Boogieman

February 05, 2018, By: Jimmy Scruggs

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40
I remember as a child how frightful I was of the boogieman. I could never really identify who or what it was, all I knew is that it hid in my closet. As long as I didn’t open the door I was safe. The imaginations of a child are laughable memories, but for one thing. Well into adulthood that boogieman was still after me. The circumstances change, but he was still in the closet and his name was fear and I wanted to keep that door shut. It’s hard to move forward in life when our past keeps nipping at our heels as we ignore the fear. Ignoring our past is not a neutral position, but an ongoing condition where power feeds fear, leaving us emotionally and spiritually crippled. The apostle Paul talked of “forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” In Celebrate Recovery we learn that to forget the past we have to open the door and hold it up to the light. We do that through spiritual inventory. We name it, describe it, get honest about how it affected and damaged us, and learn to take ownership of our part of the mess. But with so much fear inside us, how are we to do a searching and fearless moral inventory? Sounds like an impossible task; a fear-based person doing a fearless inventory. It takes a lot of courage to do that and I admit that I didn’t have it, but God does, and he has an overabundance of courage to give us to see this step through. I listened to one of my favorite Christian authors give a talk at a CR summit that captured my thinking. Dr. Henry Cloud was talking about his new book “Integrity”, and he defined integrity as “having the courage to meet the demands of reality.” As he spoke to 3500 people in recovery that day I questioned if I had that kind of courage, to meet the demands of leadership in recovery? And the answer was no, just like my answer was when doing a fearless and moral inventory. But God has an overabundance of courage for all of us; all we have to do is ask for it. I continue to ask God for courage and he continues to supply it and whole lot more. Integrity in recovery is having the courage to do the next step. If you feel lacking, just ask Jesus. He has everything you need to succeed. Put your faith in action and trust in Him. …who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Love God, love people, Jesus first! Dana Cramer // Celebrate Recovery at Crossroads

Celebrate Recovery at Crossroads Church Calendar February 5-11, 2018

Friday, February 9: Testimony Night
  • 6pm: Our Hospitality Team is preparing a wonderful dinner for you. Please join us for dinner and fellowship.
  • 7pm: Join us for an hour of worship and a powerful testimony from Ed.
  • 8pm: Open Share Groups.
  • 9pmSold Rock Café.
Announcements:
  1. A new Women’s Mixed Issue 12-Step Group has started and meets every Monday at 6:30pm in room 211 at Crossroads Loveland Campus.
  2. A new Men’s Chemical Addiction 12-Step Group is starting on February 12, 6:30-8pm. For more details, contact [email protected].
  3. A new Men’s Mixed Issue 12-Step Group is starting on February 19, 6:30-8pm. For more details, contact [email protected].