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Imago Dei

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   By Eric Hutchinson, Fellowship Rogers CR Training Coach, 12/8/21 Recently my wife and I got up early, and we saw the most amazing sunrise! Then, we went into town to get a cup of coffee together. While we were driving to the coffee shop, we witnessed the most beautifully colored trees! Did you know that there is no tree exactly the same? There may be trees that are similar in height or size, but each tree is uniquely made different. Just like you and me! Each of us are uniquely different and special. There is a Latin word, Imago Dei, that means “Image of God.” You and I were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and He does not make junk! What’s incredible is that while we are made in His image, we are each uniquely made special. Sometimes I can get discouraged as the enemy points out what I consider to be flaws in my body or character. For instance, I have a really loud voice. I have always had a loud voice, and it got me into trouble multiple times while in school growing up.
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Share Your Story

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 By Carl Kimbro. Fellowship Bible Church Devotional Team, 12/1/2021 When we are struggling, we think about almost nothing else other than deliverance from our “hurts, habits & hang ups.” Often, we just want to give up and give in to the struggles we are facing. Attending Celebrate Recovery, we see people serving God and making a difference in the lives of others. We are thankful for them in our lives but in contrast, some of us have convinced ourselves that God could never use us like that. God never lets a hurt go to waste. If we are willing to be used by Him, He will make our imperfections the very thing that leads others to freedom in Christ. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: “It is Zion, for whom no one seeks after!”  Jeremiah 30:17 For several years myself and a friend named Don have been leading a version of Life’s Healing Choices along with a small Bible Study group at Returning Home
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God's Perfect Peace

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 By Carl Kimbro, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team, 11/17/21 Recently, the focus question for Friday night open share at Celebrate Recovery involved these words from the Serenity Prayer: “Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.” I spent many nights repeating those words over and over and asking God to let that be true in my chaotic, stressful life where peace didn’t seem to exist. When I think of the word “peace,” I think of a relaxed person in tune with both God and the world around them. A person at peace has a mind that doesn’t feel mentally fatigued and is free from worry and stress.  I view peace as something that comes from turning our troubles, worries, fears and cares over to God. Doing this isn’t always easy. For myself, I know the problem. It’s me not trusting Him to give me peace. It’s me trying to find peace on my own apart from God. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast your anxiety on Him because He cares for you”.  Peter is explaining God’s expectation
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Fear of the Lord

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  By Eric Hutchinson, Fellowship Rogers CR Training Coach, 11/3/21 What do you think of when you hear the word fear? I immediately think of my childhood worries. I was scared of the dark and would sometimes lay in bed sweating in fear. I would worry that something was in my dark bedroom that might hurt me. I was also scared of the ocean because I saw the movie Jaws when I was 8 and was really afraid that a shark might eat me if I was to go into the ocean. I remember being scared of a bully in my neighborhood who would get physical if you didn’t do what he said.   The word fear seems to equate to being scared or really worried about something. So, when the Bible says that I should Fear the Lord, I immediately equate that to being scared of God.   The Bible says in Proverbs 1:7, “ The fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge .” That’s a huge claim and emphasizes the importance of fearing God.  Proverbs 14:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it
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Used By God

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 By Carl Kimbro, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team, 10/27/21 You probably have sat in Celebrate Recovery on a Friday night and heard a message  that touched you spiritually. You might have been impressed with the way a person  delivered the message. Maybe you thought: that was awesome, but I could never be  used like that. I could never stand up and talk from the stage because I would drop  dead from fright! You might be right. Maybe that’s not something you can do. But here is  the good news: you don’t have too. God may be calling you to be used in a different  way, one you are comfortable with, or one you haven’t even thought of yet.  Principle 8:  “Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and my words.” Each of us has something to offer. Our hurts, habits, and hang ups have given us unique experiences that God can use to be a witness to others. When our son went to prison and his wife abandoned the girls with us, w
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You Are Not Alone

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By Eric Hutchinson, Fellowship Rogers CR Training Coach, 10/13/21 I’m living through a pretty good season of life right now. However, that wasn’t always the case. I recently was thinking back on a time that wasn’t so good. In December of 2008 things were not going well for my business and I felt very alone. Have you ever felt alone even though there were people all around you? I’ve noticed that when I’m going through trials the enemy comes in with the lie that I’m the only one who is experiencing hardship and that I am on my own. This simply is not true.  So, there I was sitting at my office desk, preparing to leave work and head down to Texas with my family for Christmas with the in-laws. I was feeling depressed because my wife and I had recently went to our tax guy and he had informed us that we owed more taxes than we had the money to pay. This wasn’t a small amount of money and I had no idea how we were going to pay our taxes. Our national economy was falling quickly into a recessi
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Picking Fruit

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 By Sarah Bryant, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team, 10/7/21 I don’t know about you but with all the craziness that’s been going on in the world the last year or so I can get worn down, and it can be hard to exemplify the fruit of the Spirit some days in the little things.  I have to remind myself that it’s not the “fruits” of the Spirit – plural, where I can just pick one each day.  Hold the door for an elderly lady (goodness), then tailgate someone on the interstate who is driving too slow (neither kindness nor patience). No, it’s the “fruit” of the Spirit – singular. One fruit.  I like to think of it like a pomegranate, one fruit with a lot of seeds. I actually read a commentary the other day that said based on the original Greek it could actually be read with a colon after “love.” “But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience…” Love being the fruit and the other eight items being the seeds. It’s a whole package wrapped up in love.   With th
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