Don't Call Someone -- Call Upon the Lord

One of the worst habits that I learned in AA meetings:

"Call your sponsors"

As if every problem in our lives was outside of our capacities to handle.

The truth is that AA teaches people to regress into a posture of dependence. The sponsor dictates to the new member how to take the steps, how to make amends, and other steps to stay sober.

The sobering immaturity of AA meetings causes people to live in greater bondage to themselves, their feelings, and their past.

Men and women all over suffer because they live their lives through children's eyes, their own. They deserve a father, certainly, as every person does. However, to the degree that we look for fatherly love from people in our lives, to that extent do we find ourselves frustrated, hurt, and empty.

We need security, and we cannot hope to find that security in other people. We need acceptance greater than anything that man can give us. Even the most loving parents on earth cannot give us the eternal approval which God wants to give, which He offers us through His Son, Jesus:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

"Righteousness" means "completely justified" or "rendered free of guilt." In Christ, there is no penalty for us in this life, as long as we rest in His blessed assurance. As we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, witnessing how Christ has established us, and as we gain a great revelation of how loved we are in the Beloved (Ephesians 1: 6), we gain more righteousness and grace in our lives.

The Holy Spirit who comes to live in us grants us all wisdom and knowledge, and through Him we have Christ Jesus living in us all the time. We can rest easy in His presence, knowing that He will never leave us nor forsake us, that in His everlasting arms we are safe, secure, and sound.

This eternal security grants us the peace to receive the direction which we long for in this life, an end to the turbulence and discord which can offset our journey in this life.

Do not wait for a "sponsor" to tell you what to do. Let the Eternal Sponsor and Shepherd of our soul grant you wisdom in the knowledge of Him who died for you and lives in you.

We Cannot Conceive of God -- We Must Receive Him

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55: 8-9)

I have commented on this verse so that I could repudiate the notion that "our" conception of God is adequate for the spiritual life.

Yet what is God referring to specifically when He declares that His thoughts are not ours? The previous verses shed light on this power truth:

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55: 7)

The revelation that God will forgive all our sins is a truth that no man can come up with, assimilate, or make sense of. Either He believes it or he does not. For fallen man in a fallen world contending with a fallen enemy, mankind cannot comprehend the benevolence of God who will give His own Son and all things with Him (Romans 8: 31-32). Any attempt to conceive of God according to our own understanding inevitably will conjure up a "god" who is like us, one who is vindictive, easily hurt, looking to punish people for the wrong that they do.

We do not need a new set of ideas. We need a new life, and any conception of God outside of the revelation of God's Word will be forever tainted with our fallen nature.

Let's also consider the beginning of Isaiah 55 to get a greater picture of how generous God really is:

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

"Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah 55: 1-3)

The Lord invites every one of  us to drink not just water, but the more expensive wine and milk, which we can only receive since it is "without price", that is "priceless." Jesus fulfilled and fulfills this prophecy for us. In John 2, he turned the water into wine. He then shared with the Samaritan woman at the well that He would give her water that would spring up into eternal life (John 4), and He then shared with all who are willing to listen:

"37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (John 7: 37-39)

Through the Holy Spirit, we receive Christ Jesus into us, and all things with Him:

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Corinthians 2: 12)

All things are freely given from God through Christ. I cannot imagine this with my limited intellect, and neither can anyone else in this world. We must believe the Gospel and receive His grace and righteousness, or we do not.

Righteousness -- Man's Greatest Need

"I do not need righteousness. I just need to know that I am safe."

Righteousness is the fancy word of "acceptance", and the greatest fear of mankind is "rejection."

We wanted to be wanted. We need to be needed.

In Christ Jesus, we find the answer to both.

Jesus Christ taught that righteousness is the  most important thing for us to seek:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6: 33-34)

We do not have to worry about tomorrow or the next day or ever again because this "righteousness" carries with it all the blessings of Abraham:

"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. " (Genesis 15: 6)

Then all the grace of God flowed in Abram, who became Abraham. The same blessings will flow in our lives as we trust in His favor.

