Know what we need? We need a Christian Recovery Program that doesn't trample on The Scripture to fit what we want it to say and that recognizes, and can relate to, the power that many strongholds, addictions and sins have on people. These are not new, but neither are they 'normal', especially in this day and age.
And while there is nothing new under the sun, the enemy is sure treading into waters never before explored!
IBA Ministries began to develop such a program a few years back, and the focus was fogged for awhile now. Getting back on track and doing so only by the lead and urgency of The HOLY GHOST.
All of the devotionals and talk about recovery are all part of this program, called R.E.S.I.D.U.E., which actually stands for Removing Every Stronghold In Depth ~ Undo Everything!
This is the entire path, Scripturally / Biblically, that I have walked as GOD allowed me to re-discover who I was Created to be in HIM. Who I was intended to be in CHRIST JESUS.
Within this "program" (for lack of a better word) we discover 10 practices (also known as 'steps') to rediscovering our true intended identity in JESUS. We allow The Word HIMSELF to teach us how to be who and what we were Created to be.
These are the 10 Practices of RESIDUE. Yes, they sound like most other recovery program steps, however, the path and Scripture will be much different, as it is all inspired by GOD and the very path HE revealed to me in my own recovery from many dark and treacherous strongholds / sins / addictions.
1. We admit we’re powerless over the lusts of our flesh. (We must understand that the lust of our flesh is not just sexual, but everything we 'desire' or 'lust' after. This appetite is insatiable! It cannot be satisfied no matter what we do, or how hard we do it. This is an appetite we never were meant to have.)
2. We believe GOD forgives us and accepts us in spite of all that we are and have done. (Understanding exactly what the enemy has conjured up within us gives us the very Freedom we seek in accepting GOD'S Forgiveness.)
3. We see purpose in our suffering and our failed lives. (Knowing that we have suffered, we don't blame GOD for it, but we thank HIM for allowing us to survive that darkness and learn to use the tragedies to strengthen us.)
4. We know we have been deceived, a deception that trapped us in a false identity. (No matter what sin we lived in, we understand that we were deceived from the very moment we were born. Born into sin, shaped in iniquity.)
5. We accept our intended identity in JESUS CHRIST. (There is only one identity, one sexuality/orientation and One Way, that is discovered in JESUS CHRIST, our model and goal.)
6. We live by Faith, trusting GOD for our new unseen identity, confident that it will become visible to us in HIS timing. (There is no miracle pill, nor does the majority of us just walk out of addiction or instilled, learned behaviors without any resistance. In this process we "wait on The LORD.")
7. We are Forgiven, free from condemnation, as we make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. (Once we have followed The LORD'S Call ~Believe, Repent, Be Baptized ~ we do not allow the enemy to guilt or shame us out of our Victory!)
8. We admit to GOD, and to another (or others), our sin and humbly ask GOD to remove those flaws. (Transparency, as difficult as it is at first, is the absolute best therapy in letting go, revealing and even discovering what actually holds us back.)
9. We willingly make a direct amends whenever wise and possible to all people we have harmed. (We must make amends with those that we have hurt when it is wise and safe to do so.)
10. We mature in our relationships with others seeking neither dominance over people nor dependency on them. (We learn, through this entire process, to Love without boundaries and without conditions.)
This is what IBA Ministries will be working on in between getting out as much as possible to give testimony and reveal a Freedom that many do not know even exists. How will they know if they are not shown and told? They won't.
In HIS Love, David
And while there is nothing new under the sun, the enemy is sure treading into waters never before explored!
IBA Ministries began to develop such a program a few years back, and the focus was fogged for awhile now. Getting back on track and doing so only by the lead and urgency of The HOLY GHOST.
All of the devotionals and talk about recovery are all part of this program, called R.E.S.I.D.U.E., which actually stands for Removing Every Stronghold In Depth ~ Undo Everything!
This is the entire path, Scripturally / Biblically, that I have walked as GOD allowed me to re-discover who I was Created to be in HIM. Who I was intended to be in CHRIST JESUS.
Within this "program" (for lack of a better word) we discover 10 practices (also known as 'steps') to rediscovering our true intended identity in JESUS. We allow The Word HIMSELF to teach us how to be who and what we were Created to be.
These are the 10 Practices of RESIDUE. Yes, they sound like most other recovery program steps, however, the path and Scripture will be much different, as it is all inspired by GOD and the very path HE revealed to me in my own recovery from many dark and treacherous strongholds / sins / addictions.
1. We admit we’re powerless over the lusts of our flesh. (We must understand that the lust of our flesh is not just sexual, but everything we 'desire' or 'lust' after. This appetite is insatiable! It cannot be satisfied no matter what we do, or how hard we do it. This is an appetite we never were meant to have.)
2. We believe GOD forgives us and accepts us in spite of all that we are and have done. (Understanding exactly what the enemy has conjured up within us gives us the very Freedom we seek in accepting GOD'S Forgiveness.)
3. We see purpose in our suffering and our failed lives. (Knowing that we have suffered, we don't blame GOD for it, but we thank HIM for allowing us to survive that darkness and learn to use the tragedies to strengthen us.)
4. We know we have been deceived, a deception that trapped us in a false identity. (No matter what sin we lived in, we understand that we were deceived from the very moment we were born. Born into sin, shaped in iniquity.)
5. We accept our intended identity in JESUS CHRIST. (There is only one identity, one sexuality/orientation and One Way, that is discovered in JESUS CHRIST, our model and goal.)
6. We live by Faith, trusting GOD for our new unseen identity, confident that it will become visible to us in HIS timing. (There is no miracle pill, nor does the majority of us just walk out of addiction or instilled, learned behaviors without any resistance. In this process we "wait on The LORD.")
7. We are Forgiven, free from condemnation, as we make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. (Once we have followed The LORD'S Call ~Believe, Repent, Be Baptized ~ we do not allow the enemy to guilt or shame us out of our Victory!)
8. We admit to GOD, and to another (or others), our sin and humbly ask GOD to remove those flaws. (Transparency, as difficult as it is at first, is the absolute best therapy in letting go, revealing and even discovering what actually holds us back.)
9. We willingly make a direct amends whenever wise and possible to all people we have harmed. (We must make amends with those that we have hurt when it is wise and safe to do so.)
10. We mature in our relationships with others seeking neither dominance over people nor dependency on them. (We learn, through this entire process, to Love without boundaries and without conditions.)
This is what IBA Ministries will be working on in between getting out as much as possible to give testimony and reveal a Freedom that many do not know even exists. How will they know if they are not shown and told? They won't.
In HIS Love, David