CR at University Carillon

PRAY OVER THIS “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” Hebrews 3:12-14 PONDER THIS Where’s the place of worship? Worship can be any time and any place, but there is something significant about our coming together to worship. However, the significance of coming together is not primarily that we come to worship at church, but that we bring our worship to church. Ideally, we have been with the Lord all week long. And so, when we come together, we don’t come to church to get filled up; we’re already full of God. We gather to celebrate together. We bring our worship. Do you know what you’re saying when you go to church? Number one, you’re saying, “God is important to me,” a

We all know that recovery can be difficult but can you imagine doing it without God and the people around you? Talk about desperation. I don’t know about you, but the “others” around me play such an important part of my recovery journey. In the spirit of thanksgiving, I would like to stop and reflect with you on how grateful I am to God for the people that have been with me through the good, the bad and the ugly. Henri Nouwen once said; “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” I love that our ministry is full of people who share our pain without trying to fix just like those mentioned in the quote above. Thanks for being these kind of people to me and others showing a tender touch with your listening ears, warm smiles and empathic eyes. When is the last time you

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Lots of people are struggling right now and you might be one. Take heart. The battle isn’t over. Struggling is normal. It’s called life. It’s called being a human, and it’s ok to struggle. It’s so normal that struggling is even expected. To believe that we won’t struggle in this life is where we get it wrong. However, please don’t allow the struggles to take you down! A few reminders: -Don’t let the struggle become your new identity. -Don’t let the struggles take you back to where you came from. -Struggle through with friends. -Struggle through to your come-back! The come-back will happen… IF we surrender our will to Jesus every day! IF we don’t give in to temptation! IF we return to the basics of recovery and take it one day at a time! IF we don’t let the struggles overcome us! Struggling is normal