Righteousness -- that's what we need more than anything else.
With righteousness, we receive life:
"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Romans 8: 10)
In our bodies, in our minds, there is a never-ending sense of "not good enough" which does not go away.
Because every human being in this world is born dead in trespasses, alienated from God and filled with sin, everyone of us needs righteousness, a gift which God the Father offers to us through His Son, which we receive by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Even people who are flagrant sinners, as well as the arrogant and pious types in our midst, at their core cannot run away from the sense that all is just not well in this world. The emptiness, the frustration,, the knowledge that there must be more to this life than ourselves, simply cannot escape us.
When Paul the Apostles readily preached the Good News, that through Christ we can be justified from all things, from which we could not be justified in our efforts, many Gentiles and Jews received this message gladly (Acts 13: 38-39)
Alcoholics Anonymous punishes men and women with a sense of reproach and shame which never dissipates.
This evil cult instills in the members the unending reproach of "alcoholic", then informs them that they can never escape because they were born that way.
No, beloved, your identity is in Christ, for He is our life (Colossians 3: 3-4).
His righteousness is the gift which we keep on receiving (Romans 5: 17), and through His righteousness we receive life (Romans 8: 10)
This Spirit of God lives in us because of this wonderful gift of righteousness: not something that we earn, but something that we receive as a gift, because we simply cannot earn it.
There is no end to self-examination for us, for every human being was brought into this world dead in his trespasses (Ephesians 2: 1; Romans 5: 15-17)
We do not need to make ourselves better. We need a new self, a new life which we receive 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)
Notice in this passage that we set our eyes on Christ Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of God.
We do not look at ourselves, for we are dead, in that we reckon ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6: 11-14) and dead to the rudiments of the world (Colossians 2: 20-21)
Look at Christ, Believe on Him, and grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, and let all scripture train you in the righteousness which you are receiving in Christ (2 Timothy 3:16)
Monday, December 9, 2013
Thursday, December 5, 2013
He Changes You - Not You!
Alcoholics Anonymous imposes on people the responsibility for changing themselves, for working a program.
The Bible offers us something better.
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 1: 6)
and
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
For years, I would combat every bad thought, every negative feeling, every upset as if I had to do something about it.
A life of putting out fires, a life of trying to fix what was crucified, my flesh, was all that I had to look forward to because I was programmed with Twelve Steps as the answer to every problem in my life.
The steps do not work, for they cannot finish or even add to all that Jesus has done at the Cross.
For too long, I was emotionally dependent, compelled into running to other people every time I was scared, frustrated, afraid.
My mother had played mini-savior for too long in my life. She had told me what to believe, what to do, how to live, and she operated out of this fearful need to control because she felt so fearful and lonely in this world.
AA does that to people.
The program offers to people a false god with no power, because any god which we conceive of is not a god at all.
We need a revelation of the goodness of God, which we find in the Bible, because man cannot conceive, let alone receive, such consummate holiness through his own efforts.
God is in the business of changing us, and not the other way around. We must stop trying to look and perfect ourselves, but grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, knowing and believing that He began a good work in us, and that He will finish it!
The Bible offers us something better.
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 1: 6)
and
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
For years, I would combat every bad thought, every negative feeling, every upset as if I had to do something about it.
A life of putting out fires, a life of trying to fix what was crucified, my flesh, was all that I had to look forward to because I was programmed with Twelve Steps as the answer to every problem in my life.
The steps do not work, for they cannot finish or even add to all that Jesus has done at the Cross.
For too long, I was emotionally dependent, compelled into running to other people every time I was scared, frustrated, afraid.
My mother had played mini-savior for too long in my life. She had told me what to believe, what to do, how to live, and she operated out of this fearful need to control because she felt so fearful and lonely in this world.
AA does that to people.
The program offers to people a false god with no power, because any god which we conceive of is not a god at all.
