Christians in Recovery®

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 King James Version

Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts and knocking. He is waiting for us to open the door and let Him come in to be our personal Saviour. He is also knocking at the door of our hearts for us to surrender our lives to Him in full time service. He may not call us to go to a different country. He may not call us to be pastors, Sunday school teachers, missionaries, evangelists or in any leadership position. However, He calls all of us to serve Him full time by the way that we live and the things that we say.

We are to be a testimony to our families, our friends and to the world by showing them by our actions the difference that Jesus has made in our hearts and in our lives. What is coming out of our mouths? Is it the same hateful cruel criticizing and sarcastic remarks that we made before we were saved? If so, then we need to ask Jesus to forgive us and to wash our mouths out with His soap of correction.

Have you ever set an extra plate at the table for Jesus? Have you talked to Him and laughed with Him while you were eating? Jesus should be more real to us than our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends or anyone else. I don’t think that we have grasped in our hearts that Jesus is with us all the time. Why should we make Him stand and watch us while we are eating?

When we watch a movie on television, do we invite Him to sit by us and watch it with us or are we embarrassed and ashamed to let Him see what we are watching? If we are embarrassed and ashamed and don’t want Jesus to see what we are watching, we should not watch it! Do we have to hide the books and magazines that we are reading because they would offend Him and break His heart? What about our computers? Do we have to shut them off because we are looking at pornography? Let’s stop hurting Jesus and bringing shame and disgrace upon His precious name.

Has he knocked at the door of your heart for you to surrender your life to Him in full time service and you refused to open the door to Him? How we must break His heart when we don’t do what He asks us to do. After all that He has done for us, how can we do less than give Him all of our time and everything that we have? May God forgive us for refusing to open the door of our hearts to the One who gave His life for us on a cruel cross of horror and excruciating pain so that we may have our sins forgiven and live with Him for all eternity.
Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org

As December 2005 drew to a close and transitioned into the new year, I found myself spending more and more time alone with God, seeking Him for clear direction for the coming year. When that direction came in the form of a seven-word admonition, it was not at all what I had expected, or hoped, to hear: Somebody has to set up the chairs.

The first time I heard it, I shook my head, scratched it, and shook it again. Why would God make such a statement, and what did it have to do with me? Surely I had misunderstood. My heart’s desire was to write and publish the words He had given me, to speak and teach about His great love and calling for our lives. But the more I tried to convince myself that I had imagined those words—”somebody has to set up the chairs”—the more I knew they had been given to me by the God who says what He means and means what He says.

So I went into the new year believing God wanted me to be content simply helping others with their books and…well, setting up chairs at meetings so others could speak and teach. Without too much resistance, I accepted that and moved ahead—until something happened that caught my attention and clarified my focus.

My almost eighty-eight-year-old mother lives with us. She is a strong Christian and is mentally alert, but her mobility is limited. She’s unable to do things most of us do with ease: driving to a doctor’s appointment, going to the grocery store, changing the sheets on her bed, standing at the stove to cook a meal. Being her primary caregiver can become stressful and time-consuming, particularly when I’m trying to work all that into an already busy schedule. One day as I rushed around the house, trying to get as much done as possible before running an errand for my mom—all the time wishing I could just sit down at my computer and get some much-needed work done—I caught myself grumbling. Actually I was feeling sorry for myself. And I didn’t like the sound of it one bit.

“I’m sorry, Lord,” I whispered. “Forgive me for being so selfish and impatient. It’s just that I want so much to be working right now.”

Somebody has to set up the chairs.

I was stunned. Is that what God had been trying to tell me a few months earlier—that I was in a season of service for my mother, someone who had spent many years of her own life taking care of me?

I felt myself relax as I began to understand God’s call to servanthood in my life—my personal call to live a you-first life in a me-first world. It wasn’t just about living selflessly in a visible, overt manner so unbelievers would be drawn to Jesus. It was also about daily laying down my life, giving up the right to plan my days and order my steps, so that I could help others fulfill the needs of their day—even if no one seemed to notice or appreciate it.

God was calling me to a you-first season of “setting up chairs” for others, especially my dear mother, much as she once did for me. In a similar but much more profound way Jesus did the same for all of us when He walked the lonely road to Calvary and willingly hung on that cross in payment for our sins, giving up His own earthly life so we might gain eternal life. As I pondered the situation with my mother, the question before me was: would I humbly and graciously choose His way…or mine?

