Purity 384 04/05/2021 Purity 384 Podcast
Good morning.
As much as we may dread
the end of the weekend and the special time to enjoy the company of our friends
and family around such a joyous occasion, sometimes its just a great relief to
leave the pageantry and hoopla behind and get back to our normal routines.
Sometimes in our
celebrations and mini vacations around the holidays, we abandon our routines
that were put in place for a reason and overindulge in things that would
normally be abstained from.
While I didn’t lose all
my senses and jump back into addictive substances of years gone by, my
self-awareness did reveal that I have a real problem with “Reese’s Peanut Butter
Eggs” which acted as a “gateway drug” to other sugar filled treats!
So I’m glad the holiday weekend
is over! It is my hope that I can leave my
“chocoholism” behind and not look back as one of my goals is to establish a
lifestyle of health that is complimented by making wise choices when it comes
to food.
This weekend there were
many references to Christ’s pronouncement that “It is finished” when He died on
the cross. Jesus’s words are absolutely
true of course. His work on the cross did pay for our sins and was the means by
which we could be forgiven and have his righteousness imputed to us when we put
our faith in Him.
But the resurrection
points to the new life that we have in Him and while we can take great comfort in
the fact that “it is finished” in one sense, it’s not over yet in another
sense.
Christ saves us where we
are, but it doesn’t mean that He necessarily wants us to stay there. When I put my faith in Christ, my life was
consumed with addictions and other sins that were clearly outside of the boundaries
of a Christian life. While I could have rested on the fact that “it is finished”,
God called me to repentance and amazingly, after a few years of confusion and
deeper levels of darkness, I answered the call and decided to trust God to lead
me out of the shadows.
You have no idea how
dark your life is until you decide to walk into the light. And as benign and
harmless as “Reese Peanut Butter Eggs” may seem, that spirit of seeking comfort
from substances instead of from God, reminded me of the dark days of the past
and the fact that the world is full of temptations whose purpose is to pull us
away from our relationship with God and the revelation of the truth that we
have received.
So, I am excited that
the Christian holiday season is officially over and although “it is finished”,
our commitment to living a Christian life has truly just begun as we enter the spiritual
“no man’s land” of the rest of the year where there are virtually no compulsory
Christian holidays until we sing “Silent Night” again in December.
The question is “Will
you attempt to crucify the flesh, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus” or will
you go silent in your proclamations of faith and slowly slip into the darkness
and compromise of a world system that is designed to quench the fire that the
Holy Spirit has given you.
I know I was thrilled after
my salvation and was content to sit in the joy of the shadow of the cross but
the Lord didn’t call us to life so we could just sit there. He called us to
life to progressively put away our personal darkness and to shine the light
that gives glory to God for the rest of the world to see.
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This morning’s meditation
verse is:
2
Corinthians 9:7 (NKJV)
7 So let each one give
as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a
cheerful giver.
Today’s verse is
often used to encourage Christians to fulfill their duty to invest in their
local church body with their tithes and offerings. While our financial contributions to the
local assembly are a blessing that keeps on giving, the enemy, that original
spirit of rebellion embodied in Satan Himself, uses the call for tithes and offerings
to turn people away from the church, making it easy to make accusations that “the
church only wants your money”.
This verse can
also be used by the legalist to impose a standard of giving that fuels the
fires of disunity and self-righteousness at the same time.
So I will
choose to tread lightly as I attempt to encourage us all to give.
Everyone has
different situations that they are living under and may not have the means or
spiritual maturity to be in a position to give as they would like to.
The key, I
think, to this verse is to look at the spirit with which we are called to give.
“So let each
one give as he purposes in his heart” indicates that there is not a one size
fits all standard for giving that we must meet and that the call to give is
highly personal to each individual. The
following phrases to give “not grudgingly or of necessity” supports this
principle that we should seek to give from our hearts rather than out of a
commandment for “God loves a cheerful giver”.
I would also highlight
that God doesn’t need your finances. He’s God, He owns everything and is the Great
Provider. We can’t pay off God for all
that He has given us. Instead of your dollars and cents, He would undoubtedly
prefer that you give Him your hearts.
Giving our
time, attention, service, honor, glory, and love to God through our faith and
relationship with Him is the means through which we can grow to become a cheerful
giver. When we grow closer to Him, we
will discover that there is nothing that we won’t freely give to Him for His
purposes.
So give
yourself to God and all that He calls you to do. As you continue to walk in the
Spirit, you will experience the fruit of the Spirit of joy that makes cheerful
giving a real possibility.
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:
G. How to Conduct a Crisis Intervention... with the One Addicted
Perhaps the most powerful act on behalf of a substance abuser is a crisis
intervention — it is effective 80% of the time. And the most powerful
aspect of a crisis intervention is the group dynamic — there is strength in
numbers! When people individually try to stop an addict's behavior their
appeals usually fall on deaf ears. (This was the case for Josh Hamilton, with
family members virtually losing all hope for recovery.)
Individually, concerned loved ones can be powerless — as a group, they
become powerful. A group can be empowered and used by God to move the seemingly
immovable. God's Word lays out the blueprint for such an intervention. ...
"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just
between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if
they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may
be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'"
(Matthew
18:15-16)
As you contemplate a crisis intervention ...
- Pray
for wisdom and understanding from the Lord.
"The
Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth
come knowledge and understanding"
(Proverbs 2:6).
- Educate
yourself regarding crisis intervention programs. Attend meetings on
chemical dependency (for example, Overcomers Outreach, Alcoholics
Anonymous, Al-Anon, and Narcotics Anonymous). Read materials on
intervention and visit treatment facilities.
