12 Steps with Jesus

Don Williams

Description

Don Williams powerfully relates in 12 Steps with Jesus that by allowing Jesus to fill the emptiness that leads to addictive behavior, readers can leave addiction in the dust! Churches must lead people to dependence on Jesus. When we give ourselves wholly to Christ, He will fill us wholly, replacing the hollowness that results in addictions. In twelve practical steps, Williams reveals how to achieve spiritual fulfillment in Christ, discover freedom from addiction, and embrace the abundant life that God promises to all of His followers.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 08 juillet 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441269126
• Langue: English

Extrait

P RAISE FOR Twelve Steps with Jesus
In Twelve Steps with Jesus, Don Williams shares the tenderness of Christ’s heart toward each of us, His brokenhearted people. This breakthrough book brings to light the simple truth that we are all addicted, and Jesus came to set us free. I encourage you to begin or continue your process of healing and let Christ’s amazing love wash over you with Twelve Steps with Jesus .
Bob Hasson
P RESIDENT AND CEO, RM H ASSON , I NC.
In this enjoyable, upbeat and powerful book, Don Williams uses personal experience, lively prose and understandable theory to captivate us with the revelation that nearly everyone is addicted. Lovingly, and with clarity, he points to the power, grace and love of God that is found in a personal relationship with Jesus. Using real life examples, Don gives practical and workable ways to access divine help and he reinvigorates the time-honored 12 steps. This work is so good and full of hope for those of us who are trying to cope with the modern epidemic of drug misuse. A must-read book for all who recognize the destructive power of addiction in their lives or those they seek to help.
Peter Hill, M.D.
G ENERAL P RACTITIONER
Don Williams thoroughly integrates a contemporary, therapeutic understanding of recovery with a deeply insightful theology of the freedom that salvation in Christ provides. If you could read only one book to give you the practical tools of experiencing true liberation, this thoughtful, biblical book is the one you should read.
Rich Nathan
S ENIOR P ASTOR , V INEYARD C HURCH C OLUMBUS , O HIO
In Twelve Steps with Jesus, Don Williams offers a clear path of hope and healing for a new generation enslaved to addiction. This book is relevant to anyone ready to discover the freedom they were intended for. In his honest and conversational style, Don navigates the spiritual, emotional and physical dimensions of addiction in ways that clarify the big picture of this common battleground. Along the way, he not only exposes our bondage to modern idols but also leads us to practical and powerful steps toward life beyond chains.
Todd Proctor
L EAD P ASTOR , R OCK H ARBOR C HURCH C OSTA M ESA , C ALIFORNIA
Once I started reading, I couldn’t put this book down— Twelve Steps with Jesus flows easily with gripping illustrations. Here is the A-word gently uncovered. This is a book about addictions of every kind; but it is also a book of hope. Don Williams points the way to freedom. Every home should have a copy of this book.
Bishop David Pytches
Whether it is drugs, sex, possessions or the latest business deal, we are all addicted to the cravings of sinful man. Worst of all, we probably don’t know it! Don Williams paints a compelling picture of how we find our self-worth and justify our lives through false idols. Yet, if we are willing to do our inner homework, we can allow Jesus into our personal story and let the healing power of the Holy Spirit write a new chapter in our hearts. Don writes a passionate and practical book that lays out the steps to wholeness and freedom in Christ. As someone who is addicted to success, I love Twelve Steps with Jesus!
Vince Sicillano
P RESIDENT AND CEO, F IRST P ACIFIC B ANK
In Twelve Steps with Jesus , Don Williams confronts the fear and despair that give birth to our addictions with a message of hope, freedom and joy. The answers he gives are not found in faddish psychobabble. Rather, he says, the solutions to our addictions are found in the ancient story of redemption as given in Holy Scripture. With characteristic simplicity and clarity, Don leads us into a Christ-centered 12-step program. I heartily recommend Twelve Steps with Jesus to all who are searching for freedom from the tyranny of addiction.
Berten A. Waggoner
N ATIONAL D IRECTOR , T HE V INEYARD C HURCHES
I have great admiration for Don as a teacher and leader, as well as a friend. In Twelve Steps with Jesus, Don gives practical, helpful and insightful tools to remind us of our desperate need for the Cross. This book encouraged and stirred me once again to my need for the freedom that Christ desires to give us all.
Christy Wimber
V INEYARD C HRISTIAN F ELLOWSHIP A NAHEIM , C ALIFORNIA

