Archive for the ‘Renewal’ Category
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
I watched a big chunk of Whitney Houston’s memorial service this weekend. I can’t escape the haunting sense of enormous waste.
After the songs and stories, Pastor Marvin Winans captured my thoughts with the theme of his powerful, emotional sermon: prioritize. He talked about “putting things in proper order” based on Matthew 6:33:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
The message was clear. Success, talent, and fame are good things—when placed in proper priority. It’s too easy to judge the missteps of a public figure who got lost in a confusing maze. Better, I think, to extend grace and pray that the rest of us will reflect on our own tendency to get things in the wrong order.
Jesus knew that God wants us to use our gifts and pursue our passions. He designed us for lives of abundance and joy. He also knew that life gets out of whack when we don’t prioritize.
Have a great week.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of: 
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: Attitudes, bondage, Choices, failure, God's Love, hardship, healing, ministry, motives, New Beginning, peace, Responsibility, serenity, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Attitudes, Choices, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 12 | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
Psalm 71:20: “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again.”
What comfort to know God will restore our lives again. Perhaps you have lost a job or a home because of the economy. God will restore your life again.
Maybe you’ve suffered physical or sexual abuse as a child. God will restore your life again.
Through death or divorce, you may have lost a spouse. God will restore your life again.
No matter what the trial is, God will restore your life again. The second part of verse 20 says, “From the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” That’s a promise from God.
Verse 21 says, “You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.” What a joy to read these verses on Valentine’s Day. God loves us so much.
Dear God, help me trust you to restore my life again. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Application: Allow God to comfort you this week.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Yvonne Ortega, LPC, LSATP, CCDVC
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Yvonne is a Speaker, Author, Counselor, Cancer Survivor and
serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery.
She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer.
Visit her website: http://YvonneOrtega.com
Tags: Abuse, failure, God's Love, grief, healing, loss, Pain, peace, salvation, serenity, sin, slip, strength, verbal abuse, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Abuse, Anxiety, Assurance, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pain, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Nehemiah 1: 5-6: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants.” (NIV)
One of Nehemiah’s brothers from Judah went to Nehemiah and told him the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and its gates had been burned. Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king at that time. Nehemiah 1:4 tells us that Nehemiah sat down and cried. For some days he mourned, fasted and prayed.
Look above and read verses 5 and 6 again. What a beautiful model for us on how to pray when we receive bad news. Nehemiah acknowledged who God is and praised him. He reminded God of the covenant of love with his people. Then he prayed.
As Christians, our lives are not perfect either. We face personal brokenness and destruction and see them all around us among believers. Some of us go through divorce, life-threatening diseases, multiple car accidents and multiple losses of loved ones. Others of us struggle with a marriage that needs a miracle, a job that threatens to break our spirit or lack of a job, the heartache of prodigal children, sickness in the family, financial difficulties because of a bad economy or a ministry that seems to be falling apart.
God made us with tears. No matter what needs to be rebuilt, like Nehemiah, we too can sit down and cry. Then we can follow Nehemiah’s next steps and mourn, fast and pray “for some days.”
Nehemiah demonstrated the formula for us. We can praise and worship God and remind him of his covenant with us as his children “who love him and obey his commands.” We can ask him to listen to our prayers. In verses 6 and 7, Nehemiah confessed his sins and those of his people. Confession remains an important part of rebuilding, and we must also include it.
Dear God, I weep in brokenness. Help me rebuild my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Application: When will I mourn, fast and pray for the rebuilding of my life or ministry?
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Yvonne Ortega, LPC, LSATP, CCDVC
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Yvonne is a Speaker, Author, Counselor, Cancer Survivor and
serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery.
She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer.
Visit her website: http://YvonneOrtega.com
Tags: backsliding, failure, Forgiveness of God, God's Love, healing, New Beginning, Pain, sin, slip, strength
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Choices, Faith, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pain, Prayer, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 3 | Comments Off
Monday, February 6th, 2012
”Break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12:
What does the phrase “unplowed ground” bring to your mind? I think of missed opportunities to strengthen my relationship with the Lord, of times when I could have stood up for what was right and witnessed to others but didn’t, and how I haven’t experienced the depth of God’s presence and power in my life that I could. I also think of times when I felt closer to the Lord. Perhaps you feel the same way.
We cannot be stuck in the past with guilt and shame over what we haven’t done, have missed, or how we’ve become lukewarm or hardened. That wouldn’t help.
However, we can tell God we are sorry for “the unplowed ground” in our lives, accept his forgiveness and then with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength seek the Lord. Remember he promises to shower righteousness on us.
A former neighbor of mine used to get so excited about the Redskins’ football games that I could hear him screaming and cheering through the walls. No matter what his circumstances were, he never missed a game. Everyone knew he loved the Redskins. What would happen if each of us got that enthusiastic about breaking up “the unplowed ground” in our lives and seeking the Lord? Imagine the personal and church-wide revival that could take place.
