Tag: Recovery

Tetelestai Recovery

Destiny

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We concluded that the Creator of the Universe would not waste time weaving intricate limbic, nervous, and immune systems into a human body, without giving it a reason to exist. It seemed to us that any created life, if not accompanied by a series of assignments designed to enhance the world, would simply be a waste of time.

Imagining that God would create a life without purpose and then place it into a magnificent universe, seemed like hanging macaroni pictures in an art gallery. We felt that God would not busy Himself with kindergarten crafts to decorate the door of His fridge. He would not create a living being which possessed no real purpose or direction, or worse, one with evil intent or the inability to produce a positive impact on the planet.

We acknowledged that the King of the Universe had a specific design for every human being when He placed their spirit into a body. We believed that by the time the organs were developed, and the heartbeat could be heard, each tiny body possessed a spirit with divine directives of cosmic proportions. We were saddened by the realization that if any spirit failed to be awakened to the Creator’s heart, it would be vulnerable to an enemy who would capture and use it for his own purpose.

In the hands of the Evil One, this fragile spirit would be destroyed, and a divine destiny would remain unfulfilled, leaving a gaping hole in human history.

We agreed that our divine assignments could no longer be viewed as optional. We were given life, and therefore, a destiny. The fact that we took another breath meant our destiny had not yet been fulfilled.

Tetelestai Recovery 2: Our New Normal; Chapter 8, The Open Road

https://a.co/d/9s0byPN

Tetelestai Recovery

Settling the Score

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In our New Normal, it seemed that forgiveness was an issue we struggled with at every turn. Failure to forgive made us feel guilty. Trying to forgive made us feel irritated. Convincing ourselves that we had already forgiven, when we knew we hadn’t, made us feel like phonies. It all just seemed too much. When someone did us wrong, and we incurred a loss of self-worth, inner peace, reputation, or security, did God really expect us to forgive the offense and get over it?

Was it His intent that we sustain our losses and silently endure offenses to our own demise? We didn’t think that sounded like the reasonable expectation of a loving, protective Father! We thought there must be more to this concept of forgiveness than just suffering in silence and becoming a speed bump to anyone who ran over the top of us.

Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. Deuteronomy 32:35

We examined this Sacred Text carefully and realized it contained two separate promises.

The first phrase was a promise that God would be bringing justice to the offender. The second phrase confirmed that God would repay us for the damage we sustained.

When we were offended, disrespected, lied to, or abandoned, we suffered humiliation, rejection, and loss of self-esteem. Therefore, since God promised to repay us for our loss, and exact revenge on the one who wronged us, then the forgiveness issue was less about protecting ourselves and more about trusting in a God of justice who promised to set all things right.

Tetelestai Recovery 2: Our New Normal; Chapter 7, Keeping it Vertical

https://a.co/d/8KdgTwa

Tetelestai Recovery

Mystical Messages

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Our faith grew stronger each day. We encouraged one another with words of faith. We received ‘coincidental’ messages which confirmed and clarified other insights we had received from a different source. We soon realized there was nothing even remotely coincidental about these messages. In fact, we were elated to discover there was nothing left to chance at all. God was choreographing each of our steps, creating a joyful dance out of our awkward stumbles.

There were times when we received an identical message topic or scripture from several different settings in a single day. There were also times when our dreams gave us the answer to a problem we couldn’t solve. And other times, we were hit with a divine download so profound; it was as if a thousand thoughts were dumped into our brains at once. They swirled in a circle like a change counter at the bank, each idea fitting perfectly into the slots, so that the concepts which once perplexed us suddenly became organized and crystal clear.

Tetelestai Recovery 2: Our New Normal; Chapter 5, The Fear Factor https://a.co/d/dYQkMGX

Tetelestai Recovery

Cognitive Distortions

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Examine the magnified photo of a scratched vinyl record (see visual aid 1).  Imagine the circular grooves in the album as healthy neuropathways of the brain.  The impact of living in an imperfect world inflicts wounds and distorts our thought processes; much like a scratch in the album distorts the quality of sound it produces. 

A scratched record will not produce the same quality of sound as the non-scratched original.  A vinyl album is fragile and can be easily scarred. If mishandled, it will become lined with grooves which go against the grain of its original design. Once this happens, the needle will frequently slip into the scratch-lines rather than gliding smoothly along the original sound wave channels. This creates audible effects and creates chaos for the listener.

  • Visual Aid 1: Scratched record album; magnified.
  • Visual Aid 2: A coin placed on the headshell above the needle. The purpose is to provide extra weight on the needle, so it doesn’t bounce out of the sound wave channel and follow the groove created from a scratch.
  • Visual Aid 3: Sound wave grooves magnified 1000 times.

The Takeaway

 By placing the weight of the Word on our cognitive distortions, the electrical impulses in our brains began to follow the original pathways designed by our Creator. The Word guides our thought processes and helps us stop jumping from distortion to distortion.

