Recovery is scary. Even thinking about recovery is scary. It's a life transformation, and big changes in life are always frightening...but because Christ walks with us, we can have hope, faith and courage.
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Christ walks with us, every step we take. Unfortunately, some of us have taken Christ into some pretty shameful places!
But He forgives us, understands our weaknesses, and rejoices when we call to Him with humility and faith. Although we may be fearful facing the journey of recovery, we know he'll be withus each step of the way.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepard;
I shall not want
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For his name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever
Enough said.
Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
We feel afraid because we feel alone. But we only feel alone when we do not feel God's love. Pray to Him for strength, courage,love. Feel your heart swell with God's love until there can be no room for fears that hold you back.
Who among us can resist "the devil's schemes" alone? We are weak, and faced with enough temptation, few of us can resist. But the Lord is strong, and the Lord will cloak us in an armor of faith. All we have to do is ask for it!
Friday, September 11, 2009
NEW STEP STUDIES! JOIN US
The fall session of step studies has started. Join us every Wednesday at 7 for study and discussion. Anytime is a great time to take the first step toward recovery.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Lord's Prayer...Week 7
"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' " —Matthew 6:9–15 (NIV)
Lead Us Not Into Temptation:
These words of the last petition of the Lord's Prayer come from our lips with greatest fervor. We have turned to prayer in a desperate hour to plead for deliverance and we ask that we may be taken out of the path of temptation.
There is no doubt in the mind of any one who is in trouble what the words of this petition mean, and there is rather little doubt, at least at first, what we wished to be saved from.
Temptation has sly ways, however. After we have all the gaps plugged. Temptation begins to whisper fairy tales into our ears, trying to get us to open up at least one of the gaps. Temptation hints that the diagnosis we made when we took the first of the Twelve Steps was not quite right. Why not take just one now and then? And why not ask to be delivered from the temptation of taking more than one? But then, three would be better, why not never more than three?
Or, Temptation may make a more direct assault. We're as big as God is: we can step off that cliff!
Well, maybe not quite; but we are capable of handling ourselves, and there is no reason why we cannot go down to the water's edge and wade around a bit! We forget that for us there is no shallow water.
Temptation stays with us, trying to build up our confidence, trying to make us believe that we have been cured, scoffing at the old troubles. Temptation slips in at the side door when we become proud and satisfied. It is the greatest to those who have persisted in remaining at the threshold of evil by always having that "Some day!" in the back of the mind. The most persistent temptation we have is the temptation to change the diagnosis. When we turn our backs firmly against that temptation we are likely to stay out of trouble.
Self love is a great pitfall, and the source of the great sins. Many of the temptations here seem rather innocent. But they lead, step by step to denial of the Supreme Power, to exaltation of the self.
For us, deliverance and temptation go together, and one of the most important evils that we seek to be freed from is temptation. Drink has become so much a part of our lives that we associate virtually
every act with it. The result is that the idea of drink, the urge to take a drink or to go to get a drink constantly pops into the mind for no apparent reason. The Devil here is experience.
As our sins may be forgiven if we are truly contrite, so may we be delivered from the evils we have created for ourselves, by being sorry for our misdeeds, by undertaking to make good for any injury we have done to others, and by striving not to offend again. We are bound to take positive action for the right and the good, and we are bound not to allow ourselves drift with our inclinations. We place
ourselves in the hands of the Supreme Power and follow the lead we receive from that power, away from temptation, away from evil.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Lead Us Not Into Temptation:
These words of the last petition of the Lord's Prayer come from our lips with greatest fervor. We have turned to prayer in a desperate hour to plead for deliverance and we ask that we may be taken out of the path of temptation.
There is no doubt in the mind of any one who is in trouble what the words of this petition mean, and there is rather little doubt, at least at first, what we wished to be saved from.
Temptation has sly ways, however. After we have all the gaps plugged. Temptation begins to whisper fairy tales into our ears, trying to get us to open up at least one of the gaps. Temptation hints that the diagnosis we made when we took the first of the Twelve Steps was not quite right. Why not take just one now and then? And why not ask to be delivered from the temptation of taking more than one? But then, three would be better, why not never more than three?