Let’s take time this week to read God’s Word daily, to sit still and listen for his gentle whisper, and to allow him to transform in our lives.
Dear God, help me break up “the unplowed ground” in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Application: What will I do today to seek the Lord?
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Yvonne Ortega, LPC, LSATP, CCDVC
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Yvonne is a Speaker, Author, Counselor, Cancer Survivor and
serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery.
She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer.
Visit her website: http://YvonneOrtega.com
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, New Beginning, peace, Responsibility, serenity, slip, temptation
Posted in Attitudes, Choices, Faith, General Recovery, New Beginning, Prayer, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 12, Step 3 | Comments Off
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
(Psalm 18:24, The Message).
I seldom use The Message for personal Bible study or quotes, but when I came across the above phrase, the writer in me responded with a hearty “Yes!”
Can anyone relate? Have you ever caught yourself bumbling along, trying to orchestrate your life, order your steps, direct your future—and then stopped and asked yourself, “What was I thinking?”
We are not the captain of our own ship or the master of our own fate, but we sure act like it sometimes, don’t we? Oh, I know, before we become Christians we actually believe that we are and live accordingly. Then we come face to face with the Savior, turn our lives over to Him, and we never make that foolish mistake again. Right?
Well, theoretically, we don’t. And most of the time, not intentionally. But unless I’m different than every other believer on planet earth, we do slip into that faulty thinking on occasion. And oh, what a mess we can make of things! Those self-written chapters of our lives are made up of text we’d like to delete, aren’t they?
Psalm 8:24 holds the secret to the edit button. Though we can’t go back and erase what we’ve already written, if we will be honest with God about the foolishness and regret in our heart, He can (and will) rewrite the text of our lives. Though the sins and mistakes of the past may still have consequences today, we can be assured that the God of the universe will somehow bring good out of even the worst pages of our past.
As a writer, I know how easy it is to go off on a self-imposed tangent, to become distracted and get off-track. The result is poorly written material and lots of wasted time. But just as God has so graciously redeemed my poor writing and wasted time, so He will redeem and rewrite the text of our lives if we will just open our hearts to him and allow Him to finish our book for us.
He is, after all, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2009-2012 Kathi Macias, all rights reserved. Used by permission.
Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored 30 books. 
“Beyond Me. Living a You-first Life in a Me-first World”
and
“Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today”
Tags: Abuse, backsliding, bondage, failure, Forgiveness of God, God's Love, grief, hardship, loss, Macias, New Beginning, Pain, rebellion, reconciliation, salvation
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Abuse, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, Forgiveness of God, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pain, Renewal, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Friday, January 27th, 2012
Humble yourselves. That sounds obscene. At least to the culture of self-promotion and “get ahead at all cost” and “don’t look back, the competition is gaining on you” it sounds obscene.
Humility is a forgotten virtue. Often confused with weakness or timidity, humility is about knowing our proper place in the world without flaunting it. Only God can exalt in a permanent way, so the key is to know our place before him and let him put us in the place he chooses to honor him.
A humble heart is tender towards God, and He responds when it cries out to Him. And that may be why He sometimes allows hard things into our lives – to bring forth the fruit of humility.
As God does great things in our midst, we don’t ever want to forget what He’s brought us through. We can do nothing without His intervention. But as we keep humble, contrite, tender hearts, there is no end to what He can accomplish not merely in our own lives, but for our children’s children.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Chaplain Michael Clark
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Chaplain Clark is a Speaker and Writer,
Addiction Counselor/Professional
as well as a Recovery Support Specialist
Shadows of the Cross Ministries, Prison and Recovery Ministry
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, healing, humility, New Beginning, rebellion, respect, Responsibility, self-will
Posted in Attitudes, Choices, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 10, Step 2, Step 3, Step 4, Step 5, Step 6, Step 7, Step 8, Step 9 | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14b
It’s one of the really cool questions in the Bible.
Esther ascended to an influential position in a foreign land through a most unlikely series of events. She subsequently faced a difficult and potentially dangerous decision. Her uncle, Mordecai, encouraged her to overcome her fears and confront a volatile king on behalf of her people. “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Mordecai believed Esther faced a divine appointment, that God worked through events in her life and placed her in a strategic position. God orchestrated a complex set of mid-course corrections and long-term trajectories “for such a time as this.”
A pastor friend used to gaze solemnly around the congregation and say, “No one is here by accident.”
At the time it creeped me out because I thought everyone else knew why they were there and I had no clue why I was there.
Now I think it’s enough to believe there’s a purpose even when I don’t know exactly what it is.
I love the notion that God’s brought us together for such a time as this. Who knows?
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: fellowship, God's Love, healing, ministry, New Beginning, relationships, Responsibility, strength
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Faith, Family, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Step 12, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus,who do not walk according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1, NKJV).
