"Don't get obsessed, now!" Someone counseled me.
I understand where they were coming from.
I should not focus so much on the bad upbringing which I had. I should not hammer the issues that I faced in this life, and tell everyone that I was in so much pain because of the garbage taught in the AA cult.
Yet the truth sets me free, and all who abide in the Truth, the Man and the Glory Jesus Christ as witnessed in the Word of God (John 8: 31-32), and now that I know the truth, I understand all the time why I was so worried, so fearful, and so frustrated!
Every day, I was looking at my thoughts and feelings, instead of the Perfect Man at the Father's right hand: Jesus Christ.
At the same time, I had no idea how I was supposed to live, what I was supposed to do.
AA creates people who become dependent on other people to tell them what to do, to come clean about their sins or defects of character for the day.
Every believer born again now sits in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and therefore we have nothing to fear in this life.
Yet as long as Christians continue looking for rules and regulations, or Twelve Steps, to set them free, they will find themselves falling back into sin, creating the very perversions that they are called out of.
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15: 56)
But do not worry:
"57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15: 57)
We have victory in Christ, not in ourselves, and thus we are called to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh, not in our efforts, not in ourselves.
The more that we try to live holy lives in ourselves, the more that we fail, that we sin, that we produce the very corruption which defines those who have died to sin..
I never felt OK in AA, always trapped in my feelings, always convinced that I had to something abotu the way that I felt so that I could do better.
There is no escape from this spiral of frustration, except that we are delivered completely out of self and into Christ, who holds all things together!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Perfected Because Perfectly Forgiven
No matter what a man may do, his conscience cannot be satisfied.
Such is the scam on which AA is based:
This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (AA. pg 84)
"These things" exist in our bodies, in our fallen flesh, and will never be removed.
The works of the flesh also play out like this:
"19Now 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)
The works of the flesh -- any of our own efforts will produce sin and death.
Jesus invites us to receive Himself, His life, and His Spirit, and when He lives in us, we receive all things with Him (Ephesians 1: 3; Romans 8: 31-32)
Yet we will not believe as long as we continue to think and do, or as long as we are convinced that Jesus Christ has not done everything for us.
We are perfected forever in Christ (Hebrews 10: 14) because Jesus Christ completed a perfect work at the Cross (John 19: 30)
Either we believe on Him, or we do not.
Most Christians, including those who mix AA and Jesus Christ, are convinced, falsely, that they have to bring something to the party, so to speak, in order to enact every good thing from God.
James did not write about what we do, by the way:
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1: 17)
This light from God the Father is ever-cleansing us from all sin:
"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)
It's the blood of Jesus which keeps us cleansed, which keeps us perfected forever before God the Father.
We are perfected because we have been perfectly forgiven. Any program, any regimen, any cult which tells us that we have to keep taking our inventory in order to be forgiven is a ravenous, evil lie.
For this reason, Jesus said:
"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)
We are perfected in Christ, for He has forgiven us perfectly, and so we can receive from Him perfectly, too!
Such is the scam on which AA is based:
This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (AA. pg 84)
"These things" exist in our bodies, in our fallen flesh, and will never be removed.
The works of the flesh also play out like this:
"19Now 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)
The works of the flesh -- any of our own efforts will produce sin and death.
Jesus invites us to receive Himself, His life, and His Spirit, and when He lives in us, we receive all things with Him (Ephesians 1: 3; Romans 8: 31-32)
Yet we will not believe as long as we continue to think and do, or as long as we are convinced that Jesus Christ has not done everything for us.
We are perfected forever in Christ (Hebrews 10: 14) because Jesus Christ completed a perfect work at the Cross (John 19: 30)
Either we believe on Him, or we do not.
Most Christians, including those who mix AA and Jesus Christ, are convinced, falsely, that they have to bring something to the party, so to speak, in order to enact every good thing from God.
James did not write about what we do, by the way:
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1: 17)
This light from God the Father is ever-cleansing us from all sin:
"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)
It's the blood of Jesus which keeps us cleansed, which keeps us perfected forever before God the Father.
We are perfected because we have been perfectly forgiven. Any program, any regimen, any cult which tells us that we have to keep taking our inventory in order to be forgiven is a ravenous, evil lie.
For this reason, Jesus said:
"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)
We are perfected in Christ, for He has forgiven us perfectly, and so we can receive from Him perfectly, too!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
A Guilty Conscience No More
Alcoholics Anonymous forces on people a guilty conscience.
When Jesus died on the Cross, He offered us a new and living way, one which grants to us a pure conscience, one free of any sense of guilt.
In Romans, Paul merely reminds us that every person, Jew or Gentile, is born with a conscience, a sense of right and wrong, and thus a sense that we are wrong and need to do something to fix this upset in our lives.
Cultures around the world devised different ways of getting rid of this sense of guilt and frustration in our lives.
Even the Aztecs in the Americas would sacrifice PEOPLE to shed blood in order to keep the sun shining and the world moving.
This knowledge within every one of us pushes us to shed blood for the wrongs done in our lives.
AA pushes people to resign themselves to a life of paying for their sins every day.
Ask God for direction, let God direct your thinking and your steps, then at the end of the day, review what you did right and what you did wrong.
There are no standards in place to determine whether a person did something right or wrong. So, a person is usually left with a conscience that is never quite satisfied.
Did I do a good job today? What if I screw up?
These kinds of questions never left me.
A guilty conscience can never be put to rest through our efforts. We just never find ourselves doing enough.
Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ.
While the sacrifices under the Old Covenant could never perfect anyone:
"which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience" (Hebrews 9: 9)
The blood of Jesus has taken care of everything:
"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10: 14)
This blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12: 24)
This blood cleanses us forever more (1 John 1: 7)
Someone I knew in AA had heard about the blood of Jesus, how it continues to cleanse us from all sin.
She did not believe it, she did not accept it.
She worked her inventory until she killed herself.
The Law, the Ten Commandment, or any written ordinances of men turn into a ministry of condemnation, because no one can measure up. No once reach into our hearts and remove an eternal sense of lack, guilt, shame, reproach.
Because of the New Covenant, cut by Jesus Christ at the Cross, we can rest in the full and forever knowledge that we have been purged forever from all sin.
Yet if we continue to take our inventories, if we continue to confess our sins, believing that we have to pay for what God has already paid for through the death of His Son, then we have nothing left but a fearful looking after of judgment (Hebrews 10: 26)
In other words, we have a guilty conscience which continues to harp on us that we have not done enough, that the payment has not yet been made.
When Jesus died on the Cross, He offered us a new and living way, one which grants to us a pure conscience, one free of any sense of guilt.
In Romans, Paul merely reminds us that every person, Jew or Gentile, is born with a conscience, a sense of right and wrong, and thus a sense that we are wrong and need to do something to fix this upset in our lives.
Cultures around the world devised different ways of getting rid of this sense of guilt and frustration in our lives.
Even the Aztecs in the Americas would sacrifice PEOPLE to shed blood in order to keep the sun shining and the world moving.
This knowledge within every one of us pushes us to shed blood for the wrongs done in our lives.
AA pushes people to resign themselves to a life of paying for their sins every day.
Ask God for direction, let God direct your thinking and your steps, then at the end of the day, review what you did right and what you did wrong.
There are no standards in place to determine whether a person did something right or wrong. So, a person is usually left with a conscience that is never quite satisfied.
Did I do a good job today? What if I screw up?
These kinds of questions never left me.
A guilty conscience can never be put to rest through our efforts. We just never find ourselves doing enough.
Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ.
While the sacrifices under the Old Covenant could never perfect anyone:
"which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience" (Hebrews 9: 9)
The blood of Jesus has taken care of everything:
"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10: 14)
This blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12: 24)
This blood cleanses us forever more (1 John 1: 7)
Someone I knew in AA had heard about the blood of Jesus, how it continues to cleanse us from all sin.
