James 3:16-18

Keeping yourself clean

Focus: Your purpose

Psalm 20:4 (NKJV) May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.

As with anything, recovery results are best if you stay focused on moving forward and work on cultivating right desires. If you’re not getting the results you want, maybe you should examine whether your heart is really set on being completely whole and free.

Most people’s automatic response to whether their heart is set on being completely whole and free, would be “Well, of course it is.” But the reasons why some people stop making progress and why others continue to improve can be complicated.

We already know that a common contributor to a person’s depression and addiction is relationships—and the reason many people don’t continue to make progress in recovery is also because of relationships.

If relationships have contributed to your problem, there is something you need to really consider when it comes to whether you will win your battle, stay clean and find your purpose.

In order to truly succeed in recovery, you have to want recovery with all your heart—regardless of the condition of your relationships. Nothing about your relationships may change, but you’ve got to be determined that you will make progress in spite of any problems going on around you. That’s part of accepting the things you can’t change.

(Read more below)

NOW, YOU CAN LISTEN AND/OR READ!

You have to reach the point where your determination is so strong that nothing will talk you out of your decision. Hopefully, you’re getting there.

One thing that will help you, is if you work at developing a measure of ‘separation’ from your circumstances and people. I’m not talking about packing up and moving away. I’m suggesting that you learn to think differently than you have in the past. You can separate yourself from your circumstances and people in your mind, if you decide to. That’s having the courage to change the things you can.

The way you can do it is by separating yourself to the Lord and letting Him be the One you fall back on or turn to when things are weighing you down or tearing you apart. Surrendering yourself so wholly and completely to Him, that whatever happens around you is real and surreal—all at the same time. It’s really not as strange as it sounds.

God has a great purpose for your life or your struggle would not have been so intense. He has a plan for you that is far beyond what you may have imagined. Can you embrace that? Well, if you can, then you have to know that these struggles you are dealing with are just part of what has been sent to shape you more perfectly for that purpose.

There is no greater thing you could accomplish in this life than to hit the bull’s eye and fulfill that specific purpose God intended for you when you were still in your mother’s womb. Since you came out, all hell has been bent against you reaching that destiny. Do you feel the fire starting to rise up in you at the mention of those words? It should be.

Knowing that hell is against you, should make you want to fight back. You don’t have to. You could just keep letting the devil have his way with you. You could just keep letting him convince you that there is no such thing as greatness in your future. But, he’s a liar and a thief. Hasn’t he stolen enough from you? Are you going to let him keep taking more?

Rise up! Get mad at the devil! Get determined to be true to the call of the Lord on your life. You can’t deny it. You wouldn’t still be alive if God hadn’t ordained it. He can use death—or life, but He’s clearly not done with you or you wouldn’t still be here, and you surely wouldn’t be still reading this. Deep in your heart, you want to believe that God can do something with you. You want to believe that there is some redeeming quality in all that you’ve been through. Well, there is.

The whole thing is about to kick in if you will become determined enough to be completely sold out to letting things go the way God wanted them to go when He made you. The idea of that might scare you a little bit—or a lot. But it’s really up to you. God wants to grant you your heart’s desire—when you get your desire right. He wants you to learn to separate yourself so totally from your circumstances that nothing could keep you from succeeding. Ask Him what that means…

Declaration: I will find new strength as I surrender.

Topic: Keeping yourself clean

Focus: Becoming a faithful friend

James 3:16-18 (NKJV) For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The Word of God is an amazing gift. There is so much truth to be found by anyone who is willing to seek. Answers to the longings of our hearts are within the pages of the Book. As we open our eyes to receive the words, the ‘life’ they contain goes into our minds and we are infused with real quality…we are transformed. The things that have been wrong with us…become right, as we learn how to grow and live in Christ.

When we are absorbed with concepts and images that disagree with God’s perfect ways—no wonder our relationships fall apart and we fail.

James 3:16-18 makes me think of a children’s song called ‘The Wise Man’. You might remember it from your own childhood. It’s been around as long as I can remember. Stick with me through the words and I will make some comparisons after you’re done reading them.

