The Twelve Steps: A Powerful Tool

The Twelve Steps: A Powerful Tool

by | Jun 10, 2024 | 12 Steps, Articles, Therapeuo, Treatment Modalities, Understanding Addiction

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous has been around for decades and has helped millions of people in their journey of recovery from addiction and compulsive behaviour towards some sort of stability and sometimes even complete remission. Studies have shown that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is at the very least as effective as other forms of therapy (like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Enhancement Therapy), but for the most part seems to be more effective – leading to more alcoholics and addicts being abstinent for longer periods of time.

Widely misunderstood by the church, sometimes even completely dismissed, this program has a lot to offer as a therapeutic intervention but also as a support program for deliverance and pastoral ministries.

The program – all twelve steps – are built around a foundational belief that the only way you can kick your addiction is by submitting to a force greater than yourself.

When the program was started in the 1930’s there was no doubt that it was a Christian program. Although secularized in the name of inclusivity, the program remains true to concept and has a high success rate. Coupled with our hope in Christ, rather than an anonymous ‘higher power’, I have seen lives changed in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain.

It can be applied to any addiction – narcotics, alcohol, pornography, sex, gambling and shopping – or even compulsive behaviors and mental health issues.

It provides a simple set of guidelines that we can use as a road map on our healing journey from chaos back to order.

The Twelve Step Program is outlined in the book Alcoholics Anonymous (originally published in 1939). It is found at the beginning of the chapter “How It Works”.

The Twelve Steps are:

  1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The program has a strong emphasis on prayer and fellowship – and the groups are free, with the only cost being your willingness to participate. The meetings are easy to find and listed online according to country, city and even suburb.

A final question I would like to answer here is whether or not Christians should attend these meetings. I have referred many addicts to these meetings, and some have been put off by the phrase ‘Higher Power’ or ‘God of your own understanding’. I want to urge you to not let this stand in your way. God wants us to be free. 

Surely we don’t avoid taking crucial medication (like heart medication or insulin) because the prescribing doctor is a Muslim or a Jew? These meetings are a life-line for those struggling with addiction and I believe that the Divine Wisdom of God is there between the lines. For any Christian going through these kinds of issues I would suggest a two-pronged approach – throw yourself into fellowship at church, but also join one of these support groups. We need as much support as possible in this specific journey. If the secular side of these meetings really are an obstacle to you personally, please consider one of the Christian fellowships instead – but do not push it aside altogether.

As a Christian and a minister of the Gospel I believe that this is an invaluable tool for those suffering from addiction, but also for the families of those who are struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol. 

The thing that has kept me clean for nearly a decade at time of writing is something someone said at one of the early meetings I attended. Just before praying together we stood in a circle holding hands, and a fellow addict said: “we stand this way to remind ourselves that we never need to stand alone again unless we choose to…”

You are not alone. You don’t have to go through it alone.

There are Christian alternatives to the traditional AA, CA and NA meetings (eg. Celebrate Recovery), and I would urge you to find a support group near you – it saved my life. It can do the same for you.

If you would like help in deciding where to go or how to get sober – I am always just an email away. Reach out by sending me a message to andre@adlabuschagne.co.za.

God bless you and keep you. May He shine His face upon you and grant you the peace that you need today!

IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE ARE STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION PLEASE REACH OUT: 065 370 3806 / ANDRE@ADLABUSCHAGNE.CO.ZA. #YOUARENOTALONE

 

Because He Lives

Because He Lives

by | Jun 6, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!”

Because He Lives, Bill and Gloria Gaither

“Let your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

Psalm 33:22, NIV

In this world, in our lives, we will have trouble. We will have issues. We will go through storms – pain, illness, persecution, family issues, financial ups and downs – the Bible teaches us that the same kinds of things befall both the righteous and the unrighteous… (Ecclesiastes 9)

Paul acknowledges this in most of his letters. Life gets difficult at times… And your faith does not take away the fact that we live in a fallen world where sometimes life happens.

Paul still got sick (Galatians 4:13), he still went through depression and anxiety (2 Corinthians 1:8-11), he still suffered injury (Acts 14:19), he still got into shipwrecks / accidents (Acts 27), he still faced persecution (Acts 13:50), unfair accusation and imprisonment (Acts 21) and financial troubles (Phil 4:12:). He actually sums this up in 2 Corinthians 11:21-29: (NIV)

“Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”

Paul went through some very real ‘stuff’. And you might be reading this and going through some very real ‘stuff’. And I want to tell you it’s okay. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t a ‘true believer’ and it definitely doesn’t mean that God has forsaken you. It just means God is working in the background and that we need to trust the process. Trust in Him.