"The
heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it
out" (Proverbs 18:15).
- Call
a counseling office and request a referral to a Christian leader trained
in intervention procedures.
"Plans
fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed" (Proverbs 15:22).
- Meet
with an intervention specialist, if possible, to plan the approach.
Discuss treatment program options, preadmission plans, procedures,
insurance, and the impact of treatment on the addict's employment.
"Listen
to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the
wise" (Proverbs 19:20).
- Enlist
the aid of key people who have been affected by the addict's harmful
behavior and are willing to confront (caring family members, friends,
coworkers, a doctor, employer, spiritual leader).
"A
truthful witness saves lives ..."
(Proverbs 14:25).
- Hold
a first meeting, in absolute confidentiality and without the addict
present, in which these key people rehearse (if possible with the trained
leader) what they will say, how they will say it, and the
order in which they will speak when confronting.
"Better
is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted ..." (Proverbs 27:5-6).
- Hold
a second meeting, this time with the addict present, where each key
confronter, one at a time, communicates genuine care for the addict and
shares the rehearsed confrontations (The Six Ps of an Appeal).
"The
soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the
spirit" (Proverbs 15:4).
The Six Ps of an Appeal
- The
Personal
Affirm rather than attack.
o — "I want you to know how much I care about you
(or love you) and how terribly concerned I am about you."
"Do
not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful
for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who
listen" (Ephesians 4:29).
- The
Past
Give a recent, specific example describing the
addict's negative behavior and the personal impact it had on you.
o — "Dad, last night I felt so embarrassed and
humiliated when you slurred your speech in front of my friend."
"An
honest witness tells the truth ..."
(Proverbs 12:17).
- Be
brief, keeping examples to three or four sentences.
"The
one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding
is even-tempered" (Proverbs 17:27).
- The
Pain
Emphasize the painful impact the addict's behavior
has had on you. Use "I" statements.
o — "I was devastated and deeply hurt because of
the way you yelled at me."
"The
hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote
instruction" (Proverbs 16:23).
- The
Plea
Make a personal plea for your loved one to receive
treatment.
o — "I plead with you to get the help you need to
overcome your addiction. If you are willing, you will have my help and my
deepest respect."
"The
tongue has the power of life and death ..." (Proverbs 18:21).
- The
Plan
Be prepared to implement an immediate plan if
treatment is agreed on.
o — "Your bags have been packed, and you have been
accepted into the treatment program at .
"Rescue
those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If
you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart
perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay
everyone according to what they have done?" (Proverbs 24:11-12).
- The
Price
If the agreement is refused, detail the
repercussions.
o — "We cannot allow you to come home or to be with
our family until you have been clean and sober for (name a specific period
of time )"
"Stern
discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will
die" (Proverbs 15:10).
The Don'ts of Dialogue
We can be on the side of right, yet our actions can be wrong.
Many times we can influence a person to want to change, not by what we say but
by how we say it. The Bible says, "If someone is caught in a sin, you
who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently" (Galatians 6:1).
- Don't
involve yourself in name-calling, preaching, or being judgmental — focus
on behavior.
·
— "Last
night, I felt belittled when you called me those vile names."
"Whoever
derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds
their tongue" (Proverbs 11:12).
- Don't
come to the defense of the addict when others are confronting. Instead,
affirm their feelings.
·
— "It's
understandable that his actions were extremely hurtful to you."
"There
is a ... time to be silent and a time to speak" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7).
- Don't
argue if your facts are disputed — simply state the facts.
·
— "I'm
hearing you say your words weren't cutting. We'll just agree to disagree."
"The
Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome ..." (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
- Don't
overreact — keep your emotions under control.
·
— If verbally
attacked, calmly state your position. If opposed again, calmly repeat the same
words again ... and again. "This is in your best interest."
"Everyone
should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because
human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires" (James 1:19-20).
- Don't
give ultimatums unless you are prepared to follow through with them — hold
your ground.
·
— If your loved
one, who hasn't followed through and finished what was promised says, "Let
me come back this one time — I've learned my lesson! I promise not to do it
again." You say, "No, you cannot come back until you have completed
treatment."
"All
you need to say is a simple 'Yes' or 'No'" (James 5:12).
- Don't
shield your loved one from facing the consequences of addiction — maintain
your integrity.
·
— "I will
not lie to your boss again."
"A
man reaps what he sows" (Galatians 6:7).
- Don't
accept promises with no commitment for immediate action — words without
actions are worthless.
·
— If the response
is, "I can't go now, but I promise to go next month." Your role as
the boundary setter is to convey the repercussion.
"The
simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps" (Proverbs 14:15).
This second meeting concludes with the addict either immediately entering a
treatment program or experiencing the consequences of refusing treatment. ...
"Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one
who has a flattering tongue."
(Proverbs 28:23)
Helping
Grandchildren
Question: "What can I do to help my grandchildren whose
parents are both alcoholics and are violent and combative when
intoxicated?"
Answer: Several options could be considered.
- Ask
several significant people to be a part of a crisis intervention.
- Report the
situation to a local CPS office (Child Protective Services).
- Report
drunk and disorderly conduct to the local police department.
- Petition
the court for custody of minor children.
- Confront
the parents regarding their behavior and your concerns for their children.
Address the very real possibility of CPS taking them. Urge the couple to
enter a treatment program.
Prayerfully
consider which option would hold the greatest possibility for effecting change
and develop a plan. Consult a counselor, a shelter, or a knowledgeable person
for advice. Remember ...
"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they
succeed."
(Proverbs 15:22)
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!
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