Give me an undivided heart, LORD

I’ll never forget the day I found out that my heart was not whole. It was early in the morning. I was sitting on a park bench. The sun was rising in the eastern sky of central Pennsylvania. The only thing that marred the view was two rows of concertina-topped fences patrolled by armed guards. I was in prison, yet I was free.

I was reading in the Psalms. For years I read five Psalms and one Proverb every day. Today was the 18th day of the month and that meant I was reading Psalm 86. Everything was going fine until I got to verse 11. It was like a voice in my head screaming STOP! Go back! Read that again! What are you saying, Lord? Is my heart divided? What does that mean and what does it look like? These questions and others were the focus of my heart and mind for a long time. I don’t know if I have it all figured out, but I heard God telling me a couple of things.

One is that I have a propensity to compartmentalize life. Work, family, church, recreation, finances, friends; you name it, I can find a folder to put it in. That makes it easy to find and manage, but it doesn’t make for a whole and holy heart. The version of the Bible I was reading at the time was the NIV. I usually carried that along with the New American Standard and King James. I would compare the three to get a clearer sense of what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me. The King James and NASB ask God to “unite” our hearts. Either way you look at it, the author, David, seems to be saying to God, “my heart is broken, fragmented, scattered. Put me back together, that I may fear your name”.

That day marks the day that I started on the journey of the heart I am still on today. Even though I have taken a few time-outs and detours along the way, the centrality of the heart is still key in my life. I still struggle with a divided heart. How easy it is to get caught up in something exciting and new and completely miss the fact that I am trying to live without surrendering to God what is already His. I am not the master of my fate, the captain of my ship, the author of my life. I was made to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever”, as the authors of the Westminster Shorter Catechism described the “chief end or purpose of man”.

When the Pharisees were testing Jesus after he had shut the Sadducees up, they asked Him what the greatest commandment was. After replying with the Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one”, He continued with His command to” love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength”. The heart is first. And we are to love the Lord with ALL our hearts, not part of our heart.

As I recognize some of the warning signs of a divided heart like restlessness, boredom, anger, depression, too much time on the internet, lack of joy and peace, it reminds me that God wants all of my heart, restless and bored, or excited and energized.  When I take the time to focus my thoughts on how good and gracious God is to me and the ones I love, right now, I can feel my heart being united. The threads of my life that seem like a messy knot to me are the very threads that bind me to God. Rather than trying to get all the cords untangled, I just need to be aware that God has the other end of the thread and is trying to weave something that will be for my good and His glory.

A lot has happened in the past two weeks. I started a new job and I am learning the ropes of a new software program AND how to adjust my life to being employed full-time again for the first time in thirteen months. All these changes, as good as they may be, can cause me to feel fragmented and torn. That’s why I haven’t written for over two weeks. Too busy, or too tired, or too ……! Whatever!

Next Thursday I leave for four days in Colorado at John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart Boot Camp. His book, Wild at Heart, along with my study of the heart in prison, resonated in the depths of my soul. I finally am able to go to Boot Camp because of a loving God and the financial support of people in my life who believe my heart is valuable. THANK YOU! I will report back when I return. Until then, think about what God has to say to you about your heart.

“UNITED WE STAND. DIVIDED WE FALL”.

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Twelve steps of a relapse

                                  Twelve Steps of a Relapse

 

1. I decided I could handle any emotional problems if other people would just quit trying to run my life.

2. I firmly believe that there is no greater power than myself and anyone who says differently is insane.

3. I made a decision to remove my will and my life from God, who didn’t understand me anyway.

4. I made a searching and thorough moral inventory of everyone I know, so they couldn’t fool me and take advantage of my good nature.

5. I sought these people out and tried to get them to admit to me, by God, the exact nature of their wrongs.

6. I became willing to help these people get rid of their defects of character.

7. I was humble enough to ask these people to remove their shortcomings.

8. I kept a list of all the people who had harmed me, and waited patiently for a chance to get even.

9. I got even with these people whenever possible except when to do so would get me into trouble.

10. I continue to take everyone’s inventory and when they are wrong, which is most of the time, I promptly make them admit it.

