Tetelestai Today

Tetelestai Recovery

Mastering Controlling Emotions: A Biblical Perspective

We know that our emotions can be a powerful force that affects us, body, mind, and soul. We also know that Jesus has made a way to escape being controlled by our feelings, which can range from pesky to obsessive or even frightening. We are told in the Word that we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. This flies in the face of feelings that indicate something is wrong with us. Our feelings are no match for the Word of God. If the Creator of the Universe says we are righteous, then our emotions have no right to dispute it.

We have been made right by the blood of Christ which was donated as a divine transfusion to heal us from the inside out. The emotions we feel, the sounds we hear, the words we say, and the images we see, must all defer to the words of our King who has decreed tetelestai over all that is wrong with us…

Tetelestai Recovery

Idolatry of Emotions: Claiming Righteousness Through Grace

When we discovered the power of Jesus’ declaration, “It is finished,” we claimed tetelestai over our misaligned compass comprised of human emotion.

We stopped worshipping at the feet of our feelings and ditched them at the foot of the cross. We learned that our feelings were an unpredictable deity. We saw that exalting our feelings to a place of devotion, was nothing short of idolatry.

We made a firm decision to discover God’s thoughts of us, rather than our own thoughts of ourselves.

We didn’t feel like believing in our rightness, but the Word stated we were the righteousness (right-ness) of God. We were much more comfortable feeling wrong and running from it. We were unsure how to settle into knowing, rather than feeling.

It didn’t feel right to believe right, but once we got a revelation of grace, and stopped relying on how bad we felt, we discovered a sense of stability we’d never known before.

Tetelestai Recovery

What Tetelestai Really Means: Beyond “It Is Finished”

We noticed that Jesus’ final word tetelestai, translated into the English phrase, it is finished, seemed to imply a sense of giving up. We found this to be an unfortunate language barrier. As it turns out, in the original Greek language of the New Testament, this word tetelestai is a declaration of victory, completion, and success.

Tetelestai is the comment an artist might whisper after completing his final brush stroke on a masterpiece.

Tetelestai is the report a soldier would bring to his commanding officer when a battle was over, and victory had been secured.

We believe our Savior used His final breath on the cross to declare for all time, to all creation, in every dimension, that there is nothing left undone: It is finished; Tetelestai.

There is no more drudgery to sobriety and no more anguish to recovery. There is no self-effort which must be added to what has been declared, Tetelestai.

IT IS FINISHED

Tetelestai Recovery

Overcoming Substance Addiction: The Gift of Tetelestai

In matters of our recovery from substance addiction and the mental dysfunction that accompanies it, we were completely helpless. We had no thoughts that could heal our thoughts. We had no disclosure that could remove our secret shame. We had no detour that would lead us out of the darkness. We were lost. We were alone. We were afraid.

But suddenly, in a random, unexplainable moment, the gift of Tetelestai was revealed. We had run out of options, yet in that barren wasteland of emptiness, we stumbled upon a treasure trove of truth.

Tetelestai Recovery

The Insanity of Addiction: A Journey to Mental Freedom

There is an overpowering conflict that occurs within the mind of anyone who has encountered the desperation of addiction. The struggle to escape one’s own mind by flooding it with toxic levels of mood-altering chemicals is the true definition of insanity. Yet many of us suffered from this fatal and debilitating disease, consenting to the madness as if there were no other option.

In search of total recovery, we discovered we were not only seeking to be delivered from our dependency on mind or mood-altering substances, but we also searched for freedom from our thought processes, our twisted perceptions, and our obsessive fears.

In this emotional state of chronic crisis, we were exhausted.

We struggled to be free from a mind that plotted its own demise. Our thoughts quite literally tormented us to the point of insanity. We needed a way to manage our feelings and silence our sickness…

A Date With Destiny

Embrace God’s Protection Against Negativity

Thousands of enemies may surround me, but I am not afraid. Psalm 3:6

When faced with questions and uncertainty, you sometimes doubt your own ability to fend off the enemy forces of negativity and strife.

However, the Spirit of God resides with you and around you. His protective bubble creates a force field which keeps you safe and unharmed while angel armies fight for you. 

As you encounter the icy chill of a society which applauds greed, aggression, and ego, you are warmed from within by the Holy Spirit’s flame.