Or, Temptation may make a more direct assault. We're as big as God is: we can step off that cliff!
Well, maybe not quite; but we are capable of handling ourselves, and there is no reason why we cannot go down to the water's edge and wade around a bit! We forget that for us there is no shallow water.
Temptation stays with us, trying to build up our confidence, trying to make us believe that we have been cured, scoffing at the old troubles. Temptation slips in at the side door when we become proud and satisfied. It is the greatest to those who have persisted in remaining at the threshold of evil by always having that "Some day!" in the back of the mind. The most persistent temptation we have is the temptation to change the diagnosis. When we turn our backs firmly against that temptation we are likely to stay out of trouble.
Self love is a great pitfall, and the source of the great sins. Many of the temptations here seem rather innocent. But they lead, step by step to denial of the Supreme Power, to exaltation of the self.
For us, deliverance and temptation go together, and one of the most important evils that we seek to be freed from is temptation. Drink has become so much a part of our lives that we associate virtually
every act with it. The result is that the idea of drink, the urge to take a drink or to go to get a drink constantly pops into the mind for no apparent reason. The Devil here is experience.
As our sins may be forgiven if we are truly contrite, so may we be delivered from the evils we have created for ourselves, by being sorry for our misdeeds, by undertaking to make good for any injury we have done to others, and by striving not to offend again. We are bound to take positive action for the right and the good, and we are bound not to allow ourselves drift with our inclinations. We place
ourselves in the hands of the Supreme Power and follow the lead we receive from that power, away from temptation, away from evil.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
The Lord's Prayer...Week 6
"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' " —Matthew 6:9–15 (NIV)
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us:
No one who has completed his moral inventory can pass over this petition lightly.
First, what are trespasses? Any act contrary to the moral law, a neglect of duty, an injury or wrong to another person, is a trespass. "Moral" is used here in its proper sense as pertaining to action with reference to right and wrong and obligation of duty. It refers not only to things we have done but also to things we have neglected to do.
Some of our trespasses are easy to recognize. We have no difficulty in seeing our guilt in them. Others may be more difficult, partly because we have spent so much time in justifying and excusing our
acts or neglects that we have come to think of justification as answering the accusation. It is precisely at this point that our moral inventories must become fearless. Every excuse or justification must be challenged as being in itself evidence of guilt.
We should examine our conduct in detail and specify each trespass. This is important. The Lord's Prayer does not excuse us from responsibility for our acts. Nor is it a license for repetition of wrongful acts. We are bound to make reparation for harm that we have done, and we are bound to cease doing harm.
Our prayer is made daily. So should our inventories be made daily. In our prayer, we should keep in mind the things the inventories have revealed, so that we may make progress in correcting our faults.
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." This petition is conditional. No one who is not willing to forgive can expect to be forgiven. No one who harbors hatred, malice and resentment in his heart can expect to find peace.
This condition is of particular concern to us, since so many of us suffer through resentment, self pity, jealousy, self love. It has been the experiences of all of us who try to control resentment that most of the causes of our resentments are found to be either imaginary or petty, and that they actually have done us no real harm. When we can rid ourselves of these resentments, we shall make progress.
Honest inventory often will reveal that in those cases in which we have suffered in our dealings with others, some of the fault, much of the fault, or even most of the fault has been ours. But even in those few instances in which we have suffered genuine injury at the hands of others, we are bound to forgive. Certainly we gain nothing but harm to ourselves when we allow resentment to fill our minds and
consume our energies. When we forgive, we heal our minds.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us:
No one who has completed his moral inventory can pass over this petition lightly.
First, what are trespasses? Any act contrary to the moral law, a neglect of duty, an injury or wrong to another person, is a trespass. "Moral" is used here in its proper sense as pertaining to action with reference to right and wrong and obligation of duty. It refers not only to things we have done but also to things we have neglected to do.
Some of our trespasses are easy to recognize. We have no difficulty in seeing our guilt in them. Others may be more difficult, partly because we have spent so much time in justifying and excusing our
acts or neglects that we have come to think of justification as answering the accusation. It is precisely at this point that our moral inventories must become fearless. Every excuse or justification must be challenged as being in itself evidence of guilt.