11. Sought through the concentration of my willpower to get God, who didn’t understand me anyhow, to see that my desires were best, and He ought to give me the power to carry them out.

12. Having maintained my emotional problems with these steps, I can thoroughly recommend them to others who don’t want to lose their hard-earned status, but wish to be left alone to practice neurosis in everything they do for the rest of their days.

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Harvey died last Friday

Harvey Hatten died last Friday at the ripe old age of 87. In his casket were two items that signified to those of us left behind that freedom always has a price. An American flag folded at his head and a baseball cap with the words, “The Greatest Generation-World War II” , by his hand, reminded us that we had lost another hero.

I met Harvey Hatten when I made the almost daily trip to visit Rhonda at Lorien Nursing and Rehab in Taneytown. He occupied the room across the hall and two doors down. You never met Harvey when he was having a bad day. He already had plenty of those. Like the day in June of 1944 when he and the rest of his company went ashore in Normandy, France. D-Day. When you have lived through hell like that, been injured in the line of duty, survived Korea, and buried a spouse of 47 years, you know the difference between a “bad” day and a “BAD” day.

When I first met Harvey and looked into his clear, intelligent eyes framed by strong jaws and the same military crewcut he wore through his days in the Army, and later in the US Customs Service, you knew that you were in the presence of someone who knew how to laugh and cry and enjoy life on life’s terms. He had a way of finding out what you were made out of on the inside. You see, Harvey could hardly talk, so he communicated with his facial gestures and sounds. When ever Harvey and I made eye contact, one of us would automatically extend our closed fist toward the other and do a “fist bump”. When we touched hands, Harvey’s eyes would light up with joy and recognition and he would shout out with delight. 

Harvey spent his last two years at Lorien and you can imagine the loss they all must feel. When Rhonda and I went to the viewing on Tuesday night, there must have been at least a dozen of the staff and aides and nurses there to pay their last respects to a gentle man who always had a smile and a fist ready to “bump”.

Today, at Helping Up Mission, I was thinking about the cost of freedom. There is always a cost. It cost Jesus his life. It cost God his son. And, it has cost countless lives around the world to keep us free from tyranny in many guises and forms. Some of us struggle on a daily basis with addictive personalities, mental imbalances, physical infirmities, and family struggles that don’t ever seem to get any better. Will we ever be truly free? I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news. Since you’re reading and I’m writing, I’ll give you the bad news first. The price of freedom is conflict.  The good news is it’s a conflict we can win. Just don’t expect to see peace and serenity without the shedding of blood.

From the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, it took the shedding of blood. And when Jesus comes back He will be wearing a robe dipped in blood. Someone has wisely said that the history of the world is comprised of war, and the interludes between the next war. I don’t like war. The war in my mind, my spirit, my body, my soul. I don’t like conflict. But, I have learned that peace always has a price. That’s why today I fight for my sobriety and my serenity. I fight for the lives of others because I need all the allies in this battle I can get. I fight alongside other men and women who don’t like war, but who understand that the cost of peace is high. I fight for the principles and values that made this the greatest country the world has ever seen, and I will fight to keep those principles and values from being destroyed, by enemies without, or within.

On October 1, 2008, Harvey Hatten will be interred in Arlington Cemetery at 1 PM. I will be there. The next day I leave for Colorado and the Wild at Heart Boot Camp to join with a group of men who are learning to fight for their hearts and the hearts of others. Thanks to men and women like Harvey Hatten, I have that opportunity.

God Speed, Harvey. You are my hero. 

 ”fist bump” and salute,

 Harv

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Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem

I believe in God the Father Amighty.” That’s what the Latin text above says. I do believe. Do you? How about the rest of the Apostle’s Creed. Do you believe that also? In case you forgot, here it is.

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,

et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum,

qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,

passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,

descendit ad ínferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,

ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Patris omnipotentis,

inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.

Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,

sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem,

remissionem peccatorum,

carnis resurrectionem,

vitam aeternam.

