The Road to Recovery.... Eight principles based on the Beatitudes by Rick Warren.... 1.I Realize Im not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor Matthew 5:3 2.Earnestly believe that God exits, that I matter to Him ,and He has the power to help me recover. Happy are those who morn, for they shall be comforted Matthew 5:4 3.Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christs care and control. Happy are the meek Matthew 5:5 4.Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. Happy are the pure in heart. Matthew 5:8 5.Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires Matthew 5:6 6.Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm Ive done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others. Happy are the merciful Matthew 5:7 Happy are the peacemakers Matthew 5:9 7.Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. 8.Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words. Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires Matthew 5:10 Twelve Steps and their Biblical Comparison........ 1.We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable. For I know the good itself does not dwell in me, that is in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out Romans 7:18 2.We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose Philippians 2:13 3.We made a decision to turn our lives our wills over to the care of God. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God this is your true and proper worship Romans 12:1 4.We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord Lamentations 3:40 5.We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16 6.We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up James 4:10 7.We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings. If we confess our sins, he is faithfully and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:19 8.We made a list of all persons we had harmed and become willing to make amends to them all. Do to others as you would have them do to you Luke 6:31 9.We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Therefore if you are offering your gift at the alter and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the alter, First go and be reconciled to them, then come and offer your gift Matthew 5:23-24 10.We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. So if you think you are standing firm , be careful that you dont fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12 11.We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly Colossians 3:16 12.Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Brothers and Sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves , or you also may be tempted Galatines 6:1
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:56:04 +0000