We need a revelation of the goodness of God, which we find in the Bible, because man cannot conceive, let alone receive, such consummate holiness through his own efforts.
God is in the business of changing us, and not the other way around. We must stop trying to look and perfect ourselves, but grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, knowing and believing that He began a good work in us, and that He will finish it!
Brainwashed in a Cult
I was raised in AA.
I was a stepper kid who had a stepper Mom.
I was brainwashed to believe that this life was all about passing a test.
I never understood why I was so frustrated and depressed in my life.
A constant sense of frustration and reproach kept me in bondage for a long time.
I was never good enough, I had to face the next day in my own efforts.
I had no knowledge of Life and that more abundantly.
I was convinced that I was facing the world in my own efforts, through all that I was doing on my own.
Because it was my mother who had taught me AA, I was convinced that there was nothing wrong with the program.
Taking your inventory, working Twelve Steps -- there did not seem to be anything wrong with that kind of life.
All I knew was constant introspection.
Today I know that such self-reflection is a form of death.
The last thing that me and women need is to look at their faults and strive to make themselves better.
For years, I was so used to someone else making all the decisions in my life.
I remember watching Dr. Phil on TV once, and I could not understand why my life was not excelling, unlike the lives of other people of the same age.
The Twelve Steps was the answer to every problem, and every time I found myself unable to overcome difficulties in my life, I simply assumed that I had not worked the program well enough.
If you are defined by the Twelve Steps, then you will work the Twelve Steps.
Yet in my life, there was so much pain, frustration, hurt feelings.
People in my life still seemed to dominate me, even though the AA book claimed that men and women will no longer be able to dominate us.
I cannot believe how addicted my mother was to the AA cult. She was so convinced of the efficacy of this program, and she worked until the last time that I spoke with her.
This cult must be exposed. The terrible cult must be stopped as much as possible, so that individuals who struggle with addictions of any kind never again have to take a terrible detour in AA.
Don't be brainwashed in a cult, but be washed and cleansed forever in the blood of Jesus Christ.
I was a stepper kid who had a stepper Mom.
I was brainwashed to believe that this life was all about passing a test.
I never understood why I was so frustrated and depressed in my life.
A constant sense of frustration and reproach kept me in bondage for a long time.
I was never good enough, I had to face the next day in my own efforts.
I had no knowledge of Life and that more abundantly.
I was convinced that I was facing the world in my own efforts, through all that I was doing on my own.
Because it was my mother who had taught me AA, I was convinced that there was nothing wrong with the program.
Taking your inventory, working Twelve Steps -- there did not seem to be anything wrong with that kind of life.
All I knew was constant introspection.
Today I know that such self-reflection is a form of death.
The last thing that me and women need is to look at their faults and strive to make themselves better.
For years, I was so used to someone else making all the decisions in my life.
I remember watching Dr. Phil on TV once, and I could not understand why my life was not excelling, unlike the lives of other people of the same age.
The Twelve Steps was the answer to every problem, and every time I found myself unable to overcome difficulties in my life, I simply assumed that I had not worked the program well enough.
If you are defined by the Twelve Steps, then you will work the Twelve Steps.
Yet in my life, there was so much pain, frustration, hurt feelings.
People in my life still seemed to dominate me, even though the AA book claimed that men and women will no longer be able to dominate us.
I cannot believe how addicted my mother was to the AA cult. She was so convinced of the efficacy of this program, and she worked until the last time that I spoke with her.
This cult must be exposed. The terrible cult must be stopped as much as possible, so that individuals who struggle with addictions of any kind never again have to take a terrible detour in AA.
Don't be brainwashed in a cult, but be washed and cleansed forever in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Just Believe!
Alcoholics Anonymous lies to its members, claiming that they can choose their own conception of God, which in turn grants them power to overcome drinking, or any other perverse habit in their lives.
The scheme behind the program induces people to identify with something else besides their current state, then programs them into a program which brainwashes them into thinking that they have to work at a program to maintain their sobriety.