You might have some family issues – God wants to restore your family.

You might be struggling with depression or addiction – God wants to free you, heal you and make you whole.

You might be worried about how you are going to feed your family – but God is making a way for you today.

Even though Paul went through some ‘stuff’ that made him ‘despair unto death’ (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)- he knew what to do in the face of these storms. Trust and rest in God. God is the one who delivers us. He has been on Your side and will continue to be there to catch you when you fall.

It is from this perspective that Paul writes Romans 5:

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:1-8, NIV)

When we were still powerless – weak – Christ died for us. He demonstrated His love on the Cross, with open arms, calling ‘come to Me.’

In our powerlessness – when we find ourselves in those times and places where we have no control, where we don’t know what to do and where we feel like our backs are against the wall – in those moments where we despair unto death because there is no way out – turn to The Way! Jesus is the Way. In our weakness He is strong.

Jesus knew we would still have trouble – in fact, He told His disciples that very thing – ‘in this world you will have trouble’ – trials, temptations and tribulations will no doubt come. Storms will come. Life will still happen. But we are not hopeless anymore.

When we cast our burdens unto Jesus – when we hear the Shepherd calling ‘come’ and run to Him we come to the same realisation that Paul came to in Romans 8:28-39:

”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because He lives – because Jesus has conquered death, disease and despair – I can face tomorrow. I can face the unknown. I can face those things that I feel unsure about – because this one thing is sure and certain – Jesus is the Rock of my Salvation. He is the Good Father, the Good Shepherd and the Lover of my Soul. He is my Stronghold. My Healer, my Provider, my Strength, my Hope and my Future.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow as more than a conqueror – knowing that nothing – no situation or circumstance can separate me from His love – His love that works all things to our good.

Because He lives, and because He loves me I know everything will be okay.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

Prayer: Lord, help me today to see Your hand in my life – to see that Your Hand has never been too short to reach me. Help me Lord, to feel Your love today. Help me Lord, in this moment, here where I find myself right now, to put my trust in You and rest in who You are. I thank You Lord that You give me the strength to endure and wait on You and trust Your process. Thank You Lord for Your blood on the cross. The blood that cleanses me of my sin and iniquity, but also through which my healing was paid. I declare healing over my body, over my mind, and my emotions in Jesus name. In the mighty name of Jesus I declare healing and restoration over my family and my finances. I thank You Lord that my present problems are promises waiting to be fulfilled. I thank You Lord that my test will be my testimony. I thank You Lord that Your love is working all things to my good. Because You are alive – risen from the dead – I too can rise up out of my situation. In Jesus name. Amen.

Jireh: He Sees To Your Needs

Jireh: He Sees To Your Needs

by | Jun 6, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“You are Jireh, You are enough
Jireh, You are enough
And I will be content in every circumstance
You are Jireh, You are enough”

Jireh, Maverick City Worship

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:6-7, NKJV

In Luke 12, teaching about money and possessions, Jesus makes the following strong statement:

“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

As humans we are always running after something – we never stop running after things. We are always chasing a better job, more money, fame, esteem, a bigger house, a faster car – a brighter future or lasting legacy – the list goes on and on.

We want. We always want more. Sometimes we don’t even know why we want it – but we do.

The sad thing is that, often, when we get what we want – when we finally have that balance in our account, that car in our driveway or our name in lights – it isn’t enough. It doesn’t satisfy. Freud wrote about this – and in his writings our drive and desires are often a negative thing – a cycle without any resolution or relief.

Often the thing we’ve spent so much time and effort – sometimes all our lives – chasing is found to be empty and utterly unfulfilling.

In Luke 12 Jesus urges us to let go of these things – to let go of our carnial wants and needs: “ Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”

In verse 30 Jesus makes it clear that these are the priorities of the unbeliever – the pagan world runs after these things!

Instead Jesus encourages us to store up treasures in Heaven – to seek the righteousness of the Kingdom of God. To come to a place of reverence, relationship and revelation in our walk with Him.

Nothing on this earth – nothing in this life – can satisfy.

True peace, contentment and joy can only be found in Christ.

In the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22) we see Abraham going up Mt. Moriah to lay down and sacrifice his beloved son – Isaac.

