For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Hmmmm....
God working in me.
What does that mean? It means, as I start this journey in recovery, through my surrender of will and live over to God, He moves in and begins to change my character and my nature. Also involved is a renewed mind, or to put it bluntly, a new way of seeing life and interacting with it.
So if this God is so powerful, then why do some people never seem to change?
I'd love to just give you a pat answer to that question, but I won't.
Some people don't change simply because they don't want to.
They don't change because it seems like to much work involved.
They don't change because they have a lie from the devil ingrained in their minds and hearts that they can't change.
I could go on and on but I won't.
In this process of recovery, it begins with a having a face to face with yourself. I mean you have got to strip away all the walls and images you have tried to create as to who you are. You have got to see the real you. The real you who lies, cheats, steals, manipulates, hates, and on and on and on. O.k. now before you get bummed out and feel like what's the use, let me remind you of something. We are all broken. I mean everyone who draws breath comes into this world broken. We are born with a sin nature....a bent in our will to do the wrong thing. If you don't believe me, then get you a room full of 3-year old kids and put one toy in the middle of the floor. You got yourself a battle royal in the making. There will be screams and yells of "Mine...Mine...Mine!," as the fight to own the toy breaks out. Now who taught those children to be greedy? No one. It came naturally. Like I said, we are born with a bent to do the wrong thing. A bent that tells us we don't need God, we can captain our own life. Sure we can...we can captain that boat all the way to the rocky shore where we crash and burn on the beach.
Once I'm face to face with me...and I truly see that I cannot overcome my addiction, then I need to look for someone or some thing who can. In other words, I can't be the problem and the solution at the same time. SO I look for a Higher Power who can start the restoration process back to where I can make sound decisions. For me, that Higher Power is none other than Jesus Christ. It isn't your coffee cup or the door knob...it isn't found in other religions. In fact, it has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with relationship. Jesus! He is the one I've been searching for.
Now that I've identified who my Higher Power is, I make the decision to turn over the complete package of who I am.....spirit, soul and body....to Christ. In other words, I have been brought to the point where I am fully aware of all the sin/destruction I have cause in me, around me, and to those I love, and I now have to own up to it. This is the beauty of Christ working in me....He forgives me of everything when I confess it. No questions asked. Not only does He forgive me, but when I acknowledge Him as my Lord and Savior, He places His Holy Spirit in me. O.K.----I'm not sure how this works or what the process is of it happening, I just know He does. The Holy Spirit becomes the connection in my life back to God the Father and Jesus the Son. To put it bluntly, I am now plugged into heaven. How cool is that?
Why would God do all of this for such a mess as me? Read the verse from Philippians again. He does it for His good pleasure. He gets blessed every time someone gets saved. He totally enjoys it when one of his creation comes back home, into the family again. Now I could get all up on a God like that?
So that is why we do a meeting on Saturday night.
That is why we gather and worship, sing and hang out with each other.
Because we are grateful to God for He has done in us and to us.
Come be with us this Saturday.....7 p.m.
God on you....
mb
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