God is moving in CR

"The sale of the century! Everything must go!" A reoccurring theme in retail ADS playing over and over again as we search for the "perfect gift".  In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul is selling something of much greater value...life change.  He says 3 things,  1. "Everything...connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten thru and thru. Get rid of it."  2. "Let the Spirit change your stinkin thinkin," and finally he says, " 3. "put on your new self..." It will fit you perfectly. Are you looking for that "perfect gift"? Have I got some good news for you, it won't cost you a thing. He's already paid the cost. God has something more precious than jewels, He has His hope, true serenity, joy unspeakable, and His unconditional love. And you don't have to do it alone.  Come meet your family tonight at CR.   All you have to do is take the first step toward Him. Celebrate Recovery @ Fe...

Are you feeling like you are in a dark spot right now? Feeling overwhelmed, lonely, struggling? Remember this, God knew you would struggle and wrestle with life in a dark world, so He sent His Son to humbly be born in a smelly manger, live a life here on earth to eventually die a brutal death. Why? Cause He didn't want you to stumble around in the dark anymore. (John 8:12) He said, I will be your Light to grow you thru your dark times. "Never doubt in the dark what God told you the light" Raymond Edman This may be your test. Will you still love, trust, obey, worship Him in the midst of your darkness? Will you hold onto His promises? Friends, He is coming back but, until then, He promises to be our Light thru dark times.  That is why Christmas is such a good message of hope for us. He became flesh for YOU. He loves YOU so much that He wants to spend eternity with YOU. What a gift. You are not alone.  Have a blessed day Rodney 

Reading about Noah in scripture and see how he was doing some things right. Scriptures say, “Noah was a pleasure to the Lord.” Why? Because He loved the Lord, believed and trusted in His promises and he knew God would and could help him thru any and all problems. In fact God was so pleased with Noah and how his life goal was to please and show obedience to His Lord that He decided to start over with his family. God said, “I choose you and your family Noah.” I am chewing on a question this morning, if the Lord were to start over today, would my family and I be one He would choose? Is it my life goal to think about Him thru my day, serve Him, and be obedient to what His word says?   I am thinking about this in the context of recovery and what it is all about. Working the steps of recovery is not so we can ‘feel’ better about our self (although, that is a natural bonus in the process in many ways) It is to bring glory and pleasure to God. “But it is just taking t...

Why don't you let it go Rodney? Has God ever asked you that question? I don't know why, but for some reason holding onto that highly dysfunctional past way of life, fear, worry, thoughts, addictions, hurt, can be so hard to let go of can't it? Maybe it's because it is so familiar? All I know is that it wasn't until I let go of my 'death' grip on my old life that I was able to receive His new and better 'life'. "Anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go,...you'll have it forever, real and eternal." John 12:25 If you're holding onto that misery in your life, remember, it's just an option and we can refuse to accept that lie. We can accept the new life & truth that is full of change and hope if we will just let go and let God take over.  Easy? No, of course not. Worth it? Most definitively. We were created to bring glory to Himself. It starts with sweet surrender and ...

I was driving this morning in the ice and snow & I drove by the "Last Chance Liquor store" where I saw a man stuck in the ice. He had his left foot inside the car on the gas pedal and the other outside the vehicle on the ground trying to get out.  Scary picture..: His back wheels were literally spinning in the ice. He was in a seemingly helpless situation. (Note: I couldn't stop cause the ice was slick and would have created a bigger mess. Don't judge me. 😊) I couldn't help but think about how this parallels so many folks lives including my own for so long.  We get stuck in the middle of a crisis in our life and with all our might, we attempt to 'will' our self to get out of the mess we are stuck in...but go at it all alone. Fortunately, there is a better way. We have a Helper that can provide the strength we need. Only Christ's power can give me the traction to get out of my mess I may be stuck in.  Are you stuck?  You no longer h...

Just three more minutes. Just a few days...he was just there a couple weeks. It's interesting how those statements can mean so much in different ways to different people. To someone wrapping up a treadmill workout it may seem like an eternity if still running, but if walking, not so much. A few days until the weekend, seems like a long time to someone who hasn't had a weekend off in months. To another, it's just a couple days. In recovery I have a heightened awareness of what minutes, days, weeks, months, and years mean. When someone has an hour sobriety, to one that may seem small, to another life saving. I have learned that in life, you can't celebrate and glorify God for 30 years sobriety without having the first hour. "To glorify God means to think and act in such a way that the goodness, greatness, and beauty of God are constantly obvious to ourselves and all those around us.  It means to live in such a way that when people see us they think, Tha...

Are you in the middle of a struggle right now? I know it is painful and Lord knows I have struggles too. God is teaching me that my prayer must not be "get me out of this now Lord". Although the struggles we face can be painful, these tests help me grow and put into practice what He has taught me. This is how I grow in Him. My prayer has to be in trusting Him, saying "Lord, I pray you help me 'within' this struggle I am facing... however long it may last." Remember, we can find hope in knowing that the Father will snatch you from the devils hands and protect you. He will allow each of us as His children to escape with our life...because of His promises "The Lord gave them rest on every side...the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. Joshua 21:44 Rodney