one becomes increasingly single-minded, and fixed ever more steadily in a conscious contact with one's Higher Power

To the extent that one wavers between self-consciousness and God-consciousness, one's thoughts, words, and actions are bound to fluctuate, waver, and to become "unstable in every way." To the extent that one draws near to God, clears away the wreckage of one's past, and purifies one's heart in order that he or she may help others, however, one becomes increasingly single-minded, and fixed ever more steadily in a conscious contact with one's Higher Power.

The goal of A.A. is thus "ego deflation at depth" so that altruistic and compassionate action based on God-consciousness may increasingly predominate in our lives.

The goal of A.A.

The goal of A.A. is thus "ego deflation at depth" so that altruistic and compassionate action based on God-consciousness may increasingly predominate in our lives.

The point of the Twelve Steps is not so much to arrest one's drinking

within each of us an at-first predominant ego (or small "self") and a higher, God-consciousness which is the essence of all spiritual experience. The point of the Twelve Steps is not so much to arrest one's drinking (which is more of a prerequisite), but to enable one to effect an ever clearer and more consistent conscious contact with this highest portion of one's being.

Dr. Bob's famed summary of the A.A. program and way of life?

 Dr. Bob's famed summary of the A.A. program and way of life? "Trust God. Clean house. Help others." Notice how closely this mirrors the above passage from James 4:8. ("Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. Wash clean your hands, ye sinners. Purify your hearts ye double minded.")

Some years ago there lived a man who decided to give up drinking until he could make a million dollars

Some years ago there lived a man who decided to give up drinking until he could make a million dollars, at which time he intended to drink in moderation. It took him five years - of sobriety -to make the million; then he began his 'moderate' drinking. In two or three years he lost all his money, and in another three he died of alcoholism."

the Great experiment that is waiting to be made - giving God control.

Peace, direction, power - the fullness of life - await the complete surrender of ourselves to God for His purposes. This is the Great experiment that is waiting to be made - giving God control. How do we begin the experiment?

To put it very simply, God cannot take over my life unless I am WILLING. Willingness is not a matter of feeling. It is not a vague desire that God should change me. It is not an impulsive resolve to obey God in future. It is a very practical thing.

"If a man is bankrupt and consents to his chief creditor reorganizing and running the business, the first thing he must do is to produce the books - all of them. The difficulty with so many debtors is that they conceal some of their debts, or fail to mention some particularly foolish blunder or some doubtful transaction to which fear prompted them... If, then, I want God to take control of my life, the first thing I must do is to produce the books. I must be willing to look with God at everything... It may be useful at this point if I get a pencil and paper, and make some notes." (When Man Listens- Cecil Rose - 1937).

Bill didn't write "May you find IT now" or "May you find HER now". Bill wrote "May you find Him now"

Again, we have to point to the fact that A.A. founder Bill W. himself called Alcoholics Anonymous "Spiritual Kindergarten". That, and the fact that we're talking about alcoholics here. Wet or dry, members of AA are all alcoholics. Left untreated or guilty of "resting on our laurels" for even a short period of time as alcoholics are prone to do, alkies become the epitome of "self-will run riot". Particularly when a member has never really grown out of Spiritual kindergarten, who has become like a big fish in a little pond (AA community) solely because of the years he or she has abstained from alcohol, alcoholics tend to forget that our Serenity is contingent on the daily maintenance of our Spiritual condition.

Thnk about this for a moment: If a person has done so little homework that they remain in Kindergarten for 5, 10, 20 years or more rather than continuing their education and growth as normal folks do, would you expect them to be intellectual giants or even to be reasonable, being that they only have a Kindergarten education? Hardly. It would be absurd of anyone to expect even a life-long kindergartner to be mature, logical or reasonable. Nor do we expect from Kindergartners any semblance of social skills, discernment, grace, patience or education. We don't expect Kindergartners to know very much about anything because they simply are not educated yet.

AA's leadership structure is such that anyone can volunteer for virtually any leadership position. Clearly, over time, Secular Humanists with a grudge against religion have - just as they are everywhere else on the planet - been loud and rude and intimidating and have fostered a climate of ignorance that is now found relatively accepted in the AA community. That is to say, SHs have lowered the bar considerably from where Bill and Bob and the first more than 100 men and women had set it, so far, in fact, that the success rate of the Alcoholics Anonymous program has dropped from 78-93% to what AA today estimates to be 1-3%. Any business or relationship which had suffered such a dramatic drop in success would consider themselves bankrupt, would they not?

So there you have it. AA has morphed into a shadow of it's former self because alcoholics have spent years embracing Political Correctness rather than seeking the Lord with all of their heart. More concerned that someone might be offended by the mention of the Real Founder of the 12 Step program, alcoholics have been busy codepending the next Newcomer for years, keeping real AA history a secret from them and pretending that anyone or anything might be God. Bill didn't write "May you find IT now" or "May you find HER now". Bill wrote "May you find Him now" because Bill was referring to the Lord that is so openly referred to throughout the book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Granted, people still find sobriety there. By AA's own estimation, 1-3% of the people at a given meeting will be sober in a year.Yay. Not exactly statistics worth writing home about, let alone writing a book about. But just like the story of the old man throwing starfish back into the water at low tide, when someone pointed out that "Why bother when what you're doing isn't making any difference" Picking up another starfish and tossing it back into the water the old man said "It made a difference to that one". How many more people, then, might AA help if the leadership and the oldtimers simply humbled themselves and did what the book says to do? Bill spoke glowingly about the church community, clergy and about Our Father, who art in Heaven. It doesn't take rocket science to understand that Bill was pointing us to Jesus. And yet, all it takes is the collective belligerence of a few Politically Correct nazis coupled with the fear inherent in alcoholics in early recovery and suddenly the Lord becomes an unwanted guest. Oh, and the success rate for helping alcoholics recover drops from nearly 100% to virtually 0%. Stark, that.

an alcoholic "must be reborn" if he or she is to successfully recover.

