Jesus Turns His Will and His Life Over to Me!

The third step of the Alcoholics Anonymous cult teaches people "to turn their will and their lives over to a power greater than themselves."

First of all, alcohol is apparently more powerful than most people, since they keep drinking even when they want to stop. Are we expecting people to turn their lives over to booze? I thought that the program was all about getting people to quit drinking . . .

Any way. the other problem with that stupid third step has to do with the life and will issue.

First of all, man is dead in his trespasses, and needs life, He needs more than rules and regulations., He needs to know that the Ruler is living within Him and granting Him life:

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)

and

"But 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 usup together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2: 4-6)

We were taken from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated with Christ Jesus, made kings and priests forever (1 Peter 2: 9)

There can be no discussion, then, about anyone turning their life over to God, or to some "higher power".

We need life, and Jesus grants us His life:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comeby the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

and

"If 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)

So, Jesus gives us His life - not the other way around.

As for the will to do something or anything - Jesus gives us that, too!

"If 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." (John 16: 13)

and

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

and

"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. " (1 John 2: 20)

So, let's give up this nonsense that we have to turn over something to God, for we have nothing to turn over to Him. He grants us all things!

The Pain is Shame -- and He Took Both Away

Alcoholics Anonymous places on people an unending sense of shame and wrongoing.

How else would you feel if every day, you woke up with the thought: "I am an insane, crazy alcoholic, and therefore my whole life is unmanageable, and I need someone else to tell me how to do everything.

What?!

I look back on this nonsense now, and see how patently unbiblical it all is.

Do we really believe the Word when we read:

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8: 1)

I have to admit that I really did not believe this.

Well -- that is not entirely true. There is so much more to learning about how forgiven, how graced upon, how righteous we are in Christ Jesus.

I read a beautiful statement in a pastor's blog about no condemnation:

Imagine waking up and learning: All your sins are put away. You will never be charged with wrong doing for anything that you have done.

I really had to take that in. That revelation is really something new. something wonderful to me.

I will never be punished for doing something wrong -- why? Because Jesus was punished for all the wrongdoings of this wrong world:

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2: 1-2)

He is paying for all our sins. All of them

For years, I was brought up to feel shame and hurt every time I did something wrong. Many people really believe that shame and condemnation will get people to stop doing the wrong and start doing the right.

Yet that does not work:

"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." (Colossians 2: 20-23)

Don't, Don't, Don't does not cut it, and does not work.

We need the grace of God, in greater measure:

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2: 11-14)

Shame has no place in our lives -- none. Even if we do wrong, no one is in a position to shame us.

Jesus took away our shame, all of it, and whatever feelings may lingering, they are dust and ashes with no value:

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." (Isaiah 61: 3)

This revelation has been particularly important for me, because I spent so much trying to put away or supress the negative feels of shame.

Today, it is much easier and better for me, I am not unhappy or hurt anymore when someone says something negative or mean to me.

I do not get confused anymore when someone says something bad -- even if they are rightly criticizing or faulting me.

Thank you, Jesus!

No More Shame

I took another look at the whole revelation of no condemnation in Christ.

It has nothing - absolutely nothing to do with how we feel.

We are not righteous or unrighteous because of what we  may or may not feel.

It is all about what Jesus did at the Cross.

There is no shame. No sense of wrongdoing.

Nothing.

Our feelings do not matter. They simply do not matter.

The sting of shame is taken away in the Cross.

We are no longer under law, under sin, but under grace, walking by faith.

The Lord Jesus did not just give us grace to live in sin, but rather through the grace of God we overcome sin and live godly lives.

Anyone who is still living a sinful life is not under grace, but in the flesh, under law, in death.

I was thinking about this deep yet very misunderstood revelation in the body of Christ.

There is no shame at all.

No sting.

We are not to be led or taught through shame, either.

When I look back on all that I have learned, I realize finally - why would we use shame in the first place?

It makes no sense.

It is not even biblical:

"Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22: 6)

We are not set free, not find the pathway of life through death and destruction

"No" and "Don't!" and "Stop!!" do not create life-giving direction in our lives.

They do not create life at all!

