Thought for the Day

The Presence of the Lord

Thought for the day: “The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within.” ALBERT EINSTEIN
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MERCY BEYOND MISERY
His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him. LUKE 1:50
I have a dear friend who stayed by his wife’s side for almost a year as she was dying with ovarian cancer. He told me of such occasions, when the Lord gave merciful relief from the pain. He said it was almost as if an angel of mercy hovered over their room.
When we’re suffering the consequences of unfair treatment, there is mercy with God. When we’re enduring the grief of loss, there is mercy. When we struggle with the limitations of a handicap, there is mercy. When we’re hurting and in physical pain, there is mercy. All these earthly struggles that occur are no accident. God is in the midst of them, working out His sovereign will. Yes, it’s a mystery, which means we need special mercy to endure the anguish and misery of the pain.
CHARLES SWINDOLL………..The Mystery of God’s Will
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In August of 1985, my mother went in the hospital for exploratory surgery. She was having pain in her stomach area and the doctors wanted to see if they could find the problem. My mother never recovered from the surgery. She went in a coma and within seven days she died. My father had died ten years earlier and her sudden death was quite a blow to my sister and I, and the rest of our family. My wife, two aunts, my grandmother, and my sister were with me during this time. They were such a comfort. We all comforted each other. During the last three or four days of my mothers life I did a lot of praying, and a peace came over me that I could not explain. I had been a Christian for about two years, but was not active in a church nor did I have a church family for support. What happened was that the presence of the Lord had surrounded me, and it was so evident that it could be felt. It was as if I was floating in the substance of pure love. God had paid me a visit to help me through this tough time. I remember asking the chaplain at the hospital why I felt such a presence and he told me it was because the Lord was needed. It’s hard to imagine walking away from God after having an experience such as this, but I did. I walked away and through my own selfish desires lived a life that led me to the gutter. Broken I reached out for help, and a loving God that I understood welcomed me back with open arms. Grace was extended to me one more time. Today I don’t want to walk away anymore. I can always walk away, but whether or not I will be able to walk back that is the question. My desire is to live in the presence of my Lord and Savior. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……JRE
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ON THE BROAD HIGHWAY
I know realize that my former prejudice against clergymen was blind and wrong. They have kept alive through the centuries a faith, which might have been extinguished entirely. They pointed out the road to me, but I did not even look up, I was so full of prejudice and self-concern. When I did open my eyes, it was because I had to. And the man who showed me the truth was a fellow sufferer and a layman. Through him, I saw at last, and I stepped from the abyss to solid ground, knowing at once that my feet were on the broad highway if I chose to walk. BILL W. letter dated 1940

My Redeemer Lives

Thought for the day: “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” Anonymous
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In my daily reading I’m in the book of Job. I have read Job before, but this time I’m taking it a little slower and trying to understand the view point of all the people involved. Job had many calamities come upon him, loss of family and business, loss of his health and a sound mind. Job was bummed out. His own wife told him to curse God and die. He had three friends that came to visit and each in their own way accused Job of having done something wrong to deserve what was happening to him. Job was accusing God for his troubles like many of us do when something happens that we don’t understand, but this is wrong. God’s will for us is to be well, have a sound mind and to prosper. Even though his friends were against him and he himself blamed God, Job never gave up on the idea that God would see him through this calamity. Today when I finished up my reading something Job said floored me, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” JOB 19:25. I have a t-shirt that says, “I know that I know that I know that I know my redeemer lives, because I spoke to Him this morning.” And so it is with me, I know my Redeemer lives. Redeem means to get something that has already been paid for (we redeem coupons). I have been paid for by the blood of Jesus and redeemed, pulled out of the gutter, and set on solid ground. God paid for my life with the blood of His son, what a sacrifice. For this I am grateful, today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE
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God can be your shield. Then no problem of the world can harm you. Between you and all the scorn and indignity form others is your trust in God, like a shinning shield. Nothing can then have the poser to spoil your inward peace. With this shield, you can attain this inward peace quickly, in your surroundings as well as your heart. With this inward peace, you do not need to resent the person who troubles you. Instead, you can overcome the resentment in your own mind, which may have been aroused by that person.
HAZELDEN……Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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Honesty with ourselves and others gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way……BILL W. a letter dated 1943

Freda Paxton

Thought for the day: “Have patience with all things but first with yourself.” Saint Francis of Sales
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Words of David from the 31st Psalm.
Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. PSALM 31:9-10 NKJV

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our dependencies, that our lives had become unmanageable.