Amen

OOPS! That’s the Latin version. Forgot to translate into English. Sorry about that. Try again. 

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

5. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.

6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,

10. the forgiveness of sins,

11. the resurrection of the body,

12. and the life everlasting.
Amen.

 By now, if I haven’t lost most of you already, you are wondering where I’m going with all this. Not to fear, stick with me on this and see if any of it resonates in your heart as it has in mine.

I subscribe to several daily devotionals and insightful writings that I use to challenge me in my walk with Jesus and to keep current on the State of the Church here in the U.S.A. [Checking facts is something I tend to do. Don't want to be mis-led or be a party to leading anyone else astray by passing on bad data.] One of my favorites is Breakpoint from Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship. It is online as well as broadcast in many radio markets around the country. This week he is discusssing his latest book, The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, And Why It Matters. I am currently about a third of the way through it and, as always, he cuts to the chase, and the quick, when it comes to the truth. So much for a review of the book and the important role that Colson excels at. Check it out. Now, let ME cut to the chase!

He quotes a February poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. In the poll, one of the questions posed to self-described evangelical Christians, was whether or not their religion was the one true faith leading to eternal life. They had the choice to agree with that, OR ”many religions can lead to eternal life.” Almost 6 out of 10 respondents said the latter. Fifty-seven percent!

While in prison, one of the books I read was Faith Founded on Fact by John Warwick Montgomery. The title alone was intriguing to me, but the more I read, the more excited I became. I had an evidential apologetic for what I believed. Let alone the facts of philosophy and reason that provided me with a way to describe what I felt and believed. Starting with the historical facts of the birth, life and teachings, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. That’s why I believe every word of the Apostle’s Creed. It’s why when Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”, in John 14:6, I believe He meant what He said. 

The Bible isn’t true because I believe it. I believe it because it’s true. AND, if it’s true, then there is only One religion that leads to eternal life. That might mean I’m in the minority of evangelical Christians (what a shame!) and I know I’m in the minority as far as the rest of the world is concerned, but thank God, “one man with God is always in the majority”,  John Knox.

When it comes to the truth test and whether many religions can lead to eternal life, think about this. They may all be false, but they can’t all be true.

I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY…….

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A band of brothers and sisters

 Living in the world without someone by your side is dangerous, if not downright insane. Did you ever watch one of those National Geographic specials from Africa? Maybe the ones about the big cats, or one of the other predators like the hyena or wild dog. No matter how many of the hungry beasts there are, they always use the same modus operandi. Divide and conquer. And they don’t, as a rule, atack the young strong bulls, they go for the weak, the sick, the old, the lame, the diseased. Like us, when we try to live this life as a lone stranger.

I know there are times when we have to go it alone. (We’re never really alone-”I will never leave you nor forsake you.”) Yet, as a rule, in this world we need each other. A lot.

One of the things that has struck home to me over and over this summer is the power of two versus one. Many of the friends I have helped this summer with odd jobs, to earn some money, is that two of us did together more than double what one of us could do by ourself. For example, try holding and nailing in place-straight that is!-a sixteen foot fence plank. I don’t THINK so!

Most tasks require help. Living and surviving and prospering in the world requires cooperation. I know I need lots of help. Just ask my family and friends. For over two years they got me to work, church, AA, Celebrate Recovery, EVERYWHERE! Because I was weak, sick, lame, diseased, OLD, and without a license! Why they stuck by me through all of that is beyond me. But, now I am in a better place. A place of healing, of purpose, of peace, of passion, and yes, power. Power to be dependable, to be there for people, to give back. And, by the grace of God, I’ve just begun.

Some of you might wonder why I titled this post Band of brothers and sisters. Because I need men and women in my life and they need me. I have several groups of contacts I e-mail to. My Friday mens bible study, Celebrate Recovery, AA, New Creations Fellowship Men, and the biggest, by far, the Band of brothers/sisters. Men and women that I know that are not a part of the smaller goups. In fact, I could put all of the smaller sub-groups into the larger Band of brothers/sisters. Sort of like the smaller bodies of believers around the world that together make up the Body, the Church. Cool, Huh! And you thought I wasn’t deep! Hah! Showed you.