I remember when my mother used to tel me: "Arthur, you should do this or that, because if you do not, you will feel bad tomorrow."

Using the fear of shame or guilt or using shame or guilt as a means of motivating people -- is not wise.

God wanted to move in the lives of His creation by inviting them to choose Him.

He did not use shame, force, or threats. He said "Of all the trees, freely eat, but that one tree."

To the Israelites at the border of Kadesh-Barnea, God said: "I set before you life and death. Choose life."

Jesus came to us and affirmed: "I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly."

Now, all we have to do is believe on Him to be alive in Him.

Shame kills His life in us. Condemnation kills.

Sentencing people to shame and death does not create life, worth, obedience, or blessings in our lives.

The Alcoholics Anonymous cult breeds shame and condemnation into people, teaching them that they are insane drunks who must turn their wills and lives over to a program and a sponsor.

Ugh!

There is no reason, none whatsoever, for anyone to feel shame when they are in Christ.

He took our shame, and He took no shame for Himself.

For every spit, insult, and beating Jesus took, He was relieving us of all our shame.

He scorned the shame! In turn, we can do the same thing.

There is no shame, no condemnation, and even if we do something we wrong, or find ourselves failing, we are not to "feel bad" about it.

There is no shame, no condemnation in Christ. None.

I Have Wanted To Write This For So Long

I hate Alcoholics Anonymous.

I hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

This evil program teaches people that they have to add something more to the perfect work of Jesus Christ.

I cannot begin to tell you the pain and suffering which I had gone through in my head, and in my life.

For years, I was taught that I had to think and feel certain ways in order to be OK with God.

What is this nonsense?

It is not our job to think about Him!

Our Daddy God is thinking about us!

It is not my job to bring Him into my life.

He is my life, and all I have to do is believe on Him.

Yet why have so many people struggled with this wonderful grace of God?

Because in our flesh is sin, this idea that I can do all things on my own. That there is still something more that I can bring to the party.

Where have we gotten these pernicious and salacious ideas from?

If we mix law and grace, calling it "balance", we end up throwing the goodness of God our of our lives and throwing our walk off balance.

It cannot work, where we think that we can have  a part in "our lives", when in fact Jesus is our life.

Don't believe me? Check out Colossians:

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ,who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)

He is our life. This is not true because I believe it.

I believe it because it is true.

What grace! What wonderful. What a gracious and wonderful Savior we have in Christ Jesus!

You Can Stop Trying to Stop the Hurting

Alcoholics Anonymous breeds shame in people.

They feel that God is far away, not talking or moving in them, if they feel bad.

All of this pressure falls on the member of the cult, because he is taught to hold onto this hypervigilance at all costs, or he will drink again and die.

The cult teaches people that they are insane, that they need constant help, that they have to work at staying in "emotional balance", even though they live in a world filled with challenges and hardships.

Every day, I would feel this chronic pressure to fix my feelings, to fix what I was thinking and feeling.

I had been taught, on account of this wicked cult, that faith had everything to do with what we are thinking and feeling.

So, the result is a painful monomania, looking into oneself, constantly obsessed with one's feeling, and then a sense of shame every time that a bad feeling pops up.

I never understood why I was so easily set off, until I recognized how destructive Alcoholic Anonymous really is, and all the Twelve Step programs which follow from it.

I hate this cult, and I will do everything I can to inform the world that there is a better Way -- He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

So much has changed, and so much indeed has changed for the better.

I am no longer responsible for trying to keep Jesus alive and well in my life.

He is my life, and He richly provides everything.

I can stop trying to stop the hurting. The hurting, the feelings, have nothing to do with the blessings of God in my life.

"Blessed 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)

Grace and blessings are not something that we have to feel or fight for, They are wonderful gifts which we keep on receiving through Christ Jesus! (Romans 5: 17)

The big problem for me for so long was that I kept trying to stop the bad thoughts and feelings, as though they were impediments to faith and trust. They have nothing to do with any of that!

Wow!

Don't Tell Me I Have to Do More

I despise Alcoholics Anonymous!

This awful cult teaches people that the work is never over.

We have to keep working and working.

We have to keep making sure that we work hard and keep God ever close to us.

