Celebrate Recovery

Where is God in my suffering?

2010-01-18T11:37:00.001-06:00

I was thinking back on the message from last week and I came across a weekly email that I signed up for from walkintheword.com. The pastor there is James McDonald, and he is one of my favorite speakers to listen to. The message this week dealt primarily with finding God in the midst of my tragedy. How could this happen? Where was God when I so desperately needed Him? I spoke of how God will use it for His glory.

Part of last week's message included James 1:2-4 where we are to consider it pure joy when we face trials. It's hard when we're going through those trials to see the joy in them, but as the passage says, " . . . because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I don't think that it's coincidence that I came across the following email that speaks directly to this subject and further solidifies the point that He's always been there and He is in your midst during suffering.

Finding Good in the Midst of Tragedy
By Dr. James MacDonald

Category:

Problems, Relying on God, Sin / Suffering / Satan

When tragedy struck our country this time last year, people were asking a lot of questions. “Why did this happen? How could God allow such a thing to occur? What good could possibly come from this?”

Scripture is clear that God is both sovereign and good. You know, Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good. Did you catch what it says? ”All things.” God causes all things (that’s the hard part) to work together for good.

And although the emotions surrounding September 11^th linger, we have gained perspective with the passing of time. We see more clearly now what we had to claim by faith then—the fact that God loves us. He has a purpose for what happens in our lives, and good will come of it. You are not a victim of chance. None of us are.

Looking back, did any good come out of this tragedy? Absolutely! First, remember the amazing groundswell of unity in our country? How many times have I thought, “God, how could You ever reach this whole country? We’re so scattered and going in so many different directions.” But unified in suffering, people dropped their differences. Even the most liberal politicians said, “Whatever the President wants---we are behind him.” Incredible! A week before, who would have believed that could happen?

How about our increased sensitivity to the realities of life? Did you remember that CEO on CNN? He lost 700 employees, including his brother, who worked on the 100-105^th floors of Tower II. This guy ran the biggest bond-trading firm in the world, and he wept like a baby on national television—broken and groping for answers. People say, “God is a crutch.” They’re right! He’s the only One who can hold you up! Money is meaningless. Life is short. God is real. Get it?

What good could possibly come from this tragedy? C.S. Lewis said that God whispers to us in our well-being but shouts to us in our pain.

Last year’s tragedy led to the bold proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and unprecedented opportunities and unparalleled openness. Remember Franklin Graham on theHard Ball program? If ever there was a hardball, it’s host Chris Matthews. Graham looked him right in his eyes and launched a five-minute presentation of the Gospel. It was so clear. All Chris Matthews could say at the end was, “Thank you.”

What good came of this? I can’t give you the whole list, but we serve a God who is righteous and faithful and true. Everything He allows, He allows for a purpose. Again, Scripture says that God causes all things to work together for good [and here’s the key] to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

So the question comes: Are you committed to God’s purposes? Do you love God? Because if you don’t then you will never see the good that comes out of heartache. No national tragedy. No personal tragedy. You will never experience His gift of wisdom, grace, and increased faith in an awesome God that naturally follows. You might seek it, but you’ll never know it. God only brings good to the heart that is yielded to Him. You say, “Well, I want that! How do I yield to Him?”

Luke 13:4 says, “those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?” Do you think the people who were in the towers in New York when they fell, do you think that they are more guilty than the people who survived? Jesus said,“I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will perish.” The question is when, not if.

If you have never turned from your sin and by faith embraced the forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ, do it today. Don’t let an opportunity like this slip away. Two thousand years ago Jesus came into the world and died on a cross and rose from the dead to prove that He is God, We’ve asked the question: has good come from this tragedy? I say, yes. Multitudes of people will be in heaven someday because God got their attention last year!

Does He have your attention today? He loves you. He wants a personal relationship with you. He can use whatever circumstance necessary to wake you up to the realities of eternal life and death. Today is the day for you to decide to surrender to Jesus Christ because one lesson we did learn on that tragic Tuesday last year is . . . that tomorrow may be too late.

I hope this article helped you if you're suffering. God bless you and we'll talk soon.

