Category: Abide – Spiritual Journey – John 15
By the winter of 2012, my life was a complete mess. I’d been raped, lost my friends, and was trying to get out of another abusive relationship. My business was on the rocks and I was drinking too much. Everything I thought I could keep together wasn’t working. It had always worked before, but this time, nothing I seemed to do pulled this vast mess into shape.
I had nowhere else to go so I went to church. After all, don’t we usually turn to God when the chips are down? I felt like a hypocrite though—an interloper. I’d told God years earlier, about 2005, that I didn’t need Him. In fact, on one drunken night, sitting in my dining room, I’d called Him out. Yes, I challenged God, “If you are there…if you really can help me, then talk to me. Just say or do something.”
Nothing, of course. Thinking back now, I imagine God in heaven, looking down at angry little me and thinking, “Dear one, this will not end well, but I love you enough to let you go.”
When I consider my ultimatum, I know I turned from God because I wanted to do it my way. I’ve always felt a strong Spiritual connection and I’d always felt guilt when doing the “wrong” thing. I simply could not stay committed to God or even really acknowledge Him in my life and then do the things I knew He would not want me to do so I left Him that day in my dining room.
Coming back in 2012 was a big deal. No matter the stage in my life, I always held integrity and I am not a half-measure person. I was either in or out. That February day, I picked in and my life has been a whirlwind ever since. There’s so much change, so much adventure, so many blessings—new rewards and perspective. It’s simply been amazing. It’s been a beautiful little miracle. I’ve created this blog to share some of it with you and to maybe make your journey a little brighter.
I now believe, without any doubt or reservation, that God brought me through all that craziness to bless me with greater compassion and understanding. I see now that He plucked me out of that mess I’d created so I could walk with Him in the utmost confidence that this is where I belong, and if you are reading this, at this exact moment, then this is where you belong too. Come rest with us…
Step 2: Paul’s Call to Humility: Philippians 2
STEP 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 according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 Philippians is a letter from Paul to the followers of Christ in PhilippiRead More
Step 3: A Commitment to God’s Will: Romans 12
STEP 3: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1Read More
Step 4: Examine Our Ways: Lamentations
STEP 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 Lamentations, the book of the Bible that the Biblical comparison for Step 4 is found, was written by the prophet JeremiahRead More
Step 5: Confessions of Wrongs to Another: James
STEP 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 James, the author of the book where the Biblical comparison forRead More
Step 6: Transformation Through God: James
STEP 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 Step 6 seems to be a paradoxical statement—something that is seemingly contradictory, but nonetheless possibly true. After all, who wouldn’t want defectsRead More
Step 7: Living in the Light Remove Shortcomings: 1 John1
STEP 7: We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 John wrote this letter which later became 1 John early in the new church when manyRead More
Step 8: Love Your Enemies Willingness: Luke 6
STEP 8: We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31 After having taken our personal inventory and humbled ourselves to remove our shortcomings, we are setRead More
Step 9: Making Peace Through Amends: Matthew 5
STEP 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 altar and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift there in front of the altar.Read More
Step 10: Lessons from Israel: 1 Corinthians 10
STEP 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 don’t fall! 1 Corinthians 10:12 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness longRead More
Step 11: Living the New Life: Colossians
STEP 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 word of Christ dwell in you richly. Colossians 3:16 Colossians is a letter from Paul and Timothy toRead More