David laments, “My life is spent with grief.” For those of us who have contended with crippling dependencies, such lamentation is necessary if we are to fully surrender our broken lives to God.
Although we may associate brokenness, or powerlessness, with defeat, in reality this admission is the first building block toward lasting victory over all of our addictions and dependencies. A paradox of our recovery is that we must give up in order to win.
Usually the admission of powerlessness cannot be achieved unless we have first assessed the magnitude and gravity of what our addiction has cost us. We may want t compile a list of the losses that have resulted from the practice of our dependencies. These losses may include such things as diminished vocational achievement, impaired intimacy in our most important relationships, and even ruptured spiritual relationship with God.
Only as we appreciate the full grief of those losses can we approach the surrender required in Step 1. Grieving as David grieved cleanses our wounds so that the healing can begin.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 401
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I know that some of you who receive this small page cannot relate to this. It is because you have never had any problems with dependencies such as alcohol and drugs. And I applaud you for this. But all of us have been affected either directly or indirectly by substance abuse. All of us!! Even if you don’t know anyone or have never even seen a drunk, you still are affected by higher insurance rates and higher taxes to finance treatment centers and prisons. We all have been affected one way or another. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. We are a people who deep down inside care about each other, but when it comes to substance abuse at times we are afraid to confront others. This must be done with love. Being critical drives people deeper into addiction and further from help. The nature of the problem is self-centeredness, thinking only of ones self. And when you push buttons that deal with self only, people push back. What happened to me, was in 1974 a woman who was a secretary where I worked, whose husband was an alcoholic and she was involved with ala-non, saw me hung over every morning. She casually mentioned AA and said I would probably like the meetings. I went to one. It was many years before I took the AA program serious. But I had an introduction to AA and was not afraid of it. She extended Love and not criticism which brought healing and not injury. I am so grateful to Freda Paxton of KCMO. Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………JRE

Against the Flow

Thought for the day: “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” JOEL 2:32 NIV
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Do you think the child of Arnold Schwartzenegger worries about tight pickle-jar lids? Does the son of Nike founder Phil Knight sweat a broken shoestring? If the daughter of Bill Gates can’t turn on her computer, do you think she panics?
No. Nor should you.
We applaud MEN for doing good things. We enshrine GOD for doing great things. But what about a MAN who does GOD things?
We don’t need a God-man Savior? After all, a just-God Jesus could make us, but not understand us. A just-man Jesus could love us, but never save us. But a God-man Jesus?
So which is it? Is Jesus holy or is he human? According to the Bible Jesus was – and is – both. Fully God and fully man.
Jesus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God. He was God-man. Midwifed by a carpenter…bathed by a peasant girl….the maker of the world with a bellybutton…heavens human. And because he was, we are left with scratch-your-head, double-blink, what’s wrong-with-picture moments like: a sack lunch satisfying five thousand tummies…a cripple sponsoring the town dance, and most of all, a grave: guarded by soldiers, sealed by a rock, yet vacated by a three-days-dead man. What do we do with such moments? What do we do with such a person? One thing is certain, we can’t ignore the single most significant person who ever lived.
In fact, the Christ of your galaxies is the Christ of your Mondays. The Starmaker manages your travel schedule. Relax. You have a friend in high places.
The Commander in Chief of the universe knows your name. There is no place he won’t go to find you. For even though he is in heaven, he never left the neighborhood.
He is Jesus, our next door Savior.
MAX LUCADO……..Next Door Savior
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Wasn’t that good? I got that in the mail the other day and had to share. For years Jesus was to me an idea, a historical figure, someone who a lot of people talked about. Out of need for change in my life I turned to the Bible for answers. I had nowhere else to go, everything else had failed. Through the turning of the pages of the Bible I became acquainted with more than just the historical Jesus. I got to know the Jesus who has become my friend, companion, mentor, and my Savior. And just like any relationship as long as we communicate we become closer. It’s hard to ignore Jesus, you can’t go more than a mile or two across this great nation without seeing a church. If you socialize with others you will meet Christians. If you use the western calendar your time is measured from His birth. Jesus is so large and can be found everywhere, but still speaks to me personally from the small book of Mark. How awesome, what a friend! You don’t have to accept Jesus, but as you float down stream you will continue to run into Christians who have chosen to swim against the flow. I choose to swim to the source of fresh water. Thanks for letting me share, today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……..JRE

8F02

Thought for the day: “Your attitude can turn today around, for better or for worse.” Anonymous
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Right inside the kitchen door on the left there is a phone jack. My desk phone and computer are plugged into that outlet. As far as I can remember there has always been a phone there. When I was young there was a box there with a phone in it. On the phone there was a crank handle, which made the phone ring. It also made all the other phones on the line ring, plus the operator heard it ring. The phone was like a musical instrument and some people were very good at making phone music. My granny could get on the phone and ring anybody on the line with ease and beauty to her ring. I remember the old phone number here, 8F02. The 02 stood for two short rings, which was how granny and papa knew the phone call was for them. The closest neighbor, the Fredhomes, had a long ring and a short ring. I think? Everybody on the line knew everyone else’s ring and when someone else got a phone call. I think most people at times had listened in on other conservations out of curiosity. I remember being told that one long extended ring, meant that someone was in trouble and all should pick up the phone in order to be of assistance some how. Today it’s different, a lot of people screen their calls by an answering machine or caller ID. I know, I just this minute let the answering machine take a call because I didn’t want to be interrupted. I need to think about the long continuous ring, maybe somebody needs help. Maybe I need help for not answering! Of all the tools I use in my recovery from my addictions, the telephone has been one of the most important. I went six years without a phone because I liked the privacy, and could not stay sober. The phone has kept me in touch with God, because God always has, and always will, use people to accomplish His will. I am grateful, today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………………JRE
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IN A WORD
He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. REVELATION 2:26
Think for a moment about this question: What if God weren’t here on earth? You think people can be cruel now, imagine us without the presence of God. You think we are brutal to each other now, imagine the world without the Holy Spirit. You think there is loneliness and despair and guilt now, imagine life without the touch of Jesus. No forgiveness. No hope. No act of kindness. No words of love. No more food given in his name. No more songs sung to his praise. No more deeds done in his honor. If God took away his angels, his grace, his promise of eternity, and his servants, what would the world be like?
In a word, hell.
MAX LUCADO………………Just Like Jesus
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Prudence is a workable middle ground, a channel of clear sailing between the obstacles of fear on the one side and of recklessness on the other. Prudence in practice creates a definite climate, the only climate in which harmony, effectiveness, and consistent spiritual progress can be achieved.
Said at an A.A. talk given by BILL W. in 1966