Part 2 Tomorrow

Copyright 2008 Kathi Macias, all rights reserved. Used by permission.
Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored 26 books. Her newest book “Beyond Me. Living a You-first Life in a Me-first World” (New Hope Publishers) The author can be reached at: http://www.kathimacias.com

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” Psalm 27:10 King James Version

I am reading an excellent inspiring book written by a Christian author. One of the characters in the story was thinking about how lonely she was and how unwanted she felt when she was a child. Her mother had died giving birth to her and her dad didn’t want her so she was placed in a foster home. One of the things that really hurt her and made her feel unwanted was that she never knew when they were going to move her to a different foster home. She had no stability in her life. All of us need stability in our lives.

I have received several emails over the last three and a half years from people whose hearts are broken because they too were taken from one foster home and put into another foster home countless times. I have never been in a foster home however there were many times when I was a child that I wished that my parents would have put me in a foster home because I felt unloved and unwanted. I want to make it clear that I am not angry at my parents or bitter any more because I know that they didn’t feel loved themselves so they didn’t know how to show love to their children.

Several years ago, on a day when I was lonely, hurting, depressed and thinking about my childhood and the love that I never received from my parents I remembered the Scripture verse “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” I knew that God had already adopted me into His family when I accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour, but the comfort I felt when I read that verse over and over on that day flooded my heart like a soothing salve. Only Jesus could have comforted me on that day. Jesus has told us to comfort each other but only Jesus can see into the hidden corners of our hearts and see the pain, the loneliness, and the rejection that we feel and only Jesus can take that devastating pain away.

I am so thankful for God’s adoption agency. He adopts us into His family through the redeeming blood of our precious Saviour. Not only does He adopt us into His family; He adopts us into the hearts of other Christians. We don’t know what is going on in the lives of the people we sit next to in church. Joyce Landorf Heatherley, an author and speaker, says on one of her teaching tapes about the people sitting next to us in church “They look fine and they look darling but inside they are hurting.”

God may want you to adopt someone into your heart. So often when we think about adoption, we think about children. We need to understand that there are many adults who are hurting and who need to be adopted by someone who will love them and encourage them. Are you willing to adopt someone into your heart? God may use you to keep someone from committing suicide. Will you open your heart and let Jesus fill your heart with compassion and love for people who need to be adopted?

Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org

“Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:2-3 King James Version

Yesterday I tried to call a friend of mine who lives in Canada and received a recording saying “All circuits are busy now.” This happened several times in a row. Jesus is saying to us “Call unto me, and I will answer thee.” There are no busy signals when we call Him and we are never put on hold. He is always available to us twenty four hours a day. The question we need to ask ourselves is “Are we available to Him twenty four hours a day?”

Many times we make plans without asking Him if they are what He wants us to do. He said that He will show us great and mighty things that we don’t know about. I think many times we fail in what we try to do because we have not sought His will for our lives. Unless we pray constantly for and about the ministry that He has entrusted to us, we will fall short of what He wants us to do. This is also true in our personal lives and with our jobs.

Does Jesus get a busy signal when He calls you? Do you put Him on hold? Do you let the answering machine take His call? What a sad commentary it is on those of us who claim to be Christians that we don’t answer Him immediately when He calls us. We hurt Him and break His heart many times because we don’t respond when He calls us. May God forgive us and have mercy on us. The next time Jesus calls you, answer right away and be obedient to what He tells you to do.

Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org

My family and I took a day trip last week. As we drove to our destination, an 18-wheeler truck drove behind us, leaving a distance of less than two car links between our vehicles. The four-lane highway, like many of us, is under construction. Workers with orange vests, cement trucks, large construction trucks were lined up on both sides of the road. In other words, this highway is a very dangerous stretch for more than ten miles.

Each time we’d cautiously speed up to allow more room between our car and the 18-wheeler tailgating us, the trucker speeded up too.

“Why doesn’t that jerk just pass us?” I blurted out to my husband.

Hubby replied, “Oh honey, it’s too dangerous for him to pass us in the left lane, he might hit a worker on the center median.”

“Well, he may not hit a worker,” I said, “but he’s going to run into the back of us soon,” I said.

I looked out the back window again, and noticed the creep had inched even closer to us. Without consulting my husband, I lowered my window and stuck my head out, motioning with my hands to back off. The disrespectful, careless truck driver flashed an evil grin and just waved back at me.

Even in my highway wind tunnel, I heard my daughter loud and clear as she yelled “Mother, what were you thinking? Get your head back in the car. You’re only going to make that guy angry.”