Dean Montray

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T08:30:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

We are excited to see where God will lead us in the new year. After all, this is His ministry. The previous year brought us many blessings. We kicked off in May, and throughout the summer developed a core group of "regulars" as well as many newcomers. God also blessed us with a band that has been outstanding and sounds great each and every week. Sheila Ray Charles visited us toward the end of the year, thank you Sheila, what a blessing and a powerful message. We haven't met for a few weeks because of Christmas and New Year's. We're really excited to get going again this week. Our next meeting is Thursday 1/7 at 6:30. We look forward to seeing you again, or if you haven't attended our meetings yet we look forward to getting to know you. We were richly blessed the previous year and we're really looking forward to 2010 with eager anticipation because God was so good to us in '09 that we can't wait to begin 2010. Please join us for an exciting new year, and watch God at work in and through all of us. God bless all of you.

Dean

Sheila Raye Charles

2009-11-12T21:02:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone,

We are excited to announce that Sheila Raye Charles (Ray Charles' daughter) will be speaking at our Celebrate Recovery on Thursday November 19th at 6:30. She will be giving her testimony and singing. I've heard from others that it is an awesome experience and a powerful and moving testimony. She has spoken from coast to coast and she has chosen to come to our meeting to share the glory of God. What a blessing this will be for all of us. Please join us and invite your family and friends. You don't need to be in recovery to attend, this is for all to hear. Come one, come all! Join us on the 17th and celebrate God's involvement in our lives and feel the Holy Spirit move during this testimonial. God bless you all.

Dean Montray

2009-11-08T16:49:00.000-06:00

Greetings,

I just wanted to point out a couple of upcoming things for the near future. We will not be having a meeting on Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve this year. We hope you enjoy your time with family or friends and we will be in continuous prayer for you this upcoming holiday season.

Speaking of the holiday's, we are thinking of having a party here on New Year's Eve. I know it can be a tough time of year for some, especially for those of us who are in recovery from addiction, so we wanted to provide a safe and sober environment for anyone interested. We will have our regular meeting that night followed by the party starting at 8:30. Invite family and friends to join us after the meeting. We'll have use of the gym for recreation, we'll have games and lots of fellowship as well. Childcare will not be provided, but if you would like to bring your kids please do so. All are welcome. This will be a potluck, so if you are able, please bring a dish or two to share or junk food if you prefer.

We are having a meeting to discuss the finer details on Tuesday November 24th at 7 p.m. at our church. Please join us in planning this event. Your input is highly valued and we welcome any and all ideas you have. We would like to get a gauge on the number in attendance, so if you're interested in joining us please email me at dmontray@gmail.com. If you can, we would love to have you with us on the 24th to brainstorm some ideas for the party. God bless you this holiday season, and we'll look forward to seeing you soon.

Dean Montray

Obstacles

2009-10-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

Thanks for coming back to the website. When you visit here, you can comment on any of the posts. We'd love to hear from you and would like to get your input. If you would like more frequent posts, let me know. If you would like to read something in particular, please let me know. If you want something from the weeks' CR lesson, please let me know.

Also, we are considering having a New Year's Eve party after our meeting that night (Thursday). If you would consider joining us, please email me at dmontray@gmail.com, planning would be much easier if we knew how many people will be there. Invite family/friends to join us and stay after the meeting, or join us after the meeting, for fun and games in a safe and sober environment.

Now, I recently found, via Facebook, an article that I thought was worthy of sharing with you. I'm not sure who the author is, but it's well-written and to the point. Read the scripture at the end (I added that part of the story) and see if it fits the story.

Subject: Obstacles

One night recently my daughter, Elizabeth, was
showing me an aquarium full of tadpoles. She had purchased a whole bag full
of them for her children (my grandchildren) to watch grow from tadpoles into
frogs. It was fun watching all of those little wiggly creatures swimming
around in the aquarium! It brought back many fond memories of my own
childhood, playing with "critters" down at my grandparent's house.

I noticed that there was a big rock in the aquarium.
When I asked her why she put a rock right in the middle of the tadpoles'
environment, Elizabeth told me an interesting story. I can hardly believe
that I have lived almost fifty-nine years without having heard it because it
is so good.

