CIR KBs

Christians in Recovery Knowledge Base article

Marriage: Whose Responsibility Is It?

Marriage is a big responsibility and a challenging endeavor. Once you get married, it’s not just about you anymore; it is about both of you; it is about taking care of one another’s needs the best you can; it is the willingness to take the time to have a healthy marriage. It is the perseverance to hang in there no matter what. The responsibilities of marriage and family are huge.

I talk an awful lot about responsibilities, roles and duties in marriage because it is very important that couples realize what their responsibilities are, and then fulfill them in a proper Christian manner. This is where cooperation and consideration come into play for balancing out the efforts of both the husband and wife and helping marriage to run efficiently and balanced.

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Bill Wilson’s Call on God for Help

Dr. William D. Silkworth advised Bill Wilson that Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, could cure Bill of his alcoholism. At the time of Bill Wilson’s third hospitalization in Towns Hospital, Bill had a discussion with his physician, Dr. William D. Silkworth, on the subject of the “Great Physician.” And Silkworth’s biographer Dale Mitchel wrote in Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks:

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A Biblical Look at Temptation

I. What Temptation Is

    A. Something that tempts or entices

      1. James 1: 14 – When we are drawn away from by own lusts

    B. A spiritual test

      1. James 1 :2 – Count it joy when you have temptations
      2. James 1:3 – Trying of faith works patience

II. What Temptation Is Not

    A. Not sin
    B. Not from God

III. Who is the Tempter

    A. He is …

      1. Matthew 4: 1 – The Devil
      2. I Peter 5:8 -Adversary, the devil
      3. II Corinthians 11: 14 – Satan transformed into an angel of light
      4. Revelation 12:10 – Accuser of the brethren

    B. What he does …

      1. Revelation 12: 1 0 – Accuses
      2. Genesis 3:1 – Is subtle
      3. Genesis 3:1,4 – Liar and deceiver (“Hath God said, Ye shall not surely die?”)

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Four Questions For Broken People

The ultimate measure of a person is not where one stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where one stands in times of challenge and controversy. ~Martin Luther King

Have you ever thought you were too weak to help?

It’s easy to imagine someone who’s better qualified, tempting to believe that your personal failures render you useless. We all want to conceal our dirty laundry, but followers of Christ must remember that we’re called to serve where we are and to offer ourselves in that service. We’re all gifted so we can offer those gifts in service to others.

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Ten Things Someone Might Need From You

I felt lost, and I desperately wanted God to show up. Instead, people appeared and gradually helped me toward the light. Only later did I realize that was how God shows up.

How can you help someone who needs you?

I’ve been working on a presentation for folks who are working in difficult areas of ministries. Since I’m a wheelchair user, I’m supposed to offer a seated perspective of things people have done that have been helpful and some that haven’t.

Here’s my list so far. Hopefully you’ll help me with something I’ve missed.

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Making the Change from Compliance to Surrender

…the person who has achieved the positive frame of mind, has lost his tense, aggressive, demanding, conscience-ridden self, which feels isolated and at odds with world and has become a relaxed, natural and more realistic individual who can dwell in the world on a “live and let live basis”…surrender is an unconscious event, not willed[1]
The Act of Surrender in the Therapeutic Process by Harry M. Tiebout, M.D., The National Council of Alcoholism 1949

The Bible tells us in many different ways that we must surrender our old ways in our walk with God so we can have peace and happiness.

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Church

Note: This event occurred prior to my injury. In a time of confusion and loneliness, I wandered into an unfamiliar church. I sought a bit of peace in a sea of turmoil. I found a good deal more.

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” Exodus 23:20

Singing. That’s mostly what happened in Sunday night church. Familiar songs, though I hadn’t attended church since high school. Someone selected a hymn and everyone sang accompanied by a piano.

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