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Christina Cook Lee

Media Producer - Author - Blogger - Songwriter

broken

Forgiveness

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OCTOBER 20 

Focus: The merciful heart of God

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.

Over and over in scripture we see mankind failing and God forgiving. Mankind failing and God forgiving. From Genesis to Revelation, it’s a story that repeats itself throughout the centuries of time…the merciful heart of God.

When Jesus was on earth, scriptures tell us that He performed many miracles. As He healed the sick and provided food to thousands of people who gathered to hear His teachings—His popularity increased. The religious leaders became nervous about His influence. He had such insight to the things of God—His wisdom was amazing. Toward the end of His life on earth, the scribes and Pharisees were feverishly trying to figure out a way to ‘catch Him in a fault.’

The ministry of Jesus was filled with mercy and compassion. Of course there was the law that gave very detailed instructions for life and punishment for sins. However, Jesus came revealing the merciful heart of God…that sometimes overruled the law. Many things about His ministry contradicted the law, as a way of portraying what His sacrifice would accomplish for mankind. His intention was not that sin would reign—but that mercy would reign as a sign of the new and everlasting covenant.

There is a particular story in the Book of John that perfectly characterizes the merciful heart of God. It is known as, ‘The Woman Taken in Adultery.’ I’ll paraphrase it:

As Jesus continued His public ministry, there began to be some controversy among the people. Some thought He was the Messiah, and others thought He was a heretic. It appears that the Pharisees had sent officers of the law to arrest Jesus, and as they heard His teachings, they believed in Him. The officers returned to the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why haven’t you brought Him?

The officers claimed, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”

The leaders had a heated discussion and then they all when to their own homes, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, where He might have spent the night.

Early the next morning, Jesus came again into the temple, and all of the people came, too. He sat down and taught them. In the middle of His message, the scribes and Pharisees burst into the temple with a woman who they had caught in adultery. They brought her right up to Him and set her down in front of Him. Then they said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say?” Of course they were trying to test Jesus, hoping they could find something to accuse Him of.

Instead of answering them, Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger—acting like He didn’t even hear them—but they weren’t about to give up easily. They continued asking Him what His opinion was, and finally, He stood up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.” After He had made His statement, He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground.

Those who heard what He had said, began to be convicted in their conscience, and one by one, they started leaving—from the oldest to the youngest. Eventually, Jesus was still stooped down writing and all of the men had left, except for the woman. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”

She answered, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Jesus spoke again and said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

There may be things you did in your life that you have not been able to forgive yourself for. Things that were clearly outside of the will of God. You have wrestled with guilt and shame over the memories and may still have the feeling that some people continue to hold your past sins against you. Remember this story when you are tempted to believe you are condemned.

Declaration: I will find new strength by focusing my attention on the merciful heart of God and the example of Jesus.

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book in 2013, by the grace of God. To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic/videos?view=1&flow=grid

loneliness

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JULY 6 

Focus: Turning to the Lord in loneliness and pain

Psalm 25:16-17 (NCV) Turn to me and have mercy on me, because I am lonely and hurting. My troubles have grown larger; free me from my problems.

Any trial seems to make loneliness and pain seem worse–just like trials seem bigger when you’re already lonely and in pain.

When you’re in that condition, it seems like the whole world is out to get you…especially when there’s no sign that there will be a change any time soon.

The only thing good about pain is that it brings us to our knees—and the only thing good about being lonely, is the way it causes people to draw closer to God.

When everything else fails—the Lord is there for you. When all of your other options have been removed and your back is against the wall, He is there. He is faithful. Psalm 147:3 says, ‘He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.’

In Isaiah 45:22, the Lord answers the cry of the lonely and lost. He says, ‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.’

Turning to the Lord is the key—not turning to entertainment, or to people, or to any other kind of substitute.

When we turn to Him, some of the promises of the Lord in Isaiah 61 tell how He will comfort all that mourn and give those who grieve a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. He says the brokenhearted will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

The Lord will replace your shame with a double portion of goodness and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. You will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.

The Lord loves justice and hates robbery and wrongdoing. In His faithfulness, He will reward His people and make an everlasting covenant with them.