Elizabeth said that when she went to the pet store
to buy the tadpoles, the gentleman told her to be sure to put a big rock
right in the middle of the aquarium. The tadpoles must have this obstacle
to give them the incentive to climb up and thus split their little wiggly
tails so that their legs can begin to develop. If they have no rock or
obstacle to climb up on, they will never turn into frogs. They cannot learn
how to hop by just swimming around in water. They must have something
causing resistance to give them the incentive to leap forward.

The man went on to tell her that last year a school
teacher came back to the store and complained because none of her tadpoles
had ever turned into frogs. She had put all of them in an aqu arium and let
them swim around but they never became frogs. He asked her if she had put a
big obstacle, like a rock, in the middle of the aquarium. She said that she
had not. She did not know that a tadpole will remain a tadpole unless it
faces some obstacle or barrier that forces it to grow. Neither did I, but
it makes perfect sense.

So, my daughter was excited to show me all of the
tadpoles swimming around the rock. In time, they will begin to try to climb
up it and eventually they will make the transformation into a more fully
mature creature.

I was amazed and delighted to hear that story. It
helped me begin to see, once again, why we have obstacles and barriers in
front of us. They are not there to hinder us, but they are there to cause
us to grow. It is not so much what the object is in front of each one of us
that matters as much as it is our attitude towards it. If we realize that
the obstacle we are facing is really a gift that has come our way to help us
grow and mature, we will be much more likely to face it in a positive
manner.

Since I watched those tadpoles the other night and
saw the big rock in their aquarium, I have begun to see the obstacles I face
in a different way. Instead of being rocks in my path, those obstacles have
become stepping stones to help me leap forward in whatever situation I find
myself.

I know that those little tadpoles have no idea what
is going on. They just are not that smart. The truth of the matter is,
neither are we. Most of us have no idea what is going on in our lives
either. We don't understand that the barriers and obstacles, challenges,
difficulties and hard times that come our way each day are actually there
for a purpose. There is no way we will have the incentive to grow, or to
become better, or to strive harder, if everything in life is just a simple
situation. I know the harder I work at anything, the more profitable it is
for me, not only financially, but personally, in my own heart and character
as well.

So, the next time you see a frog hopping around,
smile at him and thank him for the lesson, remembering the struggle he has
gone through to get where he is. Perhaps out in the wild somewhere, he
faced a difficult rock or barrier in his life, bu t rather than swimming away
from it, he just crawled up on it and began to develop his personal strength
until he eventually matured to become the frog that you see hopping around.

James 1:2-4 (New International Version)

Trials and Temptations

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The rock spoken of here is any one of our hurts, habits, and hang-ups. When we overcome them through Christ we have victory over them like the frog/tadpole. Seek Christ and He will always come through on his promises. He is our redeemer and will never let us down. If you struggle with this thought at all, give it a try and Jesus will come through every time!

Have a great and Godly day.

Dean

2009-09-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome back. I celebrated one year of sobriety last night, praise God! It is through Him that I have the strength to resist the devil's schemes. I am thankful for many things, and especially the ways He has used me in my recovery. You can have the same thing, you only need to do one thing: let Him lead your life. Give control to God. Stop living life your way and doing things your way. Give control to the one who is worthy of praise and worship. Pray and ask for His guidance.

Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." We need to lean on His understanding, lean on Him for guidance, lean on Him for strength, lean on Him in all our ways.

Go to the Lord in prayer and seek His will for you. Amazing things will happen in your life when you do this. He will deliver you from your hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Give it a shot, what do you have to lose . . . but your life?

Separation between Church and State

2009-09-18T11:27:00.001-05:00

It recently came to my attention, via Facebook, that the phrase "separation between church and state" has been one of the most misused phrases in the english language. I voted, while on Facebook, in a poll that the word "God" shouldn't have been removed, in any fashion for that matter, from our schools. A friend of mine then basically said that it should have never been included in schools, thereby referencing "separation between church and state" stating that the Declaration of Independence isn't even aloud anymore. I thought I'd do some research, and the following is what I found in my desire to clear the air on one of the most popular phrases in America that is used, far too often, out of context.

