3 Strikes &
You're Out
 The
following is one of our brochures used widely
across the country in our prison ministry. The
Lord may choose to use it in your life as well.
Fear is gripping the hearts of prisoners across
the land, because 3 strikes means life--life in
prison.
Prisoners are realizing that it is time to get
serious about change, before they're struck out.
It could be you!
You can make a decision to change NOW, but it
will take serious determination and a commitment
of yourself to God. If you are serious, commit
to the steps.
12 Steps to Freedom
STEP 1. We admited we were powerless over
the effect of our separation from God--that
our lives had become unmanageable.
"I know nothing good lives in me, that is,
in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to
do what is good, but I cannot carry it out"
(Romans 7:18).
To admit that we are "powerless" and
that our lives have become "unmanageable"
is a particularly distasteful chore for most of
us. It's not macho, but first we must acknowledge
that we have a problem--our own self-centered,
egocentric, omnipotent human natures.
Powerlessness is the inability to control the
use of substances that threaten to destroy our
lives, compulsive behavior, one's thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors regarding another person. We are
powerless to control our lives that have become
unmanageable.
The admission of powerlessness and unmanageability
is neither a sign of weakness nor a source of
shame; it is a recognition of reality--a conviction
of need for healing and restoration.
STEP 2. Came to believe that a Power greater
than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
"For it is God who works in you to will
and to act according to His good purpose"
(Philippians 2:13).
Jesus Christ is the only legitimate Higher Power;
only He and He alone can restore us to sanity.
Coming to believe in His ability and willingness
to heal us is the central issue of Step Two.
The powerlessness and unmanageability we finally
admit in Step One can only be overcome with the
aid of One who is greater than ourselves, and
that One is Jesus Christ.
Step Two is sometimes referred to as "the
step of faith." Just as faith is an essential
component in the steps of salvation, so, too,
it is an essential aspect of recovery from addiction.
We have come to believe that there must be a
change of mind, from a state of unbelief to a
state of belief. We have come to believe that
Jesus Christ will restore us to sanity--mentally,
emotionally, and spiritually. Now we come to the
step where we must act on our faith and demonstrate
our trust.
STEP 3. Made a decision to turn our will
and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view
of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--which is
your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).
An understanding of God is ultimately possible
only because God Himself made it possible--and
He did it for us by revealing Himself to us in
the flesh-and-blood personage of Jesus Christ.
There is no doorway to salvation other than Jesus
Christ.
It is essential that we make a decision to act
on what we believe. We make a decision to turn
our will and our lives over to the care of God.
Recovery is an active process, literally a change
in the direction of one's life. This is the point
at which faith becomes action. We allow God to
stand at the helm of our lives as Captain of our
fate. We embrace the heart of Christian living.
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one
can see the kingdom of God unless he is born-again"
(John 3:3). The spiritual rebirth described by
Jesus is precisely the dethroning of the egocentric,
omnipotent nature, followed by the enthronement
of Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives. The old
selfish nature is put to death, and the new man
or woman in Jesus rises from the grave, born-again.
We acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives and
begin the lifelong process of surrender to God.
The entire matter boils down to loving God and
loving our neighbor as ourselves.
STEP 4. Made a searching and fearless moral
inventory of ourselves.
"Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the Lord" (Lamentations
3:40) .
God begins within us a lifelong process of transformation.
Like clay in the hands of a skillful potter, we
are gradually molded and shaped by God into vessels
suitable for His purposes. This process is called
sanctification. The inventory required in Step
Four can be used by God to chip away at our character
defects and shape us as He would have us
to be.
The primary difficulty in making "a searching
and fearless moral inventory of ourselves"
is denial that has helped imprison us in addiction.
Denial is an attempt to escape the pain, brokenness,
and human limitation that are inherent in the
human condition.
While denial is darkness, God has always been
in the business of turning darkness into light.
Light is illuminating; it brings objects into
view, showing them as they are, and exposing the
dirt and crud (Galations 5:19-21).
Our responsibility is to make an inventory of
all that is revealed by the "Son-light"
as He shines into the depths of our being. An
inventory is a list of items, both the good and
bad, as the light reveals both the fine and the
foul in the chambers of our hearts. This moral
inventory relates to principles of right and wrong
behavior, in accordance with God's law of love,
exemplified by the life and teachings of Jesus
of Nazareth.
A useful framework for identifying our liabilities
is the traditional Seven Cardinal Sins. These
sins are: 1) Pride, 2) Covetousness, 3) Lust,
4) Envy, 5) Anger, 6) Gluttony, and 7) Slothfulness.