We should examine our conduct in detail and specify each trespass. This is important. The Lord's Prayer does not excuse us from responsibility for our acts. Nor is it a license for repetition of wrongful acts. We are bound to make reparation for harm that we have done, and we are bound to cease doing harm.
Our prayer is made daily. So should our inventories be made daily. In our prayer, we should keep in mind the things the inventories have revealed, so that we may make progress in correcting our faults.
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." This petition is conditional. No one who is not willing to forgive can expect to be forgiven. No one who harbors hatred, malice and resentment in his heart can expect to find peace.
This condition is of particular concern to us, since so many of us suffer through resentment, self pity, jealousy, self love. It has been the experiences of all of us who try to control resentment that most of the causes of our resentments are found to be either imaginary or petty, and that they actually have done us no real harm. When we can rid ourselves of these resentments, we shall make progress.
Honest inventory often will reveal that in those cases in which we have suffered in our dealings with others, some of the fault, much of the fault, or even most of the fault has been ours. But even in those few instances in which we have suffered genuine injury at the hands of others, we are bound to forgive. Certainly we gain nothing but harm to ourselves when we allow resentment to fill our minds and
consume our energies. When we forgive, we heal our minds.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Lord's Prayer...Week 5
"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' " —Matthew 6:9–15 (NIV)
Give us this day our daily bread:
This is the 24-Hour Plan of life in the Lord's Prayer, and as such it is far from being the simple petition for the gift of food that it seems. This petition is worthy of our particular consideration, since it has special meanings for us in AA.
"Bread" in the Lord's Prayer means all the things that man needs to sustain life. The petition is concerned wholly with material things. Every material thing, whether it is food, clothing, shelter, a convenience of life or a means of pleasure, is solely the product of the labor of man applied to the gifts of nature. We get nothing without labor, but our labor would not be fruitful were it not for the gifts of nature, which are the fruits of the labor of God. It is a fundamental law that man must work if he is to live. It is a fundamental truth that life depends on God's bounty.
"Give us this day our daily bread" is first of all an acknowledgment that we are dependent upon God's bounty. But those who will take the trouble to read the Sermon on the Mount, in which the Lord's Prayer
appears, will discover ample evidence that the word "daily" in this petition is of greatest importance.
"Give us today bread for today," the petition means tomorrow's bread we will seek tomorrow. Thus, this is a renunciation, one that grows out of the last of the Ten Commandments (covetousness). It is linked
spiritually with the declaration that "Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Granted that man must have bread, he must not make the pursuit of
material things the ruling passion of his life.
Now this is of particular interest to us. For most of us in AA became alcoholics largely because of our concern over material things. A few of our younger alcoholics are simply undisciplined children who have devoted themselves to the pursuit of pleasure and escape from the responsibilities of life. But most of our older alcoholics are men and women who have suffered frustration and disappointment, who have discovered that the aims they had in youth never are to be realized. We have had to cut our patterns to fit our opportunities, to walk when we had hoped to soar aloft. Moreover, the depression that preceded the present war made alcoholics of many men who ordinarily would have escaped.
Devotion to material things made tragedy out of disappointment.
No one would suggest that we turn away from the material entirely. We must care for our needs and our family's needs. And in our present economic order, a prudent man will save something if he can.
But if we are to have health, economic pursuits must not be our ruling passion. Ambition and pride and covetousness, the desire for wealth and the demand for power must be curbed, and with them, the
resentment and jealousy that come in the wake of frustration. We have to learn to be satisfied with what we can achieve, and in learning to be satisfied, it is well to renounce something of our aims. We may start by being practical. We may go on by finding interest in higher things. The man who has given up
greed is on the way to happiness.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Give us this day our daily bread:
This is the 24-Hour Plan of life in the Lord's Prayer, and as such it is far from being the simple petition for the gift of food that it seems. This petition is worthy of our particular consideration, since it has special meanings for us in AA.