Straighten up and fly right

Thought for the day: “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? JOB 11:7 NIV
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In my reading this morning I came across this Scripture and found the commentaries very interesting. In the 11th chapter of Job his friend Zophar is talking to Job from the standpoint of human merit. He tells Job that he is reaping what he has sown. That the calamities that have fallen upon him are the results of what he has done. Job knows this was not true, Job’s heart was right, and God knew that Job’s heart was right, but his friends saw it differently. In life sometimes this is true. When we straighten up and fly right, we still carry our flight log with us, and sometimes our friends concentrate more on where we’ve been than on where we’re headed. I am so grateful that God looks on the inside of man and not on the scars of the outside man. It all starts in the heart of man, continues in the heart, and finishes in the heart of man. Thanks for letting me share today. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
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These questions – Can you by searching find out God? Can you find Him out of perfection? (KJV) – are sometimes used a proof that He is so great that the most learned cannot comprehend Him; but this is an improper use of the questions. One cannot find the person of God in the telescope, in the laboratory or in other ways that some seek for Him. One would not seek to know any man by such methods, so why try to find God that way? To know a man one must be introduced to him, become acquainted with his traits and ways by association and living with him continually, under all circumstances of life. So it is with God, one must become acquainted with Him, Fellowship with Him, Daily experience Him, and read and accept His own revelation of himself in the many thousands of plain statements of Scripture. It may be true that some of the learned cannot comprehend Him, but it is a fact that the most simple-hearted believer can do so. If one has been taught to question the literalness of Bible statements about God, and if he will not accept what God says about Himself, then a knowledge of Him is impossible; whereas if one will believe the Bible when it speaks of His person, His body, His soul, and His spirit faculties in the same way he would believe if the description was of an ordinary man, then knowledge of His is the result.
THE DAKE BIBLE page 529
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As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the light of God’s reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace. To an amazing extent the facts of A.A. life confirm this ageless truth.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 98

Principles before Personalities

Thought for the day: Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean without sin”? PROVERBS 20:9 NIV
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PRECEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Thy commandments. PSALM 119:66
When you see the scriptural phrase “This is the will of God,” you know for sure that’s God’s will. You also know that to disobey is to break His Word. Other clear indications of His leading are the precepts and principles in the Scripture.
Precepts are clearly marked statements like “Abstain from sexual immorality.” That’s like saying, “Speed Limit 35.” What is speeding? Anything over thirty-five miles an hour. That’s a precept.
Then there are principles….and these are general guidelines that require discernment and maturity if we are to grasp them……Like the sign that says, “Drive Carefully.” This may mean forty miles an hour on a clear, uncongested highway, or it may mean ten miles an hour on an ice-covered curve. But it always means that we must be alert and aware of conditions; it always means that we must have to be discerning….these principles require wisdom and discernment.
CHARLES SWINDOLL…………..the Mystery of God’s Will
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“Put principles before personalities.” This is read at every AA meeting. And I have had to remind myself of this many times. When ever I feel (here I go with my feelings again) that someone has said something or done something that has offended me, and I feel I have rights that have been violated, my first instinct is to lash back with words that can cause pain. I am learning that this is wrong, just because I get my feelings hurt does not mean I can pass it on to someone else. In AA we have a code, “Love and tolerance of others.” I must use these principles in order to stay free of anger and resentment which are the number one causes of relapse to using again.
I saw a movie last night, a true story, about a young man from New York with a drug addiction. He had an older friend who took him in to his home so he could kick his habit. After several days of painful withdrawals, the kid was in agony from the physical craving of his body. He also realized that his friend was helping him. In a moment of helplessness the kid asked, “why are you doing this”? The older friend said, “once someone helped me, and I always pay back what I owe.” That reminded me of words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)
Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………JRE
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We try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had formerly shown none. With those we dislike we can at least begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way at times to understand and help them.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 93