She did not believe it, she did not accept it.
She worked her inventory until she killed herself.
The Law, the Ten Commandment, or any written ordinances of men turn into a ministry of condemnation, because no one can measure up. No once reach into our hearts and remove an eternal sense of lack, guilt, shame, reproach.
Because of the New Covenant, cut by Jesus Christ at the Cross, we can rest in the full and forever knowledge that we have been purged forever from all sin.
Yet if we continue to take our inventories, if we continue to confess our sins, believing that we have to pay for what God has already paid for through the death of His Son, then we have nothing left but a fearful looking after of judgment (Hebrews 10: 26)
In other words, we have a guilty conscience which continues to harp on us that we have not done enough, that the payment has not yet been made.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Program Makes you Non-Assertive
How long I struggled with this problem, I cannot recall.
Yet I struggled, nonetheless.
A sense of force was all to pervasive in my life, a sentiment that I was doing something wrong, that I would get in trouble.
This reproach followed me around all the time.
I was bitter, selfish, easy to offend.
It seemed that people could easily offend me, too.
I never knew how to deal with difficult people, convinced that my bad feelings were something I had to get rid of so that I could interact effectively with others.
How true it is: AA makes people incapable of working with others.
Why? Because the program prescribes self-centeredness by teaching people to live under a set of guidelines, to be obsessed ultimately with an "alcoholic" identity.
When a man enters the world with a sense of "Unfinished", that everything he says and does must measure up with some program, and that his feelings are other people's responsibility, it will be a matter of time before the person goes crazy or goes into hiding, convinced that how others treat him or her can determine his day.
These lies lived in my mind for so long, and it was all because of the terrible AA cult and the indoctrination of my "Stepper Mom".
Everything was my fault if I got angry, and yet at the same time, I was not allowed to be angry, either.
AA teaches you that you are powerless, not just over alcohol, but over yourself and everything else.
What a bunch of garbage.
Yet I believed it, and some still do who visit the rooms.
Yet more people are leaving, and Jesus Christ and His Good News are responsible!
The Program makes you non-assertive because it teaches you to see yourself as wrong all the time. When other people provoke or malign, what else can a person do but look at themselves first?
The program indoctrinates people to blame themselves over and over.
"It is a spiritual axiom" begins the Tenth Step in "The Twelve and Twelve"
Where's the proof for this nonsense? Nowhere. Axiomatic means nothing.
Yet I struggled, nonetheless.
A sense of force was all to pervasive in my life, a sentiment that I was doing something wrong, that I would get in trouble.
This reproach followed me around all the time.
I was bitter, selfish, easy to offend.
It seemed that people could easily offend me, too.
I never knew how to deal with difficult people, convinced that my bad feelings were something I had to get rid of so that I could interact effectively with others.
How true it is: AA makes people incapable of working with others.
Why? Because the program prescribes self-centeredness by teaching people to live under a set of guidelines, to be obsessed ultimately with an "alcoholic" identity.
When a man enters the world with a sense of "Unfinished", that everything he says and does must measure up with some program, and that his feelings are other people's responsibility, it will be a matter of time before the person goes crazy or goes into hiding, convinced that how others treat him or her can determine his day.
These lies lived in my mind for so long, and it was all because of the terrible AA cult and the indoctrination of my "Stepper Mom".
Everything was my fault if I got angry, and yet at the same time, I was not allowed to be angry, either.
AA teaches you that you are powerless, not just over alcohol, but over yourself and everything else.
What a bunch of garbage.
Yet I believed it, and some still do who visit the rooms.
Yet more people are leaving, and Jesus Christ and His Good News are responsible!
The Program makes you non-assertive because it teaches you to see yourself as wrong all the time. When other people provoke or malign, what else can a person do but look at themselves first?
The program indoctrinates people to blame themselves over and over.
"It is a spiritual axiom" begins the Tenth Step in "The Twelve and Twelve"
Where's the proof for this nonsense? Nowhere. Axiomatic means nothing.
Monday, October 14, 2013
How it Works: Indoctrination
Alcoholics Anonymous proceeds from false premises.
The idea that certain men and women are alcoholics, whereas everyone else in the world is normal.
The argument that people have to run their lives by someone else because they cannot think for themselves, because they are alcoholics -- all of this feeds into a narrative of false identity and works which never work.
This indoctrination is egged on because the state gets involved, forcing many people to go to this terrible cult.
Yet the truth indeed sets us free.
Does the program actually work?
No.
Any Google search will turn up studies exposing that there is no evidence that Twelve Step programs work.
There are a few people who end up getting sober, but the research strongly suggests that these individuals would have gotten sober with or without AA.
The scam of "How it Works" rests on the assumption that men and women who fail to stay sober have simply not committed themselves fully to the program
What will it take for anyone to commite fully?
How long can anyone spend continuing to take his or her inventory?
When will people start to realize that the program cannot work?
It all starts with attacking the premises.
People are not born alcoholic, nor do they stay that way.
There are numerous accounts of people who get sober without Twelve Steps.
Contrary to many of the assertions in the Big Book, people in AA meetings are a glum lot.
The Good News of Jesus Christ cannot be compared with steps and works which never bring a man to a better place.
The program does not work, and even the most effective of people, the most well-meaning never find their lives getting better.
How it works? By indoctrination, and nothing more, and even then, it does not work.
The idea that certain men and women are alcoholics, whereas everyone else in the world is normal.
The argument that people have to run their lives by someone else because they cannot think for themselves, because they are alcoholics -- all of this feeds into a narrative of false identity and works which never work.
This indoctrination is egged on because the state gets involved, forcing many people to go to this terrible cult.
Yet the truth indeed sets us free.
Does the program actually work?
No.
Any Google search will turn up studies exposing that there is no evidence that Twelve Step programs work.
There are a few people who end up getting sober, but the research strongly suggests that these individuals would have gotten sober with or without AA.
The scam of "How it Works" rests on the assumption that men and women who fail to stay sober have simply not committed themselves fully to the program
What will it take for anyone to commite fully?
How long can anyone spend continuing to take his or her inventory?
When will people start to realize that the program cannot work?
It all starts with attacking the premises.
People are not born alcoholic, nor do they stay that way.
There are numerous accounts of people who get sober without Twelve Steps.
Contrary to many of the assertions in the Big Book, people in AA meetings are a glum lot.
The Good News of Jesus Christ cannot be compared with steps and works which never bring a man to a better place.
The program does not work, and even the most effective of people, the most well-meaning never find their lives getting better.
How it works? By indoctrination, and nothing more, and even then, it does not work.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
You Have a Champion, Not a Conception
We need someone who will fight our battles, not someone or something that will make the fight harder.
I lived for so long, convinced that I had to think, feel, do, be a certain way in order for God the Father, His Son, His Spirit to live and work in me.
"You are working too hard!"
"You are so hard on yourself!"
"Stop thinking so much!"
"Take a chill pill!"
I heard all of this stuff for a long time.
Yes, I was nervous.
Yes, I was easily hurt, frustrated, angry.
People still seemed to dominate me, and much more after working the Twelve Steps than before.
Yet the worst feeling was not that other people could hurt me, or that I was entering into this world without any sense of safety or defense.
It was the sense that I was stepping into a lifeliess void, one in which the whole world, the life that I was leading was all up to me, and only me.
Such is the case if we live bu a higher power which we have conceived of.
The Bible reveals to us a God who is beyond our wonders, so good that we can only believe and receive from Him:
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2: 9)
We must not draw on some backward idea of what we think of GOd, but rather let His Word speak of Himself:
"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14: 9)
Jesus is our champion, for in Him we are more than conquerors (Romans 8: 37)
As we grow in grace and knowledge of Him, we see more of all that He has done for us, that He wishes to continue doing for us, too
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 2)
In Christ, we have more than a conception of God, but the Champion who causes us to triumph (2 Corinthians 2: 14), and in all things (Romans 8: 32)
I lived for so long, convinced that I had to think, feel, do, be a certain way in order for God the Father, His Son, His Spirit to live and work in me.