The only decision you have to make today is not drink, old timers in the meetings will claim.
In fact, the meetings tend to take away from individuals their capacity to make decisions altogether.
The Big Book tells members that they are not like normal people, that their thinking has been warped, rendered ineffective, that the are bodily and mentally different from other people.
Jesus offers something better to all of us:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)
Believe on Jesus -- that is our calling.
How simple could it be?
AA creates rules, regulations, and demands on indivduals.
We need only to believe on Jesus, and receive from Him all things (Romans 8: 31-32)
The scheme behind the program induces people to identify with something else besides their current state, then programs them into a program which brainwashes them into thinking that they have to work at a program to maintain their sobriety.
The only decision you have to make today is not drink, old timers in the meetings will claim.
In fact, the meetings tend to take away from individuals their capacity to make decisions altogether.
The Big Book tells members that they are not like normal people, that their thinking has been warped, rendered ineffective, that the are bodily and mentally different from other people.
Jesus offers something better to all of us:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)
Believe on Jesus -- that is our calling.
How simple could it be?
AA creates rules, regulations, and demands on indivduals.
We need only to believe on Jesus, and receive from Him all things (Romans 8: 31-32)
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Why I Lived in Bondage - and Now Resting in Bonds of His Love
I lived in my feelings for a long time.
I had believed that if I felt bad, it meant that God was not with me, that He was far away.
I lived in fear for a long time, and as long as I felt at peace, then I knew that I was OK with God.
We know that God is for us not because we feel Him, but because sent His Son to die for us, and when His blood was shed, God cut the New Covenant with all mankind.
God made this covenant with His Son, and He is our representative at the right hand of God the Father.
I lived in great bondage because I was convinced that how I felt, or what I did, could make or break whether God was working in my life or not.
I had not knowledge of the perfect love of God in my life, because I was convinced that I still had to confess my sins, that I had to work for this life, that I had to take care of myself and everything else.
Today, I know my identity in Christ, which has nothing to do with my parents, my past, or even my passions.
It's all about Christ and Him Crucified, yet in my upbringing, I never learned about this fullness.
I lived in bondage because I thought that I was bound to take responsibility for everything in my life.
If I did not take care of everything, then I would lose everything.
Where did this wrong doctrine come from? Alcoholics Anonymous.
If we operate out of our conception of God, we are left with our limited understanding, and for me, God was someone whom I had to live up to, rather than a Daddy who sent His Son to live for and through and in me.
I lived in bondage, and today I rest in the bonds of God's love for me!
I had believed that if I felt bad, it meant that God was not with me, that He was far away.
I lived in fear for a long time, and as long as I felt at peace, then I knew that I was OK with God.
We know that God is for us not because we feel Him, but because sent His Son to die for us, and when His blood was shed, God cut the New Covenant with all mankind.
God made this covenant with His Son, and He is our representative at the right hand of God the Father.
I lived in great bondage because I was convinced that how I felt, or what I did, could make or break whether God was working in my life or not.
I had not knowledge of the perfect love of God in my life, because I was convinced that I still had to confess my sins, that I had to work for this life, that I had to take care of myself and everything else.
Today, I know my identity in Christ, which has nothing to do with my parents, my past, or even my passions.
It's all about Christ and Him Crucified, yet in my upbringing, I never learned about this fullness.
I lived in bondage because I thought that I was bound to take responsibility for everything in my life.
If I did not take care of everything, then I would lose everything.
Where did this wrong doctrine come from? Alcoholics Anonymous.
If we operate out of our conception of God, we are left with our limited understanding, and for me, God was someone whom I had to live up to, rather than a Daddy who sent His Son to live for and through and in me.
I lived in bondage, and today I rest in the bonds of God's love for me!
Reckon Yourself Dead to Sin and the Twelve Steps
To experience resurrection life, we need to see ourselves dead to sin.
