Purity 372 03/22/2021 Purity 372 Podcast
Good morning.
The changing of the
seasons can be a time for new starts and leaving the regrets of the past behind. It’s Monday so whatever regrets we have
concerning the past weekend, week, month, season, or year can be left behind as
we set our sights on the work at hand and the days ahead.
Six years ago, I woke up
on the 22nd of March with serious regrets. Although I had decided to go into recovery
and was walking strong two weeks prior, I had succumbed to the pressures of my
old habits because of a relationship I was placed in an environment where my
resolve and will power seemed utterly pointless. So because I was “in Rome”, I
enthusiastically relapsed with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes too!
But that morning after, the
only thing I was enthusiastic about was never doing it again. I learned that I was powerless over my
addiction in my own strength and that the only way I was going to be able to
succeed was by placing my faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirt to
lead me out of the darkness of a life defined by emotional turmoil, brokenness,
and addiction.
Amazingly, that’s what I
did. By surrendering myself to God’s will for my life, it has been six years
since that morning after and I have overcome my lifelong addictions to drugs
and alcohol, and cigarettes too! It was only by the power that God gave me that
not only led me out of addiction but has also led me out of a broken
relationship defined by dysfunction to establish a home for me and my kids
where there are no drugs and no alcohol, only peace.
So, I’m here encourage
you this Monday morning. There is
nothing and no one that can stop you from becoming the person God created you
to be.
If you place your faith in
Jesus Christ and follow where the Holy Spirit leads you, you can overcome
because with God nothing is impossible.
(An Audio version of this message is available
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, you
can also find it on Apple podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154) and
Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D).)
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This morning’s meditation
verse is:
Philippians
4:6 (NKJV)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God;
Considering my six-year milestone of sobriety, today’s verse is highly appropriate.
This verse speaks of setting aside our worries and anxiety and trusting in God. We can do this when surrender to be His children and make a commitment to live our lives following Him. When we realize that we are securely held in His hand and that even in the worst-case scenarios that we may face, He will never leave us or forsake us, we can stop worrying.
I love its advice to not only make prayers and supplications to God but to do so “in everything”. Our prayer life is supposed to be our continuous conversation with God that builds our relationship with Him.
And when we realize that we have total security and this intimate relationship with God Himself, there is no way we could fail to follow this verse’s instruction to bring our prayers with thanksgiving.
Every morning I thank the Lord for another day in His kingdom before I get out of bed. Every morning I thank God for my life and for what He has provided and for what He has brought me through.
A continuous practice of gratitude is a foundational practice of a discipled life and it lays the foundation for joy and peace every day.
So, lay your anxieties aside. Thank the Lord for who He is and for what He has done. Pray to Him to tell Him what you are going through and to request what you need. He loves you. He cares for you. And He will show you the way to go.
Keep walking and talking with God.
I invite all to mt4chritst.org where I always share
insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters
in Christ with their walk.
Today we will share from Dr. June Hunt’s Biblical Counseling Keys on “Alcohol
& Drug Abuse: Breaking Free & Staying Free.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase Dr. Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work:
B. What Are the Warning Signs of Substance Abuse?
On the day Josh is drafted, the team's scout comments on why he was chosen:.
"I think character may have been the final determining factor. You read so
many bad things about professional athletes, but I don't think you ever will
about Josh."
But then... a dump truck speeds through a red light and almost destroys
Josh's hopes and dreams. The devastating blow results in twisted metal and a
twisted back. Josh had been on the smooth road to success — drafted by Tampa
Bay with a record signing bonus of almost $4 million ... dubbed the top major
league prospect in the minors — but the accident sidelines the 19-year-old with
lingering back problems.
Josh lands on the team's disabled list for a month and other sports-related
injuries are quick to follow, keeping the star off the baseball diamond more
than on it. Separated from his parents and hampered by injury, Josh recalls,
"The two things that I really knew in life, baseball and my parents, were
taken away from me at the same time."
The one-two punch sends Josh reeling, and before long the warning signs of
substance abuse surface. At least four failed drug tests ... and eight trips to
rehab follow.
Job experienced similar losses. Life was good, then came one crushing blow
after another. ...
"And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me. Night pierces
my bones; my gnawing pains never rest."
(Job 30:16-17)
In the midst of stressful circumstances, when do certain characteristics
become signs of an addiction? For a substance abuser, a combination of many
symptoms can be observed — symptoms that fall into all five of these
categories: emotional, physical, behavioral, relational,
and spiritual.
Emotional
|
|
Because Jesus cares about our hearts, He gives us these words of warning ...
"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing,
drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly
like a trap."
(Luke 21:34)
Physical
|
|
The Bible describes those who are addicted as those who have sorrow in their
hearts. ...
"Who has woe? Who has sorrow?...Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who
linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine."
(Proverbs
23:29-30)
Behavioral
|
|
Many
a person has made an alliance with an addiction. God issues this warning to
those who make choices that are contrary to His will for their lives ...
"'Woe to the obstinate children,' declares the Lord, 'to those who carry out plans that
are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon
sin....'"
(Isaiah 30:1)
Relational
|
|
All
close relationships are harmed when anyone struggles with an addiction. The
Bible describes the warning signs of an abuser. ...
"This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us.
He is a glutton and a drunkard."
(Deuteronomy 21:20)
Spiritual
|
|
The Lord describes those who choose to turn away from Him and choose "new
wine."...
"They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds.
... appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from
me."
(Hosea 7:14)
Biblical Counseling Keys - Biblical Counseling Keys – Biblical Counseling Keys:
Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Breaking Free & Staying Free.
----------------------------more tomorrow-------------------------
God bless you all!
Join our
Victory over the Darkness Discipleship Class via the mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154) and Google podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL210NGNocmlzdDI0Ny9mZWVkLnhtbA%3D%3D
Email me
at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be
encouraged.
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