"You are working too hard!"
"You are so hard on yourself!"
"Stop thinking so much!"
"Take a chill pill!"
I heard all of this stuff for a long time.
Yes, I was nervous.
Yes, I was easily hurt, frustrated, angry.
People still seemed to dominate me, and much more after working the Twelve Steps than before.
Yet the worst feeling was not that other people could hurt me, or that I was entering into this world without any sense of safety or defense.
It was the sense that I was stepping into a lifeliess void, one in which the whole world, the life that I was leading was all up to me, and only me.
Such is the case if we live bu a higher power which we have conceived of.
The Bible reveals to us a God who is beyond our wonders, so good that we can only believe and receive from Him:
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2: 9)
We must not draw on some backward idea of what we think of GOd, but rather let His Word speak of Himself:
"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14: 9)
Jesus is our champion, for in Him we are more than conquerors (Romans 8: 37)
As we grow in grace and knowledge of Him, we see more of all that He has done for us, that He wishes to continue doing for us, too
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 2)
In Christ, we have more than a conception of God, but the Champion who causes us to triumph (2 Corinthians 2: 14), and in all things (Romans 8: 32)
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Bill W." Anti-Christ
I will repeat this vehement charge until Christian, until every man and women who claims that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior walks away from Twelve Step programs, and every church moves to cast out Alcoholics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, and every other formulaic self-help program from our churches.
The moment that men and women understand that they are dead and in need of life, then they enter the eternal Sabbath rest of Jesus, and thus there is no need for the law, because God works within us by His Holy Spirit.
Bill Wilson, like many self-help snake-oil salesman, wanted to be God, he wanted to be a new savior for people.
He was anti-Christ, a man who had no religious affiliations, who was not a Christian, and certainly not an established member of an organized church.
He wanted to be God, even though he claimed that his program was all about people realizing that they are "not God."
Then again, Bill W.'s program worked pretty well, considering that he wanted the members of the program to see that they were not God in their lives. Bill would be there as their God, instead!
Sick!
Bill was anti-Christ in both senses of the world. He was against Christ, in that he wanted to replace Jesus our Savior and Mediator. He also wanted to replace Him and be the secular saint-savior.
His ministry is mired in lies and falsehoods. More people are leaving those rooms and finding room enough and more in Christ, Him Crucified, and every promise of His, which is Yea and Amen!
The moment that men and women understand that they are dead and in need of life, then they enter the eternal Sabbath rest of Jesus, and thus there is no need for the law, because God works within us by His Holy Spirit.
Bill Wilson, like many self-help snake-oil salesman, wanted to be God, he wanted to be a new savior for people.
He was anti-Christ, a man who had no religious affiliations, who was not a Christian, and certainly not an established member of an organized church.
He wanted to be God, even though he claimed that his program was all about people realizing that they are "not God."
Then again, Bill W.'s program worked pretty well, considering that he wanted the members of the program to see that they were not God in their lives. Bill would be there as their God, instead!
Sick!
Bill was anti-Christ in both senses of the world. He was against Christ, in that he wanted to replace Jesus our Savior and Mediator. He also wanted to replace Him and be the secular saint-savior.
His ministry is mired in lies and falsehoods. More people are leaving those rooms and finding room enough and more in Christ, Him Crucified, and every promise of His, which is Yea and Amen!
AA Creates Powerless People
AA teaches people to be victims, when the very thing that people want is no longer to be a victim.
The argument that we are powerless, that we need power from Someone or Something else does not hold enough promise for us.
We need more than power, we need everything!
We need life, and that more abundantly.
The argument of AA, though, founds and founders on the lie that people are alcoholic, that they are defined and confined by this drinking problem.
Any psychologist can inform that when a person is labeled a certain way, that label carries dangerous certainties of leading the person to act that way.
I think this outcome describes why people struggle even when they seek, counseling, and perhaps even more so.
A program which tells people that they are powerless ends up making people powerless.
The more that I think about the line of reasoning dominant in AA (if one can call it reasoning!), the more I realize how dysfunctional and abusive it becomes to lead people to see themselves as without power.
We need more than power, we need life, we need something to fill up the emptiness and the eternal expectations which all too often remain unfulfilled in our lives.
Any set of rules which defines our life and death will lead us to death.
Any set of rules which we use as a means of maintaining a spiritual program will quicky wear us down.
We are powerless, and even if we find ourselves working those steps with proper power and scope, we then face people, places, and things which seem more powerful to us than God Himself.
Why? Because our conception of God has been marred by our own thinking, our own understanding, and thus God is limited, and thus not really God at all.
No wonder people in AA remain so sick and powerless, those who choose to remain, that is.
The argument that we are powerless, that we need power from Someone or Something else does not hold enough promise for us.
We need more than power, we need everything!
We need life, and that more abundantly.
The argument of AA, though, founds and founders on the lie that people are alcoholic, that they are defined and confined by this drinking problem.
Any psychologist can inform that when a person is labeled a certain way, that label carries dangerous certainties of leading the person to act that way.
I think this outcome describes why people struggle even when they seek, counseling, and perhaps even more so.
A program which tells people that they are powerless ends up making people powerless.
The more that I think about the line of reasoning dominant in AA (if one can call it reasoning!), the more I realize how dysfunctional and abusive it becomes to lead people to see themselves as without power.
We need more than power, we need life, we need something to fill up the emptiness and the eternal expectations which all too often remain unfulfilled in our lives.
Any set of rules which defines our life and death will lead us to death.
Any set of rules which we use as a means of maintaining a spiritual program will quicky wear us down.
We are powerless, and even if we find ourselves working those steps with proper power and scope, we then face people, places, and things which seem more powerful to us than God Himself.
Why? Because our conception of God has been marred by our own thinking, our own understanding, and thus God is limited, and thus not really God at all.
No wonder people in AA remain so sick and powerless, those who choose to remain, that is.
Why I Suffered -- and Why People Die in AA
Alcoholics Anonyous places people under law.
They have to do everything. Even though there is this Higher Power to whom they turn their will and lives, the fact remains that members of AA have to work a program, and they become dependent on sponsors, group meeting, mantras, cliches, and works in order to maintain their sobriety.
When people are under law, when a sense of incompleteness, a nagging certainty of imperfection remains on people, frustration, anger, and depression will inevitably ensue.
When individuals operate especially from an assumption of emotional balance as a necessity for living, a man's life becomes barren, empty, and despairing.
Such describes the emotional turmoil of many people in AA.
I would wake up every day, not sure what I was supposed to be doing, not sure what was expected of me, yet at the same time I felt this constant nagging in my mind, in my conscience, that I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing.
What kind of life is it when a member of any group is looking at himself, cataloging the good and the bad of his days? To be looking at one's thoughts and feelings as an arbiter of whether God is in your life or not, that becomes a sheer nightmare!
Such was the pressure which I lived under for so long.
AA causes people to suffer, not be secure. The program creates illness and frustration rather than strengthening people to break free.
People die when they live under demands that they cannot fulfill, yet at the same time feel compelled to obey, or they will die.
I have know and met and read about many people who "worked" the AA program, one which does not work, and works even less the more that a person sincerely tries to work it.
They have to do everything. Even though there is this Higher Power to whom they turn their will and lives, the fact remains that members of AA have to work a program, and they become dependent on sponsors, group meeting, mantras, cliches, and works in order to maintain their sobriety.
When people are under law, when a sense of incompleteness, a nagging certainty of imperfection remains on people, frustration, anger, and depression will inevitably ensue.