Seriously, the reason I made the cover from the HBO mini-series “Band of Brothers” so large was because I wanted to make sure you could read the sub-heading underneath. “They depended on each other. And the world depended on them.”  We still do. The world still does. We need each other, and the world desperately needs us to be a Band of brothers and sisters. There is a battle going on. We are in it. We can’t do it alone. I’m living proof. Together we CAN save the world one person at a time. Thanks for being my brother and sister.

Your brother, in Christ,

-Harv

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Eccl 4:9-12 NLT  

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Are you naked?

GOT YA! Didn’t I! What a question. What a thought. Scary thought, huh? Nakedness is not something most of us, myself included, think about very often. So what do I mean when I ask you, and myself, “Are you naked?” Let’s hear what one of my favorite authors, John Eldredge, has to say about it:

The deeper reason we fear our own glory is that once we let others see it, they will have seen the truest us, and that is nakedness indeed. We can repent of our sin. We can work on our “issues.” But there is nothing to be “done” about our glory. It’s so naked. It’s just there—the truest us. It is an awkward thing to shimmer when everyone else around you is not, to walk in your glory with an unveiled face when everyone else is veiling his.

 For a woman to be truly feminine and beautiful is to invite suspicion, jealousy, misunderstanding. A friend confided in me, “When you walk into a room, every woman looks at you to see—are you prettier than they are? Are you a threat?” And that is why living from your glory is the only loving thing to do. You cannot love another person from a false self. You cannot love another while you are still hiding. You cannot love another unless you offer her your heart. It takes courage to live from your heart. My friend Jenny said just the other day, “I desperately want to be who I am. I don’t want the glory that I marvel at in others anymore. I want to be that glory which God set in me.”

Finally, our deepest fear of all . . . we will need to live from it. To admit we do have a new heart and a glory from God, to begin to let it be unveiled and embrace it as true—that means the next thing God will do is ask us to live from it. Come out of the boat. Take the throne. Be what he meant us to be. And that feels risky . . . really risky. But it is also exciting. It is coming fully alive. My friend Morgan declared, “It’s a risk worth taking.”

(Waking the Dead, 87-88)

So, the nakedness I’m talking about is the openness and honesty with ourselves, with each other, and with God that is needed to be the people God can use to make an authentic difference in this world we live in. ”They were naked and not ashamed.” Every single person on this planet has a glory from God that we desperately need. It is that “Imago Dei.” Our original glory. The problem is that we have an enemy who Is afraid of what we could be and do if we discovered our true glory. If you truly believed you were a son or daughter of the Most High God, how would that change the way you see yourself, and others, and GOD?

How many layers of “clothes” do I wear to keep you from seeing my “nakedness?” How many do you wear? Have you looked in the mirror lately? Not that one in the bathroom or on the visor of your car! The mirror of God’s word. The part that reminds you that you have a glory, that it is a glory that God placed in you from before the foundation of the world, and that it is needed. I need it, the church needs it, the world desperately needs it. YOU need it! You and I need to come alive and live from our true hearts. The glorious hearts that God created in you and me. The remnant left in us from before the Fall. Our true selves.

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What’s that smell?

One of my favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. In the climax of the movie, Andy (played by Robbins) makes his bid for freedom. All the time and effort it took to get to this point culminates in a swim through a sewer. The detritus and discards of human waste is the environment in which Andy must crawl through to reach his goal. Freedom. One word that means the world to Andy. And to me.

Setting aside the reason(s) for Andy being in prison; the point is he is willing to take the steps necessary to accomplish his goal-FREEDOM! All through the movie the dominant theme is hope. Hope in a hopeless situation.  Hope that was not a  pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, it was a goal that he could see in his mind’s eye. Andy never stopped believing that freedom was worth working for. He planned for it and worked for it. He did the daily digging, filling his pockets with dirt to sprinkle in the “yard.” It cost him time and effort and sleep and living life on life’s terms inside a prison where the physically strong prey on the weak. Disclaimer. As much as I like this movie, I would not encourage you to watch it with young children. There are scenes that are violent and obscene-just like prison.