Hmm, guess my response was not the best. Not to mention my windblown hair looked like an “afro do” from the 70s. Ah, you got me: My attitude toward the truck driver was less than Christ like. Ouch.

I doubt seriously that this dude saw Christ in me. What he saw was a crazy lady. I’ve told you many times that I’m a work-in-progress and that God ain’t done with me yet. And so it is with you.

Jesus always maintained a perfect attitude in every situation because He prayed about everything and worried about nothing. Prayer was His lifeline. Jesus never became defensive, discouraged, or yelled at people from a mountaintop. In the midst of trials, He was patient. In the midst of suffering, He was hopeful. In the midst of blessing, He was humble. Even in the midst of ridicule, abuse, and hostility He “made no threats . . . and did not retaliate. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (I Peter 2:23).

We are to be imitators of Christ in all things, including our attitudes. Jesus taught us that we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control our response.

Ten minutes after the crazy lady episode, the construction zone dangers were behind us. As the truck driver finally passed us in the left lane, I noticed a bumper sticker on the back of his 18-wheeler that read: “How’s my driving?”

I’m thinking these kinds of drivers need a bumper sticker that reads: “How’s my attitude?”

I know what you’re thinking. Duh, Jan, you need this bumper sticker too. I agree with you, and if I see one I’m buying it.

Okay, I’ve learned a valuable attitude lesson. How about you? How’s your attitude?

Copyright 2008 by Jan Coates, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Jan Coates is an author, speaker, consultant, founder of Set Free Today Ministries and serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery®.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 King James Version

I was hungry for a salad and had all the ingredients to make the salad but I didn’t make it until the next day. All day long, I wanted that salad because I knew how delicious it would taste yet I didn’t make it until the next day. We do the same thing with God at times. He has already given us all the ingredients to live a victorious and happy and peaceful life yet we don’t always use the ingredients He has given us.

If you will read Ephesians chapter six, you will find that He has given us instructions on how to have less stress and heartaches yet there are times when we don’t put on the whole armour of God. It is never His fault when we have a bad day. If we fail to put on the whole armour of God when we wake up, it is our fault, not His fault. There are things that come our way that we can’t do anything about but we can go to Him and ask Him to please help us through them.

Are you using the ingredients God has provided for you to live a happy life? No matter what comes our way, if we have accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour we will never be alone because our precious Saviour has promised us that He will never leave us, not even for one minute. As soon as you wake up in the morning, even before you get out of bed give your day to God. Ask Him to please protect you and lead you. You will find you will have a much better day but even more important you will make Him happy because you spent time with Him.

Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:18 King James Version

Just as the president has bodyguards for protection so God’s children have bodyguards to protect them. If you are a born again Christian, if the blood of our Saviour has been applied to your heart for the forgiveness of your sins, God has assigned you the task and the responsibility of protecting and praying for other Christians.

It is very important that Christians work together as a team. I believe if all Christians would be in unity and love one another unconditionally regardless of what church they attended, we would have enough Holy Spirit power flowing through us to put out the fiery darts of satan. Have you ever seen a picture of firemen putting out a fire? It is not just one fireman holding the hose; there are several of them holding the hose because it is so heavy.

When Christians unite together in heart and purpose, God acts. We read in the Bible “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18: 19, 20).

What would happen if we all went to the same church? I believe that the Holy Spirit would move in such a powerful way in our hearts and lives that Jesus would have tears of joy in His eyes. Are you helping other Christians hold the hose of protection against satan? Are you one of God’s bodyguards?

Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:20 King James Version

When our hearts are breaking and it feels like everyone has left us, Jesus is still with us. There are times in all of our lives when the storms of criticism, heartaches, rejection, ridicule and discouragement overwhelm us and we don’t think we are going to make it. Jesus has given us good news. He has promised us that He will be with us even unto the end of the world.

Not only will He be with us to the end of the world; we will also be with Him in Heaven for all eternity if we have had His cleansing and atoning blood applied to our hearts for the forgiveness of our sins. Thank God for a Saviour who is always there for us. His compassion and unconditional love for us will never end. He loved us as much yesterday as He does today and He will love us as much tomorrow as He does today.

Thank You, Jesus, that You are always there for us. Thank You for loving us and for caring about us. May we always be there for You. Thank You so much for dying for our sins on the cruel cross of Calvary. Indeed, there is no one like You, Jesus. I love You with all of my heart and I appreciate everything You have done for me.

Jesus is there for you whenever you need Him. Are you there for Him when He needs you? Do you thank Him daily for His companionship and concern for you? He is always there for us and it is time that we are there for Him. What a Saviour! What a friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!

Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

You can not always control situations or people, but you can most definitely control your attitude toward those situations and people.

I learned this the hard way. I grew up in a totally dysfunction family. My saving grace was my Dad–a godly man and my life-long hero. He owned his own business, worked hard, and contributed to the greater good. Dad’s actions, words, and deeds taught me that I couldn’t control many things in life, but I could never give up.

His positive attitude was contagious. His strength and faith in me helped me grow as a person.
At 19, I found myself divorced. The only good thing that came from that marriage was my son, Chris. To use a cliché, Chris was the wind beneath my wings. He taught me how to live, how to laugh, and how to love, and most of all he loved me without expectations of performance. We were as one. We did everything together: showed horses, fished, went to movies, wrote songs, and hung out with my dad. We were as one.

When I realized that I needed an education and good job to buy a home and pay for groceries, I worked two jobs while I went to college at night.

I finally graduated after years of blood, sweat and tears. I built a nice home on 20 acres just outside of Kansas City. I had great clothes. I climbed to the top of the corporate world and was recognized as one of the nation’s top successful women.

After living the life of divorced mom for many years, I married my husband Bill. Oh, we were a happy family… Until, a drunk driver killed Chris in 1982.

My life—the wind beneath my winds—was gone.

Now I’ve lived through some horrific, pain-filled experiences in my life, but losing my only child. It was as though a jagged piece of glass had ripped every seam from my heart. I didn’t want to live. My heart and soul were completely shattered and my “happy family” was destroyed.

As you can imagine, I felt like I too had died.

My husband, Bill, and I turned to other broken people—those who had lost loved ones, people who had been physically crippled for life–individuals who knew the life-changing heartbreak caused by a drunk driver. Together, we founded the Kansas City Heartland Chapter of MADD–Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers.

I’m sharing this with you because in every situation in life, we have choices. In my situation, I could have remained a victim and allowed my revenge, rage, and brokenness to keep me hostage and eventually destroy me and everyone I came in contact with.

It was no cakewalk, but we—the MADD group—spoke before senators, congressman, police officers, judges, schools, and journalists. We were frequent guests on radio and TV programs.

Today the laws are tough on drunk drivers. There’s a public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. We now have MADD in thousands of cities. We now have SADD—Student’s Against Drunk Driver–in our schools.

Why the change? THE ATTITUDES of people like me. People who were unwillingly to live as victims—people who changed the attitudes of lawmakers and the general public. There will always be an empty whole in my heart because of the loss of Chris.

But, I’m no longer a victim to anything. I live a life of VICTORY! AND SO CAN YOU!

I discovered an important lesson: the more I helped others within MADD, the more I helped myself.

And so it is with you. The more you help others, the more you grow as a person. In other words: When your attitude is focused on others first, your attitude can transform from negative victim to “Positive Difference Maker.”

If you’ve experienced pain from a divorce, caustic people, an unreasonable mother-in-law, an unpredictable boss, a crazy peer, your childhood, or whatever—You can be victorious! It’s up to you.

Over time and through the power of Jesus Christ you can turn your pain into passion!

Here’s what I’ve discovered, and I want you to write this down:

It’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you.

Have a blessed week, filled with abundant blessings and an “attitude of gratitude” toward helping others–pay it forward.

Copyright 2008 by Jan Coates, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Jan Coates is an author, speaker, consultant, founder of Set Free Today Ministries and serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery®.

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Psalm 51:12 King James Version

There are times when we have to do a system restore on our computers when viruses and spyware get through our firewall and antivirus programs. The same is true with our Heavenly Father. There are times when He has to do a system restore on our hearts and lives when satan attacks us with the virus of discouragement.

Thank God that He has provided a system restore for our hearts and lives through Jesus. When we are so discouraged that we feel like we are going under for the last time, it is then that we need to cry out to Jesus and ask Him to please restore His joy to our hearts and lives. Do you need a system restore in your heart and in your life?

If so, allow Jesus to restore His joy to your heart and life once again. He will take your hand and walk with you through the dark valleys and will once again set you on the mountain top of joy, peace, happiness and excitement. There is no one like Jesus! No one loves you like Jesus loves you! Thank You, Jesus, for caring about us and for restoring our hearts and lives with Your joy, peace and happiness.

Copyright 2008 by Joanne Lowe, all rights reserved.
Used by permission. http://www.heavenwardbound.com
http://christians-in-recovery.org