Now Faith

Thought for the day: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? AMOS 3:3 NIV
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THE LIGHT OF LIFE
Your faith and hope are in God. 1 PETER 1:21 NIV
We get so used to this world that we lose sight of the next. We get so used to the darkness and chaos of this world’s suffering and violence that we lose sight of the brightness of Him who alone could say, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
He alone is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). He alone is the Hope of the hopeless, the Savior of the lost, the Guide of the wandering. He alone is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).
Today world leaders struggle with almost insurmountable problems, and they always will. But in the midst of this world’s persistent darkness, never lose sight of Jesus. He alone is the hope of the world, and He is your hope as well.
BILLY GRAHAM
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Today I have hope. The Bible says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 1:1). “Now faith” means exactly that, faith cannot be applied to yesterday nor can it be applied tomorrow from today. Faith works in the here and now. Faith can change things in the future, but only by using and exercising it today. The difference in my life today and the life that I was living several years ago is hope, and this hope is composed of the substance of faith. I have known several people in the last 15 years who have taken their own life, and the only reason that I can see for this is hopelessness. Alcoholism and drug addiction bring about a state of hopelessness, and the continued use when in this state is a slow form of suicide. The hope I have today did not come about in a moment of time. I had to exercise my faith muscle by using it, by speaking words of encouragement to myself and others, by doing good works and hoping for good outcomes. Little by little, day by day, “Now faith” has become the blueprint of hope to come. I have applied my faith and seen things come about that if you would had told me about it several years ago, I would have called you a liar. Today I take it “one day at a time,” that is where “now faith” lives. I am grateful, today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………………….JRE
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We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. All of us, whatever our race, creed, or color, are the children of a living Creator, with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 28

Dr. Luke

Thought for the day: “Common sense the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.” C.E. STONE
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To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” LUKE 18:9-14 NIV

In the Gospel that bears his name, Luke sides with the people you would least expect to be winners. The prodigal son, a tax collector, little children, a blind beggar, and Zacchaeus another tax collector are some of the ones, who through their humble acts are mentioned in the book. I think that Luke knew from a personal point of view how the least expected could become winners. Luke was the only writer in the New Testament who was not a Jew. He was a Greek He was not one of the twelve. He came to know Jesus through his relationship with Paul or one of the many disciples. Through his faith came all the blessings of salvation by grace, healing, peace, and the many gifts of the spirit. Luke understood what it was like to be on the outside looking in, his heart wanted to be closer to the Father, so he made a decision to follow Jesus.
Tax collectors were hated by the Jews. It’s as if they were working for the terrorist of the day. But yet this guy knew he had sinned and asked for mercy. How simple his prayer was, and so it is with us, God will answer our simple prayers when they come from the heart. Many in AA have come to the fellowship with one simple prayer on their lips, “God help me.” Like Dr. Luke wrote, “He who humbles himself will be exalted.” May I learn from Luke, who for a time was on the outside looking in. I am grateful because today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
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Walk all the way with another person and with God. Do not go a part of the way and then stop. Do not push God so far into the background that He has no effect on your life. Walk all the way with Him. Make a good companion of God, by praying to Him often during the day. Do not let your contact with Him be broken for too long a period. Work all the way with God and with other people, along the path of life, wherever it may lead you.
HAZELDEN ………….Twenty-Four Hours A Day

Joe Williams

Thought for the day: “Greed is the surface manifestation of an inner spiritual void.” ANONYMOUS
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Words of Paul written to the church at Colosse, a city in Asia Minor.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
COLOSSIANS 3:12-14 NIV
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Divine love is to be put on as the outer garment and finishing touch to a well dressed Christian. One is to put on this outer cloak as the bond of perfectness or as girdle. It is to cover all, unite all, and bind all together as one. This is true perfection (Matthew 5:48).
THE DAKE BIBLE
I really needed to hear this today. After I finished my daily reading of Scripture, I looked over and saw three letters that I had received and have needed to answer. Two of the letters are from a young fellow who used to do yard work and odds and ends for me. He is presently in the Missouri State Penitentiary because of his drinking. I met Joe in the Wright County Jail back in December of 1996. We shared a cell together. Joe invited Jesus into his life at that time and we prayed together many times. Upon his release Joe went back to the same old life and friends and was soon back in jail. He was in and out of jail and spent the next few years just bumming around. I could always find him something to do to earn a little money. But most of all I just wanted to share with Joe about my life and how I was able on a daily basis to rise above my addictions. The last letter I got from Joe included a picture of him and his church group. He is sitting right down front, big smile on his face, with his Bible held tight in his arms. Joe might be locked up, but he has been truly set free, and it shows in the light shinning from his face. Joe is my friend and brother in Christ, and it is only by the grace of God that I am not sitting there with him. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………..JRE
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In self-appraisal, what comes to us alone may be garbled by our own rationalization and wishful thinking. The benefit of talking to another person is that we can get his direct comment and counsel on our situation.
BILL W……..A.A. 12X12 page 60
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I have Joe’s address if anyone would like to send him a letter of encouragement. I don’t think he gets much mail. Thanks for letting me share today…………………..JRE

