Biblical Recovery principles and 12 stepS
The pathway to recovery is to take each step of faith one at a time and discoveing a new way of life that has a purpose. We will know ourselves and find joy, peace, and serenity. Most of all we will grow into a personal relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ by believing and taking action on the truth. Changed lives…one Life at a Time! Come join us as we travel this road to recovery.
8 Recovery Principles, based on the Beatitudes by Pastor Rick Warren
Realize I'm not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.
Step 1: "Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor."
Matthew 5:3
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.
Step 2: "Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control.
Step 3: "Happy are the meek." Matthew 5:5
Openly examine and confess my faults to God, to myself, and to another person whom I trust.
Steps 4 & 5: "Happy are the pure in heart."
Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life.
Steps 6 & 7: "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires."
Evaluate all my relationships; offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I've done to others when possible, without expecting any reward.
Steps 8 & 9: :Happy are the merciful. " Matthew 5:7
"Happy are the peacemakers." Matthew 5:9
Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and gain the power to do it.
Steps 10 & 11
Yield myself to be used by God to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.
Step 12: "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires." Matthew 5:10
12 Steps & Their Biblical Comparison
Admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behavior. That our lives had become unmanageable.
"I know that nothing good lives in me that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."
Romans 7:18 (NIV)Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
"For it is God who is at work in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."
Philippians 2:13Made a decision to turn our life and our will over to the care of God.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship."
Romans 12:1 (NIV)Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
"Let us examine our ways and to test them, and let us return to the Lord."
Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.
Therefore confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed."
James 5:16a (NIV)Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up."
James 4:10Humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9 (NIV)Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to all.
"Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Luke 6:31 (NIV)Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift."
Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV)Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
"So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"
1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly."
Colossians 3:16a (NIV)
Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and practice these principles in all our affairs.
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you may also be tempted."
Galatians 6:1 (NIV)