He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!!!!
Bible Study
Sermon on the Mount-Part 1
Matthew 5:1-7
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
- Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Blessed means “happy.” This is a basic description of the believers’ inner condition as a result of the work of God. These Beatitudes, like Psalm 1, do not show a man how to be saved, but rather describe the characteristics of one who has been saved. The poor in spirit are the opposite of the proud or haughty in spirit. They have been humbled by the grace of God and have acknowledged their sin and therefore their dependence upon God to save them. They will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Kingdom of heaven is a general designation of the dwelling place of the saved.)
- Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
(Those that mourn . . . shall be comforted. The depth of the promise of these statements is almost inexhaustible. Those who mourn for sin shall be comforted in confession. Those who mourn for the human anguish of the lost shall be comforted by the compassion of God.)
- Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
(The meek . . . shall inherit the earth refers again to those who have been humbled before God and will not only inherit the blessedness of heaven, but also will ultimately share in the kingdom of God on earth. Here, in the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount, is the balance between the physical and spiritual promise of the kingdom. The kingdom of which Jesus preached is both “in you” and is yet “to come.”)
- Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
(These future possessors of the earth are its presently installed rightful heirs, and even now they hunger and thirst after righteousness. They experience a deep desire for personal righteousness, which in itself is a proof of their spiritual rebirth. Those who are poor and empty in their own spiritual poverty recognize the depth of their need, and they hunger and thirst for that which only God can give them. They shall be filled (Gr. chortazō) refers to a complete satisfaction. The psalmist proclaimed: “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (107:9).
- Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
(Those who are merciful . . . shall obtain mercy has reference to those who have been born again by the mercy of God. Because divine love has been extended to them, they have the work of the Holy Spirit in them producing a mercy that defies explanation by unregenerate men. Jesus Himself became the ultimate example of this when He cried from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
- Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
(Those who are truly saved shall see God. These are the pure in heart. Their lives have been transformed by the grace of God. They are not yet sinless but their position before God has been changed. They have the New Birth, saving faith, and holiness. The process of sanctification is ever conforming them to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29), which image consists in “righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:24).
Read more Bible http://www.bookbindery.c
My Prayer for the Day
"Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Sermon and Your blessed words....please open my ears and grant me sight...please give me courage, diligence and boldness to abide by your words and then to apply them to my life and to those I would help with them. Father strengthen my sobriety and make me a channel of thy peace. In Jesus name-Amen"
Today’s actions
- Today I will reconize and be grateful that I am sober and not hungover and hopeless throughout the day
- Today I will keep out of obsessing on what others do a refocus my mind and actions onto how I may serve God today
- Today I will go the entire day without gossiping or peaking in on other peoples life via facebook or other social voyeurism
Daily 4th STEP Prayers
WHEN IN DOUBT
"I was to sit quietly when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my problems as He would have me. Never was I to pray for myself, except as my requests bore on my usefulness to others. Then only might I expect to receive. But that would be in great measure."
(p.13)
WHEN I AM DISTURBED BY THE CONDUCT (SYMPTOMS) OF OTHERS
"This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done."
(p. 67 BB)
God help me to show this person the same tolerance, pity and patience that I would Cheerfully grant a sick friend. This is a sick person, how can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.
(see above and p. 141 of 12&12)
WHEN I AM AFRAID
"We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be."
(p. 68 BB)
God, relieve me of this fear and direct my attention to what you would have me be. AMEN
(see above)
WHEN I AM AWARE OF MY OWN DEFECTS AND SEEKING GOD'S HELP TO CHANGE
"We asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. . . we ask God what we should do about each specific matter."
(p. 69 BB)
God mold my ideals in this particular area of my life and help me to live up to them. What should I do in each specific matter? Guide me God and give me strength to do right. AMEN
More AA prayers http://silkworth.net/pages/aa/
Podcast of he Day
Marion W. 2nd Session Winter 2018 Step Series
Listen to more AA Podcast:
12 x 12 on Step 9
“Made direct amends to such people wherever
possible, except when to do so would
injure them or others.”
GOOD judgment, a careful sense of timing, courage, and prudence—these are the qualities we shall need when we take Step Nine. After we have made the list of people we have harmed, have reflected carefully upon each instance, and have tried to possess ourselves of the right attitude in which to proceed, we will see that the making of direct amends divides those we should approach into several classes.
*There will be those who ought to be dealt with just as soon as we become reasonably confident that we can maintain our sobriety.
*There will be those to whom we can make only partial restitution, lest complete disclosures do them or others more harm than good.
*There will be other cases where action ought to be deferred, and still others in which by the very nature of the situation we shall never be able to make direct personal contact at all.
Most of us begin making certain kinds of direct amends from the day we join Alcoholics Anonymous. The moment we tell our families that we are really going to try the program, the process has begun. In this area there are seldom any questions of timing or caution. We want to come in the door shouting the good news. After coming from our first meeting, or perhaps after we have finished reading the book “Alcoholics Anonymous,” we usually want to sit down with some member of the family and readily admit the damage we have done by our drinking. Almost always we want to go further and admit other defects that have made us hard to live with.
This will be a very different occasion, and in sharp contrast with those hangover mornings when we alternated between reviling ourselves and blaming the family (and everyone else) for our troubles. At this first sitting, it is necessary only that we make a general admission of our defects. It may be unwise at this stage to rehash certain harrowing episodes. Good judgment will suggest that we ought to take our time. While we may be quite willing to reveal the very worst, we must be sure to remember that we cannot buy our own peace of mind at the expense of
others.
