Clean-up in Aisle B!

2019-08-17T11:43:00.000-04:00

Daily Meditation for Saturday 17th of August 2019

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

We can hang on to our attempts to control ourselves and others and stay anxious. Or we can let go and let God.
We are anxious because we think we have to take care of everything and everybody. We are anxious because we believe we cannot be happy unless we can control the people we love. We are anxious because life's problems are more than we can handle, but we try to handle them on our own anyway.
God invites us to give up our anxious way of life. We do not have to take care of everything and everybody. We can, instead, let God take care of us. We can bring our anxious hearts and our long lists of concerns to God.
Responding to this invitation requires a great deal of us. It requires that we acknowledge that we cannot do what we have been trying to do. We are powerless. It requires that we turn to God. It requires that we release our control, our anxiety, our very lives into God's care.
God invites us to serenity. "Give up your anxiety," God says "bring the concerns of your heart to me."
I am anxious, Lord.
And I feel guilty about feeling anxious.
And I feel anxious about feeling guilty.
And I feel anxious about feeling guilty about feeling anxious.
Help!
I am overwhelmed by all I am trying to do.
I need your invitation to serenity.
I bring you my requests today, Lord.
I bring them to you.
I admit that I do not have the power to solve these problems.
I acknowledge that you are Powerful.
I ask you to take care of me today.
Amen.
Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

2014-09-03T05:01:00.002-04:00

This Morning's Entry

I found this morning's message from Our Daily Bread to be one of great value and I am hoping that you will also find wisdom and truth in it. Sometimes, more often than not, I find that my reflections on the events of the day to bring me to a discouraging and negative attitude but, after getting some sleep and waking with a fresh mind and perspective, my outlook in the morning is one of renewed hope and anticipation for the possibilities of the coming day, based on God's abilities, will and knowledge of things to come and not on my plans and actions based on my limited ability to only "see" and "know" in the moment. I have to remember and remind myself everyday that my hope can only be founded on God's infinite wisdom and not on my speculations for the day. If I base my hope on the outcome of my plan, I am thrown into complete chaos, uncertainty, and loss of hope with the first thing that doesn't fit into my plan

Our Daily Bread -- Hope To Continue On

September 3, 2014

READ: Lamentations 3:19-33

The solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse can fly day and night without fuel. Inventors Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg hope to fly it around the world in 2015. While the plane flies all day by solar power, it gathers enough energy to be able to fly all night. When the sun rises, Piccard says, “It brings the hope again that you can continue.”

The idea of sunrise bringing us hope makes me think of Lamentations 3 from our Bible reading for today: “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through theLord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning” (vv.21-23). Even when God’s people were in the depths of despair while the city of Jerusalem was being invaded by the Babylonians, the prophet Jeremiah said they had reason to hope—they still had the Lord’s mercies and compassions.

Sometimes our struggles seem worse at night, but when sunrise comes it brings hope again that we can continue. “Weeping may endure for a night,” the psalmist says, “but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).

Thank You, Lord, for the hope You send with each sunrise. Your mercies and compassions are new every morning!—Anne Cetas

New mercies every morning,
Grace for every day,
New hope for every trial,
And courage all the way. —McVeigh

Each new day gives us new reasons to praise the Lord.

Insight:For 2 years the Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem. Conditions within the besieged city were desperate and deplorable. Starvation during the siege even led to cannibalism (2 Kings 25:1-4; Lam. 2:20; 4:10). Sadly, Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of the city and temple (Jer. 52:12-27). In five emotionally charged dirges, or funeral laments (one for each chapter of Lamentations), he described the sufferings of the people and the reasons for their suffering. But he also wrote of hope in the midst of despair (Lam. 3:21-32) and of restoration that would come (5:19-22).

Clean-up in Aisle B!: The Jellinek Curve

2014-08-22T09:28:00.001-04:00

I originally put up this post 6 years ago and I am posting a link connecting to it because it is a very useful tool in recognizing the progression of addiction and the progression of recovery. In either case, it reveals what can be expected, whether that may be the decline on the downside or the rise on the upside. I invite you to examine it in detail and meditate on what it has to say about the effects of addiction, regardless of what that addiction may be. May God be with you and help and protect you on your journey.