(Read more below)

NOW, YOU CAN LISTEN AND/OR READ!

The first verse says: The wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, and the house on the rock stood firm.

Verse two: The foolish man built his house upon the sand, the foolish man built his house upon the sand, the foolish man built his house upon the sand, and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, and the house on the sand fell flat.

Verse three: So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the blessings will come down. The blessings will come down as the prayers go up, the blessings will come down as the prayers go up, the blessings will come down as the prayer go up, so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I used to teach music to young children, I would tell them that ‘our life is like a house’—and ‘Jesus is the Rock’.

The wise man who built his house on the rock makes me think of someone who would want their life grounded in the wisdom of the Word of God, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. A person with qualities like those would be easy to live with!

The foolish man who built his house on the sand reminds me of someone who is unstable in every way. Anyone who built a house with no foundation would also be likely to suffer from the negative effects of envy, selfishness, confusion, and every evil thing. Some of us have had the unfortunate experience of being that person—or knowing that person. Not fun…

Nobody is actually born with the gift of ‘getting along’ with everybody and being a faithful friend. Many of us have had a hard enough time being able to get along with one person, long term. When it comes to cultivating the ability to build strong and healthy relationships, we have to have the right things in our heart.

You can’t be filled with all kinds of negative stuff and expect that someone is going to ‘bring out the best in you’. If there’s nothing good in there—nothing good is going to come out. We are not naturally good inside. By nature, we are evil. The way to get good things ‘inside’ of us, is to purposely fill our mind with lasting truth from God’s Word. God will not allow His Word to fail. Filling ourselves with His Word helps us become strong and victorious.

Bad relationships can become better when people look to the Word of God for help. Good relationships can become better yet, when people allow the Word to guide and direct their lives.

You’ve heard the saying, “Into every life a little rain must fall.” In the course of time, rains come down and floods come up. In most people’s lives there will be times when it seems like you’re living through a hurricane. Whether you’re going through something like that or not, if you have a relationship that you want to last—what kind of foundation would you choose: sand, or the Rock?

Declaration: I will find new strength by filling myself with God’s Word. His truth will help me be a faithful friend.

Focus: Your purpose

Psalm 20:4 (NKJV) May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.

As with anything, recovery results are best if you stay focused on moving forward and work on cultivating right desires. If you’re not getting the results you want, maybe you should examine whether your heart is really set on being completely whole and free.

Most people’s automatic response to whether their heart is set on being completely whole and free, would be “Well, of course it is.” But the reasons why some people stop making progress and why others continue to improve can be complicated.

We already know that a common contributor to a person’s depression and addiction is relationships—and the reason many people don’t continue to make progress in recovery is also because of relationships.

If relationships have contributed to your problem, there is something you need to really consider when it comes to whether you will win your battle, stay clean and find your purpose.

In order to truly succeed in recovery, you have to want recovery with all your heart—regardless of the condition of your relationships. Nothing about your relationships may change, but you’ve got to be determined that you will make progress in spite of any problems going on around you. That’s part of accepting the things you can’t change.

(Read more below)

NOW, YOU CAN LISTEN AND/OR READ!

You have to reach the point where your determination is so strong that nothing will talk you out of your decision. Hopefully, you’re getting there.

One thing that will help you, is if you work at developing a measure of ‘separation’ from your circumstances and people. I’m not talking about packing up and moving away. I’m suggesting that you learn to think differently than you have in the past. You can separate yourself from your circumstances and people in your mind, if you decide to. That’s having the courage to change the things you can.

The way you can do it is by separating yourself to the Lord and letting Him be the One you fall back on or turn to when things are weighing you down or tearing you apart. Surrendering yourself so wholly and completely to Him, that whatever happens around you is real and surreal—all at the same time. It’s really not as strange as it sounds.

God has a great purpose for your life or your struggle would not have been so intense. He has a plan for you that is far beyond what you may have imagined. Can you embrace that? Well, if you can, then you have to know that these struggles you are dealing with are just part of what has been sent to shape you more perfectly for that purpose.

