CELEBRATE RECOVERY'S BASIC TOOLBOX
The sole strength of CR comes from the power of God to transform lives so that we can become of service to others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." We have relationships in our lives that need healing but not just for our sakes. When we become healthy, the people whose lives we touch also have that opportunity. This is a process, step by step, to walk us out of the chains of our pasts; our habits, our hurts and our hang-ups, and give us new life. Celebrate Recovery is dedicated to doing just that. There are certain tools that are used in the process. They are tools, not the power, to change lives. Only God can do that.
8 PRINCIPLES FROM THE BEATITUDES
1. Realize I’m not God.
“Blessed are the poor in Spirit,”
2. Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.
“Blessed are those who mourn,”
3. Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
“Blessed are the meek,”
4. Openly examine and confess my faults to myself to God, and to someone I trust.
“Blessed are the pure in heart,”
5. Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,”
6. Evaluate all my relationships.
“Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers,”
7. Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
8. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,”
“Blessed are the poor in Spirit,”
2. Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.
“Blessed are those who mourn,”
3. Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
“Blessed are the meek,”
4. Openly examine and confess my faults to myself to God, and to someone I trust.
“Blessed are the pure in heart,”
5. Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,”
6. Evaluate all my relationships.
“Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers,”
7. Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
8. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,”
12 STEPS AND CORRESPONDING SCRIPTURES
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.
I know that 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. Rom. 7:18
2. We 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. Phil. 2:13
3. We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Rom. 12:1
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lam. 3:40
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16
6. We 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
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
Do to others as you would have them do to you. Lk. 6:31
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. Mat. 5:23-24
10. We 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. 1Cor. 10:12
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Col. 3:16
12. Having had a spiritual experience 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. Gal. 6:1
I know that 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. Rom. 7:18
2. We 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. Phil. 2:13
3. We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Rom. 12:1
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lam. 3:40
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16
6. We 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
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
Do to others as you would have them do to you. Lk. 6:31
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. Mat. 5:23-24
10. We 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. 1Cor. 10:12
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Col. 3:16
12. Having had a spiritual experience 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. Gal. 6:1
