NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003

25 Jun 2003 07:00:01 -0000

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NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003

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I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him
better.Ephesians 1:17

Paul kept asking God that his friends would be able to know God better.
He clearly did not think of the Christian life as a one-time event. This
text assumes that to become a Christian is to enter a lifetime process of
learning to see and know God better.

The two things needed for this process are wisdom and revelation. Wisdom
is something internal. During recovery the Spirit works within us to make
us wise. This involves weeding out all of the distorted ideas and distorted
thinking processes which supported our denial system. The Spirit is capable
of removing our 'stinking thinking' and making us wise. The second thing
we need in the recovery process is revelation. Revelation is external to
us - it is God's self-disclosure to us. Without an external frame of reference,
we are perfectly capable of creating a reality of our own choosing. Our
denial is capable of creating a comprehensive alternate reality with no
external checks or balances. During recovery, the Spirit works to reveal
to us what is true, what is real. As a result we gradually learn that there
is a reality beyond our pretense and denial. 

The purposes of the Spirit's work is to help us grow in our capacity to
know God. The goal is not just knowing lots of facts about God. To know
a person is to share life with that person. It is a quest of the heart.
As our wounded hearts are changed, we will be empowered to know God better.

I need wisdom. Lord.
Help me to be wise.
I need revelation, Lord.
Show me.
Let me see.
Spirit of Wisdom
Spirit of Revelation
Fill my heart today
So that I may
know you better.
Amen

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan 

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ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 ext 111 or order online at

http://www.nacronline.com/dox/store/dox/nacrbooks.htm

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Meditations from previous days can be viewed at:  

http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/

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Plan now to join us at STEPS 2003, a national conference for Christians in recovery jointly sponsored by the NACR and Overcomers Outreach. It will be held June 26-28, 2003 in Southern California. Plenary speakers are Steve Arterburn, David Stoop, Rich Buhler, Sandra Wilson, Mark Laaser and Ann Kiemel Anderson. Over 45 workshops. Support groups. Specialized gatherings. And lots of fellowship and support for your recovery. Details as they become available and online registration will be at:

 http://www.nacronline.com/dox/steps2003.htm

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