Curriculum

Hebrews 8:3-5

And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law. They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” (NLT)

My friend had emphasized the absolute necessity of demonstrating these principles in all my affairs. Particularly was it imperative to work with others as he had worked with me. Faith without works was dead, he said. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 14)

Patterns,
rules,
recipes,
curriculum —
tough as heck for me
to follow – I can’t teach
a lesson plan I wrote myself!
Principles,
proposals,
suggestions,
Steps —
I want to follow, want to realize
the absolute necessity, the imperatives.
But I can’t teach
a lesson plan I wrote myself,
can’t cook with exactly the ingredients
written down.
I know I need to read, to listen, to accept, to surrender.
But that’s so tough.
I can’t teach my own curriculum.

God who made the pattern,
give me the fortitude to follow it!

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Amazing!

Hebrews 8:1-2

Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. (NLT)

“The wars which had been fought, the burnings and chicanery that religious dispute had facilitated, made me sick. I honestly doubted whether, on balance, the religions of mankind had done any good. Judging from what I had seen in Europe and since, the power of God in human affairs was negligible, the Brotherhood of Man a grim jest. If there was a Devil, he seemed the Boss Universal, and he certainly had me.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 11)

Heaven – high above,
distant, apart, away.
The antithesis of Earth,
Nothing in common with wars,
burnings, chicanery.
Negligible connections.
Heaven – nothing to do
with life on Earth —
except everything!
What love, what grace
pulls even a thought
from perfection
to chicanery, to squalor,
to me?

Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Until We Want Him Enough

(Note: I've been busy, have written several more, through the end of Hebrews 7. I haven't been conveniently able to post here, though, so instead of besieging you with a slew of posts, I'll skip them. And I'll tell you when they're published in a book.)

Hebrews 7:26-28

He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever. (NLT)

Thus was I convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want Him enough. At long last I saw, I felt, I believed. Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes. A new world came into view. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 12)

When we want him enough!?
How much more could I want him —
I begged, pleaded, bartered,
ranted, raged, rebelled,
ignored, cadged, beseeched,
supplicated,
pestered,
sacrificed for,
badmouthed —
I sought him every way I could.
It didn’t work.
Until pride and prejudice sloughed off,
until I wanted him badly enough
to give up.

God, show me so I can see,
touch me so I can feel,
love me until I believe.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Melchizedek? GUS? Shostakovich!

Hebrews 7:1-3

This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God. (NLT)

“Much to our relief, we discovered we did not need to consider another's conception of God. Our own conception, however inadequate, was sufficient to make the approach and to effect a contact with Him. As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative Intelligence, A Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 46)

“Howard,” Howard be thy name,
“GUS,” guy upstairs,
“Charlie,”
“The Universe,”
“Mother Nature,
“The Great Spirit.”
Melchizedek?
Makes me think of the teacher
whose swear word was
Shostakovich, the Russian
composer.
A rose by any other name,
God is God,
either is or is not,
but is.
Salem. Jerusalem to us.
Holy is holy is holy.
We’re all walking on
holy ground.
Take off your shoes,
and get comfortable with
the power greater than all
power.

God of no beginning, no end,
no limits to power
or to love,
thank you for loving me!

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Rigorous Honesty

Hebrews 6:18-20

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. (NLT)

“Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 65)

It’s impossible for God
to lie.
Well, I’m better at that than
God – if being able to is better
but it’s not. I know.
I’ve lived that life, lived that lie.
I don’t want to ever return there.
Honesty is the anchor,
the key to God’s inner sanctuary,
and I’m welcome there!
God wants my honesty,
my soul laid bare before him,
he knows my secrets,
loves me anyway,
and sends me people
who incarnate
such love.

God, make me honest with you,
with others,
and with myself.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Not God

Hebrews 6:13-17

When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. (NIV)

“Here are thousands of men and women, worldly indeed. They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking. In the face of collapse and despair, in the face of total failure of their human resources, they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction flowed into them. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 50)

Funny.
You have to believe
there’s a god
and you’re not it.
Unless you’re God.
But I’m not.
I can’t swear on me
’cause I can’t deliver
but thank God, I don’t need to.
I show up, suit up,
do what God says,
and leave the results to him.
Works for me.
Yeah! It works for me.

God, relieve me of the bondage of self
that I may better do your will.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Trust God, Clean House

Hebrews 6:9-12

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (NIV)

“Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 98)

The only condition
has an “and” in it.
But a cynical analytical attitude isn’t the one
that gets God trusted and the house clean.
We are not to be lazy
but imitate those
who got where we want to be,
who have recovery.
Act as if and it will be.
Diligence to the end,
clean house.
It’s not just, “Let go
and
let God” —
not if I expect God to
work in the background
on auto.
I have to be there, willing
to know his will,
willing for the power
to carry it out.