A.A. founder Bill W. himself called Alcoholics Anonymous "Spiritual Kindergarten" and suggested in the first 164 pages of the Big Book that we would "Be sure to see where religious people are right" and not to suffer from contempt prior to investigation, to keep an open mind regarding things of a Spiritual nature. Those instructions were compiled in his effort to show other alcoholics how they had achieved sobriety. Having had a Spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, Bill knew - and stated - that this was but a beginning of a new Spiritual way of life, and states clearly that an alcoholic "must be reborn" if he or she is to successfully recover.

Ironic, then, isn't it, that of the Spiritual Kindergartners Bill and Bob helped raise up so many generations ago, today many AAers are still stuck in Spiritual Kindergarten. AA fellowships are chock full of Spiritual Kindergartners who liked kindergarten so much they chose to ignore Bill's instructions to "be sure to see where religious people are right" and, in fact, in their arrogance and Spiritual immaturity have even chosen to pretend that somehow AA is better than Christianity as revealed in the mantra "Religion is for people who don't want to go to Hell, but Spirituality is for people who've been there and don't want to go back". Some arrogant and deluded AA's actually imagine "Spirituality" is somehow better than "Religion" which has existed for thousands of years. In fact, Alcoholics Anonymous was born from religion (Christianity) and wouldn't exist today if Bill and Bob hadn't discovered what billions of Christians had already known for thousands of years. You see, the 12 Steps wasn't any new discovery. What was discovered by Bill and Bob is that Christianity works to set the captives free when one takes it seriously and chooses to be "a doer of the word", not just a hearer of the word as Bill read in James 1:22-25.This "program of action"? Simply two men taking James 1:22-25 serously and discovering that it works. Ironically, in "Bill's Story", which is Bill's testimony about how he got sober, an old friend who was instrumental in pointing Bill to the Lord mentioned that "I've found religion". Spiritual Kindergartners look down their noses at religious people in the same way children look down their noses at their parents and their teachers, and we all know who the ignorant are in that scenario.

The Power which flowed in and changed Bill and Bob and the first more than 100 men and women of AA in such a profound way was the Power of Jesus Christ.

Did you know that Bill and Bob and the first more than 100 members of Alcoholics Anonymous considered calling their alcohol recovery fellowship "The James Club", rather than "Alcoholics Anonymous"? The reason AA was almost named "The James Club" is because the early members of AA found much of their guidance and direction, God's instructions, in fact, in the book of James found in the New Testament of the Bible. Almost every step is found in that book, along with other instructions and information that early AA found valuable to faciliating the profound change in their personalities. Scripture is what set the first members of AA free. There was no Big Book in 1935. Bill didn't publish it until 1939, so what did the first AA members use as their basic text? They used the Bible, of course. They focused primarily on the book of James, 1 Corinthians, the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. The Truth that is God's Word set those people free. No door knob or rainbow or some imagined "Higher Power" ever set anyone free. It was - and is - only by the power of the Most High God, Jesus Christ, God the Father and His Holy Spirit who set the captives free. Hence the 78-93% success rate at the time the Big Book was published. The truth is that AA today is a shadow of her former self, and has been riding on the back of AA's early success for decades now, while intentionally watering down the program and demanding the removal of the reference to which all 12 Steps were gleaned: the Bible. Bill and Bob found the Steps in the Bible, yet AA doesn't want a Bible in the room? It's no wonder the success rate is only 1-3% today. The Power which flowed into the first more than 100 men and women of AA did not come as a result of faithfully following the Bible's instructions. The Power which flowed in and changed Bill and Bob and the first more than 100 men and women of AA in such a profound way was the Power of Jesus Christ. That is the truth about AA's wild success when AA first began.

AA's ineffective fantasyland of a program in which Man creates his own God, rather than "May you find Him now" as Bill and Bob did.

The reason Bill W. and Dr. Bob wrote the Big Book in the first place was because they were experiencing a 78-93% success rate over the first 4 years of AA's existence. Compare 78-93% with the accepted 1-3% success rate of today's shadow of AA's former self, and one would have to ask ones self "What happened? Why is the success rate so much lower than it was in 1939?"

The success rate of today's watered-down, diluted version of the program which inspired Bill to write the book in the first place would never have inspired anyone to write a book about it at all. In fact, I suspect that alcoholics who quit drinking by white knuckling it are likely about the same 1-3% success rate as AA's ineffective fantasyland of a program in which Man creates his own God, rather than "May you find Him now" as Bill and Bob did.

That is to say that quitting on your own without a 12 Step program probably accomplishes about the same success rate as AA does today: 1-3%. Certainly nothing to write a book about, amen? The truth is that there are specific and identifiable reasons why AA's success rate of 78-93% took a nosedive to just 1-3%. In fact, 1-3% is practically no success rate at all and I'm certain that if in 1939 Bill and Bob were only experiencing a 1-3% success rate, they never would have bothered writing a book about it.

