Recovery and Alcohol Part 2 In Alcoholics Anonymous one of the things that is done is whenever someone speaks they protect each other by remaining somewhat anonymous by introducing themselves by their first names only and then add the phrase, “and I am an alcoholic.”  In the church we also want to protect each other as brothers and sisters, but we are not anonymous to each other.  We can give greater support in knowing each other and sharing our burdens.  We don’t introduce ourselves this way, but in truth we could.  “Hi, my name is Stewart; and I am a sinner.”  To most of us, this would seem awkward; and as I have already stated, we do not do this.  It would be true, however.   Let us now consider steps seven through twelve as we conclude this two-part article and observe many principles from the Bible are used to help these who have this struggle with alcohol in their lives.   6.  “We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”   Yielding to someone else’s direction includes having some trust.  These believe that there is one who both cares and has power to intervene for the well-being of the one who struggles.  By faith Christians believe that the medicine needed to remove all sin including   drunkenness is found in the blood of Christ.  Only God can remove all our sin and the consequences of our sins.  The life of the Christian is a life of learning how to cooperate with God who wants to lead His people down the right paths of life. 7.  “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”  Who among us does not   possess   weakness?  In our weakness we can choose to get frustrated and irritated and add to our   problems.  We can choose to express some quietness, self-control, and meekness.  If we will be humble before our Lord, He assures the    Christian  that  He  will  lift  us  up     ultimately by His power.  “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He WILL LIFT YOU UP”  (Jas. 4:10).  When we know we are broken, we know we have no right to demand to be fixed; however, humility before a  caring and loving God will help to improve our lives.  For the Christian this is not a     psychological trick but it is real power from a real relationship with a real God.   8. “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.”           This process reminds us all that we are responsible and that there are consequences when we choose to be irresponsible.  For sure this is not our favorite lesson to learn but is still an important step in dealing with reality.  “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.   First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24).  Jesus certainly wants us to offer gifts to God; but before God can and will accept them, we need to be right with others that God also has created.  In this way the Christian does fulfill the second of the two greatest  commandments of loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:39). 9.  “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”  Talking and saying nice words like “I’m sorry” are good, but ACTION is better.  The action helps to heal the brokenness that has existed.  Action    empowers the one who has given offense in the past.  It helps the offender to know that they can rise above where they have been in the past.  Zacchaeus was a sinner, and in his    repentance he restored what he had stolen fourfold (Luke 19:1-10).  This strengthened his resolve to live and do what is right. 10. “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”  Sobriety and the habit of the Christian to be sinning less is not a one-time deal, and you are done with it.  It is a lifestyle.  It is one where you know your limitations, and you also know you have some recourse when things get messed up.  You have some control again in life.  You are not just some miserable victim being unfairly tossed around by the events of life.  The alcoholic knows they cannot give in even once.  The Christian needs to develop this militancy toward sin.  Too often Christians are tolerant with their own sin problems. 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.”   Prayer is communication with God.  It is what an individual does when they have faith that there is a God who cares, and will hear and will help.  The Christian being a child of God has the privilege of calling God his Father.  Having been born again the way God tells him, the Christian has entered into a spiritual covenant with Him; and He sees us as His blood-bought children.  Communication with our ultimate support and others who are supportive always has to be worked on and can be improved. 12. “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”  When one comes to his senses, he become aware of the fact that God is available to help.  One needs then to receive a relationship with God on His terms.  Many feel they have a relationship with God, which is based on their feelings.  Our relationship with God is to be real.  For our relationship to be real, we must believe in what He says (Jn. 1:12).  We show we believe in Him and what He says by making it our business to know what His will is.  Christ tells us that we MUST be born (begotten) again of both water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:3-7).  As His child, life is found in fulfilling His will, which includes reaching out a helping hand to others who like ourselves have gone astray.  Life becomes ministry or service to others.