Marty

Click Here: Clean-up in Aisle B!: The Jellinek Curve

2014-08-21T07:25:00.001-04:00

Honesty. AA calls for it in step one, "...I am powerless over...", over everything except my own decisions. I decide to be honest. I must decide to be honest, otherwise I am full of lies and deception. I choose to be full of integrity. How about you, what do you choose to be filled with?

Daily Meditation for Thursday 21st of August 2014

No more lying then. Everyone must tell the truth to his fellow believers because we are all members together in the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:25

Honesty is essential to recovery. Honesty is essential to intimacy. But honesty is not easy.

We were not created to be isolated, independent creatures. We were created to be interdependent. We need each other. And in order for us to be helped by others and to be helpful to others, we need to practice honesty. That means we must learn how to talk to each other about our thoughts and our feelings and our needs. We must learn to talk about our struggles and failures, about our dreams and our successes.

Honesty is the soil in which intimate relationships grow. It creates the possibility of being known and loved for who we really are. But it is also full of risks. If we tell the truth about ourselves, people may not listen. They may not want to know. They may not understand. They may judge and reject. They may dislike us. They may give us simple answers to unanswerable questions. They may repeat what we have said to others.

We hesitate to be honest because we have experienced these things in the past. Our feelings may have been minimized. Our thoughts may have been devalued. Our reality may have been denied. But in order to grow healthy relationships, in order to heal and recover, we need to begin to take risks. Learning honesty will be a process for us. It will not come quickly. But as we practice the disciplines of honesty we gradually become more secure in telling the truth.

I am tired of lying, when it would be just as easy to tell the truth.
But I am afraid of honesty, Lord.
It's not as easy as it sounds.
Help me to pursue honesty today.
Help me to be honest with you.
Help me to be honest with myself.
Help me to build a community of faith
where honesty is the norm.
Build in me a capacity for truth.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-08-20T07:46:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Wednesday 20th of August 2014
"So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled"
1 Thessalonians 5:6

The first step toward honesty is to pay attention. In the words of this text, the choices we face are either to sleep or to be alert and self-controlled.

There are days when we would rather 'sleep'. There are days when the emotional numbness of denial seems less painful then the alertness required by recovery. Couldn't we just 'let it ride' for a day? Couldn't we just 'sleep' for a while?

Sometimes people encourage us to 'sleep'. "Why are you still paying attention to that? It was a long time ago!" Or "Why are you still 'holding on' to that? Just forgive and get it behind you." Wouldn't it be great to get this over with quickly and not have to pay attention to it anymore?

There is a rest, a serenity, that comes from God. But it comes from 'alertness' not from 'sleep'. God's peace is not like the 'sleep' in this text. This sleep is denial, it is avoidance, it is distraction, it is pretending, it is death. Being alert means that we allow ourselves to see and hear, to use our senses and mind and heart. It means that we pay attention to what is happening inside of us and around us. The text urges us to be alert, to pay attention. Pay attention, it urges, even if life is painful, even if it is not what we want it to be.

Lord, help me to pay attention today!
Help me not to put my feelings to sleep.
I want to be aware of my thoughts and feelings, Lord.
I want to be able to experience both the pain and joy of life today.
Help me to pay attention.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

Keep a healthy perspective on your "control"

2014-08-17T05:29:00.000-04:00

Trying to maintain control over everything in and around your life can make you crazy and drive you to "use" just to control your anxiety about your lack of control, and then everything spins out of control. Self control is an admirable trait, total control is impossible, even God doesn't have total control - after all, He gave humans free will, which means we control our own decisions; we decide whether we attempt to control, or whether we accept God's control.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

Don't let a fear of the unknown drive you to be one who attempts to control, but, instead, let the Spirit of God lead you to be one who in under the control of God. "Not my will, but God's will." Let that be the extent of your attempt to control.