John Brown

Thought for the day: “You can reach out beyond your self by reaching out to another.” ANONYMOUS
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My grandfather was a well driller. He drilled many wells in this part of the country. To this day I can’t go very far without meeting someone who knew him or remembers of a well he drilled for them, or one of their neighbors. All the wells still produce water. Papa had a man that worked for him named John Brown. I remember John as a big man who always needed a shave and having overalls that had patches and needed patches. He was a strong man. I can still see him swinging a sledge hammer sharpening bits that had been heated in a forge at the well site.
John Brown was a practical joker. He teased all the kids (my aunts and uncles). I am blessed to be the oldest grandchild and can remember experiencing one of John’s jokes. I was seven years old and was down at the creek catching minnows, tadpoles, and crawdads. All of a sudden a deep voice from nowhere said, “Hey!” I looked around and there was no one in sight. I kept on playing, and again the deep voice said, “Hey!” I looked and still no one in sight. I can remember feeling a little scared. Looking around and still seeing no one, once again I heard the deep voice say, “What are you doing!” Man, I headed for the house and quick. It was several years before I figured out that it was John hiding behind some bushes on the other side of the creek. He never said anything and I never said anything. The truth is I probably shouldn’t have been down at the creek by myself.
My uncle Darrell says the John had what they call Missouri Wit. One day out of nowhere he would say, “there’s a bluebird.” The next day he would say, “there’s a bluebird with a worm.” The next day he would say, “there’s a bluebird with a worm feeding it’s young.” And it would go on and on, day by day. That’s the way John Brown was, he was one of the rugged hill people who, because of his hard work, made it possible for all of us to live a little more comfortable today. I am grateful that I had a chance to know him and to experience his joke. When I look out my window I see the spot down at the creek where it took place, and I think of John Brown.
Today I am so thankful that God is in my life. I am thankful for the fellowship of my church and Alcoholics Anonymous. Because without the help that I have received, I could not enjoy the past as I do. Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………………JRE
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THE WAY OF STRENGTH
We need not apologize to anyone for depending upon the Creator. We have good reason to disbelieve those who think spirituality is the way of weakness. For us, it is the way of strength.
The verdict of the ages is that men of faith seldom lack courage. They trust their God. So we never apologize for our belief in Him. Instead, we try to let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 68

Spiritual Progress

Thought for the day: “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.” PROVERBS 27:5 NKJV
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“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48 NIV

How can I be perfect? For years when I read this Scripture I just passed over it and did not spend too much time meditating on it because I did not understand how I could be perfect. As a matter of fact, I knew that I could not be perfect at all. When Matthew wrote his book, he wrote it in Greek, and when you go back to the original Greek word that he used you get a different meaning than the English word perfect. The Greek word is Teleios, and means complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.). I can be complete and not be perfect is the sense of not having any flaws or faults that need work to be removed. Growth is the word I find helpful, to stay green and not be an old stick in the mud. In AA we read something at every meeting, “We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.” By the grace of God, I may learn something today if I am willing to keep an open mind. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………JRE

What Oswald Chambers has to say about this verse:
Our Lord’s exhortation in these verses is to be generous in our behavior to all men. In the spiritual life beware of walking according to natural affinities. Everyone has natural affinities; some people we like and others we do not like. We must never let those likes and dislikes rule in our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as God is in the light,” God will give us communion with people for whom we have not natural affinity.
The example Our Lord gives us is not that of a good man, or even a good Christian, but of God Himself. “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heave is perfect,” show to the other man what God has shown to you; and God will give us ample opportunities in actual life to prove whether we are perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. To be a disciple means that we deliberately identify ourselves with God’s interests in other people. “That you love one another; as I have loved you….”
OSWALD CHAMBERS
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In every AA story, pain has been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price purchased more than we expected. It led us to a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. We begin to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 75

Good Samaritan

Thought for the day: “Never look downs on someone, unless you are reaching down to give them a hand up.” Heard at AA
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My study today was the parable of the good Samaritan, which goes along with what I heard at a meeting the other night. When I was wounded and half dead because of my self-centered behavior, someone reached down and said, “follow me, this is what I did to overcome the same problem.” The good Samaritan in the parable is a type of Christ, someone who comes along when we can’t help ourselves, and saves us from the enemies of life itself. I am grateful not be in the ditch anymore. To have my feet on higher ground. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share…………………….JRE