Here’s the meaning of all this. Freedom takes time. It takes work. More than anything else, it takes hope. Hope that doesn’t fail. A hope that is based on a faith in a God who loves us.  

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.   Jer. 29:11 AMP 

Andy escaped from prison. A stone and steel prison. He escaped a little bit every day, one spoonful at a time, one day at a time. He knew in his head, and more importantly, in his heart, that hope was good. Without hope he would die. He kept his own hope alive by sharing that hope with Red (played by Morgan Freeman) and planning for the freedom he believed in his heart he would experience one day. Those of us who admit freely our own hurts, habits, and hang-ups get to share in the hope that freedom brings, one day at a time. We have to swim through a lot of crap, some we produced, some we didn’t, to reach the end. But the joy at the end of the tunnel is worth the journey. At the end we are clean. And we are FREE!

What’s that smell?

The cost of freedom.

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Who am I?

One of my favorite bands is Casting Crowns. I like their sound, who they are, their way of communicating. A couple of years ago when I started the journey of recovery, hearing the words of this song caused me to cry and confess and regret and rejoice all at the same time. It’s not ALL about me, It’s all about HIM. And yet, at the same time it is all about me. It’s me (and you) He died for. Somehow, when I try to get my mind and heart around the truth that God sent His son to save a wretch like me, I find it easy to get dis-connected. You know, like when you get the dreaded “Internet Explorer is not loading!” For all of you Firefox and Mac users out there, I probably lost you already. Sorry, I’m addicted to Microsoft. I admit it! It’s one of my hurts, habits and hang-ups. Enough!!!! That rabbit trail is long enough.

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I’m calling,
Lord, you catch me when I’m falling,
And you’ve told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I’m calling,
Lord, you catch me when I’m falling,
And you’ve told me who I am.
I am yours.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I’m calling,
Lord, you catch me when I’m falling,
And you’ve told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

I am yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
‘Cause I am yours.
I am yours.

When I “googled” the words to Who am I? this particular result came back with the words and the “bridge”:

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.

When I saw that I immediately thought of the cross and how perfectly that describes the bridge between God and man, between lost and saved, between heaven and hell. It’s because of us that there was a cross, and at the same time it was because of God that there was a cross. The “bridge’ was in place before the world was created. God knew we would fail the test and sin. Nothing that has ever happened takes the Godhead by surprise.

So, today when I ask myself the question, Who am I?, I look at the empty cross and the “bridge” he built so I could be who I am. Who am I? I am His.  

I hope you are.

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Why I celebrate recovery

I go to a couple of different recovery programs every week. On Monday evenings I go to Celebrate Recovery. On Thursday evening I go to a local AA meeting. You could say that it is the most important part of my life. My recovery IS the most important thing in my life. If I’m not any good for me then I’m sure not going to be any good for you, or for that matter, God.

“A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.” That is from “12 Steps and 12 Traditions”, page 15.

If I had been diagnosed with a terminal disease such as cancer, which my Dad died from, and was told by others who were in remission there was a way to keep the disease at bay and live a productive and healthy life as long as I followed a 12 Step program for the rest of my life, I’m pretty sure that I would have done it. In fact, I did do just that. And, today by the grace of God and the 12 Steps, “ I have a daily reprieve contingent upon the maintenance of my spiritual condition.”

These are the 12 Steps as far as Celebrate Recovery is concerned. They are based on the 12 Steps of AA, with some minor modification.

1.  We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors.  That our lives had become unmanageable. 

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  (Romans 7:18)

2.  Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

     For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.  (Philippians 2:13)

3.  Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God.   

    Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.  (Romans 12:1)

4.  Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

     Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.  (Lamentations 3:40)

5.  Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.

     Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  (James 5:16a)

6.  Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

     Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.   (James 4:10)

7.  Humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.

     If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9)

8.  Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

    Do to others as you would have them do to you.  (Luke 6:31)

9.  Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

    Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.  (Matthew 5:23-24)

10.  Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

       So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  (1 Corinthians 10:12)

11.  Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.

      Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.   (Colossians 3:16a)

12.  Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and practice these principles in all our affairs.

       Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.   (Galatians 6:1)  

Probable the biggest difference between Celebrate Recovery and AA is that Celebrate Recovery is open to ANYONE, not just those struggling with alcohol and/or drugs. The second difference is that they openly acknowledge and celebrate the fact that  freedom from these obsessive and destructive behaviors comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

 I understand the differences between the two programs. Before anyone is going to be ready to turn their lives over to the care of a Higher Power they need to be sober. I only wish every church was as accepting of sinners without accepting the sin as most recovery programs are. We understand that the foot of the cross is level ground.

You may not struggle with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. But ALL of us struggle with something. Here is an excerpt from Rick Warren about the program of Celebrate Recovery.

“The Bible clearly states “all have sinned.”  It is my nature to sin, and it is yours too.  None of us is untainted.  Because of sin, we’ve all hurt ourselves, we’ve all hurt other people, and others have hurt us.  This means each of us need repentance and recovery in order to live our lives the way God intended.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the expression that “time heals all wounds.”   Unfortunately, it isn’t true.  As a pastor I frequently talk with people who are still carrying hurts from 30 or 40 years ago.  The truth is – time often makes things worse.  Wounds that are left untended fester and spread infection throughout your entire body.  Time only extends the pain if the problem isn’t dealt with.

What we need is a biblical and balanced program to help people overcome their hurts, habits and hang-ups. Celebrate Recovery is that program. Based on the actual words of Jesus rather than psychological theory, our recovery program is unique, and more effective in helping people change than anything else I’ve seen or heard of.  Over the years I’ve witnessed how the Holy Spirit has used this program to transform literally thousands of lives at Saddleback Church and help people grow toward full Christlike maturity.”

Ask the men down at Helping Up Mission, or the recovering alcoholic who is starting to see the miracles happen, or the church deacon who is struggling with porno, or the housewife addicted to soaps and Twizzlers, or……… You name it. It’s there. In your workplace, your church, maybe in your own family. Maybe it’s the pink elephant in the middle of the living room no one will talk about.

In AA they say that fish swim, birds fly, drunks drink. It’s their nature. We are all sinners whether we’ve been saved or not. Ask Paul. That’s why we need a savior. We are lost, broken, beat-up, dirty sinners. We don’t need a bath or a band-aid, we need open heart surgery! Take out the old heart. Put in a new one. One that is honest with ourselves, with God, and with each other.

This is a “we” program. God could have chosen any term he wanted to describe His church. He chose to compare it to a BODY with all its different parts. It takes all of us, those who know we’re sinners, those who are willing to turn their lives and wills over to the care and management of God, and yes, even those of us who think we have it all together. “We” are the church.

Tonight I went to a church service.  I’ve been going there for over two years on Thursday nights. A lady who had over 3 1/2 years of sobriety admitted to the church that she had 3 or 4 beers last week. It took a lot of courage and humility to admit to a group of your peers (that’s what we are in church, you know) that you screwed up. It hurts deep down inside to know that you didn’t have to take that drink, but you did. It was one of the best church services I’ve been to in a while because she admitted her slip, we forgave her, helped her to forgive herself, and reminded her that she didn’t have to live like that. She had already asked her Higher Power to forgive her (she calls Him God), now she needed to know that we forgave her so she could forgive herself and get up and keep on truckin’. It is a “we” program.  She came where she felt safe and loved and unjudged. Would she feel safe coming to a service at your church? Do you? I hope so.

Why do I celebrate recovery? Because it was God’s plan from jump street.

“He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

   God’s Spirit is on me;
      he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to
       the poor,
   Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
      recovery of sight to the blind,
   To set the burdened and battered free,
      to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.”

 Luke 4:16-21 The Message

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The ivy strikes again…aaaaahhh!

