So Lionel finds out the first step…

Lionel as so many others do had an issue in an area of his life that was hindering his view of what life could really be like and he had come to my front porch to see what he could do.

It seemed that he had gone through a divorce that had caused him great pain.  The rejection he felt was constantly there and he had lost all hope at living a happy life but he didn’t want that to define his life any more.  Yes he had messed his marriage up and he couldn’t seem to straighten his life out.

So many people have areas in their life that cause them problems.  Look at this list.  Which ones are your problems?  Abuse - Alcohol/Drugs - Anger/Rage - Codependency - Divorce - Fear/Anxiety - Gambling - Grief - Guilt - Habit - - Hypochondria - Insecurity - Lying - Overeating - Overspending - Overworking - Perfectionism - Procrastination - Sexual Addictions - The Need To Control.  Many times one leads into another.  It seemed that Lionel’s divorce lead him into anger/rage, insecurity and hurtful relationships.  What about you? 

And that is where we need to start so that God can bring healing and recovery into your life.  But Lionel was having difficulty in admitting what his real problem was.  He wanted to blame instead of admit and that may be true of you.  But if you want help you have to admit that you have a problem.  So what is it? 

So why is it that we don't admit that we have a problem, that we're powerless to control our tendency to do the wrong thing and that our life is unmanageable?  What is the cause of our dishonesty?  The Bible says that the problem is that tendency within each one of us that was born into each of us, that tendency to do the wrong thing.

Every one of us came into this world as a sinner.  We all have built into us this tendency to do things that aren't good for us, to do them even when they are self-destructive and also to not do things that are good for us.

Lionel was having a problem with understanding this so I showed him what Paul in Roman's 7:15-17 (NLT) in the New Testament in the Bible said,  "I don't really understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it.  Instead, I do the very thing I hate.  I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong…but I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes be do evil things."

Is that where you live?  Does that basically say what is happening inside of you?  How you feel?  You first of all have to admit that you have a problem.

OK? OK…