Most of the early AA members were taken through all 12 Steps in 7-10 days

 Most of the early AA members were taken through all 12 Steps in 7-10 days, not in 12 months as is common today. Who changed that?

Alcoholics Anonymous and The Book of James:

Alcoholics Anonymous and The Book of James:


This book of the Bible was said by Bill Wilson to be the favorite of early AAs. So much so that many wanted to call the A.A. Society "The James Club." And since we first featured this piece of history, many AAs, Christian and otherwise, have formed Big Book/Bible Study groups. Some called "James Clubs."

Studying Each Chapter in the Bible along with A.A. Literature - one portion at a time

Alcoholics Anonymous History -- the origins, the roots, and the early tools can be your special, simple, inexpensive way of reading, studying, learning, and applying three of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship program's absolute essentials--as Dr. Bob called them. The three, in the order of your holiday study of A.A, can be (1) The Book of James in the Bible. (2) Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the Bible, and (3) 1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible--the so-called chapter on love.

Faith Tested by Responding to the Will of God

James Lesson 8: Faith Tested by Responding to the Will of God (4:13-17)

James:Tests of a Living Faith

Faith Tested by Responding to the Will of God (4:13-17)

By Steve Budd

Section Summary

The genuiness of a person’s faith is characterized by doing the will of God “from the heart”. A constant disregard for or disinterest in God’s will is a mark of the presence of pride and an unredeemed soul.

Outline

I. It is foolish to ignore God’s will (13-14)

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

James describes those who ignore God in their plans. They choose their own time (today or tomorrow), their own place (such and such a city), the duration of their stay (spend a year there), their enterprise (engage in business), and their goal (make a profit). These were most likely Jewish businessmen who were practical atheists, living as though God did not exist. James reminds such people of two things:

1. We don’t know the future.

2. Life is short.

On September 11, 2001, I was reminded of a verse in Ecclesiastes that describes the uncertainty and brevity of life. That verse, coincidentally, is Ecclesiastes 9:11;

“I have seen something else under the sun: That the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance overtake them all.”

II. It is arrogant to deny God’s will (16)

But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

James now describes a second group of people who arrogantly deny God’s will. These could be described as self-theists. They refuse to submit the uncertainties of life to God, and emulate the sin of Satan described in Isaiah 14:13-14: You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

III. It is a sin to disobey God’s will (17)

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

This next group of people seems to affirm God’s existence and His supremacy, but proceed to disobey it. “Therefore” affirms that they have now been warned. Meditate on the following paraphrase of this verse; make it visible in the places where you are prone to sin (your PC?), note it in your Daytimer, and recall it to memory in times of temptation. As we will see in the next section, God honors such obedience with His blessing.

“Knowing what should be done obligates a person to do it.” -Donald Burdick

IV. It is a blessing to acknowledge God’s will (15)

Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

We now come to the point of exciting application. Can we know God’s will? If so, how can we know it? Can we know it all? To answer these questions, we go to a very short but appropriate verse in the Old Testament; Deuteronomy 29:29:

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

We see here that we indeed can and should know God’s will, and we can find His will in the pages of Scripture (the things revealed). We also see that we cannot know it entirely (the secret things). Thus we see two aspects of God’s will:

God’s Revealed Will – Theologians call this God’s will of command, will of desire, or moral will. These are the things that God’s Word tells us we should do. There are at least five things that are clearly described as God’s will for us:
That we be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9)
That we be Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18)
That we be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)
That we be submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15)
That we suffer (1 Peter 3:17, Philippians 1:29)

These passages all clearly proclaim God’s will for our lives. This is the part of God’s will that we can know, and should obey.

God’s Secret Will – Theologians call this God’s will of decree or providential governance. This represents the things that God has not chosen to reveal.

To see how these two aspects of God’s will work, we’ll look at the words of Joseph to his brothers in Genesis 50:20: “You intended to harm me (men disobeying God’s revealed will), but God intended it for good (God’s secret will) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Parenthetical comments mine)

We also see these two aspects working in the salvation of men, where God “…wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (God’s will of desire, I Timothy 2:4), yet only He determines who will be saved (God’s will of decree, Acts 13:48, Ephesians 1:4-5, John 1:12-13).

Can a man resist God’s will of desire? Yes, and we often do. Our adherence to God’s revealed will determines personal blessing or chastisement. Can a man resist God’s will of decree? To quote John Piper, “Yes, but only as long as God allows it.” What God has decreed will come to pass for His glory. We challenged the class to replace the word “accident” with “Providence” in their vocabulary.

One might ask, “Is God the author of sin and evil?” The answer is, “Absolutely not.” So how do sin and evil fit into God’s secret will? We can look again at a dramatic example from Scripture; the Crucifixion of Christ:

- “This man (Jesus) was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.” (Acts 2:23).

- “They did what Your power and will determined beforehand should happen.” (Acts 4:28).

See also the ninth chapter of Romans, and Grudem’s quote below.

"God Himself never sins but always brings about His will through secondary causes; that is, through personal moral agents who voluntarily, willingly do what God has ordained. These personal moral agents (both human beings and evil angels) are to blame for the evil they do. Scripture repeatedly gives examples where God, in a mysterious, hidden way, somehow ordains that people do wrong, but continually places the blame for that wrong on the individual human who does wrong and never on God Himself." -Wayne Grudem

The next time we ask about God’s will for our lives, I trust we will strive to obey His revealed will. If we can say with a good conscience that we are in line with this will, I believe we are at liberty to do anything we desire to do, since our desires will be God-given, as it says in Psalms:

“Delight yourself in the Lord (i.e. obediance is the prerequisite) and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Parenthetical comments mine)

Do you not desire, then, to be sober?