Hil's blah
UGH-Good judgment!! That I did NOT have when I did my first go round of amends!!! My motives were shady to say the least. I had no guidance from a sponsor-nor had I read this, or the big book. I was doing amends so that I could get on with "my" life and live happily ever after with the new guy. I was still a untreated-meeting maker and slogan based alcoholic. I emailed my sister my version of events and said sorry-but didn't give her a chance to tell me how I hurt her nor what I could do to make it right. I texted my ex saying sorry for cheating on him...again, left him NO room to say how it affected him or what I could do to make it right....I messed this up big time because it was not coming from a place of real remorse-selfish and self seeking-in "recovery" YUCK!
I always ask that the women I work with confer with me before going out and taking this vital house cleaning Step. We go over the specific direction in this book and classify who is a "now" amends, a" living amends", or a "have God build a bridge" amends. The ONLY reason I do what I do now and tell you what I did is so that you guys don't suffer the same way I did. My ego out the window when all this shit backfired. We need good teachers and we need to talk about amends and how to do it the right way.
This process and the divine right order of these Steps or very specific. Each step/stone builds ROCK solid sobriety and our new spiritual house. This isn't to be done like I did it initially!!!
No, it is NOT at all like hangover morning humiliation and empty promises. Humbley going to these people and allowing them the chance to heal from what we did...and most will heal because they get a opportunity to right their wrongs too. We go with hat in hand...standing upright as a child of God. We admit our faults, show them what a recovered alcoholic looks like, and be done with it once and for all. After that they DO not get to beat you up for it. Nor do you get to relive it or beat them up for it. It is done. Not to be discussed or hashed out again. PERIOD. Only using the experience to help another alcoholic to recover.
It's better to do this the right way instead of having to make amends for your first amends!! LOL
Read more 12 X 12 http://www.portlandeyeopener.c
Big Book More About Alcoholism....Cont..
"Yet he got drunk again. We asked him to tell us exactly how it happened. This is his story: “I came to work on Tuesday morning. I remember I felt irritated that I had to be a salesman for a concern I once owned. I had a few words with the boss, but nothing serious. Then I decided to drive into the country and see one of my prospects for a car. On the way I felt hungry so I stopped at a roadside place where they have a bar. I had no intention of drinking. I just thought I would get a sandwich. I also had the notion that I might find a customer for a car at this place, which was familiar for I had been going to it for years. I had eaten there many times during the months I was sober. I sat down at a table and ordered a sandwich and a glass of milk. Still no thought of drinking. I ordered another sandwich and decided to have another glass of milk.
“Suddenly the thought crossed my mind that if I were to put an ounce of whiskey in my milk it couldn’t hurt me on a full stomach. I ordered a whiskey and poured it into the milk. I vaguely sensed I was not being any too smart, but felt reassured as I was taking the whiskey on a full stomach. The experiment went so well that I ordered another whiskey and poured it into more milk. That didn’t seem to bother me so I tried another.’’
Thus started one more journey to the asylum for Jim. Here was the threat of commitment, the loss of family and position, to say nothing of that intense mental and physical suffering which drinking always caused him. He had much knowledge about himself as an alcoholic. Yet all reasons for not drinking were
easily pushed aside in favor of the foolish idea that he could take whiskey if only he mixed it with milk!"
Hils Blah
Insane and gross...Whiskey and milk...although I guess it's like a white russian. The lengths I went to to justify and rationalize my drinking took so much energy...even factoring in which purse I would take to hide my vodka...and what mint works the best to cover the smell. This new way of life is so much easier... it just is. Drinking was all consuming, took so much more than what I perceived I was getting from it. You will see if you are new just how much freer you already start to feel...then free from past, then free from anger and resentment, then free from defects then free from bondage of self....All that THEN you get to help others...it's so weird to truly want to help people instead of using them to feed off of. Being a vampire is not ok with me anymore. I get filled and fed by God because of AA.
Read more Big Book http://www.portlandeyeopener.c
AA History
LETS ASK BILL W. Q&A NO.8
Let's Ask Bill Wilson
Home Ask Bill W. Q&A no.8
Question:
What about the alcoholic who says that he cannot possibly believe in God?
Answer:
A great many of them come to A.A. and they say that they are trapped. By this they mean that we have convinced them that they are fatally ill, yet they cannot accept a belief in God and His grace as a means of recovery. Happily this does not prove to be an impossible dilemma at all. We simply suggest that the newcomers take an easy stance and an open mind; that he proceeds to practice those parts of the Twelve Steps that anyone's common sense would readily recommend. He can certainly admit that he is an alcoholic; that he ought to make a moral inventory; that he ought to discuss his defects with another person; that he should make restitution for harms done; and that he can be helpful to other alcoholics.
We emphasize the 'open mind,' that at least he should admit that there might be a 'Higher Power.' He can certainly admit that he is not God, nor is mankind in general. If he wishes he could place his own dependence upon his own A.A. group. That group is certainly a "Higher Power," so far as recovery from alcoholism is concerned. If these reasonable conditions are met, he then finds himself released from the compulsion to drink; he discovers that his motivations have been changed far out of proportion to anything that could have been achieved by a simple association with us or by any practice of a little more honesty, humility, tolerance, and helpfulness. Little by little he becomes aware that a "Higher Power" is indeed at work. In a matter of months, or at least in a year or two, he is talking freely about God as he understands Him. He has received the gift of God's grace - and he knows it. (N.C.C.A., Blue Book, Vol.12, 1960)