This is powerful – not only is Isaac his son – but also represents Abraham’s lifelong dreams – the ‘satisfaction’ of his wants, needs and desires – the answer to Abraham’s prayers. Isaac represents the lifelong pursuit of Abraham – his future. His legacy.

And God tells him to take his beloved son – the long awaited fulfilment of all of these dreams and desires – and burn him on an altar.

Yet Abraham obeys. Abraham knows that God’s ways are higher than our own – His plans are better than our plans.

Abraham lays down his Isaac – his dreams, desires – his life on the altar.

And that is when God intervenes. That is the moment where God provides.

Abraham renames the mountain ‘Jehovah-Jireh’ literally translating as “God has seen.”

Genesis 22:15-18:

“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Jesus is telling us to take our eyes off our vain desires and small ambitions. He is urging us to look away from the things that CANNOT satisfy and set our eyes on the only One who can!

We have gotten into the habit of trading our sorrows, our sickness, our sin and shame for the goodness of God.

Jesus wants us to do the same with our dreams, ambitions and desires.

“Seek ye first the righteousness of the Kingdom of God…”

Lay down your life and legacy on the altar today and see what God does.

Hebrews 13:5:

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Rest in God today. He is still Jireh – the God who sees you and sees to your needs.

He will provide.

Prayer: Lord, help me today to trust in You. Help me keep my eyes set on You. Your ways are higher than my ways, and Your plans for me are better than my own. As I surrender to You Lord, flood my life with Your peace and love. As I lay down my life and legacy on Your altar Lord, ordain my steps to walk according to Your plan. As I give up my desires and delight in You Lord, I thank You that You will see to every need. You are more than enough. You are all I want. Flood my life with more of You. Come and satisfy the thirsting of my soul. In Jesus name. Amen.

Joyful, Joyful

Joyful, Joyful

by | May 28, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee
Hail Thee as the sun above
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
Drive the dark of doubt away
Giver of immortal gladness
Fill us with the light of day”

The Hymn of Joy (Joyful Joyful), Henry van Dyke

“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.”

Isaiah 35:1-2, NKJV

The Psalms and the Prophets teach us that God delights in His children (Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 147:11-12, Psalm 18:19, Isaiah 62:3-5) – even at the very beginning of the world, at the dawn of creation, God looked at what He had created and it was good.

He enjoyed Adam and Eve, in the Garden – He walked with them, and He talked with them. He delighted in them. They delighted in Him.

Past tense.

Delighted.

God’s desire has not changed. He wants to walk with us and talk with us in the Garden of His Presence. He longs for communion with us as a Bridegroom longs for His Bride.

We have been, in many cases, an adulterous Bride. We have, time and time again, strayed… We have been unfaithful.

But His desire has never changed. His love for us has not changed.

It is then no wonder that in Jesus writes to the Church of the last days: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20, NIV)

Repentance is a turning back to God. It is the opening of the door of our hearts to Jesus so that He might come in – that He might come and eat with us, feast with us – that He might come in and make manifest the festivity of His presence. Jesus wants to fill us with Himself – His presence, peace, love and joy!

The Psalmist writes: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!” (Psalm 37:4)

Our delight and our desire is Jesus, and in pursuing our desire of Him He gives us more of Himself.

The adulterous and idolatrous Bride finds herself, in this current dispensation, in need of a turn – she needs to repent.

We need to repent and turn back to God. We need to open the door and let Him back into our churches.

Why are so many believers dissatisfied and falling away from the Hope of Glory? Why are so many of us still being cast asunder by every new wind of doctrine and philosophy? Why do our hearts still pang, hunger and thirst for more when we have, at hand, the Bread of Heaven and source of Living Water? Why do we still feel so empty, impoverished and lacking when we have, at our disposal, the innumerable and incorruptible riches of His Kingdom?

It is because we have removed Christ from His Christendom.

We have made apostles and prophets the centre of our faith and we have removed the Cornerstone. We have made prosperity, rather than His presence, our priority.

But the Lord says this today: “I stand at the door of your heart and I knock, and if you open up I will come in and feast with you. If you open up I will come in and bring Living Water to the dry places, hope to the desolate places, light to the dark places and life to the barren places of your heart!”

We have been an idolatrous and adulterous Bride. We have set the eyes of our hearts upon material things, quick fixes and promises of temporary power and esteem.

Psalm 147:11: “But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”

God is calling us to set our eyes upon Him again. To desire Him. To delight in Him. To enjoy Him.

