Zealous

According to the dictionary the word zealous means; to be devoted, to actively pursue. We must have those attributes in our faith, our recovery, and our for doing our part in the world. We who are in recovery understand that through the grace of God we can have a meaningful life that Glorifies God and brings to us great joy and peace we have never known before. To maintain this new life we must be zealous which of course means; be devoted to it and actively pursue it.

The journey I have been on with these series of writings has dramatically changed my heart and mind. I truly believe this project has been a gift from God. Through this my passion for our Savior and redeemer has become very personal to me. Because of that I have stated some beliefs to people out loud that I normally wouldn't have a few years ago or even a few months ago for that matter. At one point I stood toe to toe with my employer defending Jesus and let it be known that what was being said was not ok. That my friends is God changing us from the inside out. I have also been blessed to be able to fight urges and old behaviors that take away from God, my recovery and would not honor my wife. Notice I said "fight urges" because they are still there. Thirty years of addiction does not go away overnight; but prayer, desire, hope and knowing deep inside God knows who I am helps me want to honor my chance I have been given to live a Godly purposeful life. It fuels my desire to honor Jesus and what He went through so guys like me who have sinned greatly and repeatedly can at one point return home despite what we have done through the honest act of repenting and believing.

That brings me to the body of this message and what we are now called to do with our chance and our new life in Christ. The scripture I am about to share will have many different meanings to many different different people as all of our circumstances are different. However, the one thing that is true in all of our lives with this scripture is we must not be ashamed of the one who saved us and gave us new life if we so seek it. God will help us fulfill this scripture in our lives through words, actions, and being living examples of change. It is possible as I have experienced these words in my own life and I am a better man for it.

1 Peter 3:13-18; Now who will want to harm if you are zealous to do good? But even if you suffer for what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks you about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for you sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

 How might this scripture apply to recovering sex addicts? As I said this will mean different things to different people, as all our experiences our different. But an example of how this applies is in recovery they say that you must change your playground and playmates to avoid going back to the addictive lifestyle. Cutting off relationships to women we are having affairs with or some other relationship that fuels our addiction can really make some people angry. Therefore they may threaten to expose us and our habits. However, let me share one very important if not crucial fact with you. God does take anything bad and make it worse. In the end when it is all said and done it is always beneficial to us and those around us. To go back to the example of cutting off relationships the end result may be some truths get exposed, talked about and worked on and others can go on to relationships that are not as harmful to them and we can have relationships that aren't harmful to us. The road may get bumpy but God will help us through it. We then come out on the other side a better person for it because we had Christ as the Lord of our life and we no longer have to be ashamed and we have no secrets to keep us from moving forward. But again this is an example of applying this scripture the true application must come through guidance, support and prayer as God knows exactly what we need to do in our lives. If we believe and want redemption and salvation we are required to change and live a life which honors Christ and we are required to share the Gospel when asked how did you do it?

I truly wish all of us in recovery and those who have yet come to recovery and Christ could just be better and put this life behind us. The blood of Christ has washed away our sins and Heaven no longer remembers when we repent and become born again to Christ. That is Heaven though and we are human and humans remember and humans respond to the flesh because we live in the "world". But God gives us tools to help us live in the "word" as we live in the "world". The following are tools I have used to zealously pursue my recovery and my life with Christ, hopefully they help you: I listen only to Christian music because other music makes me think sexual thoughts when they sing about one night stands and the good times the bars and clubs offer, Christian music reminds me of my desires for Christ, helps me stay grounded and gives me hope; I try to watch TV that doesn't glorify sex or sexual dominance of others like crime shows, music videos, or reality TV; I try to read my bible as a reminder that I am working towards something bigger and better than I could ever imagine, it also helps me when I am really struggling to just pick it up and see there is a choice and that help is available; When I pass the pornography store I turn my head the other way as I go by; I pray through out the day for help or just to stay connected when I don't I feel disconnected from God and I just get irritable and I become more susceptible to temptation so prayer is important; I make my 12 step meetings every week to talk about what is going on and be reminded of where I am at, if I can't make them for some reason I do something to stay in touch; these are just some of things that work for me because I know those are things that I have to do.

Remember God did not put us on this Earth to be an addict, an addict is something we may have become but do not have resolve ourselves to being. He wants us to live and enjoy life, help others and be useful. He is a God that does not go back on His word and does not require things we are not capable of. His rewards for a Godly purposeful life are unending, and He will never leave you to bare your pain or joys alone. He is a God that loved us so much that He sacrificed His own Son so we could be with Him forever. That is a perfect love from a perfect God. Jesus took on all the pain, persecution, shame and embarrassment when He was put to death on the Cross for you and me. Anything we have to endure for following Him and giving our life to Him pales in comparison. We may feel like we have been to Hell but Jesus overcame it.

Zealously pursue your life with Christ and your recovery. Die to your old self and give birth to the person you want to be deep inside and the person God intended you to be. Be brought to life in the Spirit as the scripture says and you will know peace and purpose. My prayer for closing this series of writings of the A to Z of sexual addiction is humble and small compared to the promise that Jesus left us with in the book of Revelations.

Revelations 22:12-13; "Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Begining and the End."