When we are in need of comfort, it’s strange the way we turn everywhere else to try to find it. We try to fill the void that only God can fill—in so many destructive ways. When we don’t find the help we need—we sometimes resent Him, as though He hasn’t been willing to help us. When actually, we have been trying to fill our need of Him with other things. The only answer to the loneliness and pain we suffer is the Lord, Himself. All other substitutes are temporary. Nothing but the love and fulfillment He can give will be able to bring us lasting help.

The Lord alone is the answer to the cry of your heart. He is the all becoming One—able to ‘be’ whatever you lack. That’s why He is known as ‘I AM’—because ‘HE IS’ everything. Find all of your hope in Him.

The quantity of His mercy is greater than the quantity of your failure. The extent of His grace is greater than the degree of your sin.

In Romans 8:31 the Apostle Paul tells us, ‘What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?’ In verses 37-39 he goes on to say, ‘Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Wherever you hurt today—the Lord is able to bandage your wound and heal it. He doesn’t despise your loneliness and the broken state of your heart. His true desire is for you to turn to Him with your whole being and find all of your satisfaction in Him. He is the friend you long for—the One who is able to carry all of your pain.

Declaration: I will find new strength by turning to the Lord in a fuller and deeper way than I have in the past. I believe He is able to heal my pain and take away my loneliness by filling me completely. I will find all my satisfaction in Him.

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book in 2013, by the grace of God. To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic/videos?view=1&flow=grid

Waiting on God

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APRIL 12 

Focus: The beauty and value of being in a broken state

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Hardly anyone wants to be broken. What value could there be in having your heart torn apart or your dreams shattered? What is there to appreciate when you’re in that condition?

In the middle of a crisis—the only thing most people can think about is surviving. A normal mind would be focused on just getting through it—not thinking what is great about this awful moment in time. Practically nobody wants a period of darkness or depression to last. Let’s face it, it’s hard to hurt. You want it to stop and you want it to be over.

My mind goes to the words of a very beautiful song called ‘Eagles Wings’, which had to be written by someone who saw a bigger picture—someone who was able to see past their present suffering, and embrace the tenderness of time spent in the broken state. The verse of the song begins: ‘Here I am waiting’. Don’t those words fit well with the condition of brokenness? Doesn’t it seem like you’re waiting for something endless to end? So, yes, here you are waiting…and the very next line says ‘abide in me I pray’. Notice the writer is not quick to say ‘get me out of this I pray’…but, ‘abide in me I pray’. While I’m waiting—abide in me, or ‘stay with me’.

For some of us, it took a few stumbles to fully realize the importance of having the abiding presence of God in our life. When a person is first starting out—they never seem to know how weak they actually are. Most people have the attitude in their youth and young adulthood that they can do anything. But, after several failures—some might begin to know they need God. Even then—it can take a while to understand or admit you need Him to ‘stay with you’. For a while, you call on Him in an emergency—He bails you out—and you get back to your own life until the next emergency. This cycle can go on indefinitely. God is very patient and kind…and He continues to come when you call.

Let’s get back to the song. The next words say, ‘here I am longing for You’. No doubt. The pit of desperation is lonely. You are in a place of longing. At the bottom of a dark hole, you know the only one who is really there for you, is God.

Moving on with the lyrics—‘hide me in Your love’. Well, that sounds like a sweet thing—to be hidden—because often in the broken state, there are people you don’t want to see and things you don’t want to face. So, being able to ‘hide’ sounds good.

The next line is the clincher, ‘bring me to my knees’. Let’s pause and think about the gravity of that statement, ‘bring me to my knees’. You might think, ‘what fool would say that?’ It’s hard to imagine wanting to be brought to your knees in a place of true submission and surrender. What does it take for a person to desire something like that? Usually brokenness…but, who wants to be broken?

The last line of the verse says, ‘may I know Jesus more and more’. Well, there you have it. The writer of the song had come to embrace the revelation that being brought to their knees—or broken—is the place where they would know Jesus better. They realized that being in the broken state is a precious place near to the heart of God.

