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Growing Daily in God and Sobriety!

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!!!!
Bible Study
1 Corinthians Part 3
1:22-32


  • For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
(Not many wise: The nature of Paul’s argument tells us that most of the Corinthian congregation were of the poor class of Corinthian society.)


  • But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
(God hath chosen: The selection by God is designed to silence the wisdom of man. He chooses the foolish to shame the wise. He chooses weak things to shame things deemed by man to be mighty and things men do not even realize exist to counteract things which are, powers and institutions erected and relied upon by man.)


  • But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
(Of him, because of the Father’s work, are ye in intimate with Christ Jesus: Paul concludes that all the riches of salvation exist in Christ Jesus. All that the Corinthian believers are, they owe to Him. Thus it is not in oneself, or in party alignment, or in supposed human ability that any believer ought to glory. Paul tabulates the qualities that belong to the believer in Christ. Wisdom is not merely the acquisition of intellectual skills but the gaining of spiritual discernment based on the wisdom of God as demonstrated in the Cross. Righteousness is a legal concept and has in mind the righteousness that is applied to the believer’s account the moment he believes (Rom. 5). Sanctification has already been mentioned in verse 2, “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” This contemplates the work of Christ “in” the believer, as opposed to that which he does “for” the believer in justification. Redemption underlies all the above. Christ’s redemptive work opened the way for God to extend His grace to sinful man and to pour out upon him such benefits as wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification.)

Why We Were Chosen
God in His wisdom selected this group of men and women to be purveyors of His goodness.  In selecting them through whom to bring about this phenomenon He went not to the proud, the mighty, the famous or the brilliant.  He went instead to the humble, to the sick, to the unfortunate.  He went right to the drunkard, the so-called weakling of the world.  Well might He have said the following words to us:

"Unto your weak and feeble hands I have entrusted a power beyond estimate.  To you has been given that which has been denied the most learned of your fellows.  Not to scientists or statesmen, not to wives or mothers, not even to my priests or ministers have I given this gift of healing other alcoholics which I entrust to you."

"It must be used unselfishly; it carries with it grave responsibility.  No day can be too long; no demands upon your time can be too urgent; no case can be too pitiful; no task too hard; no effort too great.  It must be used with tolerance for I have restricted its application to no race, no creed, and no denomination.  Personal criticism you must expect; lack of appreciation will be common; ridicule will be your lot; your motives will be misjudged.  You must be prepared for adversity, for what men call adversity is the ladder you must use to ascend the rungs toward spiritual perfection, and remember, in the exercise of this power I shall not exact from you beyond your capabilities."

"You are not selected because of exceptional talents, and be careful always, if success attends your efforts not to ascribe to personal superiority that to which you can lay claim only by virtue of my gift.  If I had wanted learned men to accomplish this mission, this power would have been entrusted to the physician and scientist.  If I had wanted eloquent men, there would have been many anxious for the assignment, for talk is the easiest used of all talents with which I have endowed mankind.  If I had wanted scholarly men, the world is filled with better qualified men than you who would be available.  You were selected because you have been the outcasts of the world and your long experience as drunkards has made or should make you humbly alert to the cries of distress that come from the lonely hearts of alcoholics everywhere." 

"Keep ever in mind the admission you made on the day of your profession in AA -- namely that you are powerless and that it was only with your willingness to turn your life and will unto my keeping that relief came to you."
Todays Action
  • Today I will seek God through gratitude for choosing to get me sober 
  • Today I will seek God through others to grow from their sobriety
  • Today I will seek to console, not to be consoled.

Podcast of the Day
Jim B on Big Book History
https://www.recoveryaudio.org/aa-speaker-tapes/jim-b-on-big-book-history
Listen to more AA Podcast:


Big Book
How It Works...continued.... 
"Referring to our list again. Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely. Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man’s. When we saw our faults we listed them. We placed them before us in black and white. We admitted our wrongs honestly and were willing to set these matters straight.