God, teach me to believe.
Give me diligence and a spirit of surrender.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Thorns and Thistles

Hebrews 6:7-8

When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it. (NLT)

“We find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. To spend too much time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an opportunity to live and be happy." (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 96)

Let me love him
until he can love himself.
But convince me I can’t save him,
can’t pull him to joy, to peace,
can’t push him to right thinking,
can’t help him
because I decide to.
When he’s stuck in thorns
and thistles,
I make it worse
when I try to pull him out.
I do best if I let the thorns
and thistles burn out.

God, stop me when kindness intended
is damage inflicted.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

If They Fall Away

Hebrews 6:4-6

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (NIV)

“Then he fell victim to a belief which practically every alcoholic has – that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle. In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. He tried to regulate his drinking for a while, making several trips to the hospital meantime. Then, gathering all his forces, he attempted to stop altogether and found he could not.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 32)

Recovery – so glorious,
the most important thing in my life
joy beyond joy, peace beyond peace.
New vistas open, new challenges,
courage enhanced by program,
I move forward.
Reading? Meditation?
Calls? Meetings?
Sure. So very important —
but first I must…
then there’s…
Recovery – so glorious.
How did it slip away?
Why can’t I pull it back?
I’ve tasted the manna from heaven.
Where did it go?
I’m powerless.

God, all things are possible
for you. Thanks for reeling me back in.
I pray for those standing at the doors,
wanting back in. Give them the courage to ask.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Beyond the Baby Pool

Hebrews 6:1-3

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. (NLT)

“Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 63-64)

Ah, the recovery waltz,
one, two, three, oops,
one, two, three, oops.
Important Steps, to be sure,
but the first three
feel safer, less exposed, kinder
than the road ahead.
So we linger, cover fundamentals
again and another time.
We risk, though,
blocking ourselves,
cut off
from the sunlight of the spirit.
When we move on to
further understanding,
we’re closer still to
promises
fulfilled.

God, give me the courage to face my fears,
to move to what seems treacherous ground,
knowing you hold my hand on the walk
to bliss.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Growing Up

Hebrews 5:13-14

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (NIV)

“If the family will appreciate that dad's current behavior is but a phase of his development, all will be well. In the midst of an understanding and sympathetic family, these vagaries of dad's spiritual infancy will quickly disappear.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 129)

How dark is the glass
I look through?
Do I speak as a child,
understand as a child,
reason as a child?
A wise woman used to say
the trouble with people being
born again
is they stay there and
never grow up.

God, make me an old-timer
in the rooms of recovery
one day at a time.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

You are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen.

Hebrews 5:11-12

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. (NLT)

“So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of the selfishness. We must, or it kills us!” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 62)

The Shoe Department
of recovery.
The Slippers, the Sneakers,
and the Loafers.
It’s a simple program,
not easy.
You have to WORK
the Steps,
to practice these principles
in all your affairs.
Stop directing the play,
look at yourself, the only person you can
change,
and do – by stopping trying,
by surrender.
Then you can learn.

God, remind me to listen to me
when I say such things
and to you all the time.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Public or Private?

Hebrews 5:7-10

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. (NIV)

“I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness within. Common sense would thus become uncommon sense. I was to sit quietly when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my problems as He would have me. Never was I to pray for myself, except as my requests bore on my usefulness to others. Then only might I expect to receive. But that would be in great measure.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 13)

Funny. Didn’t Jesus say public prayers
were their own reward,
private ones mattered?
You reckon he ranted to God in private?
Reverent submission, not public display.
What anybody else thinks of me
is none of my business.
Hum. I guess those at the bottom of the page
don’t matter. They’re real prayers when I type,
maybe public displays later.
Made perfect, he became the source
of eternal salvation.
Made sane,
I can become the source
of salvation from insanity
for those who see him through me.

God, let the words of my mouth – or keyboard –
and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Melchizedek and Ebby

Hebrews 5:4-6

And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,

“You are my Son.


Today I have become your Father.”

And in another passage God said to him,

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” (NLT)

“You will be most successful with alcoholics if you do not exhibit any passion for crusade or reform. Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for his inspection. Show him how they worked with you. Offer him friendship and fellowship. Tell him that if he wants to get well you will do anything to help.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 95)

God doesn’t choose the qualified,
he qualifies the chosen.
Of myself, I’m nothing, powerless.
Powerless over what I put in my body,
powerless over my family,
powerless over my future,
powerless to carry the message.
Like Melchizedek for Abraham,
Ebby for Bill,
I may be a ship in the night,
forgotten but for how God used me
to touch a life.
That’s fine with me.
God help me, though, if
the call is to be Abraham or Bill!
But like Isaiah, I stand on holy ground
and say, “I’m here, God. Use me.”

I’m here, God. Use me.
And qualify me for the call.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.