"Bread" in the Lord's Prayer means all the things that man needs to sustain life. The petition is concerned wholly with material things. Every material thing, whether it is food, clothing, shelter, a convenience of life or a means of pleasure, is solely the product of the labor of man applied to the gifts of nature. We get nothing without labor, but our labor would not be fruitful were it not for the gifts of nature, which are the fruits of the labor of God. It is a fundamental law that man must work if he is to live. It is a fundamental truth that life depends on God's bounty.
"Give us this day our daily bread" is first of all an acknowledgment that we are dependent upon God's bounty. But those who will take the trouble to read the Sermon on the Mount, in which the Lord's Prayer
appears, will discover ample evidence that the word "daily" in this petition is of greatest importance.
"Give us today bread for today," the petition means tomorrow's bread we will seek tomorrow. Thus, this is a renunciation, one that grows out of the last of the Ten Commandments (covetousness). It is linked
spiritually with the declaration that "Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Granted that man must have bread, he must not make the pursuit of
material things the ruling passion of his life.
Now this is of particular interest to us. For most of us in AA became alcoholics largely because of our concern over material things. A few of our younger alcoholics are simply undisciplined children who have devoted themselves to the pursuit of pleasure and escape from the responsibilities of life. But most of our older alcoholics are men and women who have suffered frustration and disappointment, who have discovered that the aims they had in youth never are to be realized. We have had to cut our patterns to fit our opportunities, to walk when we had hoped to soar aloft. Moreover, the depression that preceded the present war made alcoholics of many men who ordinarily would have escaped.
Devotion to material things made tragedy out of disappointment.
No one would suggest that we turn away from the material entirely. We must care for our needs and our family's needs. And in our present economic order, a prudent man will save something if he can.
But if we are to have health, economic pursuits must not be our ruling passion. Ambition and pride and covetousness, the desire for wealth and the demand for power must be curbed, and with them, the
resentment and jealousy that come in the wake of frustration. We have to learn to be satisfied with what we can achieve, and in learning to be satisfied, it is well to renounce something of our aims. We may start by being practical. We may go on by finding interest in higher things. The man who has given up
greed is on the way to happiness.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
The Lord's Prayer...Week 4
"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' " —Matthew 6:9–15 (NIV)
Thy Will Be Done:
So few words that we can utter are as vital to us as these words in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done." In uttering these words we surrender to the will of a Power greater than our own. This is the essential act in the third of the Twelve Steps, the step that is the very heart of our program.
The instincts that rule our material selves are largely instincts of self-preservation. They make Self our first concern and they are the causes of most of the troubles that we can fall into. Self-concern leads to egotism, to self-assertion, to vanity, to lack of concern for the feelings of others: It leads to things that destroy us: lust, greed, and similar excesses of body passions.
A sane view of life is that all things are good in their right use. But we have devoted ourselves to the misuse of a number of things and have regarded ourselves accountable to no man. Now that the bill
for our misconduct has been presented, we find ourselves thoroughly rooted in misuse and thoroughly the victims of our impulses.
Now that we are in AA, most of us have recognized our chief errors. Most of us see the need for control, for responsible action, for curbs on selfish acts. We have seen how some of the results of our
habits of thought, in resentment, in self-pity, in jealousy, in other aspects of self-love, return again and again to harass us.
Our head strong tendencies demand surrender, demand a yielding of ourselves to the will of an external power. To place ourselves in the hands of that Power, we have to create new habits of action to
keep us out of old ruts.
We may continue to do all the things that nature intended us to do, but it is important that we do those things under control. We must control impulses, particularly those associated with our excesses.
Most difficult, perhaps, are those times when there is an urge that we cannot define, just a general tension under the skin and a hazy hut strong impulsive feeling in the mind. These are times when it is
particularly necessary to call on the aid of the Supreme Power.
We must develop the habit of turning to the Supreme Power at all times, at regular daily intervals, at times when we are under stress. Impulses should be discharged by addressing ourselves directly to the Supreme Power and asking for guidance. We must learn to see the signs of headstrong and self-willed action and remember the troubles that such action has brought in the past. Our watchword here is, "Easy does it."
It is the will of the Supreme Power that we love our neighbors, that we be merciful and just in all our action. Perhaps we should be especially mindful of the warning that we should not judge others. We have to learn to be tolerant and to improve our own ways of living.