When individuals operate especially from an assumption of emotional balance as a necessity for living, a man's life becomes barren, empty, and despairing.
Such describes the emotional turmoil of many people in AA.
I would wake up every day, not sure what I was supposed to be doing, not sure what was expected of me, yet at the same time I felt this constant nagging in my mind, in my conscience, that I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing.
What kind of life is it when a member of any group is looking at himself, cataloging the good and the bad of his days? To be looking at one's thoughts and feelings as an arbiter of whether God is in your life or not, that becomes a sheer nightmare!
Such was the pressure which I lived under for so long.
AA causes people to suffer, not be secure. The program creates illness and frustration rather than strengthening people to break free.
People die when they live under demands that they cannot fulfill, yet at the same time feel compelled to obey, or they will die.
I have know and met and read about many people who "worked" the AA program, one which does not work, and works even less the more that a person sincerely tries to work it.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Why I Never Believed -- AA
Law and Grace, Faith and Works -- they cannot, cannot mix.
Either we believe that God is doing everything, that He has provided everything, or we limit his omnipotence as we trust in our impotence.
"For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:" (Romans 4: 14)
And we fall from grace when we try to earn -- anything!
"1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Galatians 5: 1-6)
We are called to a life of grace, a life in which Jesus Christ has provided everything for us. We do not have to strive or struggle to hold onto anything, because everything is ours (1 Corinthians 3: 22)
AA gives us a program, rules, a sense of order, which in fact invites disorder, and reminds us at every time that we do not measure up, that we cannot work any program with any finesse or finality.
Life cannot be about keeping rules, but about the Ruler Keeping You.
Why I never believed that God is so good, that Jesus is the Best?
Because I was walking under a mixed message, trying to live for God, when I have no life apart from Him.
He is my life, He is everything to, for without Him, there is nothing that would have ever been made!
I never believed that all my sins were fully and forever covered, I often wondered if I was going to get in trouble, I looked over my shoulder with panic and fear.
I feared my own self, that I would say, or do, or think something that would get me in trouble.
I had done really bad things, and I had thought and said much worse.
The bondage was unbearable, I had no idea how I would escape.
Then I realize today -- God had been doing not just what I could not do for myself.
He has been doing everything, and He has been from the beginning being there for me.
Such a love, such a manifest, such power cannot be articulated or conceived. We must receive it by revelation, or not believe it at all.
We must believe on Him whom the Father hath sent, or not believe it.
Either we believe that God is doing everything, that He has provided everything, or we limit his omnipotence as we trust in our impotence.
"For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:" (Romans 4: 14)
And we fall from grace when we try to earn -- anything!
"1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Galatians 5: 1-6)
We are called to a life of grace, a life in which Jesus Christ has provided everything for us. We do not have to strive or struggle to hold onto anything, because everything is ours (1 Corinthians 3: 22)
AA gives us a program, rules, a sense of order, which in fact invites disorder, and reminds us at every time that we do not measure up, that we cannot work any program with any finesse or finality.
Life cannot be about keeping rules, but about the Ruler Keeping You.
Why I never believed that God is so good, that Jesus is the Best?
Because I was walking under a mixed message, trying to live for God, when I have no life apart from Him.
He is my life, He is everything to, for without Him, there is nothing that would have ever been made!
I never believed that all my sins were fully and forever covered, I often wondered if I was going to get in trouble, I looked over my shoulder with panic and fear.
I feared my own self, that I would say, or do, or think something that would get me in trouble.
I had done really bad things, and I had thought and said much worse.
The bondage was unbearable, I had no idea how I would escape.
Then I realize today -- God had been doing not just what I could not do for myself.
He has been doing everything, and He has been from the beginning being there for me.
Such a love, such a manifest, such power cannot be articulated or conceived. We must receive it by revelation, or not believe it at all.
We must believe on Him whom the Father hath sent, or not believe it.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
We Love Because He Keeps on Loving Us
"We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4: 19)
AA does not talk about this extravagant love at all.
We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, "a design for living "that really works. (AA, pg 28)
Some loving powerful hand of God. . .
Then, the Big Book writes:
The distinguished American psychologist, William James, in his book" Varieties of Religious Experience, "indicates a multitude of ways in which men have discovered God.
So, does God deliver us, or do we discover Him?
These kind of confusing comments caused more problems for me than they solved.
The idea of how I was supposed to live my life, the idea that this was still my life to live, yet that I was turning my will and my live over to God as I understood Him.
All of this thinking, misunderstanding, and all the rest made it very difficult to do anything.
Then there was all this talk about loving others:
When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? (AA, 86)
What kind of life is this, a life of wondering if we were loving enough?
We can never love enough on our own.
We can never love when we have no idea what love is.
The Bible gives us the answer:
"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)
He is the propitiation of our sins, and His love keeps on covering us, keeps on blessing us.
God is Love!
I cannot understand this, I cannot conceive of this. I either believe it, and grow in grace and knowledge of this Love, this grace, this goodness!
For this reason, Paul prayed:
"14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3: 14-19)
This love is not static, but dynamic, and growing.
We do not manufacture it. We receive it, we grow in understanding of how much he loves us.
When we understand the richness of His love for us, then we love others.
AA tells members "Go Love Others!"
What does that mean? What does that look like? What if that person "makes me mad" or hurts my feelings?
This same Big Book tells me that hurt feelings separate me from God, because "resentment is the number one offender."
So what ends up happening?
I stay away from other people, because I have to create this love for people, yet I find that I do not live anyone, anyway, because they make me mad.
Yet now I have to love people. . .
This cycle is deplorable.
The Cycle of Love starts with God, who sent His Son, and His Son died for us, that we may live in Him, and every aspect of our lives, His love covers for us, and causes us to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord:
"1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3: 1-3)
We start out born again perfected in Him, we grow to see how much He has perfected us, and then we in turn have the following:
"We love, because He first loved us. "(1 John 4: 19)
That "loved" will take us eternity and more to understand.
AA does not talk about this extravagant love at all.
We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, "a design for living "that really works. (AA, pg 28)
Some loving powerful hand of God. . .
Then, the Big Book writes:
The distinguished American psychologist, William James, in his book" Varieties of Religious Experience, "indicates a multitude of ways in which men have discovered God.
So, does God deliver us, or do we discover Him?
These kind of confusing comments caused more problems for me than they solved.
The idea of how I was supposed to live my life, the idea that this was still my life to live, yet that I was turning my will and my live over to God as I understood Him.
All of this thinking, misunderstanding, and all the rest made it very difficult to do anything.
Then there was all this talk about loving others:
When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? (AA, 86)
What kind of life is this, a life of wondering if we were loving enough?
We can never love enough on our own.
We can never love when we have no idea what love is.
The Bible gives us the answer:
"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)
He is the propitiation of our sins, and His love keeps on covering us, keeps on blessing us.
God is Love!
I cannot understand this, I cannot conceive of this. I either believe it, and grow in grace and knowledge of this Love, this grace, this goodness!
For this reason, Paul prayed:
"14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3: 14-19)
This love is not static, but dynamic, and growing.
We do not manufacture it. We receive it, we grow in understanding of how much he loves us.
When we understand the richness of His love for us, then we love others.
AA tells members "Go Love Others!"
What does that mean? What does that look like? What if that person "makes me mad" or hurts my feelings?
This same Big Book tells me that hurt feelings separate me from God, because "resentment is the number one offender."
So what ends up happening?
I stay away from other people, because I have to create this love for people, yet I find that I do not live anyone, anyway, because they make me mad.
Yet now I have to love people. . .
This cycle is deplorable.
The Cycle of Love starts with God, who sent His Son, and His Son died for us, that we may live in Him, and every aspect of our lives, His love covers for us, and causes us to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord:
"1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3: 1-3)
We start out born again perfected in Him, we grow to see how much He has perfected us, and then we in turn have the following:
"We love, because He first loved us. "(1 John 4: 19)
That "loved" will take us eternity and more to understand.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Why I Was So Down - AA
There has been a lot of insanity in my life.