Do you not desire, then, to be filled? And is your heart drunk? Do you not desire, then, to be sober? Therefore, be ashamed! And now, waking or sleeping, remember that you have seen the Son of Man, and with him you have spoken, and to him you have listened. Woe to those who have seen the Son of Man! Blessed are those who have not seen the Man, and who have not consorted with him, and who have not spoken with him, and who have not listened to anything from him. Yours is life! Know, therefore, that he healed you when you were ill, in order that you might reign. Woe to those who have rested from their illness, because they will relapse again into illness! Blessed are those who have not been ill, and have known rest before they became ill. Yours is the Kingdom of God! Therefore I say to you, become full and leave no place within you empty, since the Coming One is able to mock you."

Then Peter answered: "Lord, three times you have said to us 'Become full', but we are full."
The Lord answered and said: "Therefore I say unto you, become full, in order that you may not be diminished. Those who are diminished, however, will not be saved. For fullness is good and diminution is bad. Therefore, just as it is good for you to be diminished and, on the other hand, bad for you to be filled, so also the one who is full is diminished; and the one who is diminished is not filled as the one who is diminished is filled, and the one who is full, for his part, brings his sufficiency to completion. Therefore, it is fitting to be diminished while you can still be filled, and to be filled while it is still possible to be diminished, in order that you can fill yourselves the more. Therefore become full of the spirit but be diminished of reason. For reason is of the soul; and it is soul."

It has been called "the brick that built the universe," "the angel of creation" and "the god particle."

It is thought to have emerged from the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago and have brought much of the rest of the flying debris together to form galaxies, stars and planets.

It is a key component of the "Standard Model" - the all-encompassing theory developed by physicists of how the cosmos as we know it works at its basic level of particles and forces.

But until now, in the four decades since it was first posited no one has convincingly claimed to have glimpsed the Higgs Boson, let alone to have proved that it actually exists.

At an eagerly awaited briefing on Tuesday at the CERN research centre near Geneva, two independent teams of "Higgs Hunters" - a term they themselves hate - were widely expected to suggest they were fairly confident they had spotted it.

But not confident enough, in the physics world of ultra-precision where certainty has to be measured at nothing less than 100 percent, to announce "a discovery."

In the jargon, this level is described as 5 sigma, which would exclude the possibility that the results recorded by the ATLAS and CMS teams at CERN - the 21-nation European Organisation for Nuclear Research - are not a fluke.

A MILLION APPLES

As one scientist explained, that level of accuracy would equate to 17th century discoverer of gravity Isaac Newton sitting under his apple tree and a million apples one after another falling on his head without one missing.

Some leading scientists, including Briton Stephen Hawking, doubt that the tiny piece of matter that would be visible only as a trace on a computer screen is out there at all.

But most scientists involved in sifting through vast amounts of data produced in multi-trillions of particle impacts in CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) over the past 20 months seem sure that it is, at least in one form or another.

As is another Briton, physicist Peter Higgs who conceived the idea of the boson - a type of particle that carries force - in the mid-1960s to explain why much of the matter produced by the Big Bang has mass, and can therefore coalesce.

"I find it difficult to imagine how the theory (the Standard Model) works without it," he told the London monthly, Prospect.

Higgs, now 82 and seen as a Nobel prize contender, conceived of a mechanism that would fit into the Standard Model and allow particles to have mass - which the model had previously failed to explain.

The mechanism, he argued, was a medium - since called the Higgs Field - existing throughout the universe, which gave other particles mass as they passed through it and were brought together by the Higgs boson.

Without this mechanism, a briefing paper by CERN explains, "the universe would be a very different place.... no ordinary matter as we know it, no chemistry, no biology, and no people."

Higgs - who, like the vast majority of particle physicists as shown in surveys, rejects any religious explanation of the origins of life and the cosmos - has no time for the more spiritual epithets applied to his boson.

"For me, it is there because it is there," he once told journalists on a visit to Geneva, where in the 1960s he worked for a while at CERN, adding archly: "As long as we can prove scientifically that it is."

encouraging us to fearlessly give whatever we have for the glory of God, eager to see how God's plan will unfold, and confident that God's plan will be far more marvelous than anything we could have ever imagined.

Jesus' words were an echo of this Psalm, perhaps Jesus was proclaiming that he, just as the psalmist, had overcome his self-pity and was living every moment in the glory of God.

The crux of this matter is: Was Jesus expressing self-pity? or was he giving us a greater message?

To me the answer is clear... Jesus knew that he was being betrayed, and could have easily gone into hiding rather than being captured, but he did not. Rather than run or hide, Jesus went peacefully and lovingly  into the hands of his captors knowing that he would be crucified.

Jesus knew exactly what was happening. He knew of his impending death. He could have escaped to avoid capture, but he did not run away. In fact, he stayed and even threw a big dinner party to celebrate the occasion. Clearly, Jesus chose to go along with whole plan, knowing full well that he was to be crucified. Does that sound like someone who would feel forsaken?

On the contrary, Jesus showed us that he would not be distracted from his ministry of Love where the greatest of principles is to rise above one's own self-centered concerns in order to "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart..." (Luke 10:27).