These things are hard at first because they run so contrary to the habits we have developed. Our task is to develop new habits in which we place the direction of our lives in the hands of a Power greater than our own. We have to do it first by conscious effort. Eventually we find that when we turn to the Supreme Power and accept the guidance of that power, the painful shackles fall away and the driving impulses lose their force and we find a measure of peace.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Thy Will Be Done:
So few words that we can utter are as vital to us as these words in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done." In uttering these words we surrender to the will of a Power greater than our own. This is the essential act in the third of the Twelve Steps, the step that is the very heart of our program.
The instincts that rule our material selves are largely instincts of self-preservation. They make Self our first concern and they are the causes of most of the troubles that we can fall into. Self-concern leads to egotism, to self-assertion, to vanity, to lack of concern for the feelings of others: It leads to things that destroy us: lust, greed, and similar excesses of body passions.
A sane view of life is that all things are good in their right use. But we have devoted ourselves to the misuse of a number of things and have regarded ourselves accountable to no man. Now that the bill
for our misconduct has been presented, we find ourselves thoroughly rooted in misuse and thoroughly the victims of our impulses.
Now that we are in AA, most of us have recognized our chief errors. Most of us see the need for control, for responsible action, for curbs on selfish acts. We have seen how some of the results of our
habits of thought, in resentment, in self-pity, in jealousy, in other aspects of self-love, return again and again to harass us.
Our head strong tendencies demand surrender, demand a yielding of ourselves to the will of an external power. To place ourselves in the hands of that Power, we have to create new habits of action to
keep us out of old ruts.
We may continue to do all the things that nature intended us to do, but it is important that we do those things under control. We must control impulses, particularly those associated with our excesses.
Most difficult, perhaps, are those times when there is an urge that we cannot define, just a general tension under the skin and a hazy hut strong impulsive feeling in the mind. These are times when it is
particularly necessary to call on the aid of the Supreme Power.
We must develop the habit of turning to the Supreme Power at all times, at regular daily intervals, at times when we are under stress. Impulses should be discharged by addressing ourselves directly to the Supreme Power and asking for guidance. We must learn to see the signs of headstrong and self-willed action and remember the troubles that such action has brought in the past. Our watchword here is, "Easy does it."
It is the will of the Supreme Power that we love our neighbors, that we be merciful and just in all our action. Perhaps we should be especially mindful of the warning that we should not judge others. We have to learn to be tolerant and to improve our own ways of living.
These things are hard at first because they run so contrary to the habits we have developed. Our task is to develop new habits in which we place the direction of our lives in the hands of a Power greater than our own. We have to do it first by conscious effort. Eventually we find that when we turn to the Supreme Power and accept the guidance of that power, the painful shackles fall away and the driving impulses lose their force and we find a measure of peace.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Lord's Prayer...Week 3
"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' " —Matthew 6:9–15 (NIV)
Thy Kingdom Come:
In our thoughts on the Lord's Prayer. we are inclined to pass over the words, Thy kingdom come. The words seem to us to refer either to life beyond the grave, or to the age-old hope of the prophets and the religious for the day when God's kingdom shall be set up on earth and swords shall be beaten into plowshares.
But the Lord's Prayer is essentially a prayer for our daily needs, one through which we strive to place ourselves within the sphere of God's works. While the world at large still does not conduct itself as the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom exists today for all those who will turn to it.
For those of us who have found our lives unmanageable, the Kingdom of God is our sure refuge. By acknowledging ourselves as the subjects of a Power greater than our own, as obedient to the laws of life that have grown out of the experience of mankind throughout the ages, we can restore ourselves. We place ourselves in the Kingdom of God within us.
What is the Kingdom of God? The Apostle Paul said it is not meat or drink.
That means it is not the material side of lift. Those whose interests lie alone in bread, in wealth , in the comforts of life, do not find the Kingdom of God. They are more likely to find themselves victims of lust and greet, to find themselves selfish and intolerant, to find themselves where we found ourselves as the result of our one-sided interest in material things.