Tetelestai Recovery Volume 2 – Our New Normal; Chapter 3, Brainwashed

https://a.co/d/7q67TdX

Home

Redeemed

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If you have a coupon you wish to redeem at the store, you are expecting to trade a worthless slip of paper or digital image for something of value. In other words, the real value of your coupon doesn’t exist until it is redeemed.

We are not defined by our history, we are remade and redeemed by it. Our true value is revealed through redemption. Our history brings us into an even deeper relationship with our Maker. God takes our past and weaves a new narrative which brings new life and a DEEPER life with Christ as our advocate and example.

In 2nd Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Through faith in Christ, we are made new. This verse reminds us that when we are in a relationship with Jesus, our past no longer defines us. We are transformed into new creations, with a fresh start and a renewed purpose.

Regardless of our past mistakes, failures, or regrets, God’s grace and forgiveness are available to us. In Christ, we can leave our old ways behind and embrace the new life that He offers.

Tetelestai Recovery

Tetelestai Recovery

lastwordrecovery

Through their personal journey of recovery, the authors present indisputable evidence that total healing and release from the disease of addiction can be found through the final declaration of Christ, “It is finished!”

Whether you are a suffering addict; an exhausted 12-stepper; a chronic relapser; or a person who loves one, Tetelestai Recovery will open your eyes to the possibility of permanent sobriety without the struggle.

This revolutionary concept is bringing radical changes to the recovery community. Within the pages of this book you will learn how to move out of your addiction and into your destiny.

You are here for a reason and it’s time to find out why.

https://a.co/d/2K7xnab

Tetelestai Recovery

Stopped in His Tracks

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We noticed something remarkable about the ministry of Jesus. He had no schedule or agenda. His ministry was not directed by Himself, His apostles, or even by God. To our amazement, we realized that the ministry of Christ was determined by people. Without fail, when the slightest flicker of faith sparked, or a request for mercy was whispered, the Savior’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

Tetelestai Recovery / Chapter 8, Facts are Changeable

https://a.co/d/2g0nB5z

Tetelestai Recovery

Dig Deep

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Initially, we feared awakening resentments and regret, but with God at our side, we grew confident that there was nothing we couldn’t face and forgive. As much as we felt our history was set in stone and fossilized forever, we claimed the following Sacred Text over our emotional excavation:

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27

In time, we became willing to enter our valley of dry bones and speak life over what had been dead for so long.

We found the lifeless remains of enthusiasm, which had been suffocated by disappointment. We found fossils of unfinished projects, which might have been profound, had we not given up. We unearthed splintered fragments of gifts, talents, and abilities which had become casualties of our own sense of inadequacy.

Rather than viewing the carnage as evidence of a wasted life, we began to see it as dry bones coming back to life. By faith, we saw a powerful future rising up from the wreckage of our past.

In our New Normal, we spoke life over anything which reeked of death. In our New Normal, we commanded our dead dreams to rise up in service to our King. We did not think this was too much to expect, for we had been given the resurrection power of Christ. We had been urged to follow in the footsteps of our Creator, who…

Gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that don’t yet exist.  Romans 4:17

Tetelestai Recovery Volume 2, Chapter 2 – Wake the Dead https://a.co/d/6JPl2Lf

Tetelestai Recovery

A Clear View

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They arrived in Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man’s eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”

He looked up. “I see men. They look like walking trees.” So, Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight; saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus.

Jesus sent him straight home, telling him, “Don’t enter the village.” 

Mark 8:22-26

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Like the blind man in this passage, we needed a second touch from Jesus to heal our distorted view. All we had to do was be honest and admit that our perspective was still distorted. Jesus didn’t scold the man for not having enough faith, or for being inadequate. Jesus simply asked him what was wrong and then fixed it.

At the end of the story, after the man’s vision was perfectly restored, Jesus told him to go straight home and not to go back into the village.  In our own parallel stories, we heard Jesus say, “Don’t go back into….”

We each heard a different ending to that sentence, based on our own uniquely personal experience. For all of us, it was a moment of truth. If we wanted to enjoy our total Tetelestai Recovery and be comfortable in our New Normal, we would not be able to return to that person, place, or thing which was certain to pull us back into our distortions.

Tetelestai Recovery Volume 2, Chapter Four, A Clear View https://a.co/d/49qBC5V

Tetelestai Recovery

Tetelestai

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In the original Greek language, the word for the phrase “It is finished” is Tetelestai.

I was introduced to the word Tetelestai one day when I was well into my fourth year of permanent healing from addiction.

It was during a year-long court battle which had been a residual consequence from my old life. The day I appeared in court to hear the verdict and receive my sentence, I claimed this scripture and the word Tetelestai over my case.  I was relieved by the peace it held and became willing to accept whatever God had in store for me, even if it meant a year in prison.

I prayed this scripture and acknowledged the fact that God had already redeemed me. He had made me a new creation by healing me from addiction. As I was praying that morning, God was working on the judge.  He gave the judge an insight into something that no one else had seen…

Tetelestai Recovery Volume 2, Introduction https://a.co/d/0lhAU5G