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54: 14)

and

"Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." (Proverbs 10: 6)

God invites us to keep receiving this perfect standing of righteosness, one which puts to death our flesh and a sin conscience within every person:

"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)

The Youngs Literalt Translation amplifies the continuity of righteousness in our lives:

"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." (YLT)

This righteousness draws us out of our fallen bodies and minds and brings us into remembrance that we are now perfectly accepted in the eyes of God the Father because we are in His Beloved Son (Ephesians 1:6)

Alcoholics Anonymous just points members back to themselves, and every day men and women enter the rooms of AA and chant "I am an alcoholic", when instead they need to rejoice and claim: "I am the righteousness of God in Christ":

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

More Resentment About Fear

Fearful -- that described me for a period of time in my life. Just a few years ago, I found myself fighting this awful specter of dread, wondering about my future, regretting the past yet unable to run into the future with free and clear hope.

Fearful and angry -- describes the lives of many people in AA and other Twelve Step programs. Even though individuals have found a "way of life" which get them away from officious substances, they do not find the "life and that more abundantly which every person craves yet often fails to find.

Man does not need one more reason to puzzle over his emotions.

Frankly, our memories do not give us the problems that we think they do. The harsh condemnation of "should have" does more damage. We hold ourselves to a standard which no one can meet. We expect ourselves to protect ourselves.

We respond to our feelings without realize that our thoughts create our feelings. Our fallen bodies have quite a tendency to remember terrible traumas.

In fact, harsh times and hardships may not leave our memory,  but the pain can go away.

When we look to the Cross and find our new identity in Him, one who grants us all things, one in whom we can trust that he has all things taken care of for us, then we can let go of all the hurts that afflict our minds and our bodies.

When we are established in righteousness, when we distance ourselves from any shame that we may feel about how we feel, when we receive the unconditional love of God the Father, beyond time and space, we walk in victory, more than conquerors, coming over and overcoming all setbacks.

I met one beautiful lady. She had endured abuse and neglect as a child. She grew up with an overwhelming sense of alarm about her. She often took on the care-take spirit with other people. She had shared with me that she worked in crisis counseling.

Yet for all of that counseling, for all of that helping, clearly she had not yet been set free from the pain that remained in her frame. Proper counseling does not turn us back into ourselves, does not engage us to look at ourselves, at or feelings, but rather to identify with the truth of who we are in something greater. Only God has supplied this ever-present need for us. Righteousness which has nothing to do with how we feel or what we think. Righteousness which declares to the universe through the Son of God, who is seated at the right hand of the Father as our justification. Righteousness which we are called to keep receiving.

A member of AA cannot receive this gift of righteousness, as the Twelve Steps are outlines in such a way that a man or woman never rests, but merely lives with a "one day at a time" reprieve.

Jesus Christ did not come so that we could live the "barely get by" life. He came that we may rest assured that as our Daddy, He will never leave us, forsake us, or abandon us. Our flesh, thoughts and feelings, may communicate upset, fears and tumults. The truth does not stay on ignoring our feelings, or in denying them, but rather identifying with the Truth who sets us free.

The more that we see Him, the more that we receive who we are in Him, the more that we allow Him to live His life through us, the more that we are set free from all sin, and we receive the glorious grace of His blood, which cleanses us from all sin.

When we stop expecting to find what we are looking for in this life, in this fallen world, and when we respect the full gifts of His righteousness and grace, then we will reign in life, in His life, overcoming every fear, anger, and hurt in our lives.

More Revelation about Resentment

Now I am really starting to get this.

I would get angry, and then I would get angry with myself for getting angry

But my anger, my  hurt, does not break my fellowship with God.

In fact, my bouts of rage invite can God's grace into my life all the more, the goodness of God which leads to repentance (Romans 2: 4)

God's grace is greater than my grained sense of hurt and outrage

I cannot lose God's favor in my life because of my feelings!

This is the one of many steps in growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord.