Daily Meditation for Sunday 17th of August 2014
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

We can hang on to our attempts to control ourselves and others and stay anxious. Or we can let go and let God.

We are anxious because we think we have to take care of everything and everybody. We are anxious because we believe we cannot be happy unless we can control the people we love. We are anxious because life's problems are more than we can handle, but we try to handle them on our own anyway.

God invites us to give up our anxious way of life. We do not have to take care of everything and everybody. We can, instead, let God take care of us. We can bring our anxious hearts and our long lists of concerns to God.

Responding to this invitation requires a great deal of us. It requires that we acknowledge that we cannot do what we have been trying to do. We are powerless. It requires that we turn to God. It requires that we release our control, our anxiety, our very lives into God's care.

God invites us to serenity. "Give up your anxiety," God says "bring the concerns of your heart to me."

I am anxious, Lord.
And I feel guilty about feeling anxious.
And I feel anxious about feeling guilty.
And I feel anxious about feeling guilty about feeling anxious.
Help!
I am overwhelmed by all I am trying to do.
I need your invitation to serenity.
I bring you my requests today, Lord.
I bring them to you.
I admit that I do not have the power to solve these problems.
I acknowledge that you are Powerful.
I ask you to take care of me today.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-08-16T05:21:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Saturday 16th of August 2014
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

Many of us find it very difficult to feel confident in intimate relationships. If we learned early in life that the people most important to us were unapproachable, then confidently approaching others as adults may be difficult. There are many ways to learn that approaching other people is dangerous. It can come from abuse, or criticism, or disinterest.

One result of experiences of this kind is that we find it difficult to be confident when we approach God. This is particularly true when we are feeling fragile, weak or needy. The last thing we expect is mercy and grace in our time of need. We expect to be criticized. We expect God to say 'why are you still so needy?'. We expect to be abandoned. We expect God to say 'I'm busy now.' We expect to be rejected. We expect God to say 'If only you had more faith or prayed more or read the Bible more or trusted me more.' With expectations like this, it is no surprise that we lack confidence when approaching God.

But God offers us an invitation we long to hear. He invites us to approach. And, God invites us to come with confidence. God will pay attention. God will hear us. God will be interested in our well-being. God will respond with mercy, grace and help.

I don't have much confidence, Lord.
I don't trust other people very much .
I don't trust you very much.
I don't expect mercy and grace
from anybody, especially in times when I'm this needy.
I expect criticism, abandonment, and rejection.

Thank you for inviting me to come to you.
Thank you for providing good reasons to have confidence in you.
You are full of mercy and grace.

This is a time of need for me, Lord.
Give me confidence to approach you today.
I need your mercy and grace.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

Good Morning my friends,

2014-08-13T05:48:00.000-04:00

I find the daily devotional writing from Dale and Juanita Ryan's book "Rooted in God's Love" to be thought provoking and helpful in directing me through my day and before today's post I would like to say that I hope you might find it helpful in some way also. I wish you success in getting through whatever you are going through today.
Marty

Daily Meditation for Wednesday 13th of August 2014
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
Rev. 3:20

Some people enter without knocking. It happens. Our boundaries have not always been respected. As a result, we have built some significant defenses. Our doors have multiple locks. When needed, they can be latched, barred, bolted, double bolted and sealed securely.

As we begin the healing process, however, we begin to experiment with allowing our defenses to come down. We unlatch one lock at a time.

Nothing is more helpful in this process than having people who respect our boundaries - people who will knock and wait patiently for an answer. So, this picture of Jesus is full of good news for us. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. It is pure invitation. God does not invade. God does not demand. God does not manipulate. God gently, persistently knocks. God says 'here I am, I would like to spend time with you'.

Recovery is a process of learning to trust God. Trust grows slowly. We can't do that all at once. But perhaps today we can listen carefully for a knock. Tomorrow we may be able to manage a "who is there?". And, with persistence, we will some day sit at table with God and enjoy God's loving presence.

