Celebrate Recovery

Ok, gang. I am not a blogger yet, but I am trying to grow in my geek capacity or at least be a little bit “cooler.” I’ve realized that I can be a lot better about communication and, at the very least, find a spot to talk about how God is working in me. So anyway, I am going to try to be better about posting and hopefully our team will be better about it as well.

I guess that I will start off with just reminding us of our vision at Watermark’s Celebrate Recovery. Our mission is the same as Watermark’s, “To call all people to be fully devoted followers of Christ.” However, our vision for this ministry is, “To be an authentic community of Christ-followers, relentlessly helping each other remove all barriers to intimacy with the LORD.” This reminds us that as a community of believers in Christ, life and freedom are found in intimacy with God; not just in sobriety from specific addictions/proclivities. While sobriety from our hurts, habits and hang-ups will be a by-product of our intimacy with God, it is the intimate relationship with our Lord that gives us the freedom to live a life of love. 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that the Father’s love for us “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (vs 7-8). It also reminds us that we need each other. Openness, honesty, grace and truth must abound in our community as God moves us through the sanctification process together for His glory.

With that in mind, here a quote from Augustine that I read this morning that reminded me of my love affair with my Savior . . .

“Hear, Lord, my prayer; let not my soul faint under Your discipline, nor let me faint in confessing to You all Your mercies, whereby You have drawn me out of all my most evil ways, that You might become a delight to me above all the allurements which I once pursued; that I may most entirely love You, and clasp Your hand with all my affections, and You may yet rescue me from every temptation, even unto the end.”

Augustine Confessions
Book I, Chapter XV