Like a crackling fire on a cold winter night, the presence of Jesus permeates the atmosphere and brings comfort to your soul.

God’s sovereignty is undisputed. His angels stand ready to rise up on your behalf.

You are therefore able to claim victory over any criticism, conflict, or insult which threatens to distract you from your true purpose.

Your soul is at rest and your mind is at peace because you know the power of your position in Christ.  Since God is for you, and has promised to defend you, there is no need to fret over trying to defend yourself. 

You have an army of angels at your side, ready to assist as you claim your destiny.

The Commander of Angel Armies and His heavenly warriors are on your side.

You are not afraid because you know that these powerful protecters are greater than anything that could ever come against you.


A Date With Destiny

Embrace Your Creative Power


2 Peter 3:5
God spoke and made heaven and earth.

Fashioned in the Creator’s image, you are a force of nature. Just as God calls things into being which never existed before, you too find innovative expressions for your faith. You are creative and resourceful. You have a passion to make things better than they were.

Understanding what it means to live in a word-created universe, you choose your words carefully.

You are energized by empowering others. You are delighted to see a lost traveler find their way.

You believe in God’s creativity and you regularly see new expressions of Him materialize in your life and the lives of those you love.  You are delighted to watch God as He continually speaks new things into existence. Your faith enables you to see the creative energy of God’s words even before their results appear.

A Date With Destiny

Diamond Foreheads: The Power of Resolve in Life’s Challenges

Ezekiel 3:9: ‘I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.’


Your tenacity and determination may cause you to be labeled ‘hard-headed’. While it might not always seem like a gift, this character trait is a valuable asset God has granted you for your particular journey.

When others may get discouraged or give up, you continue to persevere. You do not see quitting as an option. You find your greatest success comes from the simple practice of persistence.

There are times when life is hard, but the difficulties never get inside your head. God has protected your mind with an unyielding resolve which enables you to resist both internal and external pressures. There are times in your life when fear may seem to be the logical response. Other times, discouragement may cast its shadow across your path. But you have been designed by the Creator of the universe and He has constructed you with a supernatural ability to withstand such destructive forces.

A Date With Destiny – March 9

Tetelestai Recovery

Breaking Free: Addressing Addictions Beyond Drugs

We concluded that all humans suffer from at least one type of addiction. However, we also know that every addiction can be called out and destroyed, using the pronouncement of Jesus, “Tetelestai” (It is finished).

Last Word Recovery Ministries developed the Tetelestai Recovery program that is based on the power of Jesus declaration which offers the possibility of permanent freedom for anyone struggling with addiction.

 As the ripple effect of this program began to reach the families and friends of those who were enjoying permanent sobriety, we received requests for an expanded version of the program which could address other destructive addictions and dysfunctions beyond the scope of drug or alcohol dependence. We were intrigued by this idea and excited to pursue it. 

In this third volume, Tetelestai Recovery – Leveling Up, we address some non-drug addictions, along with other dysfunctional behaviors related to the human condition. We offer Sacred Text selections that can break these strongholds and prevent further harm.

Tetelestai Recovery is not just for addicts. It is for everyone. Jesus says, “It is finished!” to the behaviors and dysfunctions that weigh us down and hold us back.

Tetelestai Recovery

How to Let Go of Resentment and Gain Personal Power

To remain in a position of power, we had to drop the resentments. While we sometimes felt as if our resentments were keeping us safe and preventing us from being hurt again, we eventually faced the fact that they were stealing our power and placing us in a perpetual state of victimhood. Resentment was the result of self-pity. If we carried our resentment, we were forced to experience the painful events over and over. But, on the other hand, we feared that if we released our resentments, it would give those offenders a free pass.

Neither position seemed to be working, so we searched for a new solution. We needed to release our resentments, but at the same time, we needed to know that justice had been served. We needed to know that those who had mistreated us didn’t get away with it. We wanted to settle the score, but we also wanted to exist in the higher spiritual plane, that Jesus referred to as the Kingdom of God. We knew that revenge-seeking would drag us down and pull us into chaos.

Sacred Text showed us the way. Since the same words appeared in both old and new testaments, we knew it was significant.

It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them. Deuteronomy 32:35
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:17-19

Surprisingly, based on these passages, we learned that revenge was not necessarily a bad thing. It only became a bad thing when we humans took it into our own hands, rather than leaving it for God to manage.