Lord, thank you for knocking.
Thank you for respecting my boundaries.
And, thank you for knocking persistently.
It takes me a while to respond
because my doors have so many latches.
Give me courage this day
to open the doors of my life to you.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-08-12T07:31:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Tuesday 12th of August 2014
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2

We know what it is like to walk in darkness. We know what it is like to live in the shadow of death. But we also are beginning to experience what it is like to see. The darkness of denial is giving way to the light of honesty in our lives.

Of course, when you have lived in darkness as long as we have, the light can be painfully bright. We see the truth about ourselves and our self destructive behavior. We see the truth about our refusal of love. We see the truth of our brokenness. We see old pain. We see current behaviors that damage ourselves and others. The light dawns. It is not a pretty sight.

But God does not send light into our darkness to shame us. The exposure may trigger our deep shame, but this is not God's purpose. God's light is like the light of dawn. It is a light that signals that something new is happening. A new beginning is possible. The light that God brings into our dark world is a light of hope.

Recovery is God's light coming into our darkness. The light exposes. We begin to see clearly the ways we have sinned and the ways other people have sinned against us. And the light provides hope. In the light we see the possibility for new beginnings.

Lord, your light hurts my eyes.
It is too bright.
I see too clearly now.
It is too painful for me.
Help me to believe that your light is not to bring shame
but to bring hope into my dark world.
Light of Heaven, embrace me with your warmth.
Heal me with your bright rays.
Give me life.
And hope.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-08-07T08:18:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Thursday 07th of August 2014
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power . . .to grasp . . . the love of Christ.
Ephesians 3:17
We all have root systems. Roots are life-lines. They seek out and drink in water and nutrients. And they provide stability in times of wind and erosion.
Unfortunately, many of us are rooted in the soil of shame. Roots in this rocky soil become bound. They cannot sustain growth. They are not able to provide nourishment or stability.
Recovery for many of us is like being transplanted. It is the process of allowing God to first pull us out of the parched and rocky soil of shame and to then plant us in the soil of love. In the rich soil of love our fragile roots can finally begin to stretch, grow and take hold. It is a soil in which real nourishment and real stability are possible.
But transplantation is not a simple matter. No matter how gently God pulls us up out of the soil of shame, there will be trauma. And sinking roots in new soil will feel like an unfamiliar and risky adventure.
As our roots sink deeper and deeper in the soil of God's love, however, we will begin to experience growth that never could have been possible in the soil of rejection and shame. We will become 'rooted and established' in love.
My roots are in poor soil, Lord.
They do not nourish.
They provide no stability.
My roots are bound, Lord.
Transplant me.
Give me grace-full soil, Lord.
Sink my roots deeply.
Give me stability.
Nourish me.
In your love.
Amen.
Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-08-05T06:59:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Tuesday 05th of August 2014
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Hope is about the future. It may be oriented to the next hour, or the next day, or the next month or year or decade. But hope is always about anticipation.

Those of us who like to control things often find hope difficult because we do not control the future. Many of us are compulsive makers-of-plans. We are willing to work ourselves to death trying to make our plans become reality. But when our hopes and vision for the future are based only on what we can control, our vision is inevitably narrowed and impoverished.

We need to remind ourselves regularly, therefore, that God's vision for the future is better than our own. God sees possibilities and opportunities that we cannot see. The horizons of God's imagination are not bounded. When we root our hope in God, a totally different future is possible. It is not a future we can control. God's plans may not be the same as our plans. But we can return again and again to God as our source of hope.

God has been clear about our future. It is God's intention to give us a hope and a future. This is not a promise of a trouble-free life. It is not a promise of immunity from struggle. But it is a promise of hope. God has been with us in the past. God is with us in the present. And God will be with us in the future.

Thank you for paying attention to my future, Lord.
Thank you for making plans.
Help me today to rest in the thought that
your plans for me include blessing.
Open my heart today to the hope and the future
you have prepared for me.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-08-01T06:01:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Friday 01st of August 2014
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest . . .let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:9-11,16

God rested from his work.

And God invites us to rest from ours. In our time of need God invites us to experience the rest-full-ness that comes from receiving mercy and grace.