I am learning so much more about the New Covenant, what Jesus enacted at the Cross.

There is no replacement for this wonderful dispensation.

Nothing.

Not Ten Commandments, not Twelve Steps, not even the 613 Mosaic rules which none of us could keep. Why else would our loving Father have provided to the Israelites an economy of sacrifices until the fullness of time in Christ Jesus>

We have to be very clear and uncompromising about the truth who sets us free!

The fact is - this world is still dedicated to asking the question: "What can we do, that we may work the works of God?"

The answer is Jesus -- the answer is the Person!

The answer is not doing more, but seeing more.

The answer has nothing to do with doing more.

It has everything to do with seeing more.

When are we going to get over this nonsense?!

Once again, the reason why we struggle - because we think that we have some life in and of ourselves.

Impossible.

"Apart from me, ye can do nothing." (JOhn 15:5)

Jesus was not kidding when He told His disciples this truth.

In the next chapter, the disciples still have questions, and still don't quite understand.

"Show us the Father" - Jesus answers: "If you have seen me, then you have seen the Father."

"Show us the way." Jesus answers: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Jesus not only answers our questions but supplies so much more that we may ask, even before we ask the question!

Please do not tell me that I have to do more. How dare any of us think that we can add anything to what Jesus did.

Rather, we need to see more, to see more of Him who has been from the beginning, to recognize His great accomplishment, and enjoy more of His grace abounding to this sighing, dying world.

The Only Work I Can Do: Believe on Him

I just love reading and reading this wonderful yet oft-overlooked passage in the Gospel of John:

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. " (John 6: 28-29)

"What shall we do, that we can work the works of God?"

So, the Israelites recognize that they cannot do the works of God yet they still that there is still something -- anything! -- that they can do so that they can start working the work.

Really?

A dead man can do nothing.

We need life, and throughout the Gospel of John, the writer keeps hammering this point about Jesus. He is our life, and His life is our light.

He has come that we would have His life, and that more abundantly.

In John's First Epistle, John keeps communicating this wonderful truth:

"He who has the Son, has life. He who has not the Son, has not life."

So, what really can anyone of us do, that we can start working the works of God?

When are we going to get off our spiritual high horse, and recognize that we were dead in our trespasses, and that we need life!

I don;t need someone to tell me how to live better. We have the standard for how to live, the Ten Commandments, the entire moral law, and guess what?! We cannot keep it at all!

It actually condemns, kills, and destroys! The punishment for not keeping the law? Death!

Really, if we acknowledge what has happened to us in Adam, from the beginning, we acknowledge in turn that we need life!

So, let's get off this idea that we can work for God. That we can serve Him out of anything that we have.

Jesus had to rebuke the Isrealites of His day:

"This is the work of God -- that you believe on Him  -- Jesus -- whom the Father has sent."

How many of us still refuse to believe on Him?

"Oh, I know that Jesus died for me, but I am on my own from here on out.:

Uh? How can you claim to be saved from death to life, and then think that the life you have received is something that you have to work for?

You never earned it in the first place!

Now, the one charge that many church people like to foment falls along these lines:

"So many people are just sitting around doing nothing, saying "I bellieve! I believe!"

The fact is - when someone is talking "I believe" you have to ask them: "What do they believe?"

Most of the time, they will talk about God doing something for them.

Yet God has done far more than something - he has done everything!

He did everything for us at the Cross through His Son Jesus!

The issue -- once again -- comes down to LIFE.

People who are lazy, by the way -- are actually quite busy, in their minds, full of fear.

The truth is, though, that man is dedicated toward doing, doing, doing.

We even "do" in our minds, even if we lie down and do nothing else.

One of the proverbs speaks to the root causes in our minds:

"As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed." (Proverbs 26: 14)

Even lazy people are busy, but in their minds, doing nothing but fear and worry.

The more that we get busy resting in His truth, the more that we recognize that our one work is to believe in Jesus.

Jesus is alive, Him who has been from the Beginning!

There is only one work that I can do - which is to believe in Him!

The rest is the grace of God, which He so freely supplies through His Son! (Romans 8: 31-32)