AA and NA Wisdom from Above

Step One We admitted we were powerless....

And so starts the AA and NA way to breaking the power of addiction.

They obtained this wisdom from above, because this
is the beginning of our being drawn to the Messiah.

More and more I am convinced that, "I got this." may be
the three most useless words in the English language.

The first step in healing, in repentance and rest is,
"I definitely do not have this, in fact I am powerless."

Truth be told, this first step continues as the underlying
theme through all the other steps, we are powerless all the
way out to step 12 carrying the message.

Being brought to a place where the reality of the lack of power
that you possess is made very real to you is ultimate mercy
from the heart of God.

Let's live and rest and trust in the God of Step One today.

Long Leash on a Powerful Spring

Some of my best lessons are learned while walking dog(s).

We have a puppy, I take him for walks and his leash is
fairly short, he has bitten it and chewed on it and spent the
vast majority of some walks, fighting against that leash.

My wife had mercy on him and tied a long rope to the leash
giving him more freedom, but he still got tugged on quite
frequently, just because he is a puppy and everything he
explores requires it be done at 110% of his top speed.
He has 4 legs but I have often seen him fall head over
heels as he somehow outruns his legs.

So on this walk, we came to a place where I could let the
old dog, off of his leash that is at least  a 10 foot spring
loaded, very nice contraption.  So now in a moment of
wisdom and mercy I added this 10 foot to the already
longer than he was used to leash, and that little puppy
forgot about the leash, he could run and rip and tear and
never be pulled back, the leash was still there but it was
long.

I usually go with "yes and yes" when asked about
free will and the sovereign predestination of God, just
because God is outside of time entirely so even the "pre"
in predestination proves we are too limited to discuss
the matter, but the puppy gave me a pretty satisfying conclusion

I don't really want total freedom.  (Sorry after 57 years on
this planet, free will no longer has the attraction for me that
it once did.)  What I want is a long leash, with a powerful
spring loaded component that is in the hands of infinite
Love and Mercy and Wisdom.

Love Closer

The faithfulness of God is indeed a two-edged sword.

When you fall, His mercy is the Way back, but there
are consequences that are meant to be the incentive
to pursue the Way.

So, say, I allow words to be spoken by my tongue, or not spoken,
when words should have been spoken... basically, my tongue
gets ruled by self and not the Way.

To protect me from the repercussions of those actions, would
appear to be mercy, but what if real mercy is letting me see
and live with the horrible results of the failure as a reminder
to stay in the place of abiding, and be under the control of
the Way.

Love Closer.  Love that will not let there be any distance,
between the action and the consequences, because the longer
the consequences take to arrive the more disconnected they
are from the events that caused them.  So true mercy allows
the consequences to descend rapidly and stay around for a long
time, because true mercy is looking for true repentance and
true change.

This is only good news, if the glory of God is the ultimate goal.

Isaiah 2:17 "So human pride will be brought low,
and the loftiness of men will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day."

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdzIxVQ29oU

the veil

Grateful for anything that pulls back the veil to reveal that only one thing matters.


Hope in God


So much of what we do and busy ourselves with down here is painfully temporary and unimportant.


Love, His Love, that brings and renews His life in us.  Resting and trusting in that.


Hope in God


Psalm 42...so good


For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:

^2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
^3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?

^4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
^5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.

^6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
^7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
^8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
^9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
^10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
^11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”

^12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.(CJB)

Frustration

Turns out you can't turn around something
 that has been going downhill
and picking up speed
for 10 years.


You can try.


Go ahead and try.


And learn the definition of frustration
in all of its glory!

Such Love!

"And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”  Hosea 3:1


"How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
         How can I surrender you, O Israel?
         How can I make you like Admah?
         How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
         My heart is turned over within Me,
         All My compassions are kindled."  Hosea 11:8


“I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him."  Hosea 14:4


"Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’"  Jer.  32:41





^21 "But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.²² Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
²³ And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
²⁴ For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
²⁵ Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
²⁶ A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
²⁷ And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
²⁸ And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God."  Ezekiel 36:21-28



"whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time."  Acts 3:21


If only we will see the absolute, resolute, unchanging faithfulness of a covenant making God to Israel as proof of His absolute, resolute, unchanging faithfulness to the gentiles whom He mercifully grafts in to His chosen people.


Such Love!

True Love True Humilty

Only in His light do we see light.
Natural light, natural seeing, natural perception is all wrong.
Better to be a people in darkness, awaiting the dawning
of the True Light, than to be a people walking in the light
of their own sparks.

Up till now, I have not acted in True Love, with True Humility.

This journey, this moving toward a place of death to self, a place
where His light, His love, His humility rule and reign is completely
dependent on His faithfulness.

Every revealing of the falseness, the lies, the cover-up, the desperate
attempts to appear to have something I do not have...
Every revealing brought sorrow, but it should have
brought joy.
Rightly understood the uncovering of the lie is the death of the lie.
And then truth can begin to arise.

I am not, but I AM is!