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Celebrate Recovery's Eight Principles

For Fapstronauts who are disciples of Christ

  1. 1. 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)

    Name your problem. Sometimes it takes a painful situation to get us to change our ways. I am the Problem.

    ' “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ' Matthew 5:3 https://my.bible.com/bible/59/MAT.5.3


    2. Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover. (Step 2)

    Mourn everything in our life that is not right. Bring these to God. Guilt, shame and regret reveal these things, but when we bring them to God, we leave them with Him and receive His righteousness, healing and hope.

    'For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ' Romans 7:15-25 https://my.bible.com/bible/59/ROM.7.15-25

    ' “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ' Matthew 5:4


    3. Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. (Step 3)

    If you come to Christ, you are allowing Him to lead. Let Go Let God.

    ' “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ' Matthew 5:5


    4. Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5)

    Confession to God and you are forgiven, tell them to someone and that is the beginning of healing. Recovery will not happen until it is the most important thing to you. Like a person starving.

    'Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord ! ' Lamentations 3:40

    'Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. ' Proverbs 28:13

    ' Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord : though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. ' Isaiah 1:16-18

    “Happy are the pure in heart.” Matthew 5:8a TEV


    5. Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. (Steps 6 and 7)

    God has to transform your mind. You have to deal with the underlying causes of your pain and addiction. Why you keep going to the escape. John Baker was a 16yr old boy with low self-esteem, drowning his problems in alcohol.

    ' “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ' Matthew 5:6

    ' I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ' Romans 12:1-2


    6. Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others when possible, except when to do so would harm them or others. (Steps 8 and 9)

    Ask and give forgiveness freely. Remove or pull away from bad relationships and make new healthy ones.

    ' “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ' Matthew 5:7

    ' “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ' Matthew 5:9

    'Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.' Ephesians 4:31-32


    7. 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 to gain the power to follow His will. (Steps 10 and 11)

    'So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ' John 8:31-32

    '“If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear. You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. ' Job 11:13-17


    8. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and my words. (Step 12)

    I am not fully healed until I am helping someone else. If a brother or sister wanders back into sin, go get them and help them.

    'My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God. My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.' James 5:19-20

    “Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires.” Matthew 5:10 TEV

    '“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble. “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.' Matthew 5:11-12
     
  2. CPilot

    CPilot Fapstronaut

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    I am nearing a milestone in days that I have never managed to surpass before and I am worried that this is also a time the devil has chosen to renew the battle for my soul. Indeed, I am feeling his temptations more acutely and/or my worry is making them so. I know that anger and self-pity have effectively torn down my defenses in the past and today I am feeling both of those emotions strongly as a consequence of a minor event that occurred last night. I feel the Lord has recently shown me that the successful discipline He has helped me bring to PMO in the last 5-1/2 months is a demonstration that I can become equally disciplined with my temper. However, this is a hill I have never successfully climbed. I want to be a source of peace in my home but I see that I have never been so. Thanks for letting me blether on herein, it is helpful. Please say a small prayer for me today. Thank you.
     
    born3, Stommy, Nyc_007 and 4 others like this.
  3. Praying for you. As we get free from PMO, God will begin work on some of the underlying causes. Anger is another thing that can form a stronghold in our lives. We harbor bitterness and anger in our heart instead of releasing the people we are angry at. When we forgive and love instead of express anger we have peace. We can only do this with the strength, power and because He has forgiven us. I have a paper on it if you are interested?
     
  4. CPilot

    CPilot Fapstronaut

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    I am most certainly interested in reading the paper you have in mind. Thank you for your help, your wisdom and most of all your prayers. I feel the Lord moving into my heart, to occupy this sinner's filthy, crumbling heart to clean it, rebuild and make it fit for Him. Oh my! The feelings of joy He brings are overwhelming!
     
  5. I sent them to you in a PM
     
    CPilot likes this.
  6. Don'tLookBack

    Don'tLookBack Fapstronaut

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    1, 2, 4, and 6 I am all pretty strong in. 3, 5, 7, and 8 I have a lot to work on.
     
  7. I think they must be worked in order. A 4th principle without a solid 3rd will always remain shallow and incomplete, and without a solid 4th principle, it is impossible to engage in the 5th very well or deeply. And we cannot truly perform the 6th without completing the 5th. The 4th step specifically can be very challenging; it is recommended you tackle that with a sponsor guiding you. Take it one step at a time, as the Spirit leads.
     
    Don'tLookBack likes this.
  8. Don'tLookBack

    Don'tLookBack Fapstronaut

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    True.
     
  9. If you have any questions ask us. There may also be a celebrate recovery group meeting near you.
     
  10. Muha22

    Muha22 Fapstronaut

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    Doesn't this kins of thinking free u from the responsibility of your actions , Doesn't that mean whatever u do it doesn't matter since you are powerless to control it
     
  11. Re-read Romans 4-8 slowly and meditatively, and then I'd love to talk with you about this some more. :)
     
  12. Muha22

    Muha22 Fapstronaut

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    Sure
     
    Tao Jones likes this.
  13. Muha22

    Muha22 Fapstronaut

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    Ok so far I read through Romans 4-6 and a do have some questions regarding Romans 5 if u don't mind making me understand them

    1st : Romans 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly

    What does it mean by powerless in this case. In what way were people powerless before Christ died for the ungodly.

    2nd: Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

    What does it mean that all people sinned , does it also mean that newborns also sinned and people that will be born in the future?

    3rd Romans 5:13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law

    This is the one that most what does it mean by law?

    Your explanation will be appreciated
     
  14. We are powerless against our tendency to do what is wrong. No one is without sin. We all choose willfully to go against God's good way and choose our own path instead, to our own detriment. We cannot work our way out of this predicament, even if we try really, really hard; we need someone to rescue us, because we are utterly trapped in the prison of sin and self!

    All people are born into this state of sin. Perhaps an infant has not committed any conscious act of rebellion against God, but if she were to grow up, she would. We all do. The world has been broken by sin and all humans are bent and twisted as a result.

    The law here is any rule. If you do something that violates a law but do not know that this law exists, you cannot fairly be said to have violated it. You cannot break a rule you do not know exists! But once you know the right way and then willfully choose to go your own way, you gave erred.

    These chapters are the very heart of the Gospel, imo. We cannot contemplate them often enough. I look forward to chatting about these things further!
     
    Muha22 likes this.
  15. Muha22

    Muha22 Fapstronaut

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    Thanks for the explanation, Now it is more clear
     

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