Journal entry from October 15, 2018

"Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; - Luke 21:34

This verse really speaks to me this morning, because it addresses what I have struggled with so much - my mind being pulled because of “worries of life.”

By the Lord’s command, I must “be on guard” in order to overcome and rise above the worries of life. To be on guard I must abide in Christ, in His word, rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, in communion with the Lord and fellowship with His Church.

Thank you Lord for this wonderful light of truth, of clarity, of wisdom from you. Praise the Lord!

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." - Psalm 16:1-2

In light of the person and work of Jesus Christ, in all that we see of Him in just this one Psalm, in light of the gospel, what is it so many Christians are looking for?

How does the Holy Spirit work? What is the Holy Spirit's purpose in God's plan of salvation? In the gospel?
Why the trinity?
In much of the modern Church, the Holy Spirit is treated like a genie or a spiritual force that can be called forth according to the will of man.
What is the truth of the Holy Spirit?

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. - John 16:13

The world is in turmoil. There is so much anger, fear, hatred, immorality everywhere it seems. Everything seems corrupted. Satan is the father of lies and the world serves him in his lies. Those in Christ do not have to be affected and influenced by the world.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. - Psalm 19:14

There is also so much more in this verse besides the obvious. So many of life's struggles, depressions, addictions, fears, and anxieties can be overcome when our words, born from the meditations and thoughts of a heart filled with and abiding in the love of Jesus Christ are pleasing and acceptable to Him.

​So much of what we have in Jesus Christ is missed through lack of faith. So much of the spirit passing from the loving hand of God, through the blessed and worthy hand of Christ is stifled by fear, anxiety, and our compromising and capitulation to the things of this world. God’s grace and love and blessings and glory are poured out to us through Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not opinion, theory, or philosophy - it is the only infallible and pure truth, the revelation of the eternal mind of God.

He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. - John 3:31

Just as He was raised from death, we are raised from death in Him. Just as He walked out of the tomb in victory over death, so we walk out of the tomb in victory over death in Him. Just as He lives in us, we live in Him, and by His grace, we follow Him and bear fruit to His glory.

But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. - Romans 7:6

Even while we are on earth, we can learn some of what heaven will be like from the blessings that we have while we are here.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12

“To be in heaven is to lean one’s head upon the breast of Jesus. You have done it on earth? Then you know what heaven is. To be in heaven is to talk with Jesus, to sit at his feet, to let our heart beat against his heart. If you have had that on earth, you have had some of the grapes of heaven.” - Charles Spurgeon

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4

What sin do you struggle with? What is it that constantly defeats you? Whatever sin it is has been paid for and defeated on the cross by the blood of Jesus Christ. The victory is won, but you must truly strive for repentance, strive to kill the sinful desires of the flesh by and through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ - there is no other way.

By Chad Prigmore

The Book Alcoholics Anonymous or the "Big Book" as it's called by members of AA is the bible of Alcoholics Anonymous which introduces its recommended program of recovery and the Twelve Steps.[1]

The following are excerpts from the book Alcoholics Anonymous compared to Christian doctrine in the scriptures.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 12: "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"

It's not up to us to create our own conception of God. God tells us in His word who He is.

• Isaiah 9:6-7, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
• Isaiah 42:8, I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other...  

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 13: "There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch. I have not had a drink since."

There is no forgiveness of sin outside of faith in Jesus Christ.

• Romans 3:23-25,  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. 

Alcoholics Anonymous Pages 13&14: "My friend promised when these things were done I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems. Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements."

Alcoholics Anonymous teaches that by following its program anyone can come into a relationship with God, this is a false teaching in direct contradiction to the truth of salvation only through Jesus Christ.

• John 14:6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
• Act 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 46: "We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men."

The above statement is heresy. There is no way to reconcile this statement with what Jesus teaches in John 14:6 and Matthew 7:13. This one statement alone should compel any true believer and follower of Christ to reject Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps.

• John 14:6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
• Matthew 7:13, Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 58: "Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves." (This is part of a portion of Chapter 5 which is read at every AA meeting).

How is it possible to obey the command of the Lord in Mark 12:30 and then completely give oneself to a program of recovery?

• Mark 12:30,  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Endnotes:

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition (New York: A.A. World Services, 2001)

Thank you Recovery Reformation for all the work you do to bring the Truth of God's Word to people who are lost in the darkness of the recovery movement/industry. I attended over 300 aa meetings myself over the years and never once found any true or lasting peace in "the rooms". The twelve steps - the entire program! - construct a perpetual circle of guilt and shame. It is a system with no conclusion, you are always "in recovery", no matter how much "clean time" you have. It is a complete satanic distortion of reality. But PRAISE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, today I am free. Through God's Divine Design, I was saved from aa. I have lived the reality of Jeremiah 29:11-14. This Friday, January 5, 2017 will be 4 YEARS since the Good Lord set me free from the bondage of alcoholism after 31 years of pure hell. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY!! My only ambition in my new life of freedom is to help bring the truth of God's Word to as many people as I can. God has allowed me to pursue a university degree (at age 51), and I am currently putting my own story/testimonial in writing with the goal of publishing it to the widest possible audience. God has brought me from park benches and homeless shelters to a life of peace, strength, and joy. A true miracle. I will spend the rest of my days spreading The Word to the many, many desperate souls who can be saved by no other power than that found in Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible! Amen!

Bryan
Toronto, Canada