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September 9 – Opening New Doors · The Daily Ripples Podcast

• 0:03
  Welcome back, everybody, to the Daily Ripples podcast.
• 0:06
  Today is Wednesday, September the ninth.
• 0:08
  You've got me, Pastor Mike, and our buddy Corey here with us, and our devotional today is titled opening New Doors, The Stone.
• 0:17
  God's Promises Unfold as I faithfully take the next step, even when progress seems slow.
• 0:22
  Ripple one practical.
• 0:24
  Today, I will not become discouraged if growth feels gradual.
• 0:28
  Every act of obedience closes another door on my old life and opens another toward the person God is calling me to become.
• 0:35
  Faithfulness today prepares me for tomorrow.
• 0:38
  Ripple 2 spiritual.
• 0:40
  As I continue to follow Christ, the Holy Spirit quietly fulfills God's promises in ways I may not notice it first.
• 0:46
  The Father is always at work, shaping my life through each step of obedience.
• 0:51
  Looking back, I often see doors he opened that I never could have opened myself.
• 0:55
  And of course, we save our prayer for the end of the end of the episode, but this one, it's funny.
• 1:04
  I think just as important as God opening new doors for me in terms of, you know, what I do today where I'm called to be, who I'm called to serve, I think just as importantly as God closing, some of the doors that I opened or that I walked through.
• 1:19
  You know, that God closes them behind me.
• 1:21
  And that's not work, you know, it's not that I've gone through this new door and now everything is perfect, you know?
• 1:31
  I mean, sure, I've had spiritual experiences, you know, I've had a spiritual awakening, you know, through working these steps, all those things that, you know, talked about in the book, you know, in the back of the of the big book.
• 1:42
  There's a supplement, if I believe, about the spiritual experience, right?
• 1:46
  And, uh, or spiritual experiences, I think it might be plural that it's talking about back there.
• 1:51
  But the thing is, I'm not finished with that.
• 1:54
  You know, I'm not, I'm still a work in progress.
• 1:57
  Like I haven't arrived anywhere, but I do know that God is still working in me, you know, in uh, the, uh, Apostle Paul, you know, wrote to the church at Philippi in, in Philippians one and verse six.
• 2:12
  He said that, you know, he who began a good work and you will carry it on to completion.
• 2:18
  And that's exactly what, you know, that spiritual ripple that we have today is talking about, that as I continue to follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit, will fulfill God's promises in ways that I may not notice it first.
• 2:29
  And for me, God has been, you know, there all along throughout this journey fulfilling his promises in their life.
• 2:39
  So yeah, overall, like I said, this is not something that has been accomplished.
• 2:46
  You know, I have it like walked through the final door.
• 2:48
  In other words, there's still going to be new doors in front of me.
• 2:50
  There's still more spiritual growth to be had.
• 2:53
  And I'm glad of that because I'm by no means perfect today.
• 2:57
  You know, anybody who spends much time with me knows that.
• 3:00
  Well, I think that's important because, uh, On page 66 of the big book, it says, for the alcoholic whose hope is the growth and maintenance of a spiritual experience, right?
• 3:12
  So if my hope is of growth and maintenance of a spiritual experiences, they, you know, and it doesn't give me, you know, I think it's, that's what it is.
• 3:22
  Yeah, you know, on set 12, right?
• 3:24
  having a spiritual awakening, as the result, right?
• 3:28
  Not a result, D. Right.
• 3:31
  So if that is it, if that's what I'm doing here, I better do it right.
• 3:35
  Yeah, right?
• 3:37
  Because I better, you know, and I better grow it.
• 3:40
  You know, because it would, and you know, I look at it in the context of I never, and you know, I kind of like would manage my drinking, I would try to manage to like where I was not getting in trouble because like normally I are getting trouble.
• 3:55
  I'd go out, take the ex's car out, go meet another girl in her car, and then get a picture of me and her car and get it sent to the girl that I was actually with.
• 4:06
  Now, hey, we were hanging out in your car.
• 4:09
  Wow, what like what a crazy thing, right?
• 4:12
  But it was all like... manipulate much.
• 4:16
  But what it, but what it looks like is this is like, it was all like, you know, there was times I was a good boy.
• 4:23
  But if you let me open the throttle, I drank more.
• 4:28
  I sat there and drank and drank and drank how much I wanted to, and if you put a limit on it, I wasn't happy.
• 4:35
  And that's me.
• 4:36
  But so if that's what I have to do with this, right?
• 4:42
  And so abandoning myself to God.
• 4:44
  I've been thinking about this a lot lately actually.
• 4:46
  So I don't think, you know, you'll hear in rooms that like, oh, alcoholics and these people were a lot smarter than other people, you don't, that's the, the only place you ever hear that is in AA rooms.
• 4:58
  You don't hear that or meetings like that.
• 5:00
  You don't have to down the families and all these other places.
• 5:02
  No, they don't necessarily think we were revisiting our special.
• 5:05
  Yeah.
• 5:05
  But what I will tell you is the difference.
• 5:09
  I think is I know what it looks like to abandon myself to drinking for mass amounts of time.
• 5:17
  Yeah.
• 5:17
  Abandoning myself to alcohol, abandoning myself to changing the way I feel.
• 5:22
  I don't really like to talk about changing the way I feel I've because I believe I'm an alcoholic.
• 5:27
  I've done cocaine.
• 5:29
  with just cocaine for long periods of time.
• 5:33
  I mean, I sold the stuff.
• 5:34
  I had it, and I was told I had to quit drinking. I was, I'll just do cocaine.
• 5:38
  They don't like it.
• 5:39
  I don't like just doing cocaine.
