Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Psalm 50:14

– Remember what God has done.
Focus on God and remember He is
In control. Set aside ‘quiet time’ to
build your relationship with Him.

– Tell others about it.
We cannot predict who will respond
to God’s calling through hearing our
experience, strength and hope. We
must never prevent someone from
having the opportunity to by keeping
quiet.

– Show God’s glory in you life.
The more we know Christ the more
we reflect His glory. The Holy Spirit
helps us change our lives. The closer
we follow Jesus, the more we
become like Him.

– Serve God and others.
Service to others is a way of serving
God. To live for Christ we must be
willing to do and to say what He
would do and say. We must be
willing to give when others take, to
live when others hate and to help
where others don’t.

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman. But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation. God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.

1. God holds is accountable for our
attitudes and actions.

2. We need to be alert and ready.

3. We need to look after each other,
encourage each other and keep
each other accountable.

If we continually do things our own way, rejecting God’s plan for us we are headed for self-destruction.

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

Often the people we think least likely to make progress in recovery experience healing and life transformation because they are humble enough to ask God for help,

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

We are accountable for every word that we speak: “The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”  Matthew 12:36

God is not content with us doing the right thing some of the time. He wants us to do the right thing all the time. That’s why Principle eight says “I yield myself to God to be used to bring this ‘Good News’ to others, both by my examples and my words.”

WATCH WHAT YOU SAY!

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

After one week of 2014 I am sorry to say it has not been a very ‘Happy New Year’. One man dead due to heart attack at a time when he had made the decision to ‘turn his life around’. One man murdered, tragically as he slept on the streets of Melbourne. Each of us needs to pay attention to these two losses of life, years before they were expected.

This year – 2014 at Celebrate Recovery in Melbourne it is my hope CR will be a place of:

Helping – In John 9:38 we read the of the disciples jealousy of a man Jesus healed because they were more concerned about themselves than others. It is my hope people will find help in CR, even when they are (1) Different, and don’t fit into our mould. (2) Difficult, and don’t see the big picture of what God can do in their lives if they trust Him. (3) Disorderly, and fail to comply to our standards of behavior

Healing – In Matthew 4:23 we read how Jesus traveled through Galilee teaching, preaching and healing both physical and spiritual sickness. It is my hope that as people enter CR we  will be confident there is no sin or problem to big to be healed by Jesus offering of freedom, hope and peace of heart through Celebrate Recovery.

Happiness – Matthew 5:11-12 teaches us that happiness is much more that how we feel. When Jesus talks about s being blessed He is talking about us experiencing hope and joy outside of our circumstances that can only be found through personal relationship with Him.

People, lets take this shocking week at the start of 2014 and make it count, make it spur s in to be all that God wants us to be in and through the ministry of CR so at the end of this year we can all look back at this time as a time we learned to depend on God for all our needs.

 

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

This week at CR in Melbourne we are looking at lesson 15.

Victory can be measured differently for all of us. If someone is homeless for 15-20 years and suddenly has a number of weeks in safe, secure, alcohol and drug free accommodation that may not seem like a victory to some. But for the person going through the experience it can be a massive victory of the first steps to changed life. someone has been addicted to alcohol and drugs for 2-3 years and has a number of clean months that may seem like failure to some of us but to the person experience clean, sober living for the first time in years it can the beginning of hope of finally beating their addiction. A person attends their first Celebrate Recovery meeting, doesn’t participate much but listens in the large group and in the small group. At the end of the evening they decide “it’s not for me” but I got on with ???? so I will stay in touch with them. It may seem like failure to us but a seed has been planted, and God is at work.

Proverbs 21:31 says we should “do our best – prepare for the worst and trust God to bring VICTORY!“

It is important for us all on the ‘Road to Recovery’ yo remember we are not responsible for the victory – ours or other people’s. We are responsible for taking responsibility for our own recoveries, putting in the best effort we can to live as God calls s to live and leave the results in His hands.

JOIN US! Thursday night, 7:00pm at CR Melbourne, The Salvation Army, 69 Bourke Street (on the first floor)

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

Admit you are wrong

James 5:16 tells us to admit we our wrongs to each other for one purpose – HEALING.

We are in recovery not to fix a relationship, not to get a better job, and not to impress others. We are in recovery to learn to rely on God, to learn His will for our lives and to gain His power to follow His will.

Thursday night we are looking at LESSON 13 Admit at Celebrate Recovery in Melbourne. Come alomg and join us if you can. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. John 9:41

The longer we are in recovery, the more confidence we build in our Higher Power. Turning our life and will over to the care of Jesus changes our perception and understanding of God. The longer we are in relationship with Jesus the more we “grow in spiritual strength” (2 Peter 2:18)

‘The Way’ to lasting, growing maturity in recovery is a continual, daily walk with Jesus. Now that we have seen all He offers [forgiveness and changed life] and have chosen the path of follower we have no excuse for hiding in our guilt.

Celebrate Recovery@theSalvos

You make me glad by your deeds, Lord; 
 I sing for joy at what your hands have done. Psalm 92:4

Praising God is a necessary part of the process of recovery. It acknowledges all He has done for us. It proclaims His unfailing love for us. Praise and thanks are a natural response to God’s faithfulness to us.

Come along to Celebrate Recovery at 7:00pm in Melbourne and worship God with us..