Addiction

Romans 8:38-39 – A Hope For The Addicted
Recently, my childhood friend commemorated the 10 year anniversary of her husband’s death. He fought a long battle with substance abuse and, tragically, it consumed him. Whether it’s food, shopping, social media, pornography, substances, etc., many of us have loved (and sometimes lost) someone with addiction. In fact, so many of us struggle with addiction, that this struggle is a conversation Christians must have continually with ourselves, and with those around us.

I wonder if perhaps at the core of addiction we feel that we are unworthy of God’s love, and we either don’t understand or have lost faith in His power. Perhaps we never understood our true identity, or have forgotten it, and we feel lost in the storm. Caught in this struggle, we fight feelings of inadequacy, doubt, pain and worthlessness. We continually chase after our addiction, hoping that it will assuage our fears and pain. Believing that somehow we can overcome on our own, or that we’ll only give in “one last time-then I’m done for good”, we are often unable to fight the urges. In the following moments of self-loathing and defeat, we set up a firmer foundation to return to the addiction to fight the pain. And so the spiral goes, and with each turn the Enemy has us believing a LIE.

We must remember some important verses, a few among many, when we consider this topic.

“..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Beloved, God knows your struggle and He loves you anyway. He always has. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God if you will seek Him. Please don’t give up.

If you, or anyone you know, are struggling with addictions, please do the following:

Tell someone: We are never more vulnerable to the influence of darkness than when we are alone. Don’t be afraid to tell someone you can trust about your struggle.
Get help: Whatever your struggle, there IS a way to fight it. You need help to truly heal; don’t hesitate to get the support you need to recover.
Pray continually: Prayer can lift you out of darkness and into an abundant life. God is mighty to save you and He can and will help you rebuild if you will seek Him.
Help others: There is no greater way to encourage yourself, to get perspective and to open up your heart in humility, than helping those in need

A must read

Luke 9:57-62 – Comfort or Calling
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62 ESV)

Every day is full of decisions…

wake up or hit the snooze button,
whole grain cereal or pop tarts,
dress for comfort or for style,
go to the gym or take a nap,
turn on the TV or read a book?

In fact, life is full of decisions and some of these decisions will determine the course of our life. Who will I marry? Where will I work? Where will I live? For many of us in America our decisions will be determined by one concern: COMFORT.

Two thousand years ago those who wanted to follow Jesus faced a similar dilemma. Read today’s Bible verses again. These men and women wore confronted by Jesus and had life decisions to make for him.

Many of us, when we first embraced a relationship with Jesus had the attitude, “I will follow you wherever you go.” That is until we realized His call on our life could lead us to places we’d never expected to go and cost us more than we’d ever expected to sacrifice. There’s nothing comfortable about Jesus’ challenge to these would be followers in Luke 9. There’s nothing comfortable about Jesus’ calling on our lives today. The decision remains the same: will we choose our comfort or God’s calling?

In what areas of your life are your struggling with choosing comfort over what God is calling you to do? What specific steps of faith and sacrifice is He calling you to take?

Question

What is the difference between prejudice and racism? If any..

It's been a while

2 Chronicles 12:1 – The Superman Complex

When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. (2 Chronicles 12:1 ESV)

There are few things better than when your life comes together. Your relationships are good, your job is going well, you’re faithfully reading your Bible and the sin you’ve struggled with seems distant. There are seasons where our lives feel good, we are grounded in our faith and bumps in our “spiritual road” don’t bother us much. Eventually, however, we will find ourselves discouraged. This happens for many reasons and it’s often because we begin to pull away from God, believing that we need Him less. The small bumps in the road seem to suddenly turn into massive potholes.

Rehoboam is a perfect example of this. As God blessed him and the people of Israel, they became over-confident and arrogant as King Uzziah was (2 Chronicles 26:16). We, the Lord’s people, forget Him and His blessings, and start to rely on ourselves. We overestimate our own strength; acting as though we are our own Superman, and as though we can tackle anything alone. We essentially abandon God for what we think is the best for us. Apart from God, we falter.