Separation between church and state is not written in the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or the First Amendment. It does not exist on any official document, as is probably widely believed. It was first penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1802, 15 years after the Constitution was written and 11 years after the First Amendment. In a letter to those identifying themselves as the Danbury Baptists, Jefferson referenced the First Amendment in stating, "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."

Separation between church and state was originally intended to mean two things: first, that government shall not establish and official religion, and second, that government shall not fund any such institutions.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." As it is written, "an establishment of religion" refers to the prohibition of government to identify a national religion, and it is clearly identified as such. With a national religion, it would be necessary to fund such institutions through taxation, to which Jefferson and Madison were opposed.

As the principle author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that mankind was "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights", namely, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"; a statement that most Americans regard as nearly sacred. Jefferson and James Madison were, together, against any financial support for churches in Virginia.

Madison, who often wrote, several years after ratification of the Constitution in 1789, of "total separation of the church from the state." "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion & Govt in the Constitution of the United States," Madison wrote, and he declared, "practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government is essential to the purity of both, and as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States." In a letter to Edward Livingston, Madison further expanded, "We are teaching the world the great truth that Govts. do better without Kings & Nobles than with them. The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Govt." This attitude is further reflected in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, originally authored by Thomas Jefferson, but championed by Madison, and guaranteeing that no one may be compelled to finance any religion or denomination. Madison believed the churches would better thrive if government was separate from it.

"... no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."

Under the United States Constitution, the treatment of religion by the government is broken into two clauses: the establishment clause and the free excersise clause. While both are discussed in the context of the separation of church and state, it is more often discussed in regard to whether certain state actions would amount to an impermissible government establishment of religion.

The establishment clause has generally been interpreted to prohibit 1) the establishment of a national religion by Congress, or 2) the preference of one religion over another or the support of a religious idea with no identifiable secular purpose. The clause itself was seen as a reaction to the Church of England, established as the official church of England and some of the colonies, during the colonial era.

The Free Excersise Clause of the First Amendment goes hand in hand with the establishment clause. Together they read, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ."

The very idea of "separation of church and state" was intended to mean that government could not establish a national religion, nor fund any such established religion. It was never meant to imply that "God" shouldn't be in our schools. It may be argued that, since our schools are publicly funded, they are a state institution and thus "God" has no business there. If that's your argument, let me assure you that schools are not a place of worship or religion. They are a learning institution, and merely uttering the word God does not make it so. To use "separation of church and state" as an argument against God or prayer in school is, thus, completely out of context. This phrase should be used in the context of arguing against government possibly implementing the funding of churches (not schools) or forcing a religion upon us. In America we have freedom of religion, and churches and homes are the places in which to demonstrate one's worship.

Since we removed God from our schools, there have been multiple school shootings, terror, murder, beatings (You- Tube video beating on a school bus), and God knows what else. Where God is removed, there you will find chaos and anarchy and disobedience and lies and theft and drug abuse and lack of respect and an overall loss of the presence of all that is good and righteous and civil. It is, therefor, my humble opinion that we reinstate the Declaration of Independence and anything else that utters the word "God". It starts with the children. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matt. 19:14. Are we hindering them by not allowing children to merely say, "God"?

2009-08-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

Greetings! We have been working on step/priciple 4 the last two weeks that states, "Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust". We answered 5 questions this week which were:

Why do I need a sponsor and/or an accountability partner?
What are the qualities of a sponsor?
What does a sponsor do?
How do I find a sponsor and/or an accountability partner?
What is the dirrerence between a sonsor and an accountability partner?

Do any of these questions sound applicable to you? Each week we discuss and learn about God and what we can actively do to seek recovery. This week, sponsorship, was a very good lesson on how to find a sponsor/accountability partner. It is important to each of us, no matter what our particular hurt, habit, or hang-up is, to have a sponsor. They can walk you through the steps and guide you on your road to recovery.

It is imperative, however, that you choose a person that's right for you. Maybe someone who's gone through the same struggles as you. Maybe someone with whom you "mesh" . Maybe it's someone who you admire for their oppenness and transparency. Whatever the case, they should always lead you to Jesus.