As David was talking to God in Psalm 51, he said, ‘a broken and contrite heart You will not despise’. At the place of brokenness—you have to be carried by your Shepherd. You can’t walk on your own, so you need Him to pick you up and hold you in His arms. Your legs won’t stand and you have no strength to walk, so He has to do it for you. He doesn’t mind. He loves holding you. When you’re not broken—you tend to be on the run a lot. You don’t have as much of a sense of ‘need’ when your life is going along okay.

Understanding the concept of how brokenness affects our relationship with the Lord—and being willing to abide or remain in a broken state as a matter of ‘choice’, takes some meekness. The only way you can approach such a thing is with a cautious reverence. What you’re telling God is, ‘Go ahead and do what You have to do to keep me on my knees’.

When we surrender our mind, will, and emotions to God and ask Him to use us, He has to get us into a form that will fit His purpose. The ‘shape’ He likes quite well is that of ‘people who are on their knees’…the shape of a person who has come to the point of knowing that it is not their will, but His that is best. But, even more than that—a person who is not in a hurry to get off their knees—someone who might just want to stay there and ‘wait’—because they have come to understand and appreciate that ‘on their knees’ is where they will know Jesus more and more.

Declaration: I will find new strength by embracing the beauty and value of waiting in the broken state…knowing that this is where I will be closest to the heart of God and truly get to know Jesus intimately.

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book in 2013, by the grace of God. To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic/videos?view=1&flow=grid

NOVEMBER 6

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Focus: Not holding back

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NKJV) For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with al the fullness of God.

If strength is what you lack, there is hope for you today. If you are lonely, you don’t have to stay that way. There really is a way out of the trap you’re in…whatever it is. That thing you haven’t found that you’ve been searching for so long…well, He’s right there in the room with you now. You don’t have to go looking and wondering when you’ll find what’s been missing—you’re the one who’s been missing. It’s not something outside of you that has made you feel incomplete—it’s the vacancy that hasn’t been filled in you.

So what if you said to God, ‘Give me all You’ve got’…and really meant it? What do you think you’d get? Do you think all of God is enough to fix your problem? I’m pretty sure that getting ‘all of God’ would change everything about what you think is wrong with the way things have been lately. You really don’t need anything more than more of God.

Oh, but don’t we hold back from giving Him full reign in us? Don’t we want to keep a safe amount of ‘self’, so that we can still think, and feel, and do the favorite things we’ve learned to love? Don’t we want to protect our own interest?

There is actually no reason to have any reservations about the possible repercussions. Just break loose of all that bondage in your mind. Freedom and independence in the way we know them, are really the worst kinds of slavery. Anything that encourages self-sufficiency is far from what brings true peace and security.

Real life is being free in another sense. Free to lose yourself in Christ and in the knowledge that HE is the one you have missed. He alone can satisfy the longings of your soul. Life is lonely for anyone until that realization is made. Nothing else will completely fill the void.

You can make the invitation. You can say, ‘Give it to me, God—I want all You’ve got’, if you’re ready for a real relationship with Him. Something much more than the superficial way you’ve known Him in the past. You might be a little offended at the idea that you haven’t already had as much of Him as you could get. We want to think we’ve been right and that the spiritual side of us is ‘in tact’. It’s embarrassing to think that you might not have already ‘had it right’ before now.

Well, maybe you did say something like ‘Give me all You’ve got’ to God at another time in your life, and you’ve always looked back at that moment as though it was the apex, and the Light of His brightness would never shine quite that much again. But, He is so limitless. He knows no bounds. What He was to you then—is nothing compared to what He could be to you now. There is more of you to fill now than there was at that time…and ‘being filled by Him’ is not a one time occurrence. It’s something that goes on and on and on and on and on….or at least it should.

It’s not as though He’s not willing. The brightness of the Lord is like a Light that keeps getting ever brighter and never stops. You can’t wear Him out or use Him up. No matter how much He gives you of Himself today—there will be more for you tomorrow. It’s not a matter of how much He has to give—it’s how willing we are to receive. How much are you able to receive? How big of a hole is in your heart right now? Can you give Him that much space?