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?
“WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE LAW?” he replied. “HOW DO YOU READ IT?
He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“YOU HAVE ANSWERED CORRECTLY,” Jesus replied, “DO THIS AND YOU SHALL LIVE.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A MAN WAS GOING DOWN FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO, WHEN HE FELL INTO THE HANDS OF ROBBERS. THEY STRIPPED HIM OF HIS CLOTHES, BEAT HIM AND WENT AWAY, LEAVING HIM HALF DEAD. A PRIEST HAPPENED TO BE GOING DOWN THE SAME ROAD, AND WHEN HE SAW THE MAN, HE PASSED BY ON THE OTHER SIDE. SO TOO A LEVITE, WHEN HE CAME TO THE PLACE AND SAW HIM PASSED BY ON THE OTHER SIDE. BUT A SAMARITAN, AS HE TRAVELED, CAME WHERE THE MAN WAS, AND WHEN HE SAW HIM , HE TOOK PITY ON HIM. HE WENT TO HIM AND BANDAGED HIS WOUNDS, POURING ON OIL AND WINE. THEN HE PUT THE MAN ON HIS OWN DONKEY, TOOK HIM TO AN INN AND TOOK CARE OF HIM. THE NEXT DAY HE TOOK OUT TWO SILVER COINS AND GAVE THEM TO THE INNKEEPER. ‘LOOK AFTER HIM,’ HE SAID, ‘AND WHEN I RETURN, I WILL REIMBURSE YOU FOR ANY EXTRA EXPENSES YOU MAY HAVE.’
WHICH OF THESE DO YOU THINK WAS A NEIGHBOR TO THE MAN WHO FELL INTO THE HANDS OF ROBBERS?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “GO AND DO LIKEWISE.”
Luke 10:25-37 NIV
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“Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the Light, even though for the moment you do not see.” BILL W. a letter dated 1950

Pleasant words promote instruction

Thought for the day: “The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.” Proverbs 16:21 NIV
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“Pleasant words promote instruction,” how true this is. I seem to learn quicker when others take the time to look me in the eyes, speak with kind words, and show genuine concern. In the fall of 1968 I attended Indiana State University. I took Biology 101, and what a job that was! I failed to take time to get to know the professor, and was too cool (proud) to ask questions. I didn’t want the girls to think I was as dumb as I really was. I barely passed, and only with the help of my neighbors was I able to continue. In the fall of 1970 I went to work for the Water Department for the City of Kansas City Missouri. I was hired as a trainee to be a plant operator. There was hands on training, and many hours of classroom instruction. Our instructor was a chemist, and we would spend the first few minutes of each class drinking coffee and just feeling comfortable with each other. The chemistry to be learned was more complex than at the college level, but the learning was easier because “pleasant words promote instruction.”
Today this Scripture, brought back memories of my youth, and it still holds true today. In Southern Missouri, I’ve heard a saying that, “sugar draws more flies than vinegar.” And so it is. I am grateful for the Word of God, and the light it brings into my life. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………….JRE
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GENUINE ENCOURAGEMENT
A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word!
Proverbs 15:23
All of us need encouragement, somebody to believe in us. To reassure and reinforce us. To help up pick up the pieces and go on. To provide us with increased determination in spite of the odds……..
When we encourage others we spur them on, we stimulate and affirm them. It is helpful to remember the distinction between appreciation and affirmation. We appreciate what a person does, but we affirm who a person is. Appreciation comes and goes because it is usually related to something someone accomplishes. Affirmation goes deeper. It is directed to the person himself or herself…….
I do not care how influential or secure or mature a person may appear to be, genuine encouragement never fails to help. Most of us need massive doses of it.
CHARLES SWINDOLL………..Strengthening Your Grip
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Thanks for letting me share………………….JRE

Eat a good breakfast

Thought for the day: “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the right to do the same.” VOLTAIRE
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Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our LORD. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Romans 6:11-12 NKJV
Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
The recovery process is a series of deaths and rebirths. We die tome and again to the old reliance on our carnal dependencies. We continually give birth to new life that is spiritually oriented and infilled with the love of God.
In Step 6, we ask god to remove defects of character, and this removal requires that we die to old ways of being and acting. We must die to a false reliance on possessive and jealous human relationships. We must die to a narrow preoccupation with material wealth, power, or authority. We must die to our dependency on mood-altering chemicals or food as means of satiating spiritual needs.
The expression of the Holy Spirit within us can only be alive to the extent that we have died to our old ways. We seek to be thorough in this invocation of God’s help, for “half measures availed us nothing” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 59).
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 215
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Yesterday morning in church I heard a Scripture that I could very much relate to in the working of a daily program of recovery. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Through outwardly we are wasting away, yet, inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16 NIV). And so it is, inside I grow every day. At age 57 I find the child inside to be still very active. Not in the sense of being childish (this does happen though), but in the sense of discovering new and wonderfully exciting thoughts, ideas, and feelings. I still like to turn over rocks to see what is under them. I still like to pet old dogs. I still like to explore places I’ve never been. I am finding I can do these things right from my desk, and with a sane mind. I am discovering that each new day is a grand experience in life, and learning to love others as myself. To me the key to enjoying a new life on a daily basis is to feed my spirit on the Word of God, first thing each day. Eat a good breakfast!!!!! I have a desire to be truly grateful, because today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
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“You are asking yourself, as all of us must: ‘Who am I?’ …’Where am I?’ ……’Whence do I go?’ the process of enlightenment is usually slow. But, in the end, our seeking always brings a finding. These great mysteries are, after all, enshrined in complete simplicity. The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual development.”
BILL W. a letter dated 1955