Jesus told us, and showed us, that we must rise above our self-centered concerns such as selfishness and self-pity. Jesus told us: "No servant can serve two masters". (Luke 16:9-13)  That is one of the great messages of the crucifixion. Self-centered concerns such as possessions and money will all come and go, they can never offer any lasting happiness, only the Divine Presence of God offers everlasting peace and joy.

Those who choose to put their ego, their body, or their possessions above God will indeed suffer and cry in self-pity and self-made torment, while those who put God above themselves will see the glory of God everywhere and will thereby discover both true love and life eternal.

When one is able to see the works of God in life, another world is opened before one; then a man does not look at the world as everybody else does, for he begins to see not only the machine going on but the engineer standing by its side, making the machine work. This offers a still greater interest, the greatest interest in life. If one were to be flayed or crucified one would not mind, for one rises above all pain and suffering, and one feels it worthwhile to be living and looking at this phenomenon that gives one in one's lifetime the proof of the existence of God.

      from The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Volume XI, Nature

On that day of crucifixion, while showing all of mankind an example of selfless action, confident of his eternal life, Jesus cried out in joy, excitedly wondering what God would do with him next, wondering what wondrous adventure God had in mind for him next, saying:

   My God, My God, for what am I being set free?

which might be paraphrased as:

   My Sweet Lord, what great works will we do next?

And most importantly, these inspiring words are not merely a comment from 2000 years ago, but if we are courageous enough these words are guidance for each of us today, encouraging us to fearlessly give whatever we have for the glory of God, eager to see how God's plan will unfold, and confident that God's plan will be far more marvelous than anything we could have ever imagined.

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Why did Jesus say, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Question: "Why did Jesus say, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"" Answer: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). This cry is a fulfillment of Psalm 22:1, one of many parallels between that psalm and the specific events of the crucifixion. It has been difficult to understand in what sense Jesus was “forsaken” by God. It is certain that God approved His work. It is certain that He was innocent. He had done nothing to forfeit the favor of God. As His own Son - holy, harmless, undefiled, and obedient - God still loved Him. In none of these senses could God have forsaken Him. However, Isaiah tells us that “he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; that he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; that the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him; that by his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). He was made a sin-offering, and He died in our place, on our account, that He might bring us near to God. It was this, doubtless, which caused His intense sufferings. It was the manifestation of God’s hatred of sin, in some way which He has not explained, that Jesus experienced in that terrible hour. It was suffering endured by Him that was due to us, and suffering by which, and by which alone, we can be saved from eternal death. In those awful moments, Jesus was expressing His feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the world on Him – and because of that had to “turn away” from Jesus. As Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, He was experiencing separation from God for the only time in all of eternity. It was at this time that 2 Corinthians 5:21 occurred, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus became sin for us, so He felt the loneliness and abandonment that sin always produces, except that in His case, it was not His sin – it was ours.

Take control of my life and change me, making me the kind of person You want me to be.”

Dear God, I want to know You personally and live eternally with You. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life and change me, making me the kind of person You want me to be.”

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends.

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." (Colossians 1:21b-22a NLT).

“Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?

 “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?” are all answered in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul writes, “It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.” (Ephesians 1:11, The Message)

certain I could understand or say fell naturally from my lips

And so early Friday morning, while I sat alone staring at the sea I love, words I had not been certain I could understand or say fell naturally from my lips: 'Lord Jesus, I believe You. I accept You. Please come into my life. I commit it to You

One man who was on the 92nd floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center had just heard a jet crashing into the north tower.

One man who was on the 92nd floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center had just heard a jet crashing into the north tower. Stunned by the explosion, he called the police for instructions on what to do. “We need to know if we need to get out of here, because we know there’s an explosion,” he said urgently on the phone.

The voice on the other end advised him not to evacuate. “I would wait ’til further notice.”

“All right,” the caller said. “Don’t evacuate.” He then hung up.

Shortly after 9:00 A.M., another jet crashed into the 80th floor of the south tower. Nearly all 600 people in the top floors of the south tower perished. The failure to evacuate the building was one of the day’s great tragedies.17

Those 600 people perished because they relied on the wrong information, even though it was given by a person who was trying to help. The tragedy would not have occurred had the 600 victims been given the right information.

Our conscious choice about Jesus is infinitely more important than the one facing the ill-informed 9/11 victims. Eternity is at stake. We can choose one of three different responses. We can ignore him. We can reject him. Or, we can accept him.

Christ has done for us what we could not do for ourselves:

God loves us and created us for a relationship with Himself 11
We have been given the freedom to accept or reject that relationship 12
Our sin and rebellion against God and His laws have created a wall of separation between us and Him 13
Though we are deserving of eternal judgment, God has paid our debt in full by Jesus' death in our place, making eternal life with Him possible.14

Bono gives us his perspective on grace.

"Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff..I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge..It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity."15

We now have the picture of God's plan of the ages coming together. But there still is one missing ingredient. According to Jesus and the authors of the New Testament, each of us individually must respond to the free gift Jesus offers us. He won't force us to take it.

It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven

The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled. It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven

Imagine entering a courtroom, guilty of murder

Imagine entering a courtroom, guilty of murder (you have some serious issues). As you approach the bench, you realize that the judge is your father. Knowing that he loves you, you immediately begin to plead, "Dad, just let me go!"

To which he responds, "I love you, son, but I'm a judge. I can't simply let you go."

