I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that the Celebrate Recovery Summit began and a few of us were attending it virtually at our church. During the day, the leader who heads the lessons and testimonies told me the person who was to teach the lesson tonight wouldn’t be able to do it. Even though I didn’t really have time to study the lesson I volunteered to teach it since I’ve taught it in previous years. I didn’t get home last night until 9 pm because I was helping my oldest daughter use her new pressure cooker to can beans for her first time. When I got home I took out the lesson so I could prep for it this early morning. Little did I know how God was going to use my daily devotional learning to reinforce this lesson.

Gratitude is the lesson for tonight’s CR. As I simply began to read through it I first of all noticed that the Principle is 7 which is the same one from a couple weeks ago when I taught Daily Inventory. The Principle tells us to take the time each day to assess the day seeing how we have done and if we allowed God to be the center of the day. Gratitude is the outcome of learning to do this well as we learn to surrender ourselves to God ahead of a struggle so we don’t fall into a relapse of whatever sinful nature we struggle with.

The Principle ends with the statement “…to gain the power to follow His Will.” This has been a huge focus of late for me since I like so many others tend to rely quickly on my own strength and then fail again. God is wanting me to learn to surrender to Him allowing His Holy Spirit to become my strength. This step of surrender opens the door for a new reason to have gratitude. Evil has no power in the presence of God and His Holy Spirit. I’m not done learning and applying all I need to in this arena, but I am much more awake than ever before. God s so Faithful and I am so GRATEFUL!

Today starts the annual Summit for Celebrate Recovery. There are 8 of us attending it virtually at our church. This will be our 2nd year to do this. It makes gleaning from the Summit so much more profitable and affordable when we can attend this way.

Yesterday was quite the day. My brother came to help with a little project I couldn’t do on my own. Before that I had a meeting with a former administrator I mentored for her first few years of admin. Today she is a very successful admin for our state. What was totally unexpected for me was to find that a grandchild I have can attend her school. This grandchild has struggled for a couple of years and no matter what we tried, it hasn’t worked. I thanked God for opening this door.

I loved a statement which came from my devotional today. It says, “Beloved, give me your reasons for holding on to the pain. Surrendering doesn’t make you weak. It makes you brave.” There are a host of reasons we hang onto pain when God patiently waits for us to give it to Him. I’ve always, in my flesh, felt like I was just another example of what my dad would say, “Good night, give that to me. I don’t want you ruining that.” I have never been good at mechanical things. Yet, since my years of opening up and sharing my story, I often hear, “Wow, you are very brave to be able to share your story with us.” Surrender is a key action in spirit-living as a new creation. It doesn’t make us weak, it makes us able to find the miracles of God. God is so amazing in how He works!

God is making very clear for me as I continue to read Galatians, the tremendous difference between living in spirit vs living in the flesh. Our flesh demands rules and punishment when they aren’t followed. Judgment and condemnation are a natural part of the flesh. The Old Testament is filled with man’s repeated failures trying to live successfully in the flesh.

As I’m reading and rereading passages from Galatians 5 I just keep hearing and knowing that spirit-living is what I’m beginning to better understand. Spirit living believes. It doesn’t make excuses for what “won’t happen”, it believes in spite of all human circumstances that all things are possible for those who believe!

The Holy Spirit is actively working to help me overcome the doubts I’ve often succumbed to in my past. To believe all things are possible has always been a non-struggle for me with others. To believe all things are possible when God is wanting to use me–well, this has been where I have hugely doubted. So, today, I start believing all things are possible when God is using me. This kind of belief is not arrogant as the voices use to scream in my head. This kind of belief is humble knowing it is not me doing this, it is God in me making this possible. WOW!

Yesterday’s biblical lesson was Faith, and today’s is GRACE. I don’t know about anyone else, but Grace is something I have genuine difficulty putting into perspective. It is gigantic in its scope of how I am to understand God and His Gift of Jesus and The Holy Spirit. The laws of obedience to God as outlined in the Old Testament are removed. The only requirement is accepting Jesus as our Savior and hopefully, accepting Jesus as our Lord. In return, we get the Gift of The Holy Spirit so He becomes our leader in following God, not the laws prior to Christ.

I don’t know about you, but I operate so much more smoothly and freely when I have a good structure in place–schedule. Even in my free time I always have a timeframe around what I want to get done. Some would call these rules/laws I must follow. Yet, for me these are simply what I enjoy having in place. I like order and I enjoy an orderly lifestyle. Grace allows this. I do it by choice rather than by requirement. I’ve always imposed this need for order on everyone thinking life must have order to operate smoothly. Somehow, God is wanting me to see that if I impose it, it becomes a law. If He inspires it, it becomes a desire–it’s a part of Grace.

Only God can give GRACE the way He did through the Cross. However, as I read Galatians I see how He does inspire us to let go of “the rules for living I make” and allow Him to turn those rules into desires for this is His Spirit’s miraculous work within each and every believer.

The little book of Galatians is one powerful book with its message for us. Our value to God is solely based on the work of Jesus Christ at the Cross and His Resurrection. Through this act we are given the chance to be seen as holy just like God saw His Son Jesus. My part in this is believing it is true through FAITH in what Jesus did Believing it was as real for me as for any other man was my job.

The third chapter of Galatians is packed with this truth. FAITH is the key. All of those years I worked so hard trying to find value. Now I realize the value I was seeking was value to me. If I went inside of me I only saw the ugliness of the sins done to me. No works cleansed them by things I did. No song sung beautifully, no lesson taught fully, no flower bed blooming profusely was sufficient to give value. It gave momentary pleasure, but no value. I thought all I could do was keep trying. Surely God would someday notice.