Goldfish Feets

Thought for the day: “A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17:17 NIV
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A STEP IN THE PROCESS
Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD. Psalm 94:12
A child develops muscles through exercise. Only when our muscles encounter resistance, do they become stronger.
In the same way, the Bible tells us that we only become stronger spiritually through exercise, through using our spiritual “muscles” to meet the challenges of life. This is especially true when we face suffering and affliction, for they are one of God’s ways to make us strong. One reason God allows suffering to come to His people, the Bibles says, is to discipline, chasten, and mold us.
In the last essay he wrote before he died, the great Christian writer C.S. Lewis said, “We have no right to happiness; only an obligation to do our duty.” Sometimes our God-given duty will include suffering. When it does, ask god to teach you through it. Remember the Psalmist’s words I quoted above: “Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD.”
BILLY GRAHAM
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Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

At Step Three, many of us said to our Maker, as we understood Him: “God, I offer myself to Thee, to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that my transcendence over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy power, Thy love, and Thy way of life. May I do Thy will always!”
We thought well before taking this Step, making sure we were ready. Then we could commence to abandon ourselves utterly to Him.
BILL W. …………Alcoholics Anonymous, page 63
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My granny always had puppies and kittens around the farm. One of my first recollections is of the little animals. I remember asking granny many times if this one or that one were boys or girls. She would always pick them up, turn them over, and then say this one is a boy or that one is a girl. I asked he how she knew and she would say, “I look at the bottoms of their feet.” Outside my bedroom window grows a cedar of Lebanon. My uncle brought seed back from the East and granny planted it many years ago. The tree is still small, they are slow growing. Around the tree is a rock and concrete foundation where once there was a goldfish pond. I remember at a very young age playing there and watching the fancy goldfish. I use to catch them and hold them in my hand and look at them. Once granny caught me and asked what I was doings. I said, “granny, I’m looking at their feets.” So if you ever need to know what sex a goldfish is, just look at their “feets.”
The only way I can tie this in today is to mention the fact that the cedars of Lebanon are mentioned many times in the Bible. This wood was used to built the first temple. Every time I come across the word cedar in Scripture, I am reminded of the small tree planted in the old goldfish pond. One of the pleasures I have today, is that I can enjoy the small things in life. The little tree and goldfish feet. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………………..JRE

Infested with seed ticks and wasps

Thought for the day: “In judging of others a man labors in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and examining himself, he always labors fruitfully.” Thomas a Kempis
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He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hate me, for they were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.
Psalm 18:16-18 NKJV
I like the verse, “He also brought me out into a broad place.” I remember the August of 1996, it was the low point in all of my life. It was very hot that year and I was living in a small trailer in the sun, on the edge of the woods. My alcoholism had progressed to the point of a quart of whiskey a day. I would not bath and seldom had on much more than underwear. I had four dogs and every time the trailer door would open they would run in. The trailer was infested with seed ticks and wasps. I could not deal with the seed ticks and every time I saw one on my body I would burn it with the hot end of a cigarette. I had burns all over my body from killing the ticks. I reached a point where I could not take life any more the way I was living. By the grace of God I reached out for help. I went to the VA hospital and stayed a few days on the psych ward. I made arrangements to get into treatment. In September of that year I went to treatment again (the sixth time). I had a relapse after ten months of being clean. But this was actually the start of a journey of living life one day at a time. September 11, 1998 I took my last drink and any form of drugs. Today my life is a “broad place.” I have freedom from the bondage of the bottle and the drugs. God reached down into that filthy tick infested hole I was in, and gave me a hand out. I am grateful. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………………..JRE
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Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Steps 1 and 2 involve what recovery literature describes as ego deflation at depth. Our own efforts at self-control and willpower have proved fruitless against the enemies of compulsivity, drivenness, and neediness.
We find ourselves at a critical crossroads. On the one hand, our old addictions or dependencies beckon to us and tell us that the practice of those dependencies will be the ultimate source of our comfort. On the other hand, we have begun to experience that the promises of our addictions are false promises. We have discovered, along with many other recovering persons, that our addictions have stopped working for us. The alternatives appear bleak.
How shall we be saved from the enemies of our dependencies? The psalmist David celebrates a God who is “my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” Our dependencies brought us to a position of powerlessness. That powerlessness has brought us to the threshold of the God of our fathers who has infinite strength to provide our salvation.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 389

