1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Brothers and sisters, before Christ came into your life, what did you put your hope in?  What did you pursue to give your life value?  What did you seek to make you happy?  What did you do to feel good about yourself?  What did you do to look good in front of others?  What did you put your faith and trust in?

I struggled with addiction my whole life.  Since the age of twenty-two, I completed seven treatment programs for alcohol and drugs in the states of New York, Minnesota, Illinois, and Arizona.  I spent twenty-three years in and out of 12-step programs like AA and NA.  Each time I was willing to surrender my addiction, but I didn’t know that I needed to surrender my pride, my lust, and my greed.  At the end of an AA meeting we would circle up and say the Lord’s prayer—but how can you have a Lord’s Prayer without a Lord? Continue reading “Born-again To A Living Hope” »