And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all the things he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable… Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know Gods will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect… Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Romans 12: 1-2, 4
I ride my bicycle a lot during the warm months and I marvel at how my body works together to achieve the ride. Okay, marvel may be an exaggeration, but at my age I’m just glad most of body still works at all, let alone together. Our bodies are made of many parts and each has a specialized function and each works in harmony with the whole body; the same is true of our spiritual life.
Many people with many gifts each bringing specialized purpose to the body of the church with the mission to become more like Christ. But for the church to be whole we not only need to bring our gifts, but be willing to receive gifts from others as well. Nobody has it all together, nobody has it all figured out, but when we bring our gifts to the table and receive gifts from others that fill in our weak areas, we make a pretty good team. How does this fit in with recovery? Simple, we can’t do what we can’t do and we need to admit that and ask for help. We need to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity and for us in CR that power is Jesus. Our purpose is to live out what God has put in us. Not just in our recovery or church group but in our families, work, communities, and the world.
I witnessed this last Friday night at CR as I listened to a testimony from not just a survivor of abuse but a victorious advocate in overcoming it. She has become a light to many in many places. I thanked her for not giving up and for living out what God has put in. There is no problem too big for God to handle, we just need to give it to him; he will do his part and by his grace we can do our part as well. Our recovery has many parts coming together to live out the body of Christ as he transforms us from the inside out.
Love God, love people, Jesus first!
Dana Cramer
Celebrate Recovery/Crossroads Church Calendar
July 11-17, 2016
Friday, July 15: Teaching Night
- 6 pm: Our Hospitality Team is preparing a wonderful meal for you this Friday. Please join us for dinner and fellowship.
- 7 pm: Join us for an hour of Worship and a recovery message from Jimmy on “Relapse”
- 8 pm: Open Share Groups.
- 9 pm: Solid Rock Café
Tuesday Nights: We have an open share group meeting for men from
6:30-7:30 pm in room 140.
Notice: Tonight, July 11, 2016- A new Men’s mixed issue 12 Step group is starting at 6:30 pm. Please sign up on Friday nights or respond to
[email protected] If you haven’t yet signed up just drop on in at 6:30 and begin your journey to freedom from hurts, hang-up’s and habits.
Questions? For more information, contact
[email protected], or call the church office at 970-203-9201.