He is torn. Eventually he bangs the gavel down and declares you guilty. Justice cannot be compromised, at least not by a judge. But because he loves you, he steps down from the bench, takes off the robe, and offers to pay the penalty for you. And in fact, he takes your place in the electric chair.

spiritual death means being completely separated from the light and life of God.

“separation” means spiritual death. And spiritual death means being completely separated from the light and life of God.

Sin causes the severing of all relationships

Sin causes the severing of all relationships: the human race severed from its environment (alienation), individuals severed from themselves (guilt and shame), people severed from other people (war, murder), and people severed from God (spiritual death). Like links on a chain, once the first link between God and humanity was broken, all contingent links became uncoupled.

God created human beings with a unique capacity: free will.

Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power … and yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels … she would surely not resist—no one dared resist him. But would she love him? She would say she loved him of course, but would she truly?6

You see the problem. Less poetically put: How do you break up with an all-knowing boyfriend? (“It’s just not working out between us, but I guess you already knew that.”) But to make freely exchanged love possible, God created human beings with a unique capacity: free will.

God who created the Universe might be looking for company

It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people….”5 In other words, before the universe was created, God planned to adopt us into His family. Not only that, but He has planned an incredible inheritance that is ours for the taking. Like the father’s heart in Jesus’ story, God wants to lavish on us an inheritance of unimaginable blessing and royal privilege. In His eyes, we are special.

rebellious son who rejected his father’s advice about life and what is important. Arrogant and self-willed, the son wanted to quit working and “live it up.”

Jesus told us that God is loving. Jesus demonstrated God’s love wherever he went, as he healed the sick and reached out to the hurting and poor.

God’s love is radically different from ours in that it is not based upon attraction or performance. It is totally sacrificial and unselfish. Jesus compared God’s love with the love of a perfect father. A good father wants the best for his children, sacrifices for them, and provides for them. But in their best interests, he also disciplines them.

Jesus illustrates God’s heart of love with a story about a rebellious son who rejected his father’s advice about life and what is important. Arrogant and self-willed, the son wanted to quit working and “live it up.” Rather than waiting until his father was ready to give him his inheritance, he began insisting that his father give it to him early.

In Jesus’ story, the father granted his son’s request. But things went bad for the son. After squandering his money on self-indulgence, the rebellious son had to go to work on a pig farm. Soon he was so hungry even the pig food looked good. Despondent and not sure his father would accept him back, he packed his bag and headed home.

Jesus tells us that not only did his father welcome him home, but he actually ran out to meet him. And then the father went totally radical with his love and threw a huge party celebrating his son’s return.

It is interesting that even though the father greatly loved his son, he didn’t chase after him. He let the son he loved feel pain and suffer the consequences of his rebellious choice. In a similar way, the Scriptures teach that God’s love will never compromise what is best for us. It will allow us to suffer the consequences of our own wrong choices.

Jesus also taught that God will never compromise His character. Character is who we are down deep. It is our essence from which all our thoughts and actions stem. So what is God like—down deep?
God is Holy

Throughout the Scriptures (nearly 600 times), God is spoken of as “holy.” Holy means that God’s character is morally pure and perfect in every way. Unblemished. This means that He never entertains a thought that is impure or inconsistent with His moral excellence.

Furthermore, God’s holiness means that He cannot be in the presence of evil. Since evil is the opposite of His nature, He hates it. It’s like pollution to Him.

But if God is holy and abhors evil, why didn’t He make our character like His? Why are there child molesters, murderers, rapists, and perverts? And why do we struggle so with our own moral choices? That brings us to the next part of our quest for meaning. What did Jesus say about us?

Think of the psychological absurdity of picturing a little band of defeated cowards cowering in an upper room one day and a few days later transformed into a company that no persecution could silence

Think of the psychological absurdity of picturing a little band of defeated cowards cowering in an upper room one day and a few days later transformed into a company that no persecution could silence - and then attempting to attribute this dramatic change to nothing more convincing than a miserable fabrication ... That simply wouldn’t make sense

I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me.

I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, and then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world - and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible

patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside down by a nutcase, for me that’s far-fetched

So what you’re left with is either Christ was who He said He was---or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson….I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside down by a nutcase, for me that’s far-fetched…

He also chose to reach out to the outcasts (prostitutes and lepers), those without power, creating a network of people whose influence was less than zero.

Jesus shunned all attempts to move him in the direction of seated power, instead chastising those who abused such power and lived their lives pursuing it. He also chose to reach out to the outcasts (prostitutes and lepers), those without power, creating a network of people whose influence was less than zero. In a way that could only be described as bizarre, all that Jesus did and said moved diametrically in the other direction from power.

most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.

Now let us get this clear. Among Pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God….But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world, who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.

C. S. Lewis initially considered Jesus a myth. But this literary genius who knew myths well, concluded that Jesus had to have been a real person.

