CASTIMONIA

Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group

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Deck of Cards

Originally posted at: http://www.theresstillhope.org

We are all familiar with the metaphor about life that says we have all been “dealt a deck of cards.” You have to play the deck you’re dealt. You don’t get to play someone else’s hand.

In your deck were several jokers and wild cards, of which you had no control:

  • Place of birth
  • Generational sin
  • Parental neglect
  • Trauma
  • Physical attributes
  • Abuse

The key to recovery is not to ask for a new deck, but learning how to win with the deck you already have. The Bible says it like this: “A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it” (Ecclesiastes 7:18).

Recovery Step: It does no good to complain about your two of clubs. If you stick with the hand you have been dealt and stay in the game, you will eventually come out ahead.

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Enthusiasm

Originally posted at: http://www.theresstillhope.org

Enthusiasm. You can’t do much without it. 

Paul advised, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:11-12). 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” 

Enthusiasm is not about positive thinking, sneaky psychological tricks, or becoming an optimist. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words en theos, which means “in God.” So enthusiasm is found in God. 

When you are in God, you will be enthusiastic about life, recovery, marriage, work, and church. 

Recovery Step: Pray this prayer today – “Dear God, I want to live every day in you. I want to find my joy in you. I find my hope in you.”

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The Second Chance Club

Originally posted at: theresstillhope.org

The word on the street is that you’ve messed up. You have crossed some lines you never thought you’d cross. You have stumbled, fallen, relapsed, and stumbled again.

Welcome to the Second Chance Club. Let me introduce you to some charter members:

  • Abraham: He pretended his wife was his sister because he didn’t have enough faith that God would protect him.
  • Moses: He murdered a dude.
  • Jonah: He ran from God as far as he could go.
  • Rahab: She made her living as a prostitute.
  • David: He committed adultery and had the woman’s husband put to death. 

What do these five people share in common? They are all in God’s “hall of fame” (Hebrews 11). 

It’s time to confess your guilt, grief, and grudges. Surrender them to God. And quit thinking so highly of yourself that you think your sin can outdo God’s grace. 

Recovery Step: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).