This week's Midweek Meditation begins a series on the Fruits of the Spirit listed for us in Galatians 5:22-23. The first of the fruits listed in those verses is love. The kind of love discussed in this week's Midweek Meditation is the selfless, self-sacrificing, unconditional love God has shown to us in Christ. It is God's love for us that motivates us to show the same kind of love to one another.

King David uncovers the truth about his sin in Psalm 51. He also uncovers the truth about God's great mercy, love, and forgiveness and how God does not hold his sin against him.

As recovering addicts, we have the same assurance of God's forgiveness for us in Christ.

How easy would it be to relapse when life stresses you out and you're about to hit the panic button?

The Children of Israel were about to hit the panic button when they saw the Egyptians pursuing them out of Egypt. Listen to what Moses says to them and us when life stresses us out.

Speaking to others about our faith in Jesus is a natural result of our faith in Jesus. Likewise, speaking about the blessings of sobriety to another addict suffering in addiction is a natural result of achieving sobriety with God's help. As Christians who are also recovering addicts, let's take the good news of Salvation won for us in Christ and the message of the blessings of sobriety to those who need to hear it.

It doesn't matter if we're an addict or not. Life can be exhausting. Life is certainly physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting, but it's also spiritually exhausting. Where do we find spiritual rest for our weak and weary faith? Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30.

The 11th Step encourages people in recovery from addiction to pray to improve conscious contact with God. What does that mean in the context of Scripture? Prayer by itself won't strengthen our faith in God because prayer is us talking to God. We get far more benefit from prayer as the natural result of hearing and spending time in God's Word where he reveals Himself to us and reveals His plan of salvation through Christ.

The first episode of Recovery Under the Cross is mentioned. If you haven't listened to the first episode, here's the link.

Resisting temptation is difficult at best, and often times impossible. Our sinful nature gives into temptation so easily, and so naturally. This week we see how a young man who was sold into slavery in Egypt resisted temptation and called what his master's wife wanted him to do as a great sin against God.

May God work in us the desire to say, "NO!" to temptation like Joseph did to Potiphar's wife.

Step 10 gets into the maintenance steps. While Step 10 advises taking continued personal inventory and admitting when we're wrong, Christians do that through repentance as part of denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, and following Jesus.

Taking up our cross on a daily basis and following Jesus flies in the face of what the world wants us to do. Following Jesus isn't without earthly hardship and persecution. It's the Heavenly reward Jesus won for us that keeps us motivated to follow him.