New Beginnings

05/23/2026

05/06/2026

The Life Recovery Bible
A couple of reflections on Nehemiah:

In Nehemiah 2:17-18 Nehemiah performed a ministry of encouragement. He was completely honest about the people's problems; he didn't deny or underestimate their needs. Then he reminded them of God's powerful hand and challenged them to get on with their work. We all need a Nehemiah in our lives- someone who will honestly tell us what needs fixing and who will then stick close to help us complete the task.

In Nehemiah 8:1-5 Ezra took on the essential task of spiritual rebuilding in the lives of the citizens. Now that the wall of Jerusalem has been rebuilt and its streets were safe, Ezra was able to give attention to the reading of the law. It is imperative to remember that the Bible contains the directions and resources for rebuilding broken lives. While we may obtain physical recovery, it is necessary to recover spiritually (through salvation and belief in Jesus Christ) to remain free from our addictions. God is the foundation on which we must build our new lives. 🙌

01/01/2026

(2 Kings 23:1-20) The revival under Josiah was no half-hearted recovery. It was unlike the moderate but incomplete process of recovery achieved by many of Judah's earlier kings; Josiah concluded that there could be no middle ground. As a strong statement of proper boundaries and limits, Josiah destroyed all aspects of the long- standing idol worship. He also went to great lengths to reinstitute proper worship of the true God, indicating his faith and commitment. Limits and boundaries are necessary if we want to recover. We have to know where the boundary lines are and stay within them.

(23:31-35) The evil character of King Jehoahaz, Josiah's son, may well imply a flaw in Josiah's life. The fact that Jehoahaz did evil (23:32), unlike his righteous father, may indicate that Josiah was not attentive or available to his children. Perhaps he was too busy initiating his reforms in Judah to pass on his faith and commitment to God to his children. While children may be able to see the godly things parents do, they may follow evil ways if they are not loved and nurtured. We need to balance family time with the time we take for recovery. If we don't, all our gains may be lost in the next generation. Our steps of self-improvement can easily become detrimental to our family's ultimate chances for recovery.

*There is no need to continue in our nightmare. If we stop our denial and accept the hopelessness of our situation, we can turn to God for help. He will help us break out of our downward spiral.

12/29/2025

(2 Kings 22:1-7) Almost 200 years before Josiah, King Joash of Judah had undertaken repairs of the Temple in a strikingly similar way (12:4-14). Josiah instituted Judah's last major recovery before its final demise. Recovery often has its ups and downs, but the ultimate effect needs to be positive. In Judah, however, the effect was negative. Overall, the great reforms and good intentions of the few good kings were negated by the activities of the bad ones. In recovery, we must persevere. We cannot have an occasional victory and then backslide for extended periods. An uncommitted approach to recovery will ultimately lead to destruction.

(22:8-20) In spite of Josiah's heartfelt reforms in Judah, there would still be serious long-term consequences for the nation's sin. But Judah's destruction would be postponed significantly because of Josiah's humble faith and obedience. While it may seem unfair to hold the people of Judah responsible for what they didn't know about God's laws, which had been lost, that's the way it often is in recovery. We may never have read the Bible and acquired the wisdom it contains, but we are still accountable to its truth. God's plan is clearly stated in his Word; all we have to do is read it. God's standards are absolute; there is no excuse for not following his ways.

12/26/2025

(2 Kings 21:1-17) Manasseh reversed all the positive steps Hezekiah instituted for Judah's national recovery. Because of Manasseh's totally evil, oppressive reign, God declared that Judah would inevitably be exiled. Judah would follow the northern kingdom of Israel into exile just as they had followed them into sin. By the end of Manasseh's 55 year reign, the possibility of meaningful recovery in Judah seemed very dim. ( Even in the midst of such evil, God displayed his love for his people yet again. When Manasseh hit bottom, he cried out to God for renewal, and God granted him victory [see Chronicles 33:12-17]. No matter what the circumstances, there is always hope for recovery. ) Those who submit to our leadership may suffer consequences for our mistakes. This truth should cause us to think twice before abandoning the recovery process.

(21:19-26)King Amon of Judah was a carbon copy of his father, Manasseh, with one exception: Manasseh, toward the end of his life, repented of his evil ways; Among, "unlike his father,...did not humble himself before the Lord. Instead, Amon sinned even more "(2 Chronicles 33:23). God had allowed Manasseh's abusive oppression to continue for many years, but he did not do the same for Amon; God destroyed Amon after only 2 years. Lovingly, God would promote yet one more cycle of recovery in Judah and offer relief from Judah's self-destructive unbelief and false worship. Josiah, Amon's young son, became the initiator and primary instrument for a major cycle of recovery among God's people (22:1-23:30).

12/24/2025

(2 Kings 20:1-11) Hezekiah pleaded with God to spare his life, reminding God of his previous consistent faith and commitment to God. So Hezekiah was granted another 15 years of life. God also performed a great miracle as proof of his promise of life to Hezekiah, who seems to have been greatly troubled by doubt and possibly even depression at this point. Although God may not make the sun go backward for us, we should never doubt that he will rescue us if we cry out to him.