But we resist. Rest is such a reversal of our expectations. We don't expect mercy and grace. We expect criticism. We don't expect to be invited to approach with confidence; we expect rejection. We don't expect rest, we expect to receive a list of demanding tasks to perform. Becoming the kind of people who are capable of rest will require us to change. It will require effort on our part.

First, we will need to change the way we see ourselves. We are attached to the illusion that we have no limits. We may not claim to be immortal, but if you examine our behavior, we act as if we need less rest than God. God rested. We don't. Clearly something is wrong. If we are to become the kind of people who are capable of rest, it will take some effort to change the way we see ourselves.

Second, to increase our capacity for rest, we will need to change our behavior. Rest is not an idea. It is a behavior. It will take some effort to change the way we live. We will need to learn the skills that make it possible for us to say no to over commitment. We will need to build rest into the rhythm of our lives.

God rested. We need to do the same.

Help me to acknowledge my need for rest, Lord.
Help me to make quiet spaces in my life
when I cease all my doing
and allow myself to be.
Help me to make the effort to rest today.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-07-28T07:56:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Monday 28th of July 2014
Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:8

God rejoices when we turn away from our self-destructive way of life toward a grace-full way of life. God rejoices.

The process of recovery begins when we are able by God's grace to recognize that our efforts to be God -- to control, to make things perfect -- have failed. When this happens we are able to face clearly the behaviors which have been destructive to ourselves and others. We can then turn from our sin to God. Even when this process involves a long search, God rejoices when we are found.

When a child is born, it is a joyful event. Functional parents prize the child. They hold the child and talk to the child and marvel over the child. The infant does not yet contribute much to the world. It comes as a bundle of needs. But the infant brings joy simply by being.

God is our Good Father. God prizes our existence in the world. God desires to have a relationship with us. Even when we are a bundle of needs and not yet able to contribute much to the world, God rejoices over us. When we are restored, reconciled, found, it brings God joy.

God rejoices over you. God experiences joy when you are found. God throws a party when your relationship is re-established. God finds joy in you.

Lord, help me to take it in.
I can't image myself as the object of your joy.
Help me to see that you find joy in me.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

2014-07-28T07:54:00.001-04:00

Daily Meditation for Monday 21st of July 2014

2014-07-21T09:41:00.000-04:00

Daily Meditation for Monday 21st of July 2014 (source listed at end of post)
Those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Hope gives us strength. We need strength for the journey of recovery. We need strength to make the changes that need to be made -- and strength to grieve the losses which come with change. We need strength to keep on keeping on. Recovery requires a great deal of physical, emotional and spiritual strength. We draw that strength day-to-day from hope.

There are times when hope will allow us to soar. We will feel the exhilaration of change and new freedom. We will think about the future and imagine good things. We will soar with gratitude and joy because of hope.

There are other times when hope will allow us to run and not grow weary. We will keep going. Keep changing. Keep working. Keep feeling. We may get tired but hope will keep us from getting weary and wanting to give up. Hope helps us to keep running.

There are other times when hope will allow us to walk without fainting. Some days, in our recovery journey, continuing the journey at all is very difficult. The struggle we face may be so intense that we would faint if it were not for hope. But hope helps us to take the next step. One slow step at a time. Step by step, without fainting.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of hope.
Thank you for the days when hope
allows me to soar.
And for the days when it
allows me to keep running.
And thank you for the days when hope
gives me the courage to walk
without fainting.
Thank you for hope.
Amen.

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan

Dale Ryan is an Associate Professor of Recovery Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. Juanita Ryan is a therapist in private practice. You can read Juanita's blog at Graceful Growth

"You don't have to go through it alone!"

