Revival + Recovery = LIfe

Revival.....
To be awakened.....
That means that there must be a state of being, or living, that is below the norm, or acceptable to be seen as operating in the way it was intended.
I guess that is a mumbo jumbo definition of revival.
I guess the easiest way to look at Revival is to break it apart.
Re ----"again"
Vive----from a Latin word meaning "Alive or to live again".
Why would we need revival?
Because we allow our passion, our fire for Jesus, others and His church to slowly fade away.

Hebrews 2:3 reads: How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.
How shall we escape...
Escape what?
Everyday life with its traps and snares, just lying in wait to trip us up and send us down the "Self-lust" pathway. In other words, if we aren't diligent about staying focused on Christ daily, we will slowly lose interest and be led astray by our own wants, desires and lusts that slowly rise up to take control. Such is why we need to establish a daily discipline to keep our focus on Jesus.

One of the hallmark traits of addiction is chaos.
It is a life driven by the appetite.
"Self" lays down the rules and demands that the individual follow them.
Cravings, brought on by the usage of drugs and/or alcohol is the fuel that motivates the individual.
Couple this with an inability to cope with life itself, and a pattern is soon formed that drives the individual to use.
Such behavior, done time and time again, only strengthen the pattern, until it becomes a habit that cannot be broken, for the most part, by self will.
We are truly and totally in need of a POWER greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity, or the ability to make sound decisions.
I've said it, as well as have written, that our Higher Power has name, and that name would be Jesus.

You could say that when a person works the steps, that they are following Jesus into a state of Recovery, that they are being "Covered" again to be brought to the original purpose the were created for.

Does Recovery = Revival?
On some level you could probably say yes...
But Revival, in my simplest way of thinking......
Takes any recovery and lifts it up beyond an everyday struggle.
Revival places the Joy of the Lord deep into the very being of the one being revived.
It puts purpose and an even greater awareness of the POWER that has been given.
Even though Jesus is at work in our lives, to aid us and guide us through the instruction and direction given to us by God's Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves turning outward in our view of life. We will find ourselves looking to help others discover what we have found.
IF the truth be known....
Revival and Recovery are to be given away to those who don't know our Higher Power Jesus.

Having had a spiritual awakening,

or having been "revived"

we seek to practice this principals in all our affairs...
And to take this message to others....

To others, who have not met the solution to

everything we face in our daily lives.
That which use to cause me to run away...
To medicate...
To drink myself into a state of numbness..
I can now face and overcome 

by the POWER given to me by Christ Jesus.

Think on these things today...
God on you...

mb