II Corinthians 12:9
Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My POWER works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the POWER of Christ may work through me.
Kind of a conundrum wrapped in a riddle and all rolled up in an enigma. This idea of gaining power to live through the act of surrender. To have power through admitting being powerless and my life is unmanageble. Yet, this is the very heart of not just recovering from a lifestyle of addiction, but of recovering from the fall of man in the garden of Eden. Sometimes when I think back on what the man and woman did in the garden.....well, lets just say I have bad thoughts. No big deal. They simply traded away everything God had given them for a piece of fruit he told them not to eat. Truth be known, it wasn't the fruit that did them in. It was the simple act of going against God's word. The fall took place when the decision to pick the fruit and eat it was finalized in their hearts and mind. Yet, there it is in Red at the top of this posting. The answer and solution to my struggle not just with addiction, but with life.God's grace is the basis for the POWER needed to bring change to our lives.
What is grace? The best definition I have ever heard was one that James Ryles gave in a teaching on grace. Are you ready? here goes.....
"Grace is the empowering presence of God in my life that enables me to be who God created me to be...and to do what He has called me to do."
Did you catch that? Grace is "POWER"...It is the presence of God who brings power to a powerless life. IT is the presence of God who infuses himself into my life which has been defined by being powerless. How do I know I'm powerless? Look at my track record and see al lthe destruction and brokenness I' have left behind. Notice that the verse from II Corinthians said that "His POWER works best "IN" my weakness." That means that for this change to take place in me, I have to always remind myself that I cannot do this (recovery) in my own strength or will. Weird, but the truth is..to have I power, I have to admit that I have no power.
So how does this change take place? Where can I purchase such power for life? Well, you won't see it advertised on late night TV. You can call up a number given to you on an infomercial. There are no operators standing by to take your call. But God is ready to listen and act on your cry for help. Romans 10:9 gives us the road map to a new life.
For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord -
This is more than just saying the words. This is about being at the point where you are desperate for change. You might even have more questions about what is going to take place if you do give your life to Christ than you care to think about. But you know that something has got to give. As I heard one man put it as he was telling about his surrender...."I was at the point to where I prayed.....either heal me or kill me...do one or the other. I just know I can't go on like this."
And believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead....
The word "Believe" means to cling to....rest upon....trust in....in other words, it is more than a mental ascent to a truth. It is a revelation from God himself to your heart about a reality that will change you forever. It isn't about religion...it isn't about church...it isn't about being or doing good...it is the truth about an event that took place over 2000 years ago that had such power, that it is still relevant to us today. Relevant in such a way that it still changes lives and hearts, giving them a new beginning.
You will be saved....
Sounds kind of final and sure of itself doesn't it. It doesn't say that "You might be saved" or there is a probability of being saved....No the verse gets right to the point. You (the one who prayed the prayer)...will ( an assurance of what is going to happen) be saved (to be saved means to be rescued from danger and transported into a new place or position).
Every day I get up, I am fully aware that I exist because of one thing. I am kept by God.
You know what? That is one incredibly good feeling.
God on you.....
mb
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