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Celebrate R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y.

Realize I’m not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. (Step 1)
“Happy are those who know that they are spiritually poor.” Matthew 5:3a TEV

Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover. (Step 2)
“Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 TEV, NIV

Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. (Step 3)
“Happy are the meek.” Matthew 5:5a TEV

Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5) “Happy are the pure in heart.” Matthew 5:8a TEV

Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. (Steps 6 and 7)
“Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires” Matthew 5:6a TEV

Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others when possible, except when to do so would harm them or others. (Steps 8 and 9)
“Happy are the merciful.” Matthew 5:7a TEV; “Happy are the peacemakers” Matthew 5:9 TEV

Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. (Steps 10 and 11)

Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and my words. (Step 12)
“Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires.” Matthew 5:10 TEV

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Sponsor: Jon Cunningham, Owner, Cunningham Financial Group
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A Manifesto for Myself on Social Media

1. I don’t have to comment on every post I disagree with. People will be okay without my input. I can walk away and move on to something else.

2. I need to give the benefit of any doubt when I first hear something instead of having knee-jerk reactions.

3. If I think someone should be cancelled because I disagree with something said, I don’t really believe in freedom of speech. I believe in freedom only insofar as I like it.

4. Trying to get people fired from a job because they differ with me is a form of bullying. This is especially true if the person I’m trying to oust is not even remotely part of my life. I’m trying to hurt someone who said something that affects nothing in my daily routine. This reveals a bitterness on my part and does not bode well for having any kind of open mindedness.

5. To promote inclusion and tolerance and then exclude those who believe something I don’t like is hypocrisy. “Inclusion” comes to mean “people who agree with me.” This is irrational and causes me to lose my credibility for reasonable discussion. In such cases I am not for freedom of speech or inclusion.

6. If I react to something without reading it in full or hearing it out first, I am being foolish. I need reminding of Proverbs 18:13. If I’m reacting to headlines and not carefully considering what was actually said or done, I do not deserve a place at the table of discussion until I back off and do my due diligence. I need to be able to consider the possibility that I am wrong about something and willing to change if the evidence warrants it.

7. If I see a shocking headline, I need to remind myself that there is a great deal of satire out there and I must not conflate these things with real news. This is one reason why reacting too quickly is a problem. I need to be careful about what I accept as true in the media and social media. If I get worked up about something that is not even true, I will have benefited no one. This hurts everyone.

8. If someone disagrees with me, I will not be morally outraged by it. I need to be willing to discuss calmly. I will make my arguments and try to persuade, but just getting mad because someone takes a view different from mine is neither rational nor conducive to understanding one another. It’s a form of arrogance on my part.

9. I will not engage in hurling insults at those who disagree with me. I need to be respectful and honorable. I want there to be peace, understanding, and mutual respect. This needs to start with me. And even if they insult me, I will refuse to reciprocate the ugly and inappropriate. Think about Jesus.

10. I will avoid passing on gossip about others. I don’t want to hurt someone just because I may not agree with them. I want to treat others as I would like to be treated. If I am truly concerned about a situation, I need to be willing to go to the person in question so as to minimize potential damage.

11. If I read a post like this and get angry because I am guilty of any of the above, I need to calm down, eat some fruit, then join in reasonable discussion without feeling scarred for life because someone differed with me. I need to quit taking things so personally, especially when those who differ with don’t even know I exist or care about my life.

12. Above all, and most importantly, I will seek to glorify God. I need to do all in the name of Christ and to the glory of God. I will rely on God’s word as the revealed standard from God and seek to please Him in all matters. I have failed, but I will not give up.

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Sponsor:
Jon Cunningham, Owner, Cunningham Financial Group
Website: www.cunninghamfinancialgroup.com
Phone: 205-326-7364

I saw a sign recently outside of a church: No Perfect People Allowed. What do you think about that sign? What does it mean? Would you be comfortable with it outside of the place where you worship? There is a powerful and needful message in that sign that should be demonstrated by us in as many ways as we can. It should be sending two messages: how the possible visitor sees themself, and how we see ourselves as the people of God. Are we prefect and they are not?

Here's a distinction that matters. We are "perfected" and they are not! "Perfected for all time!" But that isn't about how good we are compared to them - that is about Jesus and how great and perfect and wonderful He is. Come along with me as we look at that sign and talk about it. And then look at church culture and aspects of three different but closely related words: Perfect, Perfected, and Perfection.

- Are you more inclined to tell others about what you do that is right, or about Christ?

- If someone visited your church from the world, would they feel welcome?

- Would they feel like their imperfection is okay and that we are all in that same boat?

- How does reliance on Christ to perfect us bring us all together in humility and not pride?

- And how does striving to be perfect fit beautifully into all of this if it comes third in line?