• 5:41
  But anyway, back to the, that's one of the, I've been alcoholic, but what I've put my life in that direction and just how many hours and hours.
• 5:52
  I know what it looks like to abandon myself to that.
• 5:54
  So today I know what it looks like to abandon myself to giving to God's kids, and, you know, most people, they can do that in moderation, and they did, and they do.
• 6:05
  They go to church on Sundays to help out some people here and there.
• 6:08
  They give to some charities.
• 6:09
  They go be a coach at the soccer games, right?
• 6:11
  And they've done their thing.
• 6:14
  And they, you know, they, their thing is their thing and it's not saying mine's any greater.
• 6:18
  I just have to, uh, my life looks like I'm abandoning it to helping other gods, to helping God's kids.
• 6:25
  And so I don't think like when I look at that and I think what I was going at is, in the big book, it says kind of to what you're, Today I will not be discouraged if growth feels gradual.
• 6:39
  So on page 84.
• 6:42
  It tells me, right?
• 6:44
  It says, we vigorously convince this way of living as we cleaned up the past.
• 6:48
  We have entered the world of the spirit.
• 6:49
  Our next function has grown understanding and effectiveness.
• 6:54
  This is not an overnight matter.
• 6:55
  And I'll tell you in the daily reflections book.
• 7:00
  Yeah, they really did page 100 a dish service.
• 7:04
  Now I'm gonna tell you what.
• 7:06
  So in the Daily Reflections book, I don't know the date, so if you want to argue with me, that's fine.
• 7:12
  It says they start out on page 100 and it's, with page 100, the paragraph says it says both you and the new man.
• 7:22
  So must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress, right?
• 7:26
  And they start the paragraph and the daily reflections with this.
• 7:31
  If you persist, remarkable things will happen.
• 7:33
  When we look back, we realize that God, they take out the new man park.
• 7:37
  Yeah.
• 7:37
  So when I read this paragraph in context, it has to start with both you and the new man.
• 7:45
  Right.
• 7:45
  Not, when we look back, we realize that the things which Kim does, when we put ourselves in God's hand, we're far better than anything we could have planned.
• 7:53
  That's true in general.
• 7:54
  Yeah.
• 7:55
  But in the context of this, in the chapter working with others, this is both you and the new man must.
• 8:01
  So I think that's important for me to do that because if they're not a new man and I'm not helping others and it's still just about me. We're not making any headway.
• 8:09
  The way the book reads.
• 8:12
  I like that you point out that in similar things in the book because I think we start going down in that avenue where you're kind of taking things that have been quoted or were really quoted out of context, you know, so much.
• 8:27
  I start to think of you in terms of like a, uh, almost like a big book preacher, you know what I mean?
• 8:32
  Because, and the reason why I say that.
• 8:34
  I know you're kind of chuckling, but the reason why I say that is because part of the job that I have, you know, as a preacher is taking, you know, verses of scripture that people have used and quoted out of context and putting them back in context so that we can know and for that spiritual growth and know and understand really what it really meant, you know, when it was written.
• 8:53
  And so I always appreciate it whenever you do the same thing, you know, with the with the big book materials that we have.
• 8:58
  But, Because it is important to realize that as I'm doing work, as I'm working with new people, you know, it's not only helping them.
• 9:10
  It's not only about their spiritual growth, it's also my spiritual growth, and my spiritual growth leads me at times in the places that I'd rather not get into, you know?
• 9:22
  I mean, it happens with the church all the time.
• 9:24
  You know, there are things that maybe it's a hot button issue, you know, in the country and people might call it political if you talk about it, but you're talking about people who are being mistreated or oppressed.
• 9:35
  Well, that can get political in a in a hot second, you know, especially in context of churches and what have you.
• 9:40
  And so I'm constantly having to thread that needle and figure out, you know, where does God want me to speak into something and where does he not want me to speak into something, you know?
• 9:50
  Or not only just speak into it, but where could I get involved in something?
• 9:54
  See, I can get up every Sunday and talk about the evils of the world, but what am I doing, you know, Monday through Saturday about those same evils?
• 10:01
  And so I have to keep that lens and that check on myself too, about, because it is also about even, even in a church context, you know, there's no real, you know, I believe in the priesthood of all believers, right?
• 10:15
  That anybody could be called to, you know, share the gospel, share a message, have a calling on your life.
• 10:20
  And I think we all do have a calling on our lives.
• 10:22
  For some, the calling is to work with other, you know, alcoholics and addicts and give it your all and spend, you know, all of your time, energy, creativity and resources toward that endeavor because it provides that purpose.
• 10:36
  And that is a very, you know, godly endeavor to do because it is helping to bring healing and hope to people who need it. While at the same time, it brings healing and hope to the people that are, you know, working and doing that work.
• 10:51
  And so, It tells me, you know, in this spiritual ripple, every time I read it again, that the father is always at work shaping my life through each step of obedience.
• 11:05
  And that's another hard word, whether it's in recovery or whether it's in the church at obedience part, right?
• 11:11
  Who's going to tell me what to do?
• 11:13
  You can't tell me what to do.
• 11:15
  Well, if I truly have turned over my will in my life to the care of God, as I understand him, and that's for me, God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then I've committed to obey in him.
• 11:28
  You know, and part of obeying him is to walk through whatever new door he's opening up for me today.
• 11:35
  That's all I got for the day, bye.
• 11:38
  Let's close today with our prayer.
• 11:40
  Father God, help me trust your work, even when I cannot see immediate results.
• 11:44
  Through your Holy Spirit.
• 11:46
  Keep me faithful one step at a time.
• 11:48
  Shape me through the example of Jesus and continue opening the doors you have prepared for me.
• 11:54
  Amen.
• 11:54
  Amen.