Accountability

I had 14 Felony Counts

I had to walk through tough times with the courts. I had 14 felony counts. Three counts of sales, loaded handgun, stolen property etc…. When I had my day in court, I was 5 months clean and sober, with two treatment facilities under my belt. I was sentenced to 1 year county jail (not prison) and three years felony probation. The effort I put forth on “changing” my lifestyle (before my court date) made a big difference in the way the Courts, Probation and the District Attorney viewed my case. This year in jail was probably the best thing that happened to me. I see now that I was not arrested, I was rescued.

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Do I Need a Sponsor?

Sponsors are not mandatory components of recovery programs, but I do recommend the acquisition of a sponsor during the first few months of your recovery.

When I finally became disgusted with my feeble attempts at recovery on my own, I decided to get a sponsor. I didn’t just go up to the first male member and ask him to be my sponsor. I had to ask several members if they were available for sponsorship. Sometimes, if you are a newcomer, a member will volunteer to be your sponsor if you ask if they are available. But be prepared to ask more than two or three people to be your sponsor. You may even have to change your meeting location to find a sponsor, especially if your home group is small.

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Get to a Meeting

If you want to remain clean and sober, I suggest that you get to a meeting, and frequently.

Early in my recovery, there was one thing that I did tire of – the act of defending myself. I was so occupied with convincing others that I was not using, it seemed certain that I was. So, in the hopes of eliminating that annoyance, I started going to meetings. I chose to do doing something that came highly recommended – I began to just listen. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t share, but in the beginning just sit quietly and pay attention. The first couple of meetings may surprise you. With the exception of one or two, the people around you look normal, healthy, content, satisfied, and to some degree – successful. They do not look like winos, drunkards, junkies, or residents of skid row.

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Sex and the Brain

“WOW that felt good!” This is a common cognition when a man has an orgasm, otherwise known as an ejaculation. What most people don’t know is why an orgasm feels so good. In fact, the reason it feels so incredible is the same reason why some men form addictive patterns at the neurological level in their brains through a process known as “conditioning.”

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Forgiveness of Yourself

You are not a failure. You are a Christian in recovery who failed. Satan wants you to forget what you have accomplished so far and to focus on a few moments of inappropriate behavior. Jesus wants you to focus on Him!

“I am in a Bible study and I feel I should give up this privelege.”

No way! That is Satan talking to you again. Stay in the Word.
Pray and commune with God. Ask for forgiveness and then accept His grace and mercy.

  • Ask the LORD to forgive and cleanse you of your error.
    Isaiah 1:18
    Come now, let us reason together,"
    says the LORD.
    "Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
    though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.

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Learn to Listen

Decades ago, soon after coming to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I wrote a poem about the journey that had brought me to that point. I titled it “There Comes a Knowing.” Though at the time I thought it applied only to the pathway to salvation, I have since come to understand that it is a lifetime journey, a “coming to know” the heart of the Father over and over again.

1 Samuel 3:7
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.

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Does Your Pride Deceive You?

The pride of your heart has deceived you. Obadiah 1:3

We know that most portions of the Scriptures were written to specific groups of people, but we also know that God’s Word is timeless and His instructions applicable to our lives today.

I was struck with that reminder the other day when I read the words in Obadiah: “The pride of your heart has deceived you.” I nearly fell from my chair at the implications — not that I didn’t already know how pride can harden our hearts and steer us into sin, but I suddenly realized that EVERY TIME I have been deceived, it has been because of pride.

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Holy Hope

I am convinced that God never ceases to form, reform, and transform all of creation. I am further assured and reassured that God in Christ works to lift our personal burdens and set us free from the chains that bind us. I therefore believe:

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE

To the extent that we assume our own responsibility, our serenity and joys increase. This response-ability is ours and belongs to no one else. It is also the basis for our personal morality and social ethic. As God’s earthly flock, we are not to be condemned for our natural human weakness, sickness, or waywardness. But we are accountable. We have the choice to be willful or to become willing and allow our divine Shepherd to tend us. We can always turn and return to God for health and salvation.

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Christ-Centered Intervention

By Glen Kerby

Steps to an intervention from a Christian perspective:
1) We get everyone that is involved in this person’s life to agree to meet for prayer in this matter. We need to remember that if it is that person’s time then God is working in his or her life as we prepare to meet them.

2) We get the family to agree to the two choices and the only two choices that this person has to pick from.

3) We do an intervention plan, we pick a safe place for everyone to gather.

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