Christian Recovery: Removing Shades of Gray

God makes one thing clear in the Bible: There is right and wrong. He's a black and white God who doesn't promote shades of gray. On the other hand, the world has moved to the middle and become shady.

Christians in recovery not only have to get set free from addictions, but must identify wrong thinking and consider their spiritual condition in terms of black, gray and white. Most have lived on the edge, moving between the black and gray areas of life. In those two zones, church-going addicts have developed habits and mindsets that mimic the unsaved. In some cases, they have entered pure darkness.

The goal of recovering Christians is to move from the black and gray area to the white space, which is the blessing zone of God. This requires an understanding of God's ways and knowing what is right in His eyes. Most importantly, it requires the decision to do what's right according to scripture.

The Bible is the main resource for learning right from wrong according to God. This point is made in 2 Timothy 3:16. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

According to Wikipedia, righteousness "is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified. It can have the connotation that the person has been 'judged' as leading a life that is pleasing to God. Righteousness is also used as an attribute for God."

The Solid Rock Road Christian recovery ministry uses 10 Bible-based principles to lead people to the path of God. It gives them tools to fight the battle for their souls so they can become pleasing to God -- so that they can move from the black and gray of compromise into the righteousness of God.

As a training tool and resource of addicts, check out the book I co-wrote called Follow the Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery. You can also join me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroad.

Freedom from Addictions Through Praise and Worship

Praise and worship is a lifestyle, not a warm-up session for a Sunday morning sermon.

When you learn to praise and worship in your times of need or in the midst of a crisis, you will discover that it really is possible to have peace when there’s trouble brewing and negativity surrounding you. It’s possible to be content even though you don’t have what you want, or even what you think you need. Simply put, your peace and happiness don’t depend on what you get, but who you get to spend time with.

Your problems don’t stop you from getting into God’s presence. Obsessing about them, and trying to solve them on your own, are what hold you back and make you miserable.

The challenge for today is this: Set aside a half hour. Play 2 or 3 Christian worship songs, then pray for 20 minutes. This is not a prayer in which you ask God for what you want. Instead, it is a prayer of gratitude for who He is and what He's done.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroad. And look for a book I've co-written called Follow the Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery