Link to this months newsletter:
| https://conta.cc/3SCzlaZ |
From Surviving to Thriving Through God's Word
On November 29, 1984 I made the most important decision in my entire life; I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
My life was unraveling at a fairly rapid pace. I became addicted to alcohol by the time I was 19 years old and soon thereafter became addicted to drugs. I was completely ignorant to the Christian life and began to live in what I would describe as “survival mode.” I really didn’t know what I could expect from the Lord and was absolutely clueless to the things that He expected of me. Gradually I learned some of the very basic principles of the Christian life and I began to grow, even if it was at a very slow pace.
These are some of the things I began to learn that the Lord still reminds me of today:
- That I was a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- That I have been set free from the bondage of sin (John 8:32,36)
- That sin shall no longer have dominion over me (Romans 6:14)
- That I have been set apart by God the day that I got saved and I am to grow day by day to be more like He desires for me to be and less like I have been (John 17:17, 2 Peter 3:18)
- That I now have a God given strategy for doing so (Romans 12:1,2).
As I look back over all these years I can see; what God has promised He has and continues to deliver. I have given my life to live in the trenches with others who have and are struggling with addiction. I have seen multitudes of people experience the same freedom that I have by following God’s strategy within God’s Word.
I have also seen over the years that our society continues to think that they have better methods than God does for a person to experience sobriety….I say that because sobriety is not always synonymous with freedom. I say respectfully but unapologetically that it is foolishness to think I can become free from drug addiction by doing other drugs whether they are prescribed or not. It makes as much sense as telling an alcoholic to switch the brand name of their alcohol in order to stop drinking. I say with a broken heart that more and more “treatment” options are popping up every day to profit from the adversity of the addicted. Yes, treatment costs money but money does not always result in treatment.
Jesus Christ simply says, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.”
True freedom is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the daily application of His Word.
If you are struggling with addiction find a place:
where the Bible is at the center of the solution
where Jesus Christ is the center of attention and
where love is the motive for helping.
