Faith/Spiritual
When someone runs out of their lane in track, they get disqualified from the race. Can you relate? Do you feel disqualified from serving the Lord because of addiction? Think it’s impossible to be in recovery and serve God at the same time? Think again!
No one felt more disqualified than Saul. Before he came to faith, he was an enemy of the faith. Many followers of Christ were murdered, beaten, and imprisoned because of him. Here’s how he described himself, “I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison” (Acts 22:4).
Saul was one of the most prolific persecutors of Christians of his time. If that’s all the Bible mentioned about him, you’d think that was the end of his story. He would never be good enough. Period. He blew it, right? Wrong! Thankfully, his story didn’t end there.
One of the most radical stories of transformation in the Bible is that of Saul in Acts 9:1-31. One moment he is headed toward Damascus to persecute Christians, the next he sees a blinding light and hears a voice. (more…)
Faith/Spiritual
You’ve been sober for months. Everyone in your Life Recovery group says you’ve made significant progress. You’re seeing a counselor once a week, working your recovery program and from the outside, everything seems to be going great. But deep down inside, you wonder if life will ever go back to normal and you doubt that long-term restoration is possible.
Restoration is possible. But first, you must make restitution. Step 9 in Life Recovery states, “We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” When we make restitution, it can bring restoration, if not for the relationship but for you in your recovery. Restitution is making amends to those whom your addiction and behavior have hurt. (more…)
Addiction/Recovery
When it comes to making changes in our lives, some of us act as if we’ve got our heads buried in the sand. For example, after years of struggling with addiction, we finally admitted we had a problem. But that was several months ago. We probably even looked into going through treatment, seeing a counselor, and attending a Life Recovery group.
However, we still haven’t made any changes in our lives.
If this sounds like you and you’re struggling to make changes in your life, the truth is, admission without change is meaningless. While you needed to admit you have a problem with addiction, recovery doesn’t stop there. That’s just the first step on your journey! (more…)