The amount of abuse, misunderstandings, and frustration could fill a book, one which I would write with alacrity, but not read if you paid me.
I never understood why I expected the worst in every situation.
The hardships which I faced every day. The sense of evil looking-after which lurked over every corner.
Then there was this unending sense that I had to hold the world together myself. How I felt, what I did, could make or break the day that I was stepping into.
I sensed as if everything had to be earned, as if something was still left undone.
Most importantly, I was often wondering if I was doing the right thing of the wrong thing.
I was abused as a kid, but no one can just say "so and so" was bad to me.
I needed to understand why, yet I could not figure it out.
Now it all makes sense.
Why I was so down -- AA!
Alcoholics Anonymous is a dangerous, brillant, yet subtle cult which has gotten props from the state for so long.
It's wrong to make people go to a religious program. It's immoral to force people to classify themselves with their bad habits.
It's abuse to send a young person to AA, too.
That happened to me -- but I survived, as did many others.
I am telling my story -- and I hope that my story, and the revelation of the Gospel of grace through Jesus Christ, will set you free, too!
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free!" (John 8: 32)
The amount of abuse, misunderstandings, and frustration could fill a book, one which I would write with alacrity, but not read if you paid me.
I never understood why I expected the worst in every situation.
The hardships which I faced every day. The sense of evil looking-after which lurked over every corner.
Then there was this unending sense that I had to hold the world together myself. How I felt, what I did, could make or break the day that I was stepping into.
I sensed as if everything had to be earned, as if something was still left undone.
Most importantly, I was often wondering if I was doing the right thing of the wrong thing.
I was abused as a kid, but no one can just say "so and so" was bad to me.
I needed to understand why, yet I could not figure it out.
Now it all makes sense.
Why I was so down -- AA!
Alcoholics Anonymous is a dangerous, brillant, yet subtle cult which has gotten props from the state for so long.
It's wrong to make people go to a religious program. It's immoral to force people to classify themselves with their bad habits.
It's abuse to send a young person to AA, too.
That happened to me -- but I survived, as did many others.
I am telling my story -- and I hope that my story, and the revelation of the Gospel of grace through Jesus Christ, will set you free, too!
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free!" (John 8: 32)
We No Longer Fight Because Jesus Won!
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. (AA, pg 84)
We do not fight, not because we are working a program, but because Jesus has done all the fighting, and has fulfilled all the requirements in our lives.
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)
The Enemy's greatest weapon is not earthquakes, natural disasters, or mean people.
He uses God's law, but we must remember that the law is good, when used for its intended purpose:
The law cannot justify us:
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3: 20)
So what did the law do? Show us that we are sinners in need of a savior:
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5: 20-21)
and
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15: 55-57)
and
"Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers" (1 Timothy 1: 9)
Yet in Christ, we are all made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
The law was a means of guardianship for one group of people until Jesus came:
"But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Galatians 3: 23-25)
We no longer fight because the battle has been won, and God causes us to walk in triumph in His Son (2 Corthians 2: 14)
We are more than conquerors (Romans 8: 37) because of all that Christ has done.
We no longer fight, because Jesus Christ has defeated the greatest enemy, death, and with death has also been removed shame, guilt, reproach, and all other forms of condemnation.
We receive all that we need because God has given us all things in His Son, Jesus!
We No Longer Fight -- not because of Twelve Steps, not because of AA, but because Jesus won, and in Christ we are more than conquerors!
No Need to Fight -- Christ Paid for All
Whether at the office, at the school, or just about anywhere else in life, I felt that I had to put up with people's abuses.
If I stood up for myself, what if I was wrong? What if I got in trouble for speaking up?
This kind of frustration, I am convinced, was just a part of life.
So I would struggle to stand up to people, afraid of doing something wrong or losing something.
Now that I understand who I am in Christ, I no longer fear doing something wrong or losing something at all.
There is no condemnation in Christ, none.
That means we do not have to fear any wrong-doing. We do not have to fear losing anything.
In Christ, we receive a perfect, accepted standing in Him. We know that we receive all things in Him, as well.
The second part bears repeating -- He has provided all things for us.
It's not our job to fight, to grab, to do anything for ourselves, for He has done all things for us..
How can we rest in this wonderful truth?
Because we have received the gifts of righteousness and grace from Him (Romans 5: 17), and we keep receiving them, there is nothing that anyone can take from us.
In fact, we can rest assured that men would reproach us, grace is superabounding in our lives all the more:
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5: 20)
and
"For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 8-10)
When you know that everything in your life is freely given (Romanns 8: 32), when you know that everything you are and have is because of God's grace in your life through His Son (1 Corinthians 15: 10), then there is nothing that anyone can take from you, because He keeps on standing up for us.
We have all things in Christ, and therefore we need not fear what men may do to us, or the setbacks which may befall us.
We no longer have to react in frustration and anger just because people do not do what we want.
In Christ, all things are taken care of. He merely asks that each one of us places his hand in His!
If I stood up for myself, what if I was wrong? What if I got in trouble for speaking up?
This kind of frustration, I am convinced, was just a part of life.
So I would struggle to stand up to people, afraid of doing something wrong or losing something.
Now that I understand who I am in Christ, I no longer fear doing something wrong or losing something at all.
There is no condemnation in Christ, none.
That means we do not have to fear any wrong-doing. We do not have to fear losing anything.
In Christ, we receive a perfect, accepted standing in Him. We know that we receive all things in Him, as well.
The second part bears repeating -- He has provided all things for us.
It's not our job to fight, to grab, to do anything for ourselves, for He has done all things for us..
How can we rest in this wonderful truth?
Because we have received the gifts of righteousness and grace from Him (Romans 5: 17), and we keep receiving them, there is nothing that anyone can take from us.
In fact, we can rest assured that men would reproach us, grace is superabounding in our lives all the more:
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5: 20)
and
"For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 8-10)
When you know that everything in your life is freely given (Romanns 8: 32), when you know that everything you are and have is because of God's grace in your life through His Son (1 Corinthians 15: 10), then there is nothing that anyone can take from you, because He keeps on standing up for us.
We have all things in Christ, and therefore we need not fear what men may do to us, or the setbacks which may befall us.
We no longer have to react in frustration and anger just because people do not do what we want.
In Christ, all things are taken care of. He merely asks that each one of us places his hand in His!
Powerless? No Way!
One of the worst teachings to come out of AA implies that we are powerless over alcohol, and that our lives are unmanageable.
Then the sick people, since they have conceded to their innermost selves that they are alcohol, must turn their will and lives over to some Higher Power.
In reality, they give up their thinking and feeling to the AA group and the Twelve Steps, all of which embody the Higher Power of Bill Wilson, which was Bill W.!
No surprises there.
Yet every day, I would wake up convinced that how I felt, what I was thinking, and ultimately everything that happened to me was out of my control.
Members of AA are taught that not only are they powerless over alcohol, but they are also instructed that they are powerless over people, places, and things.
What kind of life is that?
I cannot tell you how much the world really dominated me, and this occured because I was taught from an early age that I had no control over anyone or anything.
At one throw, I was in bondage to the things that people could say or do. Then, I was stuck because there was nothing that I could do about the purported hurt which people could inflict on me.
Wow - talk about frustrating!
I was living in fear for so long, convinced that there was nothing I could do about rude, abusive, or difficult people in my lives.
I was convinced that how I felt would affect what I did, where I was, and all the rest.
Why did I believe this? Because the program teaches people that how you feel can block the sunlight of the Spirit from pouring into one's life.
Now I have learned that because I am in Christ, and as He is, so am I in this world, I do not have to fear the reproach of men.