God is calling us to open up our hearts to Him once again, so that He may shine His face upon us, that our hearts might unfold before Him like flowers hailing the sun above – He wants to melt away the clouds of sin and sadness – drive out darkness and doubt – and restore us! He wants to fill us with the light of day! He wants to make the desert and the wilderness glad again! Blossoming and in bloom – brimming with life in abundance! He wants to move in our midst again!

He desires us. He delights in His children – those who fear and love Him.

He wants to delight in us. He wants us to delight in Him.

And all it takes from us is a yielded yes.

All it takes from us is surrender.

All it takes from us is a turning of our eyes, away from the things of this world and the promises of men, towards Jesus, His Kingdom and the perfect will of God!

All it takes is a decision right now to turn to Him. To open the door and let Him in.

Prayer: Jesus, be my desire. Be my Bread and Water. Be the One Thing I long for above all else. Remove any and all double mindedness from my heart and let me run wholly after You. Let me dwell in Your house forever, my eyes set upon You and You alone. Be the center of all of my coming and going, the center of my life. Be in every breath I take. Jesus, be my desire. Show me what it means to find perfect peace and contentment in You. Through Your Holy Spirit draw me deeper, deeper into prayer and the study of Your Word. Draw me deeper into communion with You. In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

House of the Lord

House of the Lord

by | May 27, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“We were the beggars
Now we’re royalty
We were the prisoners
Now we’re running free
We are forgiven, accepted
Redeemed by His grace
Let the house of the Lord sing praise”

House of the Lord, Phil Wickham

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household…”

Ephesians 2:19, NIV

Many of us were, at some stage of our life, foreigners and strangers – outcasts, the odd one out – the black sheep or the one who just didn’t fit.

We all know what it feels like, to varying degrees, to feel out of place.

But the love of Christ calls the lost and wandering from all the corners of the earth to the foot of the cross. “Sinner, oh, sinner, come home!”

The Apostle John writes, in the first Epistle that bears his name: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)

We who were orphans – alone and scattered – now have a home. We now have a family. We are children of God!

There is joy in the House of the Lord – the joy of homecoming.

You might not be celebrated by the world, sometimes you might not even be celebrated by the ones you love – but God rejoices over us with singing! The whole host of heaven comes alive when even just one lost sheep wanders back into the fold!

There is joy in the House of the Lord – the joy of belonging.

Not only do we belong to Him, but we also belong to one another – as Christians we are baptised into the family of God. As His children we belong together – knit together by the love of Christ. As His children we belong to each other – to serve one another in love and compassion.

When we are baptised into the family of God we no longer walk alone. God walks with us, but so do our brothers and our sisters in the Lord. We are there to comfort and console one another, to journey together, to share our burdens – but also to rejoice as one voice, hearts in one accord, to sing the praises of the Lord!

There is joy in the House of the Lord – the joy of identity.

No longer strangers or foreigners, we are now citizens of the Kingdom and children of God. We are the Bride, the Body – the redeemed – we belong to Him!

We have gone from the rags of spiritual poverty to the riches of His grace and mercy, from being beggars to being royalty!

His Name is now written on our hearts – we are His Body, we are His Bride.

Let the House of the Lord rejoice – the whole household of God – the redeemed of the Lord: Let us sing and shout His praise! Let us proclaim the goodness of the One who has called us out of darkness and translated us into the light of His Kingdom – He who has called us as a peculiar people.

You might not fit in anywhere else – but you fit in here! You might feel out of place in the world, but here we belong.

Let the House of the Lord rejoice! And in rejoicing, may we make known the great deeds and the great love of our God! In rejoicing, may we beckon the outcast, the weary and the burdened: ‘Come taste and see that the Lord is good! Come and find yourself in the House of the Lord!”

If you have not yet found the joy of your salvation – if you still have questions, doubts and fears – reach out! It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done – your Father is calling you home!

Reach out by sending an email to andre@adlabuschagne.co.za.

We want to journey with you.

Come and join us in the House of the Lord! Come home!

Prayer: There is joy in the house of the Lord! I thank you for Your love, the same love that called me out of darkness and into Your light! I pray today, Lord that I will remember and be mindful of the joy of my salvation today – and that I will share this joy with those around me in the hopes that many more will come home. Let me be a beacon of Your love and grace. Let me be a safe space. Let me be Your hands and feet on the earth, ready to seek out the lost and embrace the sinner – leading them back to Your heart. In Jesus Name! Amen!