The key to releasing the flow of His love into you is by telling ‘Thank You’. If all you feel is brokenness, then thank Him for your brokenness. If you are feeling numb—thank Him for your numbness. All you have to do is start thanking Him for basic things. You have air to breathe—thank Him for that. You have food and water—thank Him for that, too. You’re reading this—thank Him for leading you to these words that are challenging you to build a better relationship with your heavenly Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit—by letting the presence of God, the three in one, into your heart and soul. Keep giving thanks for everything you can possibly think of. Don’t just thank Him for the ‘good stuff’…praise Him for the things that brought you to your knees. Thank Him for the pain and suffering—the loss and loneliness—that has driven you closer to Him.

Begin to live in that kind of atmosphere and you will feel like you crossed over into another universe…His. He’s there for you every minute of the day or night and His love for you is unstoppable and undeniable.

Declaration: I will find new strength by opening my heart and soul to taking in more and more of God each day.

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW5unzXXC0k

AUGUST 3

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Focus: Revival

Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV) For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, Whose Name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

You might be wondering what God can do with a life like yours. You might have the feeling that your best days are over and that you will never be able to accomplish much because of the broken road you have traveled. You might have stopped thinking about success and finishing well in this life a long time ago—figuring God doesn’t use people who have done the things you’ve done.

Maybe the thought of being ‘called’ by God is frightening to you. Maybe it’s something you’ve never considered could happen to you. You might feel like you wouldn’t know the first thing about serving God, if He did call you. Possibly you would be afraid of failing, if you tried.

Throughout history, God has called the humble. The unlikely. The ones who were broken…and those who had failed. Many people failed while serving the Lord and He restored their life and ministry and gave them a better end than they ever hoped for. Ask me how I know…

When Jesus called His disciples, He chose common, ordinary men…not necessarily poor, but definitely poor in spirit. Someone who was too proud wouldn’t have been willing to follow Jesus—so He chose the humble. Jesus preached the importance of serving others and on many occasions, He portrayed a servant.

God loves those who are empty and at the end of themselves. His specialty is revival—breathing the breath of life into those who are all but dead. If He was able to raise the dead, He can surely raise ‘you’. If your heart has been hurt to the point of being broken—He can heal it. He made man and woman out of the dust of the ground—He has the ability to make a broken heart brand new.

If you are broken today, you are a perfect candidate for the service of the Lord. He uses people who can barely talk. He uses imperfect voices to speak His words. He uses those who have no strength of their own so that His strength and power will be seen in the weak and broken ones He chooses.

Maybe there was a time when you thought about being in the service of the Lord—but now you think it’s too late. As long as you are still alive, it’s not too late. Maybe you were in His service at one time, but things changed and you lost that ministry. I am here to tell you He still has plans for you. It’s not over.

There is a wind of revival blowing all over the earth. God is calling people from the north, the south, the east, and the west. He is saying, ‘Come, will you follow Me?’ He is saying, ‘Will you allow Me to breathe new life into your nostrils?’ He is asking you, ‘Are you willing to believe that I have a use for you?’ ‘Can you allow Me to fill you and revive you?’

God is longing to use you in a specific way. Everything in your life has prepared you for this moment. He has been working through all of the trials you have suffered—none of them were by accident. Each one of them has made you just a little more humble and contrite—just a little more like the person He wanted you to be.

You might think such treatment to be cruel and harsh. No matter how you feel about what you’ve been through, each trial was specially designed to bring about one of the attributes of your character.

When you are called into the service of the Lord, the testing doesn’t stop. It will never stop whether you decide to say ‘yes to His call or not. Even after you say ‘yes’ to Him, God will not stop working on you.

Imagine God as a sculptor. Imagine yourself as a big rough piece of marble. To begin with, you have no form, beauty, or usefulness—but God wants you to be outstanding and magnificent. The shaping will be painstaking—requiring  much  time and effort on His part—as well as yours.

God has a vision in His mind as He places the chisel on the stone and starts hammering. The way He gets you into the shape He wants you, is by chipping away everything that doesn’t resemble the results He’s working toward. Throughout the process of shaping you, He will use many tools and techniques, and in the end, He will have made a masterpiece. Something uniquely beautiful and useful.