Notice that the word “fear’’ is bracketed alongside the difficulties with Mr. Brown, Mrs. Jones, the employer, and the wife. This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn’t deserve. But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling? Sometimes we think fear ought to be classed with stealing. It seems to cause more trouble.

We reviewed our fears thoroughly. We put them on paper, even though we had no resentment in connection with them. We asked ourselves why we had them. Wasn’t it because self-reliance failed us? Self- reliance was good as far as it went, but it didn’t go far enough. Some of us once had great self-confidence, but it didn’t fully solve the fear problem, or any other. When it made us cocky, it was worse.

Perhaps there is a better way—we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.

We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear."

Excerpt from “Came to Believe - The Belief Will Come”, p46 - 48:
In the beginning, I rejected any part of the A.A. program that referred to God in any manner. I even remained silent when they closed the meetings with the Lord‟s Prayer. (I didn't know the
words, anyhow.) Looking back, I don‟t think I was an agnostic, nor do I think I was an atheist. But I do know this: I couldn't accept any of “the God bit,” nor did I want to come to believe or have any spiritual awakening. After all, I had come to A.A. to get sober, and what did all this truck have to do with that?

Even with all my stupid arrogance, you still loved me, held out your hand of friendship, and, I‟m sure, used cautious wisdom in trying to reach me with the program. But I could hear only what I
wanted to hear. I remained dry for a number of years, and then, as you may already have guessed, I drank again. It was inevitable. I had accepted only those parts of the program that fitted into my life without effort on my part. I was still the self-centered egotist I had always been, still full of all my old hatreds, selfishness, and disbelief - just as lacking in maturity as I had been when I first arrived at A.A.

This time, when I came to in the hospital, I had absolutely no hope. After all, you had told me that A.A. was the last hope for the alcoholic, and I had failed - there was nothing else. At this
very point, my sister chose to send me a clipping from a Sunday-school paper. No letter, just the clipping: “Pray with disbelief; but pray with sincerity; and the belief will come.” Pray? How could I pray? I didn't know how to pray. Still, I was ready to go to any lengths to get my sobriety and some semblance of a normal life. I guess I just gave up. I stopped fighting. I accepted that which I did not really believe, much less understand.

I started praying, not in any formal way. I just talked to God or, rather, cried out, “Dear God, help me. I‟m a drunk.” I had nowhere left to turn, except t this God I did not know. I don‟t recall any immediate, dramatic change in my life. I do recall telling my wife how hopeless it all seemed. At her suggestion, I began rereading the Big Book and the Twelve Steps, and now I found in these much I had never found before. I didn't reject any of it. I accepted it just as it was written. Nor did I read anything into it that wasn't there.

Again, nothing changed overnight. But, as time has passed, I have acquired a blind and, yes, childlike faith that, by accepting a God I don‟t understand and the program of A.A. just as it is
written, I can maintain my sobriety one day at a time. If I am to have more than this, it will come as time goes by, just as other good things have come. I no longer find it necessary, as I did for years, to prove my disbelief in God by my every thought and deed. Nor do I find it necessary to prove myself to others. No, the only accounting and the only proving I have to do is to myself and to God, as I understand Him (or don‟t understand Him).

I‟m sure that I shall err from time to time, but I must learn to forgive myself, as God has forgiven me for my past. I think I have had a spiritual awakening, as undramatic as it may have been, and that it will go on and on as long as I continue to practice this program in my daily affairs. To me, there is no “spiritual side” to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous; the entire program is spiritual.
In my view, some of the evidences of a spiritual awakening are: maturity; an end to habitual hatred; the ability to love and be loved in return; the ability to believe, even without understanding, that Something lets the sun rise in the morning and set at night, makes the leaves come out in the spring and drop off in the fall, and gives the birds song.
Why not let this Something be God?
 St. Petersburg, Florida




Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -John 14:6