My value to God was completed at the Cross. Only in FAITH can it be completed in me. I am so grateful to finally be at the place where I not only know this, but I believe it is real for me. How patient our God is helping us over miles and miles of stumbling blocks to finally see more clearly than ever thought possible. Thank you my Abba Father!

Yesterday was a wonderful day if I were to interpret it. I got done everything I was wanting to do and a couple more things I’d hoped to get done. Last night some friends were here for dinner which we hadn’t been able to connect with for a while so the day ended nicely with them.

This morning’s Bible reading in Galatians 2 brings to clarity that our value to God is based solely on our acceptance of His Son Jesus into our heart and lives. The works of man no longer determine our value to God. I need to read this every day. I am one of those people who personally needs to complete worthwhile “work” (work I feel is important to get done) in order to feel I am valuable. I use to think these feelings were from God but I’m awake now realizing they are simply my flesh. I know there are many folks who find no pleasure in completing tasks in order to feel valuable. God doesn’t measure our value to Him on either side of this.

I am a new creation with full value to God because of my acceptance of Jesus into my heart. I am growing as a new creation as I follow closely Christ’s leadership in my life through His Gift of The Holy Spirit. I know this and I want this to be lived out in my life each and every day. Praise be to God my Abba Father.

Today something which should have been understood a long time ago in my life finally became clear. As I began the book of Galatians this morning the first chapter’s footnotes (Passion bible) point out that the writer’s name–Paul means “little”. Before Paul’s conversion his name was Saul which means “significant one”. The translator gives a brief application of his name change to his life becoming significant to God’s Kingdom Work rather than the original significant work Saul was doing for man. I might have heard this name meaning before, but this time it really stood out to me.

As I was processing this while reading I was thinking how long I lived trying to be significant to God attempting to earn his approval just as Saul was doing. Little, at the time, did I understand the approval I was seeking was from my earthly father and, in reality, my own. Having been led to believe I was a disappointment in so many ways as a child I was on a trek to become “valuable” only to now know this was all a work of Satan’s manipulation and lies.

This morning I could take time to thank God for helping me quit fighting a fight that had been won so long ago! It’s God’s purpose for us to understand being “little” in man’s eyes is good, so that God can be seen and known from whatever we do for and with Him. One more great lesson to learn!

Last night was our monthly Celebrate Recovery leadership meeting. I serve as the co-Trainer for our team. Because of the impact “portal” has had on me these past couple of days, I put together a lesson study for us to process through in the meeting. I was deeply impressed with the conversation and gleaned a good deal from it.

There were 12 people present and not a one of them was without something for which they struggle–(I’m not alone with my struggle). Secondly, everyone had information about what to do at the portal, but, putting what I know into practice? This was the second struggle. Many of these struggles are things one “wants to do”. I found that sleeping in instead of getting up to have devotions was one of these struggles brought to the table last night. Every time/everyday, it is a choice.

Something I felt God made clear for me in this conversation was that I was not the one who was to step through the portal. I am the one with the struggle/temptation, but it is my choice to invite The Holy Spirit to step through the portal which will then bring LIGHT into the approaching darkness. This step of invitation is what a maturing “new creation” takes or is learning to take.

I think the most thoughtful lesson I’ve learned from these past few days is found in I Corinthians 10:13. In this scripture Paul points out that there is no temptation which is not common to man. I have always felt my temptation/s was hugely uncommon to man, but in these past few days, and the conversation of last night, I find the truth of this scripture. All that I struggle with and have struggled with is common. Satan has wanted me to believe his lies. God is even more determined that I will not only know His Truth, but I will also believe it is for me. Today, I know and believe. How humbling and praiseworthy this is!

I sit at my computer this morning wondering if I should write more about yesterday’s blog? I have to confess that what I’d written about the portal stayed with me the entire day and is still with me this morning. I wanted the portal to give direct access to the Power of God–The Holy Spirit so that in so doing, the temptation would be destroyed and done away with. However, God doesn’t deliver His Power in the same way power is delivered in the hero movies I sometimes like to watch. God’s Power is usually engaged by the use of the choice He gave me at creation.

Choice has an abundant amount of power within it. When I am tempted, will I choose to walk away from it and occupy myself in something else? Will I call or text my sponsor? Will I surrender it knowing it will lead to sin if I don’t? I write all of this because when I stand at the portal where I have access to God’s Almighty Power, I must choose to do my part. Will I let go?

Beginning to be a new creation shows steps I have always wanted to take yet found myself weak at times in so doing. Opening my hands to let go or walking away from something is my choice at the portal. My part? I give it over to you Jesus so Your Promised Gift can now do His part. I love you for this Jesus!

As I was reading in my bible this morning–The Passion, I came across a passage that froze me in place. It was the concluding part of II Corinthians 12:10. It reads, “…for my weakness becomes a portal to God’s Power.” In my entire life I’ve never read anything or heard anything that made me want to say, WHAT???!!! like this did. Yet, as soon as I thought about it I knew there was a truth here God has been trying to teach me for quite sometime. I think it is right on track with His leading me into living as a new creation.

I know that when I am strongly tempted I am to surrender it and ask for The Holy Spirit’s help. Yet, something changes dramatically for me when I see temptation as a direct route to The Holy Spirit–a portal. I also know from James 5:16 that I am to confess these times of temptation to someone I trust. So I stand at the portal (temptation) confess it to a trusted friend and it is then I am in the presence of The Holy Spirit and His Power. Satan and his minions cannot be in this Presence. I literally can see this in my mind. I’ve never had such clarity for this.

If I were a kid I would think I just had an object lesson from my Sunday School teacher. Yet, this was my object lesson from God’s Word itself. I am AMAZED!