However, this doesn’t have to happen! Creating consistency in our faith by intentionally remaining in fellowship with God and His people can steady us. As we hit our stride and things begin to click, remember to thank the One who has brought you to this place of consistency. If there is a steady stream of thanks and praise coming from our mouths and minds, we will seldom forget the One who is our Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6). We will not again begin the errant Superman complex, but will remember that all good comes from Him, and not us.

Are you in a season of consistency and strength? Thank God for authoring it today and come alongside others to bolster them in the Lord

Goon flag football planning meeting this morning at 8am-10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ULopfMGpr4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXOMgg_nMro&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Tuesday 1/11

New Living Translation

Declare me innocent, O God! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars.

Last minute thought

68 Milliseconds.

The average time it takes for the human brain to react.
The time it takes for what is inside of you to come out.
A clenched fist or a prayer of surrender.
A complacent ear or an obedient heart.
Fear of the world or compassion for its people.
What is in you will come out so...

Let the Word dwell in your heart.

This is for me

Psalm 4:4-5 – Angry, Yes. Sinning, No.
Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. (Psalm 4:4-5 ESV)

We are not called to a state of pulse-less passivity, no longer in possession of a backbone, lying down as our neighbor’s doormat. We live as people, redeemed people, but humans nonetheless. We feel the entire spectrum of God created emotion: sorrow and happiness, peace and discontent, love and disdain, fear, anger, and even more. David knew this, and we have numerous Psalms to prove it.

A man who lived well after David penned this fourth Psalm felt these many emotions. Nehemiah, after dedicating the rebuilt wall of Jerusalem and completing an almost insurmountable task, left the city on business with King Artaxerxes. Upon his return he found the leadership had forsaken the Lord and was permitting unbelievers to live “in the courts of the house of God” (Nehemiah 13:7). Nehemiah’s response: “I was very angry” (Nehemiah 13:8). He even went on to threaten that if these people continued sinning he would “lay hands” on them (Nehemiah 13:21), and not in prayer! There is then a righteous anger that should exist in the heart of the redeemed. As with Jesus’ anger toward the money changers (John 2:15), and Paul’s anger toward false teachers (Galatians 5:12).

Anger is a right response to evil and injustice. It is a fine line however, between anger and hatred; deep seated resentment leads to hatred, and goes well beyond anger. So “be angry, and do not sin”, remembering that “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20).

Examine the things in your life that bring you anger and test them against scripture. Are they rooted in hatred or a righteous heart?

For you

Isaiah 43:2 – Growing Pains
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2, ESV)

Endurance. Perseverance. We hear these words, but usually we secretly hope we never have to exercise these spiritual muscles. We face a myriad of problems in life, usually involving loss of some sort. How we handle that will determine whether our faith strengthens or fades. We can sound lofty and idyllic all we want, but if we fade with the coming of trials, all our speech is for naught.

The really hard trials, the loss of a child, a terminal disease, prolonged unemployment, the loss of one’s home, etc. These things can break us, but that is not always bad. When we are truly broken, we find we are not enough in ourselves to make it through. It is at that moment that we either let bitterness and depression get a foothold, or cry out to God for help, which He is always faithful to give. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:4 ESV)

God may not always change our circumstances, but has promised to see us through and never leave us. At first this can seem like little comfort and help, but as we grow and mature, we see the true gift that it is. Quietly trusting, even when our hearts are absolutely breaking, will bring us through to the other side with a confidence in our God that we had not before experienced. Which leads to greater faith for whatever comes. We are strengthened, with an unshakable belief that God will never fail us, which enables us to minister to those around us. Literally being a trail blazer to another sojourner in need of a scout to show the way.

I pray that we all experience this kind of intimacy with the Savior, resulting in an even closer bond with the One who is Everything.

First monday 2014

"Then Solomon said, 'My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD told him, "You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me."'"

1 Kings 8:17–19

View in Context...

Encouragement for Today

David truly wanted to honor God by building a Temple in Jerusalem, but it wasn't in God's plan for David to be the builder of the Temple. Even though David's motives were pure, his plans were thwarted. The same can be true for us today. Don't be discouraged if your good intentions don't always end up the way you envisioned them. Instead, celebrate the ministry you do have and encourage others to share in your vision of great things. Perhaps God has placed a person in your life who is perfectly suited to see your ideas come to life.