No one can take anything from me, because God freely gives me all things in His Son!
I am not powerless as long as I remember where I am seated: in Christ, in heavenly places, at the right hand of the Father.
Today, I know who I am, and whose I am.
I understand that any sense of struggle or upset in my life is just a remnant of trying to earn or get through my own efforts.
In Christ, we are more than conquerors! So, reign in life, because He is our life!
Then the sick people, since they have conceded to their innermost selves that they are alcohol, must turn their will and lives over to some Higher Power.
In reality, they give up their thinking and feeling to the AA group and the Twelve Steps, all of which embody the Higher Power of Bill Wilson, which was Bill W.!
No surprises there.
Yet every day, I would wake up convinced that how I felt, what I was thinking, and ultimately everything that happened to me was out of my control.
Members of AA are taught that not only are they powerless over alcohol, but they are also instructed that they are powerless over people, places, and things.
What kind of life is that?
I cannot tell you how much the world really dominated me, and this occured because I was taught from an early age that I had no control over anyone or anything.
At one throw, I was in bondage to the things that people could say or do. Then, I was stuck because there was nothing that I could do about the purported hurt which people could inflict on me.
Wow - talk about frustrating!
I was living in fear for so long, convinced that there was nothing I could do about rude, abusive, or difficult people in my lives.
I was convinced that how I felt would affect what I did, where I was, and all the rest.
Why did I believe this? Because the program teaches people that how you feel can block the sunlight of the Spirit from pouring into one's life.
Now I have learned that because I am in Christ, and as He is, so am I in this world, I do not have to fear the reproach of men.
No one can take anything from me, because God freely gives me all things in His Son!
I am not powerless as long as I remember where I am seated: in Christ, in heavenly places, at the right hand of the Father.
Today, I know who I am, and whose I am.
I understand that any sense of struggle or upset in my life is just a remnant of trying to earn or get through my own efforts.
In Christ, we are more than conquerors! So, reign in life, because He is our life!
We Are Not Powerless, in Christ
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable. (AA, pg 59)
We are worse than powerless, in fact. We are dead.
"1And 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." (Ephesians 2: 1-3)
Yet even when Paul informs the Ephesians, and by extension every believer in Christ, he reminds us that we have been taken from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
We are no longer powerless, because we are in Christ, and thus we identify with Him, and in Him all things are made ready for us.
In fact, because we are seated in heavenly places in Christ, we do not struggle with problems, but rather see Him taking us about the difficulies:
"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)
God is for you and me. We are not alone in this world facing untold troubles, relying on some "higher power" that we invented in our minds.
I need more than a hope based on prior experience.
This same God gave us the best -- His Son -- and because God gave us the best, we can be sure that he will supply the rest!
No one can shame or us degrade us, because God justifies (present tense!) us through the work of His Son!
Who can condemn us? No one, because Jesus Christ was condemned for us, fully and forever!
We are not powerless, because we are in Christ, and Christ is in us who believe on Him (Colossians 1: 27)
And because we are in Christ, we can boldly declare:
"37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 37-39)
We are more than conquerors.
But there's more:
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." (2 Corinthians 2: 14)
and
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." (Hebrews 13: 5-6)
That's it, people! Forget AA - In Christ, you receive all things and more/.
We are not powerless over in Christ, because in Him we "reign in life!" (Romans 5: 17)
We are worse than powerless, in fact. We are dead.
"1And 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." (Ephesians 2: 1-3)
Yet even when Paul informs the Ephesians, and by extension every believer in Christ, he reminds us that we have been taken from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
We are no longer powerless, because we are in Christ, and thus we identify with Him, and in Him all things are made ready for us.
In fact, because we are seated in heavenly places in Christ, we do not struggle with problems, but rather see Him taking us about the difficulies:
"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)
God is for you and me. We are not alone in this world facing untold troubles, relying on some "higher power" that we invented in our minds.
I need more than a hope based on prior experience.
This same God gave us the best -- His Son -- and because God gave us the best, we can be sure that he will supply the rest!
No one can shame or us degrade us, because God justifies (present tense!) us through the work of His Son!
Who can condemn us? No one, because Jesus Christ was condemned for us, fully and forever!
We are not powerless, because we are in Christ, and Christ is in us who believe on Him (Colossians 1: 27)
And because we are in Christ, we can boldly declare:
"37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 37-39)
We are more than conquerors.
But there's more:
"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." (2 Corinthians 2: 14)
and
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." (Hebrews 13: 5-6)
That's it, people! Forget AA - In Christ, you receive all things and more/.
We are not powerless over in Christ, because in Him we "reign in life!" (Romans 5: 17)
AA Demands: Christ Gives Us All Things
AA suggests that members can believe in a "loving God" who helps them in their time of need.
In reality, no one can trust a God who sometimes loves them, then gets separated from us when we get angry, or resentful:
In reality, no one can trust a God who sometimes loves them, then gets separated from us when we get angry, or resentful:
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)
Nothing can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8: 38-39)
No one can trust in another person's love if how we feel or what we think can prevent God from working in our lives.
He lives in us not because of anything that we have done, or do, but because Jesus Christ has completed all things:
"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14: 19)
And Christ is our life, much more than a program:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life." (Joihn 14: 6)
and
"For 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: 3-4)
We receive all things in Christ, as well:
"Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." (1 Corinthians 3: 21-23)
AA demans from us, but in Christ we receive all things, and in Him we do all things (1 John 4: 9)
Saturday, October 5, 2013
A Life of AA is No Life at All
I was born in AA, it seems.
I was raised in it, too.
The Twelve Steps seemed like a normal way of life, just a little help so that people who had living problems, not just drinking problems, would be able to manage those issues.
After so many years of frustration and pain, I now realize that much of the frustration in my life was because of this "normal program".
The Twelve Steps takes you nowhere.
The Steps end up stepping all over you.
What kind of life can anyone expect to live if one must run everything by twelve ideas, a sponsor, and attend meetings where the very people who are supposed to be working the program demonstrate how the steps do not work at all.
I have since learned this life has nothing to do with me, or any set of steps which I have to work.
This life is a gift, one given to me by God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
I am not afraid to write His Name, for in His name anyone can receive all things!
Still, many Christians believe that they have to add Twelve Steps in order to be good Christians.
They forget that no one can live "the Chrsitian life".
This life is Christ in us, and we are nothing:
Christian = Christ + I Am Nothing
Does this mean that I disappear?
No way! On the contrary, He gives us life and that more abundantly (John 10: 10)
I have never felt so alive knowing that He is the Life that aI craved, that I wanted, but was never able to get.
This life is not something that we strive to acquire, or something that we work up.
Paul offers us something better:
"12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2: 12-13)
This "God" is not of my understanding, by the way, but is revealed to us in the goodness of Nature and the godliness of Scripture.
No one can understand a God so good that He gives everything.
Such is the nature of sin -- "something is deeply wrong with me, yet at the same time I can and must do something about this lack in my life and the world around me. . ."
The answer is faith, hope, and love -- all met in Christ.
A Life of AA is no life at all.
I was raised in it, too.
The Twelve Steps seemed like a normal way of life, just a little help so that people who had living problems, not just drinking problems, would be able to manage those issues.
After so many years of frustration and pain, I now realize that much of the frustration in my life was because of this "normal program".
The Twelve Steps takes you nowhere.
The Steps end up stepping all over you.
What kind of life can anyone expect to live if one must run everything by twelve ideas, a sponsor, and attend meetings where the very people who are supposed to be working the program demonstrate how the steps do not work at all.
I have since learned this life has nothing to do with me, or any set of steps which I have to work.
This life is a gift, one given to me by God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
I am not afraid to write His Name, for in His name anyone can receive all things!
Still, many Christians believe that they have to add Twelve Steps in order to be good Christians.
They forget that no one can live "the Chrsitian life".