The Kingdom of God, said Paul, is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Some of us shy away from words like "righteousness," which have a "goody-goodv" sound. But what is a righteous man but one who is upright and honest and fair and free from the will to do wrong.
The Kingdom of God. we might say, is the realm of honesty and unselfishness and purity and love, the four principles that guide our efforts to remake our lives. Some of our members call them the Four Absolutes.
The Kingdom of God is peace: the peace from the tortures of the mind and the flesh that we have suffered so many years. With honesty and unselfishness and purity and love, by being upright and fair and free from the will to do wrong, by casting from us the errors that have troubled us, we can relax and find peace in the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Spirit. Perhaps Paul meant to suggest that it is the joy that comes to us through acceptance of the Holy Spirit. And so it is. But many of us, who have spent so many years in error and have been inclined to look with contempt upon those persons who followed the way of God, tend to keep the Holy Spirit at arm's length. Many are inclined to think that it is not quite "grown up" to find joy in the Holy Spirit. Thus we persist in error, and deprive ourselves of the opportunity to find peace. We have to let ourselves find joy in the Holy Spirit.
It is well to recall the first three of the Twelve Steps. We confessed that we were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable. We decided that a Power greater than our own could restore us to sanity. We undertook to place our lives and our wills in the hands of that Power.
So now we acknowledge the Supreme Power, "Our Father." We regard that Power reverently. And we ask that we live today in the realm of that Power, when we are upright, where we find peace, where we find joy in the Holy Spirit. Thy Kingdom come.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
Thy Kingdom Come:
In our thoughts on the Lord's Prayer. we are inclined to pass over the words, Thy kingdom come. The words seem to us to refer either to life beyond the grave, or to the age-old hope of the prophets and the religious for the day when God's kingdom shall be set up on earth and swords shall be beaten into plowshares.
But the Lord's Prayer is essentially a prayer for our daily needs, one through which we strive to place ourselves within the sphere of God's works. While the world at large still does not conduct itself as the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom exists today for all those who will turn to it.
For those of us who have found our lives unmanageable, the Kingdom of God is our sure refuge. By acknowledging ourselves as the subjects of a Power greater than our own, as obedient to the laws of life that have grown out of the experience of mankind throughout the ages, we can restore ourselves. We place ourselves in the Kingdom of God within us.
What is the Kingdom of God? The Apostle Paul said it is not meat or drink.
That means it is not the material side of lift. Those whose interests lie alone in bread, in wealth , in the comforts of life, do not find the Kingdom of God. They are more likely to find themselves victims of lust and greet, to find themselves selfish and intolerant, to find themselves where we found ourselves as the result of our one-sided interest in material things.
The Kingdom of God, said Paul, is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Some of us shy away from words like "righteousness," which have a "goody-goodv" sound. But what is a righteous man but one who is upright and honest and fair and free from the will to do wrong.
The Kingdom of God. we might say, is the realm of honesty and unselfishness and purity and love, the four principles that guide our efforts to remake our lives. Some of our members call them the Four Absolutes.
The Kingdom of God is peace: the peace from the tortures of the mind and the flesh that we have suffered so many years. With honesty and unselfishness and purity and love, by being upright and fair and free from the will to do wrong, by casting from us the errors that have troubled us, we can relax and find peace in the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Spirit. Perhaps Paul meant to suggest that it is the joy that comes to us through acceptance of the Holy Spirit. And so it is. But many of us, who have spent so many years in error and have been inclined to look with contempt upon those persons who followed the way of God, tend to keep the Holy Spirit at arm's length. Many are inclined to think that it is not quite "grown up" to find joy in the Holy Spirit. Thus we persist in error, and deprive ourselves of the opportunity to find peace. We have to let ourselves find joy in the Holy Spirit.
It is well to recall the first three of the Twelve Steps. We confessed that we were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable. We decided that a Power greater than our own could restore us to sanity. We undertook to place our lives and our wills in the hands of that Power.
So now we acknowledge the Supreme Power, "Our Father." We regard that Power reverently. And we ask that we live today in the realm of that Power, when we are upright, where we find peace, where we find joy in the Holy Spirit. Thy Kingdom come.
[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]
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