“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
Do we need to understand everything before we commit to God? No, if that were the case we wouldn’t get very far in our faith would we. What if Mary needed to understand everything the Angel Gabriel said to her about the Messiah’s coming, she didn’t; she simply obeyed and Jesus was born into this world and in this week we celebrate the Christmas Story. God doesn’t ask us to understand everything before we receive, he asks us to believe, obey and commit.
When I was young in my recovery I got this backwards. I kept wondering what God’s will for me was, I thought I had to have it all figured out so I could present it to God. There is a major flaw in that kind of thinking; I spent a lot of time wandering in the dark about this, not really sure of anything. It took me a while to get my priorities straight. What I had presented to God was my worldly view and how I wanted God to interact with me. I was playing God and wanted God to agree with me.
When I came to Celebrate Recovery I had a major shift in my thinking. I had to look deeper into Step Three and put my priorities in order. Before I could turn my will over to God I needed to turn my life over to him first. Not just some of my life, but all of my life. That’s an ongoing process for me; I didn’t get it all at once, turning my will over to Him is a daily effort, there are a lot of competing influences in this world. When I have God in his rightful place in my life I’m no longer concerned about what my will is and what I need to do with it. I don’t need to figure it out, I just need to surrender and follow God’s will for my life. Daily, I need to stay focused on commitment and obedience.
“We should never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God. The condition of an enlightened mind is a surrendered heart.” Greg Laurie
Jesus is the reason for the season.
Love God, love people, Jesus first!
Dana Cramer // Celebrate Recovery at Crossroads
Celebrate Recovery at Crossroads Church Calendar
December 18-24, 2017
Friday, December 22: Special Christmas Programming
- 6pm: Our Hospitality Team is preparing a wonderful dinner for you. Please join us for dinner and fellowship.
- 7pm: Large Group Meeting – Join us for worship and a recovery message from Jimmy on, “The 12 Steps of Christmas.”
- 7pm: Middle and High school students are invited to a Special Christmas Party just for them; it’s going to be wonderful!! Check it out in room 211.
- 8pm: Open Share Groups
- 9pm: Sold Rock Café
Announcements:
- A new Men’s 12-Step Group has started and meets every Monday at 6:30pm in room 146. Enrollment is open.
- A New Women’s Mixed Issue 12-Step Group is forming now. Start date is January 22 at 6:30pm.
