Matthew 10:5
These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them........
Instructions?
What instructions?
If you read chapter, you'll find that Jesus imparted to these twelve men POWER.
More than that, He gave them the authority to exercise that POWER.
What is authority?
It is the right to carry out certain mandates and instructions. A policeman has the authority to pull me over and question me. If I try and mimic his actions, pulling someone over, I can get arrested for impersonating that policeman. He has the authority........I don't.
More than just having authority, the disciples of Jesus were given the POWER to back up their authority. These two working together, authority and POWER, can produce some amazing results in our lives.
Flash forward to today.
What does any of this have to do with us?
What does any of this have to do with recovery? With addiction? Well, in the 12 steps, the very first step actually confirms to us that we are powerless over our usage of drugs and alcohol. It isn't a matter or will power....it is a matter of living POWER. What is the evidence of my powerlessness? My life has become unmanageable. I find that there are certain things that have begun to surface in my life that had never been there before. Things like............jail....court......an arrest record........DHR.......Psych wards........and countless other things that only confirm that I am in trouble.
Step #2 says that we came to believe.....interesting view. I came to believe....I have weighed all the evidence of my life and it has brought me to the place that I truly need a POWER greater than myself who can restore, make right, put back in place all the insanity of my life. To turn the insanity into sanity. Sanity----the ability to make sound decisions. In our case, the POWER of step #2 is a person....The Lord Jesus Christ. Once I recognize and define the POWER I need, then it only makes sense to give myself, lock/stock/and barrel, to this POWER. Turning will and live over to Jesus, he provides me........fills me.....with the POWER of His Holy Spirit. I am now in a place where my decisions can be free of my old way of thinking, as I rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me.
The one thing that is common to every man who comes to Rapha, is a fear of leaving. Not a fear that incapacitates them, but a fear that they will fail. That they will leave this safe place where they have been given a 2nd chance at life, and go back out into the world only to succumb to the tug and pull of addiction once again. This is where today's scripture comes in. Jesus sent His twelve followers back out into the world. He sent them out to face a people he knew would not accept them. He sent them out with a message of hope. But more than all of this, He sent them back out with authority and POWER to confront any attack by the devil and his minions. Authority and POWER are no good if we don't learn to exercise it. Authority and POWER serve no purpose if we let our fear drive us.
We don't have to live like we use to. The Bible tells me that "Greater is He (Jesus) who is in me, than he (devil) who is in the world." Those words comfort me as I leave the safety of my home every day to go out into the world. That no mater what comes my way...no matte what problem may crop up in my life, I have someone, God's Holy Spirit, in me that will help me to overcome. I guess that is why I can say....."Hello! My name is Michael, and I'm a grateful over comer in Christ Jesus."
God on you....
God in you....
God around you.....
mb
No comments:
Post a Comment