Declaration: I will find new strength by humbly allowing God to revive me and embracing His desire to use me.

Revival, by Robin Mark

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

 

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic/videos?view=1

 

 

APRIL 12

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Focus: The beauty and value of being in a broken state

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Hardly anyone wants to be broken. What value could there be in having your heart torn apart or your dreams shattered? What is there to appreciate when you’re in that condition?

In the middle of a crisis—the only thing most people can think about is surviving. A normal mind would be focused on just getting through it—not thinking what is great about this awful moment in time. Practically nobody wants a period of darkness or depression to last. Let’s face it, it’s hard to hurt. You want it to stop and you want it to be over.

My mind goes to the words of a very beautiful song called ‘Eagles Wings’, which had to be written by someone who saw a bigger picture—someone who was able to see past their present suffering, and embrace the tenderness of time spent in the broken state. The verse of the song begins: ‘Here I am waiting’. Don’t those words fit well with the condition of brokenness? Doesn’t it seem like you’re waiting for something endless to end? So, yes, here you are waiting…and the very next line says ‘abide in me I pray’. Notice the writer is not quick to say ‘get me out of this I pray’…but, ‘abide in me I pray’. While I’m waiting—abide in me, or ‘stay with me’.

For some of us, it took a few stumbles to fully realize the importance of having the abiding presence of God in our life. When a person is first starting out in life—they never seem to know how weak they actually are. Most people have the attitude in their youth and young adulthood that they can do anything. But, after several failures—some might begin to know they need God. Even then—it can take a while to understand or admit you need Him to ‘stay with you’. For a while, you call on Him in an emergency—He bails you out—and you get back to your own life until the next emergency. This cycle can go on indefinitely. God is very patient and kind…and He continues to come when you call.

Let’s get back to the song. The next words say, ‘here I am longing for You’. No doubt. The pit of desperation is lonely. You are in a place of longing. At the bottom of a dark hole, you know the only one who is really there for you, is God.

Moving on with the lyrics—‘hide me in Your love’. Well, that sounds like a sweet thing—to be hidden—because often in the broken state, there are people you don’t want to see and things you don’t want to face. So, being able to ‘hide’ sounds good.

The next line is the clincher, ‘bring me to my knees’. Let’s pause and think about the gravity of that statement, ‘bring me to my knees’. You might think, ‘what fool would say that?’ It’s hard to imagine wanting to be brought to your knees in a place of true submission and surrender. What does it take for a person to desire something like that? Usually brokenness…but, who wants to be broken?

The last line of the verse says, ‘may I know Jesus more and more’. Well, there you have it. The writer of the song had come to embrace the revelation that being brought to their knees—or broken—is the place where they would know Jesus better. They realized that being in the broken state is a precious place near to the heart of God.

As David was talking to God in Psalm 51, he said, ‘a broken and contrite heart You will not despise’. At the place of brokenness—you have to be carried by your Shepherd. You can’t walk on your own, so you need Him to pick you up and hold you in His arms. Your legs won’t stand and you have no strength to walk, so He has to do it for you. He doesn’t mind. He loves holding you. When you’re not broken—you tend to be on the run a lot. You don’t have as much of a sense of ‘need’ when your life is going along okay.

But, understanding the concept of how brokenness affects our relationship with the Lord—and being willing to abide or remain in a broken state as a matter of ‘choice’, takes some meekness. The only way you can approach such a thing is with a cautious reverence. What you’re telling God is, ‘Go ahead and do what You have to do to keep me on my knees’.

When we surrender our mind, will, and emotions to God and ask Him to use us, He has to get us into a form that will fit His purpose. The ‘shape’ He likes quite well is that of ‘people who are on their knees’…the shape of a person who has come to the point of knowing that it is not their will, but His that is best. But, even more than that—a person who is not in a hurry to get off their knees—someone who might just want to stay there and ‘wait’—because they have come to understand and appreciate that ‘on their knees’ is where they will know Jesus more and more.

Declaration: I will find new strength by embracing the beauty and value of waiting in the broken state…knowing that this is where I will be closest to the heart of God and truly get to know Jesus intimately.

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.

To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic/videos?view=1