What Living Loved Transforms (#713)
As we become more alive in the love of God, what changes in our outlook and the way we treat people? There's a list circulating the Internet out of the 12-step movement called the "12 Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening." As 2020 begins, Kyle Rice of Blue Sheep Media joins Wayne for a look at the list and how many of these things they have seen grow in their own exploration of God's love. These tendencies shift, not by an intentional choice to act differently, but simply as his love untangles our fears and preoccupations and allows us to live more preoccupied with spiritual realities than our own physical comfort.
Podcast Notes:
12 Characteristics of Spiritual Awakening
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This is so encouraging. I had no idea I had grown so much, to relate so much with those 12 Steps. I am getting free of the layers of lies from legalism and fear. THANK YOU, WAYNE FOR INCLUDING IT.
? Lindy ?
Love this, especially the not making assumptions…it’s foundational to healthy relationships to be as Paul said “to not even judge our own selves”…Father God knows our heart and is so much more gentle and loving than we are on ourselves and others:)! If we can think the best of others motives and entrust ourselves to His judgement which is merciful and loving and just and perfect we can have joy and freedom! Passing judgment/assuming others’ motives quenches the spirit big time. There might be times where it seems obvious and 100% that something happened a certain way or motives must be that way but it’s wise to follow the words in the Bible in that one…to not pass judgement…let God bring it to light as more often it will end up not being what we thought even though it seemed 100% had to be that way.
I so enjoyed this podcast! It caused me to reflect back to my time spent in the basement of a church where I attended AA meetings. A terrified, broken human being..we were all broken human beings and we knew it, there was no doubt about that. Yet we shared our hearts with one another as openly and honestly as we were able. We laughed and we cried, we celebrated and cheered someone who stayed straight even if it had been a mere 24 hours. We shared a common goal for our lives to be transformed. We each recognized that would not be possible unless we stayed straight, yet that is only the first step. The second is “came to believe” that a power greater than ourselves could restore us. Many of us spiritually bankrupt with no leader sitting around a table sharing their hearts in the basement of a church. Older brothers and sisters reflected the beauty of how God was transforming their lives through an ongoing process through 12 unending steps, a journey consisting of admission, belief, surrender, faith, confession, forgiveness, prayer and meditation,spiritual awakening and sharing it with others.
I didn’t believe in God when I descended that flight of stairs into the church basement. Yet my heart understood that unless I “came” to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity I wasn’t going to make it. I began to talk to an unknown higher power. I deliberately followed the steps to the best of my broken and shattered ability as others cheered me on. Those 12 steps one after another became a way of life, clunky and awkward at first. The most amazing thing happened. That power greater than myself actually was God with skin on him. And he had a name. The relationship led me to the affection of the Father. Did I mention that it began down a flight of stairs into a church basement? A bunch of fearful, broken people filled with guilt and shame who broke other peoples hearts, usually people who loved them the most, sharing their hearts with one another.
Our gathering closed the same way each night, standing in a circle holding hands saying the Lord’s Prayer followed by raising their arms cheering, “Keep coming back, it works.”
That was over 40 years ago and although I haven’t been to an AA meeting for many years now, I have not forgotten where Jesus found me…in a church basement with a bunch of broken people who knew they were broken leading us forward step by step, day by day..cheering each other on.