This life is Christ in us, and we are nothing:
Christian = Christ + I Am Nothing
Does this mean that I disappear?
No way! On the contrary, He gives us life and that more abundantly (John 10: 10)
I have never felt so alive knowing that He is the Life that aI craved, that I wanted, but was never able to get.
This life is not something that we strive to acquire, or something that we work up.
Paul offers us something better:
"12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2: 12-13)
This "God" is not of my understanding, by the way, but is revealed to us in the goodness of Nature and the godliness of Scripture.
No one can understand a God so good that He gives everything.
Such is the nature of sin -- "something is deeply wrong with me, yet at the same time I can and must do something about this lack in my life and the world around me. . ."
The answer is faith, hope, and love -- all met in Christ.
A Life of AA is no life at all.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Self-Help from the Government is Not Help At All
The eight most dreaded words in the English:
"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
Ronald Reagan was right, and not just about government programs coming out of Washington.
The same observation applies to counseling and self-help programs forced upon people from the state.
Forcing people to seek help undermines the very act.
Alcoholics Anonymous claims over and over that people "Gotta Wanna".
But if you "gotta" go to AA because a judge told you to, then where's the sobriety? Where's the spirit of willingness?
Force cannot save anyone. Every human being lives under force and duress because of Adam and Eve.
Today, the rest and refreshing which men and women seek cannot be found in what we do, or what we think, or the number of meetings we attend.
Everything that we need is found in Christ Jesus, the image of the Invisible God, from whom all blessings flow, who created the Universe, the center of all Creation, the One who holds all things together (Colossians 1: 15-20)
Self-Help forced upon us by the government is not help at all.
Nothing could be more ridiculous.
(Besides, AA is a blatant violation of the First Amendment)
"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
Ronald Reagan was right, and not just about government programs coming out of Washington.
The same observation applies to counseling and self-help programs forced upon people from the state.
Forcing people to seek help undermines the very act.
Alcoholics Anonymous claims over and over that people "Gotta Wanna".
But if you "gotta" go to AA because a judge told you to, then where's the sobriety? Where's the spirit of willingness?
Force cannot save anyone. Every human being lives under force and duress because of Adam and Eve.
Today, the rest and refreshing which men and women seek cannot be found in what we do, or what we think, or the number of meetings we attend.
Everything that we need is found in Christ Jesus, the image of the Invisible God, from whom all blessings flow, who created the Universe, the center of all Creation, the One who holds all things together (Colossians 1: 15-20)
Self-Help forced upon us by the government is not help at all.
Nothing could be more ridiculous.
(Besides, AA is a blatant violation of the First Amendment)
Not Working, But Resting
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)
Contrary to the program's pretended claims, every day members of AA do not bring a message of experience, strength and hope to anyone. There is no life, there is no strength, there is nothing but trying to keep one's head above water, staying just one step ahead of the next drink.
This never-ending sense of "never done" defines Alcoholics Anonymous.
I am not making this up.
Read the story where the man says "Acceptance is the Answer to all of my problems."
He claims in that story that his most important decision every day is not drinking.
What kind of life is that, one in which the only issue of substance is not taking a drink?
AA is not a life of living out the life within you, but trying to hold on every day, hoping that the enemies surrounding you will not be able to wear you down then storm all over you.
The life of constant vigilance wore me out. I could not continue living this life of holding on.
No one can.
Then Jesus Christ offers the following:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
The verse better reads: "And I will rest you."
Jesus Christ is the rest, and in Him we find all things.
During one tumultuous period of my life, I was chronically plagued with doubt, trying to figure out what was my part in this life.
I know that Jesus had died for my sins. Yet I had been raised that in order to live out this life, I needed to do certain things. Because I had no clear guidelines provided for me, I used the Twelve Steps, since that was what I was taught for so long.
The Twelve Steps, like any system of rules, creates more problems. Any system of rules will bring s back to ourselves, showing us that we cannot measure up in anything that we do.
No matter how hard we try, no matter what steps we take to do well, we will never arrive by our efforts to the place where we want to be.
Instead of our efforts, God the Father offers us His Son, and in Him we have the perfect standing that we seek.
"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: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
This entire life that we have in Christ: it is a gift from God.
There is no mixing this message. Either we receive everything from Him, or we must work for it.
Otjherswise, we are caught in a meaningless contradiction or a chronic frustration which causes us to move and stop at the same time.
There is no working and resting at the same time. Either God is everything, or God is nothing, as members of AA love to repeat.
Yet if God is everything, then I need to see Him as Savior, and only the Gospel of grace through Jesus Christ reveals this Truth (and the Way and the Life)
Contrary to the program's pretended claims, every day members of AA do not bring a message of experience, strength and hope to anyone. There is no life, there is no strength, there is nothing but trying to keep one's head above water, staying just one step ahead of the next drink.
This never-ending sense of "never done" defines Alcoholics Anonymous.
I am not making this up.
Read the story where the man says "Acceptance is the Answer to all of my problems."
He claims in that story that his most important decision every day is not drinking.
What kind of life is that, one in which the only issue of substance is not taking a drink?
AA is not a life of living out the life within you, but trying to hold on every day, hoping that the enemies surrounding you will not be able to wear you down then storm all over you.
The life of constant vigilance wore me out. I could not continue living this life of holding on.
No one can.
Then Jesus Christ offers the following:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)
The verse better reads: "And I will rest you."
Jesus Christ is the rest, and in Him we find all things.
During one tumultuous period of my life, I was chronically plagued with doubt, trying to figure out what was my part in this life.
I know that Jesus had died for my sins. Yet I had been raised that in order to live out this life, I needed to do certain things. Because I had no clear guidelines provided for me, I used the Twelve Steps, since that was what I was taught for so long.
The Twelve Steps, like any system of rules, creates more problems. Any system of rules will bring s back to ourselves, showing us that we cannot measure up in anything that we do.
No matter how hard we try, no matter what steps we take to do well, we will never arrive by our efforts to the place where we want to be.
Instead of our efforts, God the Father offers us His Son, and in Him we have the perfect standing that we seek.
"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: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
This entire life that we have in Christ: it is a gift from God.
There is no mixing this message. Either we receive everything from Him, or we must work for it.
Otjherswise, we are caught in a meaningless contradiction or a chronic frustration which causes us to move and stop at the same time.
There is no working and resting at the same time. Either God is everything, or God is nothing, as members of AA love to repeat.
Yet if God is everything, then I need to see Him as Savior, and only the Gospel of grace through Jesus Christ reveals this Truth (and the Way and the Life)
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Stop Watching Out, Start Looking Up
This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (AA, pg 84)
This little passage follows after the Promises.
The promises which we have to work for.
In the previous post, I outlined that no one can claim a promise if he has to work for it.
The promise of life everlasting, and every good and perfect gift, comes from above, from God the Father (James 1: 17)
We receive every good thing through Jesus (Romans 8: 32)
Yet the Twelve Step program tells us to watch out for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear.
Let's take each one of these defects one at a time, and allow the full truth of Scripture give us the real solution, all found in a growing revelation of Jesus.
Selfishness:
What is selfishness other than an ongoing bankruptcy that the things we need must be met through our efforts?
Paul cuts through this fear right away in his Epistle to the Ephesians:
"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 3-6)
We have been blessed with every blessing, all of which are spiritual in origin, and we have been made accepted in the Beloved, Jesus!
In fact, because of what He did for us on the Cross, the full proof of God's love for us, we can then declare:
"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)
The proper translation reads "Herein is love perfected among us." This love is God's love for us, from beginning to end, not ours for God.
Dishonesty:
First of all, the truth sets us free (John 8: 32). Why would anyone want to live in bondage?
Why would anyone lie? Because we fear losing something, or we have fear in general.