I lift up my eyes

Thought for the day: “If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it might be because that’s where the septic tank is.”
B.M. at CTC 8-3-03
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For years Roger had poked and prodded Gordon, his oldest son, to be a better student. Roger was always a little disappointed in Gordon and his
B-average grades. He never quite measured up to Roger’s expectations.
When Gordon was a high school senior, Roger was puzzled by an invitation to a student awards assembly. He couldn’t imagine any awards that Gordon would win. Roger went to the event anyway, but he grew increasingly annoyed at watching other students march up the aisle for applause. Why was he here? Why was his son so mediocre? Finally, the principle came to the last presentation, a new award for an exceptional student. Roger was astonished to hear Gordon’s name announced, followed by a long description of his son’s fine character, kindness, trustworthiness, and quiet leadership. The principal finished by thanking Gordon, saying, “No one who has really gotten to know you will ever be quite the same again.”
Roger had never gotten to know his son, much less appreciate him for who he was. In his efforts to teach and “improve” Gordon, Roger became blind to his son’s best qualities. It reminds me of a verse in Proverbs: “He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it” (Proverbs 11:27). Teach your children, but remember also to seek and acknowledge their positive traits. You discover a son or daughter to be proud of.
Dr. James Dobson’s Bulletin……..August 2003
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“I will lift up my eyes unto the heights whence cometh my help.” Try to raise your thoughts from the depths of the sordid and mean and impure things of the earth to the heights of goodness and decency and beauty. Train your insight by trying to take the higher view. Train it more and more until distant heights become more familiar. The heights of the Lord, whence cometh your help, will become nearer and dearer and the false values of the earth will seem farther away.
HAZELDEN………….Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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I asked my grandmother one day several years ago what her favorite Scripture was. She answered with, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD which made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2). As I look out the window that my granny looked out for 70 years, I see the hills and realize now that her strength, and mine, does and did not come from owning property or material things. Our strength comes from the One who provides all things. Knowing that I have a foundation in God gives me the strength to stand firm regardless of how the winds blow. I praise God for a foundation that is added on “one day at a time.” Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………………JRE

Grace

Thought for the day: ”What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” OSCAR WILDE
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If by some chance I could only have one verse of Scripture and that was all, I would choose Ephesians 2:8. The grace of God has been extended to me even though I made the decision many times to be rebellious and walk away from a gift that is of great value. There was a time in my life when I had no idea what the word grace meant, other than what was said at the table (I still don’t know where that saying comes from). Also grace was someone who didn’t fall down often, and flowed when they walked. At one time I could not accept a complement without some kind of negative response, thinking I did not deserve what was said. Today, from the Father, I am learning how to be graceful which is a form of kindness. I am learning how to say thank you and mean it. God loved me when I did not deserve it. This is grace in its highest form. I am grateful. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………………JRE

FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH: AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD.
Ephesians 2:8
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SAVING FAITH
Saving faith is part of humanity’s response to God in the salvation experience. It is as simple as looking to Jesus for salvation. Saving faith is both simple and complex. It is as simple as a drowning man reaching for a rope, yet at the same time it sets in motion all the judicial machinery of heaven, in keeping with the ultimate purpose of God. While believing is simple, there are some for whom it is too simple, and they find that difficult. In the Scriptures, the intensity of one’s faith is not as important as its object. Often belief in the gospel produces and emotional response, although, because individual personalities differ, it is not wise to use emotion as a test of faith. Ultimately, saving faith is expressed as an act of the will. Repentance and faith are in essence two sides of the same coin called “conversion.”
NELSON KING JAMES STUDY BIBLE page 1830
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Gratitude should go forward, rather than backward. In other words, if you carry the message to still others, you will be making the best possible repayment for the help given to you.
BILL W. From a letter dated 1959
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God is inexhaustible, you can go as far as you want and further, forever. Thanks for letting me share today…………….JRE

Home in heart

Thought for the day: “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”
PROVERBS 3:3-4 NIV
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A HOME FOR YOUR HEART
I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells. PSALM 26:8 NIV
When it comes to resting your soul there is no place like the Great House of God. “I’m asking Yahweh for one thing,” [David] wrote, “only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty, I’ll study at his feet. That’s the only quiet secure place in a noisy world” (Ps. 27:4-5 MSG).
If you could ask God for one thing, what would you request? David tells us what he would ask. He longs to live in the house of God. I emphasize the word live, because it deserves to be emphasized. David doesn’t want to chat. He doesn’t desire a cup of coffee on the back porch. He doesn’t ask for a meal or to spend and evening in God’s house. He wants to move in with him……..forever. He’s asking for his own room……permanently. He doesn’t want to be stationed in God’s house, he longs to retire there. He doesn’t seek a temporary assignment, but rather lifelong residence.
MAX LUCADO…………The Great House of God
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“Home is where the heart is.” We’ve all heard this expression, and many of us have applied it to our lives as we have moved from one place to another. We seem to take our pictures and personal belongings, and set them up around us, along with our loved ones, and make a home. We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing except our heart, and the matters of the heart. If home is where the heart is, then we take our home with us. My desire is to have a home that is transparent. Built on the foundation of the Fathers love. With walls of honesty, a door of kindness, and windows of care. Inside I want the furnishings covered with gentleness, and the air to have the smell of peace and serenity. This is my desire, but the reality is that sometimes I live in a home built on self with stone walls and no windows. The air become musty when there are no windows. I praise the Father for allowing me to be broken so He could chip away at the stone home in my heart. I love the light and the fresh air of serenity. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share…………………….JRE
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As a society we must never become so vain as to suppose that we are authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect that every one of A.A.’s principles has been borrowed from ancient sources.
BILL W. A.A. COMES OF AGE page 231