Living Waters Fellowship
Christian Beliefs
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Salvation Through Christ
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 NIV
We believe God reaches out to the repentant with accepting and pardoning love. We are, through faith, forgiven our sin and restored to God’s favor. This righting of relationships by God through Christ calls forth our faith and trust as we experience regeneration; we are made new creatures in Christ.
Through the grace of Jesus Christ, conversion marks a new beginning, yet, it is part of an ongoing development of Christian Grace. We can expect to receive assurance of our present salvation as the Spirit “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
God’s Word
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:1-2 NIV
We share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the source and criterion for Christian beliefs. Through Scripture, the living Christ meets us in the experience of redeeming grace.
We are convinced that the living Christ is manifest in the Scripture, and therefore, he is in our midst and becomes the basis for our trust in the redemptive power of God.
We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world.
God’s Place In History
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 NIV
We believe human history reveals God’s Spirit in the ongoing act of transforming human life. It is confidence in the continued unfolding of God’s grace which sustains our faith and strengthens our commitment to carry out God’s commandments and therefore, be vehicles and expressions of Christ’s love.
God’s Relationship To Man
For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
Romans 3:23
We rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God’s commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves. We accept lies as truth and we exploit neighbor and nature.
We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet, God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. God’s grace awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.
In life and death we belong to God.
Human Understanding
However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
I Corinthians 2:9-10
We accept the limitations of reason and understand that much of our understanding about life’s experience is seen through a dark glass but we trust in the progressive revelation of God’s plan for our own lives and for all of God’s creation.
Although we recognize that God’s revelation and our experiences of God’s grace continually surpass the scope of human language and reason, we also believe that a disciplined theology calls for the careful use of reason. By reason we read and interpret Scripture. By reason we determine whether our Christian witness is clear. By reason, we ask questions of faith and seek to understand God’s action and will.
The Relationship Of Faith And Good Works
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
We believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow the Salvation experience.
We believe service to the world is ordained by God. Love of God is linked with love of our neighbor; God’s love is reflected to a hurting world through the Christian light and through the specific obedience of the believer to carry out God’s commandment to love our neighbor.
Our faith and obedience to Jesus is the basis for our social conscience. It is God’s love expressed through believers that is the basis for renewal in the life of the community.
The Presence Of Evil
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Psalm 13:5 NIV
Certain dimensions of human experience test and strain our human and limited ability to fully understand. Often, our theology is tested when confronted with stark reality. The Christian will honestly address and confront issues which require serious theological reflection. Difficult questions about the nature of existence must be viewed in the light and presence of God’s immanent love. A new awareness of such experiences can inform our appreciation of the good news of the kingdom of God.
Ultimately, through it all, in the midst of our questioning hearts, we trust in God’s unwavering justice and trust in His eternal love as expressed in God’s persistent and unequivocal call for the return of his own.
God the Father
One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
— Ephesians 4:6 NIV
- We trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, preserver of all things.
- We trust in God, whom Jesus called Father.
- In love, God created the world and makes everyone equal in God’s image; male and female of every race and people to live as one community.
- We believe in the one true, Holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible.
- We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable.
Jesus Christ
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 NIV
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffered the depths of human pain and gave his life for the sins of the world. God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicated his sinless life, broke the power of sin and evil, and delivered us from death to life eternal.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
— John 1:17 NIV
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preached good news to the poor; released those held spiritually captive; taught by word and deed; blessed the children; healed the sick; mended the brokenhearted; ate with outcasts; forgave sinners, and called all to repent and believe the Gospel.
- We believe in Jesus Christ, both God and man.
- He reveals the divine and human natures as perfectly and inseparably united.
- He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- He lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father.
- He will come again.
- He is both Savior and Mediator who intercedes for us.
The Holy Spirit
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
— Romans 5:5 NIV
- We believe in the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father and the Son.
- We trust in God the Holy Spirit and believe in the manifestations of the Gifts of the Spirit.
- We believe the Fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives.
- The Holy Spirit leads men to find the truth in the gospel and leads them into Christian fellowship.
- He comforts and sustains the believer.
- He provides the power to carry out God’s plan for each life.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
— I Corinthians 12:4-6 NIV
Gifts of the Spirit
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Miraculous powers
- Prophecy
- Distinguishing between spirits
- Speaking in different kinds of tongues
- Interpretation of tongues
Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying of each other.
— Galatians 5:25-26 NIV
Fruit of the Spirit
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-Control
Statement of Christian Faith
Eternal Awakenings believes that the Christian message is an age old message that brings hope, help and healing for a new day.
A few words from Jim Welch
I have over 43 years of experience in the field of Drug Addiction Treatment in the State of Texas.*
As Christians, we hold the firm belief that there is a BETTER way for our lives to impact those suffering from drug addiction. Though we come from different traditions and have had different experiences, we firmly agree that God can and does provide healing and wholeness to those experiencing the destructive power of drug addiction.
We share our firm Christian beliefs in God the Father, the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Eternal Awakening’s counselors are competent, caring, Christians. We lead those suffering from alcohol and drug addiction down their path to recovery with Christian principles as reflected in the dynamic message of the Gospel and in the Christian Twelve Steps.
The Christian message tells of transformation
Transformation from hopelessness to hope, from chaos to order, from confusion to clarity, from despair to joy!
*Please note that Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Addiction Treatment Program is exclusively religious in nature and is not subject to licensure or regulation by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.