The antidote is the love of God (not love for God):
"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)
This perfect love speaks of everything done for us in Christ Jesus, for He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, He has seated us in heavenly places in Himself (Ephesians 2: 6)
Because we identify with the Perfect Man Jesus, then we have a new reason for the truth:
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
This little passage follows after the Promises.
The promises which we have to work for.
In the previous post, I outlined that no one can claim a promise if he has to work for it.
The promise of life everlasting, and every good and perfect gift, comes from above, from God the Father (James 1: 17)
We receive every good thing through Jesus (Romans 8: 32)
Yet the Twelve Step program tells us to watch out for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear.
Let's take each one of these defects one at a time, and allow the full truth of Scripture give us the real solution, all found in a growing revelation of Jesus.
Selfishness:
What is selfishness other than an ongoing bankruptcy that the things we need must be met through our efforts?
Paul cuts through this fear right away in his Epistle to the Ephesians:
"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 3-6)
We have been blessed with every blessing, all of which are spiritual in origin, and we have been made accepted in the Beloved, Jesus!
In fact, because of what He did for us on the Cross, the full proof of God's love for us, we can then declare:
"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)
The proper translation reads "Herein is love perfected among us." This love is God's love for us, from beginning to end, not ours for God.
Dishonesty:
First of all, the truth sets us free (John 8: 32). Why would anyone want to live in bondage?
Why would anyone lie? Because we fear losing something, or we have fear in general.
The antidote is the love of God (not love for God):
"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)
This perfect love speaks of everything done for us in Christ Jesus, for He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, He has seated us in heavenly places in Himself (Ephesians 2: 6)
Because we identify with the Perfect Man Jesus, then we have a new reason for the truth:
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." (Ephesians 4: 24-25)
We speak the truth because we are all part of one Body in Christ.
Resentment:
This new truth has conveyed so much to me. Since as Christ is, so are we in this world, we must reckon ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6: 11-12), and that includes outbursts of anger, or sudden surges of frustration and resentment.
These outrages, these upsets, these emotional turmoils are not us. We are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 17), and because we have a new standing, and thus no longer identify with Adam, we allow His Holy Spirit to transform us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3: 18)
Paul writes to this wonderful transformation more specifically in Ephesians:
"31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4: 31-32)
The more that we see how gracious God is, the more that bitterness, wrath anger (in other words, resentment) will be taken away from us.
How gracious is He? Check out Romans 5: 17:
"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)
Young's Literal Translation brings out the fullness of this grace more explicitly:
"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."
We are called to keep receiving this grace!
Another verse brings out the constant flow of God's grace in our lives:
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" (2 Corinthians 9: 8)
Youngs writes:
"and God is able all grace to cause to abound to you, that in every thing always all sufficiency having, ye may abound to every good work,"
The best translation offers:
"God is causing right now all grace to abound to you."
Let us also keep in mind that God is constantly at work in us, both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2: 12-13)
We do not identify with upsets, resentments, and all the other negative emotions in our lives, because they are residue of the old man Adam, from whom we have been delivered.
Fear:
Once again, God's perfect love for us casts out every fear, banishes it, turns it out of doors. His love cannot coexist with fear, because fear speaks of a Spirit which does not belong to us, anyway:
"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
"7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1: 7)
So, whatever the issue in our lives, we should stop watching out for these terrible feelings and thoughts, but rather look up to our new identity, and reckon ourselves alive in Christ:
"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)
AA Makes Void What God's Grace Gives
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.(AA, pg 84)
I have written this many times: how can anything be a promise if we have to work for it.
A promise is based on the pledge of someone else to do something for us, not the other way around.
Otherwise, it would not be a promise at all, but wages earned.
Paul writes about this disjunction of truth and error in Romans:
4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4: 4-5)
We are not saved by our works, but rather we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
Paul then explains how all things are granted to us through the grace of God:
For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans 4: 13-15)
Every promise that we receive from God, we receive by His grace, by undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor.
We are not saved by anything that we have done, but everything that Jesus did for us at the Cross:
"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: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2: 4-8)
Paul could not make it clearer: we are saved by grace through the death of resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Because of Jesus, we can rest assured of all other things in our lives:
"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)
Now, what causes grace to void in our lives is not our sin, but the law, and our attempts to keep the law.
For this reason, Paul writes:
"14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans 4: 14-15)
When we feel that we are under law, we sense a "fearful looking after of judgment" (Hebrews 10: 26)
Christ Jesus has fulfilled the law for us, and by His death on the Cross He has removed the curse of the law, the one weapon which the devil uses to bring men into bondage (Colossians 2: 13-15)
The only thing that brings us away from God's grace is not our sin, but rather our attempts to be justified through obedience to the law, rather than walking by faith in all that Christ has done for us:
"2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Galatians 5: 2-6)
Faith works through God's love for us, not our love for God, by the way.
AA is just one more set of rules which evil men have forced upon hurting people, trying to glory in their own flesh while bringing people into bondage.
Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law, every requirement, and through Him we receive all things. Do not allow the Twelve Steps, or any other system of man, bring you into the lying bondage of trying to earn what God so freely gives, and only He can give.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Identity is Not Feelings
You are not your feelings, ladies and gentlemen.
Any fears, thoughts, frustrations in our lives do not pertain to us.
God has invited everyone of us to step into His Son, to receive His standing, because He took our place as sinners at the Cross.
AA teaches people not only to identify with their feelings, but that they have to do something about them so that they can live "in the sunlight of the Spirit."
This invitation to the light brings so many people into darkness.
And I was one of those people.
I lived my life for too long convinced that the only way to stay above the fray of troubles - I had to watch my feelings, make sure that my thoughts did not stray.
What a nightmare it was.
Every time that I felt scared or frustrated, I was convinced that I had to do something about that terrible feeling, or else I would not be able to do anything.
I have since then learned that He is working within me to will and to do for His good pleasure, and that He is at work at all times.
He works in me because He lives in me.
This new life is not something that Jesus gives us.
Jesus is this new life, and with Him we receive all things.
We identify with Christ Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, not with ourselves.
Yet AA, like many "self-help" groups, and even some Christian organized recovery programs, keeping pointing people back to themselves, telling them to follow certain rules, to fulfill certain steps, then men and women will arrive at the right kind of person which they want to be.
We are meant for eternity, we need eternal life, and only the Eternal God and His only Begotten Son through the Holy Spirit grants us this life, this standing, this Person.
It's all about identity, it's all about life, not about feelings, not about steps, not about our doing anything that He has not already done.
And He has done everything for us!
Any fears, thoughts, frustrations in our lives do not pertain to us.
God has invited everyone of us to step into His Son, to receive His standing, because He took our place as sinners at the Cross.
AA teaches people not only to identify with their feelings, but that they have to do something about them so that they can live "in the sunlight of the Spirit."
This invitation to the light brings so many people into darkness.
And I was one of those people.
I lived my life for too long convinced that the only way to stay above the fray of troubles - I had to watch my feelings, make sure that my thoughts did not stray.
What a nightmare it was.
Every time that I felt scared or frustrated, I was convinced that I had to do something about that terrible feeling, or else I would not be able to do anything.
I have since then learned that He is working within me to will and to do for His good pleasure, and that He is at work at all times.
He works in me because He lives in me.
This new life is not something that Jesus gives us.
Jesus is this new life, and with Him we receive all things.
We identify with Christ Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, not with ourselves.
Yet AA, like many "self-help" groups, and even some Christian organized recovery programs, keeping pointing people back to themselves, telling them to follow certain rules, to fulfill certain steps, then men and women will arrive at the right kind of person which they want to be.
We are meant for eternity, we need eternal life, and only the Eternal God and His only Begotten Son through the Holy Spirit grants us this life, this standing, this Person.
It's all about identity, it's all about life, not about feelings, not about steps, not about our doing anything that He has not already done.
And He has done everything for us!
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