Alcoholics Anonymous trains its members to focus on their failures, to keep looking at the sins and setbacks, to keep taking one's inventory, and to live a life in which is not life.
Paul reveals to us the freedom and relief which God releases into our lives through Christ Jesus:
Paul reveals to us the freedom and relief which God releases into our lives through Christ Jesus:
"8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 8-11)
We are born dead in our trespasses. Adam sinned against God, and with his sin the whole human race was brought into sin (Romans 5: 15-19). The Ten Commandments, given on Mount Sinai in Exodus 20, was never a standing for living, but the standard of God's holiness which no man could live up to. We need life, not a program for living. The Twelve Steps attempts to till the soil of man's flesh, which cannot be fixed, but rather must be crucified (Galatian 2: 20-21)
Because we are dead to sin and made alive in Christ Jesus, we are dead to sin, dead to condemnation, and thus dead to the dead works to restore ourselves through our own efforts (Hebrews 9: 14):
We are born dead in our trespasses. Adam sinned against God, and with his sin the whole human race was brought into sin (Romans 5: 15-19). The Ten Commandments, given on Mount Sinai in Exodus 20, was never a standing for living, but the standard of God's holiness which no man could live up to. We need life, not a program for living. The Twelve Steps attempts to till the soil of man's flesh, which cannot be fixed, but rather must be crucified (Galatian 2: 20-21)
Because we are dead to sin and made alive in Christ Jesus, we are dead to sin, dead to condemnation, and thus dead to the dead works to restore ourselves through our own efforts (Hebrews 9: 14):
"12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6: 12-14)
We are no longer under law, but under grace.
The Twelve Steps are an example of law, a set of rules which draw on our efforts.
Yet we must have no confidence in our flesh (Philippians 3: 3), but rather walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16), a Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8: 15), and a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
We are dead to sin, the condemnation and imputation of our wrongdoing, all because of Jesus.
We receive life through Him, and through Him we are freed, made dead to the rudiments of the world (Colossians 2: 8, 20), which includes the Twelve Steps.
We are no longer under law, but under grace.
The Twelve Steps are an example of law, a set of rules which draw on our efforts.
Yet we must have no confidence in our flesh (Philippians 3: 3), but rather walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16), a Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8: 15), and a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
We are dead to sin, the condemnation and imputation of our wrongdoing, all because of Jesus.
We receive life through Him, and through Him we are freed, made dead to the rudiments of the world (Colossians 2: 8, 20), which includes the Twelve Steps.
Bringing Every Though -- Past, Present, Future -- Into Captivity
I have gone around in circles putting out so many fires in my life.
For years, I would feel bad, or fearful, and then spend much of time trying to undo that feeling, to put out the fire that I was feeling.
Resentments especially would surge up in my life, and I would get so tangled up with my feelings, fearful that those feelings within me would prevent God's power in my life.
I so identified with my flesh because I did not know that Christ's life flowed in me, and I had been taught for so long that I could fix my thoughts and feelings in order to be holy.
Such practices are impossible. There is no perfecting our flesh. To be carnally minded is death (Romans 8: 6), which speaks not just of sinning, but of living through our senses rather than resting in the Finished Work of Christ Jesus and walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16).
There is no life in living through our limited senses, trying to make sense of unlimited troubles or possibilities.
A life driven by the Twelve Steps, a life based on the notion that I have to be free from anger, and kill every resentment before it boils into a worse condition.
Every time I felt anger, fearful, or frustrated, I would take an inventory, run through the steps, and hope for the problem to go away.
I cannot recall the number of times when I would go through the steps, and whatever frustrations and upsets which I was feeling would not go away.
Worse, from time to time those same upsets would surge up and unsettle me once again.
I recall other members who religiously attended AA meetings, and how they lived in the past, trying to rewrite or right the wrongs which they had committed, living out the shame and anger from years past against parents, friends, enemies, bullies.
What is this madness? This is not recovery, and this is certainly not life!