Also, it is necessary to identify those feelings
and behaviors most commonly found in Adult Children
from homes where addiction-related or other damage-inducing
behavior was prevalent. These are listed in the
book, "The Twelve Steps for Christians"
distributed by RPI Publishing, Inc. These character
traits are 1) Isolation, 2) Repressed anger, 3)
Approval seeking, 4) Care-taking, 5) Control,
6) Fear of abandonment, 7) Fear of authority figures,
8) Frozen feelings, 9) Low self-esteem, 10) Over-developed
sense of responsibility, and 11) Repressed sexuality.
In making a Step Four inventory, it is important
to identify assets as well as liabilities, leading
us out of a sense of low self-esteem and shame.
We are to identify ourselves in Christ as new
creations, made in the image of God, royal and
righteous, holy, blameless, and unique, a child
of God, with spiritual gifts, because of the blood
of Jesus Christ.
STEP 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and
to another human being the exact nature of our
wrong.
"Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed"
(James 5:16a).
Confession of sin to God is the essence of true
repentance. Our sins create a barrier of our own
making between ourselves and God, but when confessed,
the walls come tumbling down.
Confession to God as well as to another human
being goes hand in hand. It is an inherently healing
act to unload, in the presence of another human
being, the burden of guilt that has been part
of the lifestyle of addiction. A cleansing process
takes place, as a level of openness and honesty
is experienced.
Lastly, we must admit to ourselves the character
defects, faults, and shortcomings; in this step,
we own them, we must accept what is found, and
not get away with lying to ourselves. We must
admit the exact nature of our wrong.
STEP 6. Were entirely ready to have God
remove all these defects of character.
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and
He will lift you up" (James 4:10).
The process of surrender continues. Surrender
means that we cease trying to re-create ourselves
in the image of God and become willing to be molded
and shaped by God into fit
vessels for His use.
STEP 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).
God is able to remove our shortcomings. As humble
servants, through the finished work of Jesus Christ
on the cross and the crediting of His righteousness
to our accounts, we no longer come up short.
STEP 8. Made a list of all persons we had
harmed, and became willing to make amends to
them all.
"Do to others as you would have them to
do to you" (Luke 6:31).
Whereas Steps Six and Seven dealt with our vertical
relationship with God, Steps Eight and Nine deal
with our horizontal relationships, that is, our
relationships with our fellow human beings. So
here, we make a list of all persons we have harmed,
and become willing to make amends, allowing God
to rid us of all resentments.
STEP 9. Made direct amends to such people
wherever possible, except when to do so would
injure them or others.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift
at the altar and there remember that your brother
has something against you, leave your gift there
in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled
to your brother; then come and offer your gift"
(Matthew 5:23,24).
Making amends does not mean merely saying "I'm
sorry" for wrongs done or injuries inflicted.
This is an action step, one in which we demonstrate
our changed behavior toward others.
STEP 10. Continued to take personal inventory
and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
"So, if you think you are standing firm,
be careful that you don't fall" (1 Corinthians
10: 12) .
There is an ongoing search-and-destroy mission
whose goal is to root out and put to death every
manifestation (thoughts, feelings, and actions)
of the sinful, egocentric nature that was at the
heart of our addiction.
STEP 11. Sought through prayer and meditation
to improve our conscious contact with God as
we understood Him, praying only for knowledge
of His will for us and the power to carry that
out.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
" (Colossians 3:16a) .
For those of us who truly thirst for the presence
of God, who desire to draw closer to Him, prayer
and meditation will become important parts of
our lives. As we draw near to God, through Jesus
Christ, our High Priest, He will lead us into
all truth, and give us the power to live for Him.
STEP 12. Having had a spiritual awakening
as the result of these steps, we tried to carry
this message to others, and to practice these
principles in all our affairs.
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin,
you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted"
(Galatians 6:1).
Not only must we practice these principles in
all our affairs, but we must carry the message
to others. As Christians in recovery, we carry
one message to those still trapped in addiction.
That is, the message of healing and salvation
through Jesus Christ. We have a unique opportunity
in obeying the command of our Lord to "go
and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew
28:19).
(The above steps created with excerpts
from The Gospel and the Twelve Steps by
Martin M. Davis, and Twelve Steps for Christians
by Friends in Recovery. Reprinted with permission
from RPI Publishing, Inc., Chehalis, WA.)
Christian Twelve Step Resources
Overcomers Incorporated
4235 Mt. Sterling Avenue
Titusville, FL 32780
Overcomers Outreach, Inc.
520 N. Brookhurst St. Ste. 121
Anaheim, CA 92801-1017
(800) 310-3001
RPI Publishing, Inc.
Pam Nielson
211 Lake Creek Rd.
Chehalis, WA 98532
(360) 245-3386
The above outreaches are committed to aid in
the recovery of those trapped in addiction, as
God provides funding from their supporters. Prisoners
are encouraged to write for free materials, if
available, and if possible, set up a Christian
12 step group as part of the chapel program.
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