If you are struggling with a hurt, habit, or hang-up, come visit us. Learn how to grow as a Christian while overcoming things that are destructive to us and to others around us. It doesn't matter what your ailment is, Jesus heals them all: drugs, alcohol, sex addiction, gambling, pornography, co-dependency, anger issues, eating disorders, etc. We meet every Thursday starting at 6:30, childcare is provided at no charge. Our address is 6805 Minnetonka Blvd. in St. Louis Park. God can heal us, but first we must ask.

God Bless,

Dean Montray

2009-07-27T20:46:00.000-05:00

Praise God! We've had a lot of newcomers in the last month and we are blessed to have them join us in our recoveries as well. I forgot to mention in my last post that we meet at 6:30 every week on Thursday. We will be having a bar-b-q coming up in September sometime, so come back and look for the details for that.

How is your recovery going? Are you working the program? Are you leaning on your own understanding, or are you letting God do the work? If it's the former, you will have a rough road. He's waiting for you to answer the door. Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, "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." What an awsome promise.

If it's the latter, Jesus is there for you. God never promises something and not deliver on it! Have you answered the door? Are you living, not just daily or weekly, but step by step with Jesus? It is through Him that we have strength to overcome our hurts, habits, and hang-ups. He is there for you every day, and if you're not walking with Him he desperately wants you to be.

He has changed my life in a profound way and I will be grateful for that until my last breath on this earth and live a life (hopefully) pleasing to Him who has given me strength. Recovery isn't easy, nobody ever claimed it was. If you seek Him, you will find Him and He will make things a little easier for you. There is hope in Jesus, there is strength in Jesus, there is recovery in Jesus. He is the word, the light and the truth. And if the truth will set you free, who is your redeemer? Who is it that will set you free?

There are meetings all over the cities and elsewhere. To find a meeting near you, click on the link to the right that says Saddleback and from there you can find meetings held across the country. God bless you, and we're praying for you on a daily basis. My chains are gone, if yours aren't please come to Celebrate Recovery and find out how to break free.

Update

2009-07-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

Hello! We're glad you decided to visit our website. We are really excited for what God is doing with this ministry and we hope you'll become a regular visitor to our meetings. We're located at 6805 Minnetonka Blvd. in St. Louis Park. Here you can count on non-judgemental friends, a place to help you in your recovery, a 12 step Christ-centered program, confidentiality, and a place to find hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. We'll help you overcome your hurt, habit, or hang-up with God's guideance. We've been up and running for two months now, and we're looking forward to meeting you. Please join us in the wonderful celebration of recovery through our higher power, Jesus Christ!

Celebrate Recovery Update

2009-05-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome! We're glad you're here. St. Louis Park Celebrate Recovery is up and running! We have excellent music each week. The worship team has done an outstanding job so far, and we're excited about the future music we are blessed to listen to. Thanks to you guys for another week of great music.

This week was testimony week, however, next week we will talk about our powerlessness over our hurt, hang-up, or habit. We will discuss how we need to give our problems to Christ, He will take over from there. We are powerless to control our lives and He's the one we need to follow. There is a bright future when we turn our lives over to Christ, he's eagerly awaiting for us to ask for Him. Powerless to control our lives=a need for Christ to take over and manage our daily struggles.

Join us this Thursday to find out more. We start at 6:30 and end at 8:30. If you have any questions you will find our contact information on the right hand side of this page. God bless and we'll pray for your recovery.

Dean Montray

About our CR

2009-05-08T18:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome! For this Celebrate Recovery meeting, childcare will be provided. Children can be dropped off from 6:15 until 9:00. Our meeting time starts at 6:30, so bring your children while you attend Celebrate Recovery. There will be a fellowship time following the meeting from 8:30-9:00 with snacks and soda. Come for the meeting, stay for the fun!

Kickoff on May 14th

2009-04-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Celebrate Recovery weekly meetings will kick off on Thursday, May 14th at 6:30 p.m. at Saint Louis Park Evangelical Free Church at 6805 Minnetonka Boulevard in St. Louis Park, MN. You are invited to join us for a barbecue, time of worship and Celebrate Recovery meeting.