AA teaches men and women to claim "progress not perfection." When it comes to the flesh, our fallen, self-willed selves, there is no reaching perfection:

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7: 8)

Instead of telling people to identify with their sins, as AA does chronically by compelling members to say "I'm an alcoholic", God invites every person to receive the adoption of sons through Christ (Galatians 4: 6). The more that we renew our minds to who we are in Christ (Romans 12: 2), the more that we are transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3: 18), with less of an inclination to live in the flesh, and more to allow God's Spirit to live and guide us (1 John 2: 20, 27)

Resentment bears forth in our lives to the degree that we try to handle our feelings, stop them from being there. Our feelings cannot separate us from God, cannot alter our fellowship with God. Rather, they merely inform us of our thinking, which can be negative and destructive.

Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 5), receiving all that He has done for us, and let His life live through you!

Celebrate Recovery - Second, Third, Fourth Chances

I joined two different "Celebrate Recovery" groups in the South Bay.

I can delightfully report that one of them closed down within three months of being established. I do not share this message with malice, because the leader of the group who had set up the meeting

One member of the group could not understand the number of mistakes which he had made in his life, yet God still worked with Him.

"God seems to be willing to give us two, three, four more chances."'

Celebrate Recovery has no understanding of God's Grace.
God's grace means that He takes our failures and turns them into fantastic.

From Tamar, who deceived her father-in-law to father a child with her, to Ruth the Moabitess who left her own pagan country with her embittered  Hebrewmother-in-law, the Bible is full of stories detailing how God takes the worst of us who make God first no matter how often we fail. When we rest in His righteousness, we bring forth fruit to His glory. Tamar received twins and great glory. Ruth was promoted from poor widow to enriched wife through her kinsman-redeemer Boaz.

The greater our understanding of God's grace, the more that we rest in Him, and the more that He rests in us. The more He rests in us, the more He works through us, and so we walk in the Spirit and fulfill all that He wills in us.

When we receive the gift of no condemnation, then we receive the power and wonder to "go and sin no more." (John 8: 11)

Wow!

Satan has had his field day with members of the Body of Christ long enough.


Unconditional love means unconditional acceptance, including every hurt, habit, hang-up.

God does not remember our faults, so why should we?

God does not count our sins against us, so why should we?

When we have the ever-expansive understanding of God's grace and love in our lives, there is no more desire to sin, no more desire to hurt, no need to revenge, and every desire on the Part of God to restore.

Yet as long as men and women in meetings insist on recounting their sins in order to "make nice" with God, they just stir up a continuing conscience of sin, one which makes light of the great, final, and eternal sacrifice of Jesus.

Instead of "Celebrate Recovery", let every believer in the Body of Christ celebrate God's grace, growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord who loved us and gave His life that we might be saved.

The Twelves Steps: Discouraging --- Christ, Encouraging

"24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7: 24-26)

Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. (AA, pg 60)

Spiritual progress? Either you have the Spirit of God, or you do not.

Paul was pretty clear about this:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" (Ephesians 1: 3)

"All spiritual blessings" -- nothing could be clearer. In the second chapter, Paul then relates how God has seated us above the heavenlies in Christ (Ephesians 2: 6)

This work is a done deal, as even Christ Jesus Himself our High Priest sat down (Hebrews 1: 3), sending the message throughout the universe and for all time (John 19: 30)

We do not have to practice "perfect adherence" to principles, since Christ Jesus has perfected us once for all (Hebrews 10: 14)

And of course, how can any believer read through this or any other passage without throwing the book away? We are now saints in Christ:

"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 1: 7)

As saints, we have grace and peace. This graec is unmerited favor for all time. This peace is the full and unending possession of every resource.

We cannot be justified by the rules of regulations of man:

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2: 8)

and

"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." (Galatians 5: 4)

Imagine how hard the members of the Body of Christ will have it, if they insist on dismissing the Life who lives in them (Colossians 1: 27) and try to live the Christian life on their own.

The works of the flesh is the result, with all the sin and shame that comes with us.

With the Twelve Steps, therefore, or any other system of merit, man will never progress, let along be perfect, but will mire in the same motions of sin and death which brought Paul to cry out "who will save me?"

Jesus Christ is more than Lord, He is Savior to all who receive Him. The law discourages us, while God's grace not only encourages us, but en-courages us by granting us a new heart, filled with His law, giving us power to know Him, and letting Him be our God, our everything. (Hebrews 8: 10-12)