God loves us not because we are loveable but because He is love, not because He needs to receive but because He delights to give. (C.S. Lewis)
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
As I study in the Book of Hebrews this day, I realize that I have two types of faith working in my life. First is the initial faith that brought me to God, and second there is the sustaining faith in my life that keeps me headed toward God. Twenty-four years ago there was a point in my life where it was like flipping a switch. Up to the point of flipping the switch I had my doubts about the existence of God, and I thought if there was a God, I doubted that God would even care about mankind. At that time I could not see much interaction between God and people. Of course I was living a life away from God and was associating with people who did like wise. Its real easy to not see God when youre not looking for God. And then because of my alcoholism I reached a point of total emptiness. Oh there were things going on in my life, I had associations and activities to keep me busy, but inside of me there was this aching empty hole. I was thirty-seven years old and in my mind I was thinking, is this all there is to life? I remember as I was sitting in jail that February day in 1983 how I received my first bible. As I started to read I found it difficult to believe the words on the page. It was at this point that out of the empty, aching, hole within my spirit, out of desperation I flipped the switch of faith. Nothing was working in my life, maybe faith would. That empty place within me immediately had something in it. I did not understand it completely, but I felt different. I felt something I can only describe as being complete. Its kind of like if I had been a split personality and had been living all my life with only one of my personalities. And then the other side of my personality came to live with me, and the two complemented each other, the natural man and the spiritual man working together. As long as I reside in my earth suit I will have a natural side to deal with. As long as abide with God through faith I will have the spiritual man to deal with. After the initial faith that brought me to a loving God, it is the sustaining faith that maintains my relationship with God. By daily exercising and applying the faith I have, my faith grows. Today that emptiness I once felt is but a memory of bleak times in my life. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself .JRE
AA Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
The Bible tells us that the key is in the nature of the higher Power we look to. We are told that anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NLT) If we see God as one who is reaching out to help us, we will be more eager to look for him. If our faith has not matured to that point yet, we can ask for help. One man came to Jesus asking him to help his young son who was afflicted by a demon. He said to Jesus, Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can. What do you mean, If I can? Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes. The father instantly replied, I do believe, but help me not to doubt! (Mark 9:22-24 NLT) We can start by asking God to help us have more faith. Then we can ask him for the courage to hope for a better future.
(The Life Recovery Bible, page 1501)
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
As I study in the Book of Hebrews this day, I realize that I have two types of faith working in my life. First is the initial faith that brought me to God, and second there is the sustaining faith in my life that keeps me headed toward God. Twenty-four years ago there was a point in my life where it was like flipping a switch. Up to the point of flipping the switch I had my doubts about the existence of God, and I thought if there was a God, I doubted that God would even care about mankind. At that time I could not see much interaction between God and people. Of course I was living a life away from God and was associating with people who did like wise. Its real easy to not see God when youre not looking for God. And then because of my alcoholism I reached a point of total emptiness. Oh there were things going on in my life, I had associations and activities to keep me busy, but inside of me there was this aching empty hole. I was thirty-seven years old and in my mind I was thinking, is this all there is to life? I remember as I was sitting in jail that February day in 1983 how I received my first bible. As I started to read I found it difficult to believe the words on the page. It was at this point that out of the empty, aching, hole within my spirit, out of desperation I flipped the switch of faith. Nothing was working in my life, maybe faith would. That empty place within me immediately had something in it. I did not understand it completely, but I felt different. I felt something I can only describe as being complete. Its kind of like if I had been a split personality and had been living all my life with only one of my personalities. And then the other side of my personality came to live with me, and the two complemented each other, the natural man and the spiritual man working together. As long as I reside in my earth suit I will have a natural side to deal with. As long as abide with God through faith I will have the spiritual man to deal with. After the initial faith that brought me to a loving God, it is the sustaining faith that maintains my relationship with God. By daily exercising and applying the faith I have, my faith grows. Today that emptiness I once felt is but a memory of bleak times in my life. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself .JRE
AA Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
The Bible tells us that the key is in the nature of the higher Power we look to. We are told that anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NLT) If we see God as one who is reaching out to help us, we will be more eager to look for him. If our faith has not matured to that point yet, we can ask for help. One man came to Jesus asking him to help his young son who was afflicted by a demon. He said to Jesus, Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can. What do you mean, If I can? Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes. The father instantly replied, I do believe, but help me not to doubt! (Mark 9:22-24 NLT) We can start by asking God to help us have more faith. Then we can ask him for the courage to hope for a better future.
(The Life Recovery Bible, page 1501)
