no source of certainty which testifies to God's eternal love for us: The Cross.
I have learned so much about God's love for me and His grace in my life.
I had lived for so long assuming that everything depended on me, that I had to work my program, and make sure that I was taking the steps to remain right with God every day.
Now I know and believe in His love and care, because of His Son Jesus Christ, and that He has done everything through the power of the Cross.
For years - years! - I believed that everything was riding on my shoulders.
AA forces this false understanding on people, giving them the impression that any slip-up, any resentment, any emotional setback will set God back from us.
I have already written how such an empty mandate does not work, because unless you know and believe in the perfect love of God, in Christ, no one can ever trust God, especially when bad things happen, and there is no source of certainty which testifies to God's eternal love for us: The Cross.
I have learned so much about God's love for me and His grace in my life.
I had lived for so long assuming that everything depended on me, that I had to work my program, and make sure that I was taking the steps to remain right with God every day.
Now I know and believe in His love and care, because of His Son Jesus Christ, and that He has done everything through the power of the Cross.
For years - years! - I believed that everything was riding on my shoulders.
AA forces this false understanding on people, giving them the impression that any slip-up, any resentment, any emotional setback will set God back from us.
"It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die." (AA, pg 66)
Lie! LIE! BIG LIE!
Nothing can separate us from the Love of God -- nothing, not even ourselves (Romans 8: 38-39) because of God's love for us in Christ.
No one had ever taught me this. I lived in a household where God's love was seen as a partial element, but you had to do your part.
Excuse me? I now say to such thinking. Or to quote Comedian Steve "Arrow in the Head" Martin: "Excuuuuuuuuuuuuse Me!"
The Bible could not be clearer:
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: " (Ephesians 2": 1-6)
I was dead in sins -- dead, not just bad. There is nothing that a dead man can do but allow Life to come in.
If I needed life, and that is the greatest thing, than who am I to assume that God cannot deliver all the rest?
Paul even speaks to any such skepticism:
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)
I am under a waterfall of grace in Christ, and so is every person who believes on Him.
Forget the Twelve Steps, and Step into Him who has been from the Beginning (1 John 2: 12-14)
The Source of the Frustration: The Flesh
I was trying so hard.
Really, I was.
No one had ever explained to me that not my trying, not my striving, but His Dying for me made all the difference.
Jesus' death on the Cross answers every challenge, provides for every need, solves every problem.
AA teaches people that we have to work a program in order to be sober and live happy lives.
That alcoholism is a disease, something from which no man will ever receive a cure:
"We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals - usually brief - were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better." (AA, pg 30)
No!
Alcoholism, like any other perversion or sin, is a work of the flesh:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. " (Galatians 5: 19-21)
We are born dead in Adam, and God invites us to a new life in His Son Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thus Paul could write:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
Then Paul writes:
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4: 6-7)
Then
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. " (Galatians 5: 16-18)
So, our frustrations, our hurts, any sense of offense or resentment or bitterness - all of those things pertain to Old Man Adam, a dead nature from which every believer has been delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit, who has been released to us because of Jesus' death on the Cross, and because of His resurrection, we are assured of our justification at the right hand of the Father, because we are now in Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
So, what is the source of frustration for most believers, especially those who attend AA, or Celebrate Recovery, or any other Twelve Step Program?
They are trying to fix something which cannot be fixed -- the flesh.
Moreover, the solution has already been paid for and provide in Christ Jesus, who died as us, was raised for us, and lives in us -- in those who believe on Him.
As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find the elements of the Old Man lifted away from us, and His grace permeates more parts of our lives:
"But ye have not so learned Christ; 21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4: 20-24)
We have to be renewed in the spirit of our mind because this body lusts against the Spirit, wants to rule wants to manage and control everything.
We cannot get rid of the flesh, but we do not identify with it, and we need not be discouraged about it, either, for we are in Christ, and even when we sin, grace superabounds in our lives (Romans 5: 20)
Really, I was.
No one had ever explained to me that not my trying, not my striving, but His Dying for me made all the difference.
Jesus' death on the Cross answers every challenge, provides for every need, solves every problem.
AA teaches people that we have to work a program in order to be sober and live happy lives.
That alcoholism is a disease, something from which no man will ever receive a cure:
"We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals - usually brief - were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better." (AA, pg 30)
No!
Alcoholism, like any other perversion or sin, is a work of the flesh:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. " (Galatians 5: 19-21)
We are born dead in Adam, and God invites us to a new life in His Son Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thus Paul could write:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
Then Paul writes:
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4: 6-7)
Then
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. " (Galatians 5: 16-18)
So, our frustrations, our hurts, any sense of offense or resentment or bitterness - all of those things pertain to Old Man Adam, a dead nature from which every believer has been delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit, who has been released to us because of Jesus' death on the Cross, and because of His resurrection, we are assured of our justification at the right hand of the Father, because we are now in Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
So, what is the source of frustration for most believers, especially those who attend AA, or Celebrate Recovery, or any other Twelve Step Program?
They are trying to fix something which cannot be fixed -- the flesh.
Moreover, the solution has already been paid for and provide in Christ Jesus, who died as us, was raised for us, and lives in us -- in those who believe on Him.
As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find the elements of the Old Man lifted away from us, and His grace permeates more parts of our lives:
"But ye have not so learned Christ; 21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4: 20-24)
We have to be renewed in the spirit of our mind because this body lusts against the Spirit, wants to rule wants to manage and control everything.
We cannot get rid of the flesh, but we do not identify with it, and we need not be discouraged about it, either, for we are in Christ, and even when we sin, grace superabounds in our lives (Romans 5: 20)
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