(20:12-21) Hezekiah made a major mistake that seriously set back his recovery. When the delegation from the rising nation of Babylon came to Jerusalem, Hezekiah put on the most impressive show possible. Not only that, he took the credit for all his wealth instead of giving the glory to God (20:15). The unconsidered consequences of his prideful actions came to painful fruition in the Babylonian exile (23:36-25:30). When we become prideful about our accomplishments, we show that we have forgotten the true source of our success- God. We must remain humble if we want God to help us. He can't work in a life that isn't surrendered to him.

12/23/2025

(2 Kings 19:2-34) As Hezekiah faced this impossible situation, he humbly turned to God for help. God answered Hezekiah's desperate plea and delivered his people from a formidable enemy. In this case, God didn't roar in with blaring trumpets or terrifying earthquake. The enemy army was quietly lured from its siege of Jerusalem. We may wish for an instant, miraculous deliverance from our problems, but it doesn't usually happen that way. God most often uses quiet resources- the steady support of a friend, the encouragement of a support group, the quiet leading of the Holy Spirit-to strengthen us in recovery.

(19:35-37) All of the Assyrian general's boasting about his army's strength could not keep it from being destroyed by God. Those needing recovery are often terrified in the face of brutal human power, especially if they have been previously abused. Some of us feel powerless against the persistent enemies that lie within. But such oppressions or problems, no matter how great, stand no chance at all against God's power; He will ultimately overcome them.

12/22/2025

(1 Kings 18:1-8) King Hezekiah made a radical break from the evil ways of his father, Ahaz. Hezekiah's stated faith and commitment to the Lord gave him the courage to stand against Judah's sinful past and take significant steps to rebuild his kingdom God's way (18:5). His honesty in assessing the spiritual state of his kingdom and his willingness to break from its sinful ways made him one of Judah's greatest kings (18:6-7). Because he was faithful to the Lord in everything, the Lord caused him to be successful. If we want to succeed, we also must honestly admit our failures and do all we can to rebuild our lives God's way.

(18:9-16) Although Hezekiah was one of Judah's best kings, he responded exactly as his father had at the threat of Assyrian invasion. Hezekiah trusted God with the smaller things, but at the threat of invasion, he looked elsewhere for help. Rather than trusting the God who gave him his kingdom, Hezekiah trusted the very enemy who was attacking him. Our addictions have the same effect on us. We choose to trust in the things that are ruining our lives rather than in the God who created us and desires recovery for us. Putting our lives into God's hands is the only way to experience true deliverance.

12/19/2025

*Continued
(2 Kings 16:5-9) King Ahaz paid tribute to the king of Assyria, placing his trust in the human resources at his disposal. In seeking human solutions to the conflict, however, he failed to trust God to help him. The peace that Ahaz established in Judah was dependent on the payment of money. When Ahaz's son Hezekiah refused to pay tribute money to Assyria, Assyria attacked (see 18:7, 13), but God protected Hezekiah and his kingdom. Had Ahaz turned to God for help, the peace he sought would have been unconditional-built upon the unchanging power and presence of God. We also need to ask God for help as we continue in recovery. Looking for human help may be disappointing. Some people may help us only to see what they get in return.

12/18/2025

(2 Kings 16:1-4) It was only a matter of time before the half-hearted attempts at recovery by Judah's kings would cause great damage. Ahaz's reign wasn't even a mixed bag. He completely denied his need for God and disobeyed God's laws, even sacrificing his own son to pagan gods (16:3). The partial recovery of many generations had a cumulative impact on the later generations. Children can quickly see through the hypocrisy of a half-hearted recovery. This may cause them to reject everything we stand for- especially the good things. What kind of example are we setting for our children?

* To be continued

12/17/2025

(2 Kings 15:8-12) Jeroboam ll's long, evil reign could not guarantee stability or power of the northern kingdom when his equally evil son, Zachariah, became king. God allowed Zechariah to rule only against Jehu generations before (15:12; see 10:30); this was the end of his primarily evil line of descendants. Jehu's failure had led to the failure of his descendants. Unless we seek, recovery now, the results may be disastrous for our children and grandchildren.

(15:13-14, 23-25) The reigns of kings Shallum and Pekahiah of the northern kingdom show us what often happens to oppressive personalities who refuse to face their need for recovery. Both were assassinated after brief reigns. Shallum had been an assassin himself, so he died the same way he had risen to power (15:10). Pekahiah was killed by someone very close to him (15:25). If we tend to be oppressive in our relationships, we need to be careful- these people may tire of our abuse and either destroy us or abandoned us to our misery.

(15:32-38) The reign of King Jotham of Judah-first as governor under his father Uzziah (15:5) and then in his own right (15:32-33)-was a "mixed bag". He exemplified faith and commitment to God up to a point, as had his predecessors. He gave attention to God's Temple. But he did not destroy the pagan shrine and false worship in Judah (15:34-35), so God "turned up the heat." God allowed Aram and Israel to attack (15:37) in order to shatter Jotham's denial. God sometimes brings trials into our lives to alert us to our denial.