When God contemplates some great work, He begins it by the hand of some poor, weak, human creature, to whom He afterwards gives aid, so that the enemies who seek to obstruct it are overcome.
MARTIN LUTHER
I am amazed how God uses people that you would least expect to be the ones fit for the job. I find this especially true in the programs of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. The first AA meeting I went to was in the fall of 1974. I lived in Kansas City and a woman that I worked with whose husband was a member of AA suggested to me that I might be interested, and that I probably could relate to the message. My drinking at that time had reached a point where it was not very much fun anymore, so in hope of finding a new way of living I went to my first meeting. The meeting was a rather large meeting located on 63rd Street, and being a newcomer I had to attend a special meeting where I could not take part, but only listen to the speakers. There were two gentlemen who spoke and told of their lives. I will never forget their story. They told of living on the streets, eating out of trashcans, begging and stealing, and spending time in jail and prison. They were true skid row bums that God had empowered and was using to help others not to reach the low point of existence that they had reached. I wish I had received their message that night. I did not. It was only after many DWIs, jail time, many treatment centers, psych wards, and twenty-five years of on and off (mostly on) drinking that I was able to make it one year without drinking or using drugs. Of all the many experiences I have had over the years, I still remember those two skid row bums who by the grace of a loving God were carrying a message of hope. Today after six years, three months and sixteen days, I find God using my experiences to let others know that they are not alone. I must give back what has been so freely given to me. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself ..JRE
Words of Jesus found in Matthew 10:7-8 NAS, share this with me:
And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, Freely you received, freely give.
Moments of perception can build into a lifetime of spiritual serenity, as I have excellent reason to know. Roots of reality, supplanting the neurotic underbrush, will hold fast despite the high winds of the forces which would destroy us, or which we would use to destroy ourselves.
BILL W. .A letter dated 1949
MARTIN LUTHER
I am amazed how God uses people that you would least expect to be the ones fit for the job. I find this especially true in the programs of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. The first AA meeting I went to was in the fall of 1974. I lived in Kansas City and a woman that I worked with whose husband was a member of AA suggested to me that I might be interested, and that I probably could relate to the message. My drinking at that time had reached a point where it was not very much fun anymore, so in hope of finding a new way of living I went to my first meeting. The meeting was a rather large meeting located on 63rd Street, and being a newcomer I had to attend a special meeting where I could not take part, but only listen to the speakers. There were two gentlemen who spoke and told of their lives. I will never forget their story. They told of living on the streets, eating out of trashcans, begging and stealing, and spending time in jail and prison. They were true skid row bums that God had empowered and was using to help others not to reach the low point of existence that they had reached. I wish I had received their message that night. I did not. It was only after many DWIs, jail time, many treatment centers, psych wards, and twenty-five years of on and off (mostly on) drinking that I was able to make it one year without drinking or using drugs. Of all the many experiences I have had over the years, I still remember those two skid row bums who by the grace of a loving God were carrying a message of hope. Today after six years, three months and sixteen days, I find God using my experiences to let others know that they are not alone. I must give back what has been so freely given to me. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself ..JRE
Words of Jesus found in Matthew 10:7-8 NAS, share this with me:
And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, Freely you received, freely give.
Moments of perception can build into a lifetime of spiritual serenity, as I have excellent reason to know. Roots of reality, supplanting the neurotic underbrush, will hold fast despite the high winds of the forces which would destroy us, or which we would use to destroy ourselves.
BILL W. .A letter dated 1949