2013-08-17T07:41:00.000-04:00

http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/this-week-on-tv/utm_source/itm/utm_medium/web/utm_campaign/home_top_slider

2013-08-17T07:16:00.000-04:00

       I wake up every morning at 4:00, or thereabouts, and spend time preparing for the day with prayer and reading the Word of God, catching up on the world activities and meditating on my observations. But this morning I noticed something that had escaped my attention until now. The light of morning precedes the rising of the sun by a considerable amount of time, allowing me to be prepared in anticipation for the moment that the brilliance of the sun streaks in my front window, flooding my room, my life, with it's awesome beauty.
        I am reminded of the parable that Jesus told His disciples when they asked what would be the sign of His coming in Matthew 24:3.
        In Matthew 25:1-13, He replied with the parable of the ten virgins and said in verse 6, "at midnight there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. ⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. ¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
        The light before the sunrise is like the cry, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.", and the lapse of time before the sunrise is like the time before his appearance to prepare for his arrival. Every day, from this day forward, I will come, anticipating the light to announce His arrival, and use this time to prepare myself for the glorious appearance of the true, full brilliance to break into my view, and "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

2013-04-09T08:53:00.001-04:00

The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. But that’s not all he was. He was also an adulterer and murderer—both of which were capital offenses according to the Law of Moses. The story of his affair with Bathsheba and his attempt to hide his sin by having her husband, Urriah, killed by putting him on the front line in battle is one of the most appalling tales of sin in Scripture. But when confronted with his sin, David’s heart broke in repentance and God granted him grace and a second chance.

Read more examples below of God giving second chances. Maybe you are in need of a second chance today?

Second Chances in the Bible
www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com
The Bible is full of stories that show how God provides second chances. Guest poster Brian Ondracek share a few in this article.

2013-04-09T08:25:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Aisle B! My posts have been few and far between and for that I apologize. Today's focus is "Please Remain Standing".

"...take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Eph 6:13 (KJV)

Endure, persevere, confident in the strength of your "armour", in other words, "Please Remain Standing".

God bless you on your journey,

Marty

2011-11-30T10:10:00.001-05:00

NACR Daily Meditation

Wednesday 30th of November 2011

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in
the richest of fare.

Isaiah 55:1

    Most of us have spent a lot of money and a lot of effort on things that do not satisfy. When our efforts do not result in serenity, we become more and more confused and more and more frantic. Into the middle of this chaos and desperation comes an invitation. God invites us to receive ‘food’ which is designed to delight our souls.

    God’s invitation is to people who are thirsty or hungry. It is to people who are working hard but finding little satisfaction. The invitation extends to those who have no money or assets of any kind. God is not sparing or stingy. God is an extravagant giver of good things. God wants us to delight in the richest of fare.

    The nourishment at God’s feast does more than please our taste-buds. This meal is more than mere esthetic pleasure. The nourishment from God’s table feeds our souls with delight. It is nourishment that sinks down to the deepest places of our being. God seeds delight in the foundations of our soul. And from these seeds come serenity, peace and the courage to continue.

God, I’m thirsty.
I have spent my money and energy
on things that have not satisfied.
God, my soul is hungry.
I need food for my soul.

Help me to come to you, Lord.
You know my hesitation.
You know how suspicious I am
of such an extravagant invitation.
Help me to come as an eager child
to receive good things from you.
Feed my soul, Lord,
until it is full of delight.
Amen.

2011-06-20T06:25:00.004-04:00

A Bottle in the Ocean

A.W. Tozer

...To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled
with all the fullness of God. --Ephesians 3:19

Pentecost means that the Deity came to mankind to give Himself to man, that man
might breathe Him in as he breathes in the air, that He might fill men. Dr. A.
B. Simpson used an illustration which was about as good as any I ever heard. He
said, "Being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean.
You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the
bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is
in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a
little bit of the ocean. So it is with the Christian."

We are filled unto the fullness of God, but, of course, we cannot contain all
of God because God contains us; but we can have all of God that we can contain.
If we only knew it, we could enlarge our vessel. The vessel gets bigger as we
go on with God. The Counselor, 68.

Offer this Prayer:

"Enlarge my vessel, Lord, and fill me with more and more of the fullness
of God." Amen

Often I find that the problem I have is that I neglect to "take the cork out of the bottle" and end up getting tossed about on the waves in the midst of the storm of life. When you float on the surface you are alone and helpless, you have nothing to hold onto, no stability. When you "take the cork out" and allow yourself to be filled with the "ocean" that is God, you not only sink into the ocean, you settle to the deepest point where you rest peacefully on the ocean floor, immersed in and filled with God's love.