When I looked over my life, when I took into account all the hardships which I had faced, when I remembered the most painful moments in my life, I realized that Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Step program was right in the center.
I was convinced that I had to live this life in my own strength, figuring everything out on my own, looking over my shoulder to make sure that I did not make a mistake, yet at the same time I had no way of knowing whether I had done something right or wrong to begin with.
One time in my life, I was afflicted with a paranoid sense of fear and shame, so great that I could not function in any kind of strength. I lived every day in fear, not knowing what to do or how to move on in my life.
Recently, those fearful thoughts and feelings resurfaced in my life. I kept fighting with the fears and upsets, then I would read the Scriptures which have set me free, for the truth will release us from all bondage every time (John 8: 32)
We are called to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 5)
I was bitter for a long time, though, because there are so many wonderful things which I am learning about Christ and Him Crucified, which if I had known in the past, then I would not have stumbled as often as I did.
Now I have learned that God takes our past and makes it a blast. We can come to Him in our present and show us how He makes all things work together for good (Romans 8: 28)
I so struggled with the fear in my life. When I asked God for wisdom, I then realized what had prompted the intense fears in my life. "I have to get rid of this fear, in order to move on with my life."
As long as I felt bad, I was convinced that I had to fix my feelings before I could come to God, or receive direction from Him.
I was going around in frustration and chronic struggles. I had thought things which were so shameful, I was afraid to tell anyone, and yet I needed to confess my sins in order to be forgiven.
What was the basis for these false notions? The Twelve Steps. As long as I was convinced that my sins were not put away forever, as long as I was unaware that I had the life of Christ living and moving in me, then I was forever frustrated.
The issue for all of us is righteousness, the perfect knowledge that before God we are forever justified.
We receive this justification through Jesus and all that He did at the Cross. Why did I not believe that I was fully righteous? Because I was still taking my inventory, I was still trying to make myself right in thought and deed, when the flesh is totally bankrupt, cannot be fixed, must be crucified.
Jesus provides us this death to our flesh:
"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
When Jesus died on the Cross, He died for us and as us, freeing us from ourselves, that we may receive His life in full.
Yet as long as I believed that this flesh could be made better with the program of AA, then I was frustrating the grace of God in life. As long as I believed that my sins were not fully and forever forgiven, as long as I was convinced that I had to live in my own strength, and that God was not my God through the New Covenant, then all I would have to look forward to would be -- a fearful looking after for judgment (Hebrews 10: 26).
Many of the former thoughts of frustration and fear were borne of the false notion that I was on my own in this world. I believed this lie because I was steeped in the Twelve Steps and Alcoholics Anonymous. I did not receive the full revelation of all that Christ Jesus is and has done for me.
When I realized that God was always loving me, even when I did not know or believe that He was on my side, that even in the most frustration and painful moments of my life He was still good and making the most of the bad times I was struggling through, I began to submit my frustrations about everything which I had endured.
I stopped justifying myself, and stopped fearing the recriminations of the past. I accepted that He is my life, and that He is in the business of championing me in all things (2 Corinthians 2: 14) and that He is making all things work for my good (Romans 8: 28)
Bring every thought, even about your past and future to the obedience of Christ, and trust that He will make the most of the hard times which you have endured.
For years, I would feel bad, or fearful, and then spend much of time trying to undo that feeling, to put out the fire that I was feeling.
Resentments especially would surge up in my life, and I would get so tangled up with my feelings, fearful that those feelings within me would prevent God's power in my life.
I so identified with my flesh because I did not know that Christ's life flowed in me, and I had been taught for so long that I could fix my thoughts and feelings in order to be holy.
Such practices are impossible. There is no perfecting our flesh. To be carnally minded is death (Romans 8: 6), which speaks not just of sinning, but of living through our senses rather than resting in the Finished Work of Christ Jesus and walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16).
There is no life in living through our limited senses, trying to make sense of unlimited troubles or possibilities.