There is no greater thing you could accomplish in this life than to hit the bull’s eye and fulfill that specific purpose God intended for you when you were still in your mother’s womb. Since you came out, all hell has been bent against you reaching that destiny. Do you feel the fire starting to rise up in you at the mention of those words? It should be.

Knowing that hell is against you, should make you want to fight back. You don’t have to. You could just keep letting the devil have his way with you. You could just keep letting him convince you that there is no such thing as greatness in your future. But, he’s a liar and a thief. Hasn’t he stolen enough from you? Are you going to let him keep taking more?

Rise up! Get mad at the devil! Get determined to be true to the call of the Lord on your life. You can’t deny it. You wouldn’t still be alive if God hadn’t ordained it. He can use death—or life, but He’s clearly not done with you or you wouldn’t still be here, and you surely wouldn’t be still reading this. Deep in your heart, you want to believe that God can do something with you. You want to believe that there is some redeeming quality in all that you’ve been through. Well, there is.

The whole thing is about to kick in if you will become determined enough to be completely sold out to letting things go the way God wanted them to go when He made you. The idea of that might scare you a little bit—or a lot. But it’s really up to you. God wants to grant you your heart’s desire—when you get your desire right. He wants you to learn to separate yourself so totally from your circumstances that nothing could keep you from succeeding. Ask Him what that means…

Declaration: I will find new strength as I surrender.

Focus: Becoming a faithful friend

James 3:16-18 (NKJV) For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The Word of God is an amazing gift. There is so much truth to be found by anyone who is willing to seek. Answers to the longings of our hearts are within the pages of the Book. As we open our eyes to receive the words, the ‘life’ they contain goes into our minds and we are infused with real quality…we are transformed. The things that have been wrong with us…become right, as we learn how to grow and live in Christ.

When we are absorbed with concepts and images that disagree with God’s perfect ways—no wonder our relationships fall apart and we fail.

James 3:16-18 makes me think of a children’s song called ‘The Wise Man’. You might remember it from your own childhood. It’s been around as long as I can remember. Stick with me through the words and I will make some comparisons after you’re done reading them.

(Read more below)

NOW, YOU CAN LISTEN AND/OR READ!

The first verse says: The wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, and the house on the rock stood firm.

Verse two: The foolish man built his house upon the sand, the foolish man built his house upon the sand, the foolish man built his house upon the sand, and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, and the house on the sand fell flat.

Verse three: So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the blessings will come down. The blessings will come down as the prayers go up, the blessings will come down as the prayers go up, the blessings will come down as the prayer go up, so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I used to teach music to young children, I would tell them that ‘our life is like a house’—and ‘Jesus is the Rock’.

The wise man who built his house on the rock makes me think of someone who would want their life grounded in the wisdom of the Word of God, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. A person with qualities like those would be easy to live with!

The foolish man who built his house on the sand reminds me of someone who is unstable in every way. Anyone who built a house with no foundation would also be likely to suffer from the negative effects of envy, selfishness, confusion, and every evil thing. Some of us have had the unfortunate experience of being that person—or knowing that person. Not fun…

Nobody is actually born with the gift of ‘getting along’ with everybody and being a faithful friend. Many of us have had a hard enough time being able to get along with one person, long term. When it comes to cultivating the ability to build strong and healthy relationships, we have to have the right things in our heart.

You can’t be filled with all kinds of negative stuff and expect that someone is going to ‘bring out the best in you’. If there’s nothing good in there—nothing good is going to come out. We are not naturally good inside. By nature, we are evil. The way to get good things ‘inside’ of us, is to purposely fill our mind with lasting truth from God’s Word. God will not allow His Word to fail. Filling ourselves with His Word helps us become strong and victorious.

Bad relationships can become better when people look to the Word of God for help. Good relationships can become better yet, when people allow the Word to guide and direct their lives.

You’ve heard the saying, “Into every life a little rain must fall.” In the course of time, rains come down and floods come up. In most people’s lives there will be times when it seems like you’re living through a hurricane. Whether you’re going through something like that or not, if you have a relationship that you want to last—what kind of foundation would you choose: sand, or the Rock?

Declaration: I will find new strength by filling myself with God’s Word. His truth will help me be a faithful friend.

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