C. S. Lewis initially considered Jesus a myth. But this literary genius who knew myths well, concluded that Jesus had to have been a real person. Furthermore, as Lewis investigated the evidence for Jesus, he became convinced that not only was Jesus real, but he was unlike any man who had ever lived. Lewis writes,

“Then comes the real shock,’ wrote Lewis: ‘Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time.”18

To Lewis, Jesus’ claims were simply too radical and profound to have been made by an ordinary teacher or religious leader

No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me a teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet….I’m saying I’m God incarnate

No, it’s not far-fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off the hook. Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me a teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet….I’m saying I’m God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take

The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins

Jesus’ friends and enemies were staggered again and again by what he said and did. He would be walking down the road, seemingly like any other man, then turn and say something like, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ Or, ‘If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.’ Or, very calmly, after being accused of blasphemy, he would say, ‘The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ To the dead he might simply say, ‘Come forth,’ or, ‘Rise up.’ And they would obey. To the storms on the sea he would say, ‘Be still.’ And to a loaf of bread he would say, ‘Become a thousand meals.’ And it was done immediately

Confessions of a Big Book Sponsor

Who Am I?





I am a Big Book Sponsor. I practice the 12 Step Program as outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original recipe for recovery as practiced by the original 100 who recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.





By working the Twelve Step program as described in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, I have had a spiritual awakening. The obsession to drink and use has been removed. My progressive alcoholic/addiction illness has been arrested. My disease has been placed into remission. I have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. As a result, I am able to remain, almost effortlessly, abstinent from alcohol and all mind-altering substances. I have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even alcohol and drugs. My sanity has been returned. I am not fighting temptation, nor am I avoiding people, places and things on a trigger list. I feel as though I had been placed in a position of neutrality safe and protected. I have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for me. I am neither cocky nor am I afraid. This is how I react so long as I keep in fit spiritual condition. Furthermore, by living in the disciplines of Steps 10, 11 and 12 everyday, I have a daily program of action that really works in rough going. I have way of living without alcohol or drugs.





You can recognize me at 12 Step meetings because I am the one who brings my own Big Book. To show other alcoholics/addicts precisely how I recovered is the main purpose of this book. I carry a common solution--a way out on which we can absolutely agree and upon which we can join together as brothers and sisters in harmonious action. My deportment shouts that I am a person with a real answer. I carry no attitude of Holier Than Thou. I do not talk down to the alcoholic/addict from any moral or spiritual hilltop. I ask for no payment. I have no axes to grind nor people to please. You can expect to endure no lectures from me. My only desire is to be helpful. I offer friendship and fellowship.




What I do





You will find me at 12 Step meetings armed with the facts about myself. As an ex-problem drinker/user, you will see me making an approach to the newcomer--looking for someone who needs and wants hear about our common solution--someone with an honest desire to stop drinking or using--someone who wants what I have and is willing to follow the instructions as outlined in the Big Book--someone who wants to be joyous and free of active alcoholism and or addiction.





When I find someone who really wants to stop drinking or using, we go to a coffee shop and, together we read and study the first 164 pages of the Big Book. When we come to a Step instruction, we take the Step together as instructed in the Big Book. I practice co-sponsorship--two addicts, working one-on-one, seeking a Higher Power. Because lack of power is our dilemma, we meet three to four times a week, working quickly, all 12 Steps in 30 days or less. My purpose for sponsorship is to teach others how to teach others how to work the 12 Step program as outlined in the Big Book of A.A. Therefore, once the new person has learned and worked all 12 Steps and is living in the disciplines of Steps 10 and 11 on a daily basis, I help my sponsee find a qualified addict who wants to stop and get them working together on their 12 Step journey. Thus, I conclude my formal sponsorship with my sponsee, knowing that they have a dependence, not on me, but upon their Higher Power. Moreover, I rest easy, knowing that the fellowship has one more teacher amongst its members, freeing me to commence looking for another willing, honest and open-minded addict to instruct and repeat the process.




Working with other alcoholics/addicts





I have carried the message of the Big Book to many alcoholics and addicts and rarely have I seen a person fail who thoroughly follows our path.





Untreated alcoholic/addicts are unlovely people. My struggles with them are strenuous, comic and tragic. Those who could not or would not see our way of life are often consumed by their temptations which leads them to the gates of insanity or death. Helping other addicts is the foundation stone of my recovery. A kindly act once in a while isn't enough for me. I have shared time, energy and money. My business and personal life has been interrupted by the telephone ringing at any time of the day or night. My spouse sometimes feels neglected. I have made innumerable trips to police courts, detox centers, hospitals, jails and asylums. I have counseled frantic spouses and relatives. Occasionally I have to meet such conditions.





I have worked hard with many alcoholics/addicts on the idea that only an addict can help another addict. I have had many failures. I once asked another Big Book Sponsor about their success rates and she replied, "I am 100% successful". Astounded, I asked how is that possible? She replied, "I'm still sober". That to me is one of the best kept secrets in our fellowship today. I often hear that this is a "selfish program", but whenever I put my sobriety first I could never stay sober. When I started showing the newcomer how to stay sober, I have found no trouble staying sober. As Doctor Bob once remarked, "strenuous work one alcoholic with another was vital to permanent recovery".




Love and tolerance of others is my code





In the 12 Step rooms I have been accused of being a Step Nazi, Big Book Thumper, a Holy Roller, a Zealot, and most recently I was called a "Steptard". I have been thrown out of groups and asked not to come back. I have been asked not to bring my Big Book into some A.A. meetings. I have been physically and verbally threatened by members of the fellowship for teaching that our 12 Step Program can be learned in an afternoon. I have been blamed for killing people with the Big Book.





When confronted with such animosity, my program tells me I have to look at my part. Have I been crusading, righteous, or critical? Have I been engaging in frothy debates or windy arguments? Have I been demonstrating an attitude of intolerance? Yes, there have been times when I have been all these things, but I claim spiritual progress not perfection and I am no saint.