© 2004 Don Williams
Published by Chosen Books 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Chosen edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6912-6
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
KJV — King James Version. Authorized King James Version.
NASB —Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE,, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NKJV —Scripture taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
RSV —From the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.
TLB —Scripture quotations marked ( TLB ) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.
Any omission of credits is unintentional. The publisher requests documentation for future printings.
The Twelve Steps are reprinted and adapted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.) The adaptation has been inserted by the inclusion of additional bracket language. Permission to reprint and adapt the Twelve Steps does not mean that A.A.W.S. has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication, or that A.A.W.S. necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only—use of the Twelve Steps in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A., but which address other problems, or in any other non-A.A. context, does not imply otherwise. Additionally, while A.A. is a spiritual program, A.A. is not affiliated or allied with any sect, denomination, or specific religious belief.
Cover design by Terry Dugan Design Edited by Amy Spence
Contents

Step 1
Discover Your Story
Step 2
Define “Addiction” and Learn How It Works
Step 3
Get to the Causes of Addiction
Step 4
Get to the Root of Addiction
Step 5
Come Home to the Father
Step 6
Welcome Your Healing
Step 7
Live Fearlessly with the Fearless Jesus
Step 8
Live Free with the Free Jesus
Step 9
Live Self-Giving with the Self-Giving Jesus
Step 10
Step into Spiritual Disciplines
Step 11
Continue the Work
Step 12
Connect
Endnotes
S TEP 1
Discover Your Story
Is this book for you? Psychiatrist Gerald May says, “We are all addicts in every sense of the word.” 1 But you may reply, “Not me, Don.” Remember, denial is the first symptom of addiction. If we are all addicts—not only those who are alcoholics, druggies, and bingers—what do we mean by “addiction”?
We have all experienced a desire for substances (like coffee, sugar, alcohol, street drugs, prescription medications, food) or processes (like exercise, gambling, sex, work) or relationships (like parents, children, spouses, friends), and we feel we can’t live without them. We use them to alter our moods, lift our depression and free us to be more ourselves. We medicate the emptiness, loneliness and pain in our lives through them. We use them to find our self-worth, justify our lives and validate what we do and even who we are. They become functional idols—the real objects of our worship. We end up powerless over them.
Unlike the ancients, we don’t run off to the temples of Aphrodite or Apollo for sexual arousal, we simply hit the magazine stands, watch late-night cable TV or surf the Internet. We thumb through women’s magazines for tips on how to accomplish the next seduction or keep our partner happy and excited in bed. Ah, you say, good Christians don’t do this. Are you sure? Jimmy Bakker, former TV evangelist, reports that 80 percent of all the men he talks to in Pentecostal churches struggle with pornography. If sex isn’t your issue, what about overeating? Why is it that so many churchgoers are clearly overweight? Why is it that as they use food, food “uses” them, and they are either on a constant cycle of bingeing and dieting or have just given up? And what about our obsessions with people? Churches are filled with gossip, dysfunctional relationships, power struggles, cliques, pecking orders—and this brokenness is fed by our addictions to each other. May writes, “To be human is to be addicted and to be addicted is to be in need of grace.” 2
Once we get out of denial, we realize that our addictions have power over us. We are in bondage, and sheer moral will cannot set us free. But is this biblical? You bet. Paul wrote:

I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to—what I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking. But I can’t help myself…. No matter which way I t