One of the very first Bible verses I learned as a new believer (decades ago!) was Romans 8:1. I read and heard many others, of course, but that one truly jumped out at me, I suppose because as a brand new 
born-again Christian, I was so freshly aware of all that God had done for me. That He had not only forgiven me but personally paid an unimaginable price to do so still left me in awe—which, of course, is a good thing. We should never cease to be amazed that God willingly gave everything for those of us who deserved nothing.
And yet, to keep that in perspective, I still have to remind myself that His forgiveness is so much greater than any of my sins, failures, or poor choices that required that forgiveness. Somehow I have little problem resolving the fact that His once-for-all sacrifice covers my “B.C.” (before Christ) sins, but I struggle more with my “after Christ” failures. I’m a believer now; I have the Spirit of God living inside me, and I should know better…right?
Right. Yes, I should. And deep down, I do. Still, I must remind myself daily that I am one of God’s “WIPs,”—a Work in Progress—and He’s far from through with me. (Are you as glad about that as I am???) Though I love the familiar (and true) statement that God loves me just the way I am, I also know He loves me too much to leave me that way.
Though I cling to the truth of Romans 8:1, meaning there is NOW no condemnation toward me regardless of my sins and failures, I also need to beware of using that promise as an excuse to stop growing in Christ. Our goal and purpose as believers is to continually draw closer to the Father and become more like Jesus, and we do that through an ongoing yielding of our will to the nudging of the Holy Spirit within us—“not walk[ing] according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” When we do that, the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed His children and are no longer under condemnation.
If you’re struggling with that today—and we all do at times—ask God’s Spirit to search your heart and show you anything that needs to be confessed or relinquished to God—and then do it. The result will be a heart that KNOWS it is free of condemnation. And, beloved, what could be better than that?
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2009-2012 Kathi Macias, all rights reserved. Used by permission.
Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored 30 books.
“Beyond Me. Living a You-first Life in a Me-first World”
and
“Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today”
Tags: backsliding, bondage, failure, forgiveness, Forgiveness of God, freedom, God's Love, healing, judgement, Macias, New Beginning, rebellion, reconciliation, Responsibility, salvation, sin, slip, temptation
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Assurance, Faith, Forgiveness of God, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 10, Step 12, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
If you’re committed to doing something differently in 2012 you might be thinking about
CHANGE
In Isaiah 43:18 God says, “I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up! Do you not perceive it?”
I believe He’s doing a new thing. My problem is the “perceiving” part. Last week I posted a story over at Rich’s Ride called The First Ride. Here’s my take on the lesson from that simple event.
Life mostly doesn’t consist of dramatic changes and momentous decisions. Your present situation is the amalgamation of thousands of small choices that accumulate over months and years. We want to believe we can change course in an instant, but altering your long-term path is more like steering an aircraft carrier. Rather than instantaneous ninety-degree turns, life is more about one-degree corrections.
We don’t like slow, small change. We want to see results right now, and one-degree turns take a long time to show up. On a ten-foot journey a one-degree course change only alters your final position by about two inches. But if you maintain that one-degree alteration for one thousand miles your location changes by more than seventeen miles.
Each of us is one small choice, a single one-degree course correction, from a radically altered life. The changes don’t usually show up immediately. Life is long-term because God is long-term. Certainly there are times when God steps in and causes a one-eighty. But more often He works through everyday situations and circumstances.
I moved a bike I couldn’t move. That’s a miracle that changed my course, but nobody watching on that day would have recognized it. It’s the kind of miracle that’s only apparent downstream after hundreds and thousands of miles when you understand that you’re a long distance from where the original course would have led. It’s a one-degree miracle, and it alters everything that follows.
Perhaps it’s not water to wine, but it’s no less a miracle.
Mostly I think God works in our lives through one-degree miracles. We need to open our eyes and look carefully if we want to perceive them.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, failure, New Beginning, Responsibility, sin, slip, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Choices, General Recovery, New Beginning, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 3, Step 4, Step 6, Step 7, Step 8, Step 9, Things to Ponder | Comments Off
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
If we are able to move beyond compulsion to control by surrendering, the promises are clear and bright if we yield to God totally — but they don’t come on our timetable.
We yield.
We allow ourselves to be helped.
We allow change to overtake us.
We earnestly seek to do our part.
Then Change comes — NOT when we say “Now I deserve it,” but when we are ready to accept it.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2011, Chaplain Michael Clark
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Chaplain Clark is a Speaker and Writer,
Addiction Counselor/Professional
as well as a Recovery Support Specialist
Shadows of the Cross Ministries, Prison and Recovery Ministry
Tags: Attitudes, bondage, Choices, healing, New Beginning, rebellion, Responsibility
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Attitudes, Choices, General Recovery, New Beginning, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