Rmember every day to make this prayer your's and "take the cork out of the bottle". Marty

National Assoc. for Christian Recovery

2008-08-18T11:13:00.007-04:00

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NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Aug 18, 2008

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"So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled"

1Thessalonians 5:6

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The first step toward honesty is to pay attention.

In the words of this text, the choices we face are either to sleep or to be alert and self-controlled. There are days when we would rather 'sleep'. There are days when the emotional numbness of denial seems less painful then the alertness required by recovery.Couldn't we just 'let it ride' for a day? Couldn't we just 'sleep' for awhile? Sometimes people encourage us to 'sleep'. "Why are you still paying attention to that? It was a long time ago!" Or "Why are you still 'holding on' to that? Just forgive and get it behind you."

Wouldn't it be great to get this over with quickly and not have to pay attention to it anymore?

There is a rest, a serenity, that comes from God. But it comes from 'alertness', not from 'sleep'. God's peace is not like the 'sleep' in this text. This sleep is denial, it is avoidance, it is distraction, it is pretending, it is death. Being alert means that we allow ourselves to see and hear, to use our senses and mind and heart. It means that we pay attention to what is happening inside of us and around us. The text urges us to be alert, to pay attention. Pay attention, it urges, even if life is painful, even if it is not what we want it to be.

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Lord, help me to pay attention today!

Help me not to put my feelings to sleep.

I want to be aware of my thoughts and feelings, Lord.

I want to be able to experience both the pain and joy of life today.

Help me to pay attention.

Amen.

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Purpose Driven Life

2008-08-18T11:01:00.002-04:00

Authentic Friendships

by Rick Warren

But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:7–8 (NCV)
*** *** *** ***
In Christian fellowship people should experience authenticity. Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It’s genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing.
It happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer. Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking, superficial politeness, and shallow conversation. People wear masks, keep their guard up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship.

It’s only as we become open about our lives that we experience authentic fellowship.

The Bible says;

“If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. . . . If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves” (1 John 1:7–8 NCV).

The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures, and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are.

Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt again.

Why would anyone take such a risk?

Because it’s the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy!

The Bible says;

“Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” (James 5:16 MSG).

National Assn. for Christian Recovery

2008-06-14T08:00:00.018-04:00

NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Jun 14, 2008

I will heal their waywordness and love them freely. Hosea 14:4

Waywordness is a turning away from what is in our best interest and following depraved, capricious inclinations. There are many ways in which waywardness can be expressed. Some of us are openly rebellious. We flaunt our wild behavior and laugh at God. Others of us are quietly wayward. We try to appear compliant and good but we are self-reliant and defiantly independent.

No matter how we express our waywardness it is a destructive force in our lives. In our attempts to protect ourselves from any further pain we turn away from God and from others who love us. We shut them out. And we shut out their love. As a result, we close ourselves off from what we want and need most desperately in life - to be known and loved.

God promises to heal our waywardness. God understands that our turning away is the result of some deep wound in us. God sees this. God knows. God promises to heal us by loving us freely. When we close the doors of our heart, God does not stop loving us. Instead God continues to love us generously and completely. God will love us freely until our fears are gone and our defenses can come down. God will love us freely so that one day we will be able to give up our waywordness and allow ourselves the joy of being loved.

Heal my waywardness, Lord.
When I turn away from you,
love me so that
I will return to you again.

Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan

ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath= 1

Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/

The Jellinek Curve

2008-06-03T23:04:00.007-04:00

(click on chart for larger image)

The Jellinek curve was developed by E. Morton Jellinek as a result of extensive research on the phenomenon of alcoholism. Jellinek is credited with many advancements in the field as well as this chart of the progression of the disease and recovery. Click on the chart for a larger image which you can then use as a tool for your own self examination, particularly with regard to Step 1 of AA's 12 steps. Starting on the left and going down, reflect on how many of these symptoms you have experienced.