Monday, August 15, 2016

Two Steppin' On Monday Morning


Monday.....
Second day of the week....
Feels like the slate got wiped clean over the weekend, and we get a fresh start at this thing we call life.
I can choose to run it myself...
You know, the whole "I'm the captain of my ship".....
Or I can put up another week of following Jesus.


You may be wondering what all this "following Jesus" is about when it comes to recovery.
Well, you only have to look to step #2 to find your answer.


We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Now, the very first thing we see in Step #2 is that the first word in the step is "WE".
That's right....
You're not alone in this journey, nor are you the first who has ever attempted to walk it out.


Next part...."Came to believe"....

Here, in this case, the word believe is more than a mental nod to some truth that has been put before you.
To believe has substance to it. It is a complete trust....a relying on....a clinging to the fact that this Power we call Jesus, even though we might not fully understand, has the capability of righting my destructive life.

Some might call this "believing" faith.
Faith is given to us by God to aid us in moving beyond what our head says, into following what our heart says....Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Coming to believe is the point at which you shed your old thoughts and ideas in order to follow this new direction. You aren't the judge and jury anymore of what you will or won't do. You are willing to embrace this Power (or truth be known, we allow the Power to embrace us).

Notice that the Power we are choosing to follow is greater than us.
Doesn't give specifics on how He is greater....
Or even what He is greater about than we are....
Doesn't limit His greatness to any one area or specific task.
Think of it this way....
Whatever we lay our hands to...whatever decision we may make....His way is better.

Oh yeah, don't forget that our greater Power has a name, and that name is Jesus.

So the idea behind Step #2 is that we have come in contact with a Power greater than ourselves who COULD restore us to sanity. Does this mean I am insane? Well, not by the normal definition. The insanity that we're talking about is not having the ability to make sound decisions. This Power that is greater than us, retools our way of thinking so that we don't live by addicta-logic. Romans 12:2 says that we are not to live according to the patterns of this world, or by the way the world does business, but rather we have been called to be transformed....changed....by the renewing of our minds. Such a task can only be accomplished by a greater Power at work in me. Such is the directive that the Holy Spirit brings to my life when I turn my will and life over to His care.

Step # 1 brings us face to face with the unpleasant truth about ourselves....
Step #2 points us in the direction we need to go in order to leave this path of destruction we have been headed down.
Step # 3 is the answer to our life problems. We embrace this Higher Power by turning our will over to His care daily. We turn our life over one time, and walk away into the greatest adventure a body could ever want to participate in........


God on you...
mbb

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