I can’t seem to get away from the stuff. Every time I go outside to work now I run into this insidious noxious weed. So, what do I do? Do I stay inside, out of the reach. Do I cover up with a safe suit like someone working with bio-hazardous waste? Or, do I just charge full steam ahead-”Damn the torpedoes!” There has to to be a better way. I can’t just ignore the hazards and dangers of coming into contact with poison ivy. I need a way to be able to live and work amongst the ivy and, at the same time not face a foe as insidious and tenacious as ivy without having my defenses up.

After my first bout of ivy about 10 days ago, I became more aware that I needed to be able to identify my foe so I could at least make an intelligent decision as to whether to continue working around, and in it, or not. Next step was to find out the best safeguards to prevent the ivy from causing its dreaded side effects if I took the calculated risk to work in the same area where it existed. Finally, and the place where I am now, is finding out what is the best cure for the itch and rash associated with ivy. In otherwards, knowing my enemy; his methods, his ways, and the risks associated with playing in his backyard.

As someone who has always been a risk taker (check out my resume’), I have had a tendancy to act without taking into account the risks involved. My motto has always been, “it’s better to ask forgiveness, than ask permission.” Not always the wisest choice.

Last Saturday, I worked from 7am till 2pm with some friends taking down some apple trees at the edge of a pasture in Carroll Co. Knowing how to identify my enemy now, I recognized it as soon as I got there and realized that I would be working around, and in it, all day long. In otherwards, I had a choice to make, stay and take my chances, and help my friend, or leave and avoid the risk of contamination and the chance to help my friends, Tom and Kathi. But, I had not gone into this battle without planning ahead. Rhonda had some stuff called Derma-Shield that put a layer of protection between my skin and the ivy. (The smart thing would have been to wear long pants. Smart I’m not!). So, needless to say, here I am on Monday with a few more spots of Ivy on my legs, but I am alive to tell the story and my friends are happy.

Here’s the point. As Christians “we live and move and have our being” in a world of danger and traps all around us. This world is not a safe place. And, if we just blindly forge ahead without taking the risks we face as real, there is a good probability we are going to take some good hits. Assuming that BECAUSE we are God’s kids that we are safe from harm is naive’, if not unbiblical. St Peter assures us that we have an enemy that is looking for us so he can tear us to shreds. I Peter 5:8-10. We have to be aware that there is an enemy and that he wants to destroy everything good and Godly about us and the world we live in. Take him seriously. The good news is we have an awesome armor bearer who is also our best friend and infinitely stronger than our foe. But, we have to do our part.

Our part is not only to be aware but to fight. Did you think that we were handed the keys to the kingdom and we wouldn’t have to fight to hold onto it? We are part of God’s mission in Christ-that’s where we get the term co-mission, as in the Great Commission. You and me and all the other members of this army called the Body. All the necessary pieces of armor are included in Ephesians 6:10-18. Put them on or face the consequences. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Help others to be aware of the battle going on. And, don’t ever stop fighting. Don’t let your guard down. Ask some of us who have taken some severe hits what it feels like to ignore the facts. Thank God for Jesus, and for the saints around us who remind us of how deadly and sneaky a foe we have.

I will close with a story from my own life that is shameful, but I will always remember. I lived for 18 years in Alabama where I met the twins’ mom. There was a day when Mom and Dad were visiting us and I came home from work drunk and high and angry. Something set me off and I was raging at my parents, cursing at them and almost foaming at the mouth. My Dad just sat there and let me rage and say all of those dreadful things to him and my Mom, knowing what was going on inside me. Spiritual warfare was a vital part of my parents’ lives and ministry. When I ran out of steam for a moment, my Mom, with tears in her eyes, looked up at me and simply said, “Harvey, if you just hated satan as much as he hated you.” I could not respond so I left.

My friends, as much as we might not like to admit it, or be a part of it, there IS a war going on right now for the hearts and minds and bodies and reputations and health and wealth of believers everywhere.

On the label of the can of Derma-Shield Rhonda gave me to protect my arms and legs from the poison ivy was a picture of a shield, implying that there was a battle going on. The Word of God paints the same picture. Have you put your armor on today?

As we say in AA, “It works if you work it.”

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