I confess that I am a Big Book fundamentalist. I work my Big Book like a recipe for recovery. When I follow the 12 Step instructions as outlined in the book, it awakens my mind and I make conscious contact with my Higher Power. I must remember that when I focus my mind on what is wrong with the fellowship and the meetings today, the more I become restless, irritable and discontented. I must remember that the meetings are filled with many suffering and untreated addicts. Therefore, I practice acceptance and focus on what is good about the meetings and the fellowship. I try to see what I can positively add to the meeting--my only desire is to be helpful. Sometimes I have charged the "meeting makers" of killing people with their, "Don't drink and go to meetings" mantra. In return, they, the "Meeting Makers Make It" sect, have accused me of killing people with my Big Book thumping attitude. What I have learned is this: it is not the "Meeting Makers" that are killing people nor is it the "Big Book thumpers", it's the 20 to 30 years of abusive drinking and using that kills the alcoholic/addict. I must remember that I have no monopoly on recovery, but I do know that the Big Book solution works.




Why do I continue to work with other alcoholic/addicts?





Having had a spiritual experience, I try to practice the 12 Step principles in all my affairs. First, I take care of family, for sobriety is not enough and I am a long way from making good to my spouse, parents and children whom for years I have so shockingly treated. Second, I take care of my business, for there can be no family if I am not self-supporting. And third, in my spare time, I carry this message to other alcoholic addicts. For me, this approach, in this order, is a balanced program.





Over the years I have witnessed a fellowship grow up about me. I have watched the spirit grow in the eyes of a suffering individual and seen them recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. I have seen them make a 180 degree turn in life, only to help some other suffering addict do the same. This is the experience I would not miss. I know you will not want to miss it either. Frequent contact with newcomers and other Big Book sponsors is a bright spot in my day.





My life has taken on a new meaning and I seem to be of benefit to others. I have found a new freedom and happiness. I know serenity and peace. I continue to lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in the people in my life. My attitude and outlook on life has changed. Fear and economic insecurity is down and I know how to intuitively handle situations which use to baffle me. I realize that my Higher Power does for me what I could not do for myself alone.




A Vision For You





Thus I grow spiritually and so can you with a Big Book in your hand. It contains all you will need to begin working with the addict who still suffers. I know what you are thinking, "I'm a newcomer myself and I do not have enough sobriety time to be of use to anyone. What could I possibly offer another newcomer? Maybe I should wait a year or two." Rubbish! By working the Big Book solution, you will tap a source of power greater than yourself. To duplicate, with such backing, what I have accomplished is only a matter of willingness, patience and labour. Remember your reliance is always upon your Higher Power. It will show you how to create the fellowship you crave. Ask in morning mediation what you can do for the addict who still suffers. The answers will come if you work your program. But if you are shaky you had better work with another alcoholic/addict instead. Remember you have recovered and have been given the power to help others. You will soon find out that when all other measures fail, work with another alcoholic/addict will save the day. Give freely of what you have been shown and join us on the Broad Highway of the Fellowship of the Spirit. You will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.





Trust God, Clean House, Help Others.





 
 Confessions of a Big Book Sponsor

We're recruiting. Perhaps you will join us. Or maybe you have already joined. All are welcome. The door is open.

On the surface of the Earth exactly now there is war and violence and everything looks horrible. But, simultaneously, something quiet, calm and hidden is happening and certain people are being called by a higher light. A quiet revolution is settling from the inside out. From bottom to top. It is a global operation. A spiritual conspiracy. There are cells from this operation in every nation on the planet. You will not watch us on TV. Or read about us in newspapers. Or hear our words on radios. We do not seek glory. We do not use uniforms. We arrive in several different shapes and sizes. We have costumes and different colors. Most work anonymously. Silently we work out of the scene. In every culture in the world. In large and small cities, in the mountains and valleys. In the farms, villages, tribes and remote islands. We might cross paths on the streets. And not realize ... We follow in disguise. We are behind the scenes. And we do not care about who wins the gold of the result, and Yes, that the work gets performed. And once in a while we will cross paths on the streets. We exchange looks of recognition and continue following our path. During the day many are disguised in their normal jobs. But at night behind the scenes, the real work begins. Some call us army of consciousness. Slowly we are building a new world. With the power of our hearts and minds. We follow with joy and passion. Our orders reach us from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We're throwing soft bombs of love without anyone noticing; poems, Hugs, songs, photos, movies, fond words, meditations and prayers, dances, social activism, websites, blogs, acts of kindness ... We express ourselves in a unique and personal way. With our talents and gifts. Being the change we want to see in the world. This is the force that moves our hearts. We know that this is the only way to accomplish the transformation. We know that with the silence and humbleness we have the power of all oceans together. Our work is slow and meticulous. As in the formation of mountains. Love will be the religion of the 21 century. Without educational prerequisites. Without ordering an exceptional knowledge for your understanding. Because it is born of the intelligence of the heart. Hidden for eternity in the evolutionary pulse of every human being. Be the change you want to see happen in the world. Nobody else can make this work for you. We're recruiting. Perhaps you will join us. Or maybe you have already joined. All are welcome. The door is open.

Become aware of God’s presence.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.

2. Review the day with gratitude.

3. Pay attention to your emotions.

4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.

5. Look toward tomorrow.

to feel nothing that is done against me

Happy Joyous and Free to be reborn and renewed in the Spirit.Humility is perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, or irritable, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing that is done against me