A life driven by the Twelve Steps, a life based on the notion that I have to be free from anger, and kill every resentment before it boils into a worse condition.
Every time I felt anger, fearful, or frustrated, I would take an inventory, run through the steps, and hope for the problem to go away.
I cannot recall the number of times when I would go through the steps, and whatever frustrations and upsets which I was feeling would not go away.
Worse, from time to time those same upsets would surge up and unsettle me once again.
I recall other members who religiously attended AA meetings, and how they lived in the past, trying to rewrite or right the wrongs which they had committed, living out the shame and anger from years past against parents, friends, enemies, bullies.
What is this madness? This is not recovery, and this is certainly not life!
When I looked over my life, when I took into account all the hardships which I had faced, when I remembered the most painful moments in my life, I realized that Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Step program was right in the center.
I was convinced that I had to live this life in my own strength, figuring everything out on my own, looking over my shoulder to make sure that I did not make a mistake, yet at the same time I had no way of knowing whether I had done something right or wrong to begin with.
One time in my life, I was afflicted with a paranoid sense of fear and shame, so great that I could not function in any kind of strength. I lived every day in fear, not knowing what to do or how to move on in my life.
Recently, those fearful thoughts and feelings resurfaced in my life. I kept fighting with the fears and upsets, then I would read the Scriptures which have set me free, for the truth will release us from all bondage every time (John 8: 32)
We are called to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 5)
I was bitter for a long time, though, because there are so many wonderful things which I am learning about Christ and Him Crucified, which if I had known in the past, then I would not have stumbled as often as I did.
Now I have learned that God takes our past and makes it a blast. We can come to Him in our present and show us how He makes all things work together for good (Romans 8: 28)
I so struggled with the fear in my life. When I asked God for wisdom, I then realized what had prompted the intense fears in my life. "I have to get rid of this fear, in order to move on with my life."
As long as I felt bad, I was convinced that I had to fix my feelings before I could come to God, or receive direction from Him.
I was going around in frustration and chronic struggles. I had thought things which were so shameful, I was afraid to tell anyone, and yet I needed to confess my sins in order to be forgiven.
What was the basis for these false notions? The Twelve Steps. As long as I was convinced that my sins were not put away forever, as long as I was unaware that I had the life of Christ living and moving in me, then I was forever frustrated.
The issue for all of us is righteousness, the perfect knowledge that before God we are forever justified.
We receive this justification through Jesus and all that He did at the Cross. Why did I not believe that I was fully righteous? Because I was still taking my inventory, I was still trying to make myself right in thought and deed, when the flesh is totally bankrupt, cannot be fixed, must be crucified.
Jesus provides us this death to our flesh:
"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
When Jesus died on the Cross, He died for us and as us, freeing us from ourselves, that we may receive His life in full.
Yet as long as I believed that this flesh could be made better with the program of AA, then I was frustrating the grace of God in life. As long as I believed that my sins were not fully and forever forgiven, as long as I was convinced that I had to live in my own strength, and that God was not my God through the New Covenant, then all I would have to look forward to would be -- a fearful looking after for judgment (Hebrews 10: 26).
Many of the former thoughts of frustration and fear were borne of the false notion that I was on my own in this world. I believed this lie because I was steeped in the Twelve Steps and Alcoholics Anonymous. I did not receive the full revelation of all that Christ Jesus is and has done for me.
When I realized that God was always loving me, even when I did not know or believe that He was on my side, that even in the most frustration and painful moments of my life He was still good and making the most of the bad times I was struggling through, I began to submit my frustrations about everything which I had endured.
I stopped justifying myself, and stopped fearing the recriminations of the past. I accepted that He is my life, and that He is in the business of championing me in all things (2 Corinthians 2: 14) and that He is making all things work for my good (Romans 8: 28)
Bring every thought, even about your past and future to the obedience of Christ, and trust that He will make the most of the hard times which you have endured.
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