World of Addictions
July 28, 2009
For many who suddenly wake one morning with the realization they are trapped in a bondage greater than themselves, the “world of addictions” has become very personal. It’s about their pain, their confusion, their hopelessness, their fear…their vulnerability to the enemy of their soul. Jesus describes this enemy – Satan – in John 10:10:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Francis Frangipane, author of The Three Battlegrounds, has made these statements regarding the enemy’s activity in our lives:
1. “God has given Satan legal right to access the realm of darkness.”
2. “Satan dines on whatever we withhold from God.”
Darkness in a human heart can be expressed in many forms: pride, lust, unforgiveness, hatred, jealousy, greed. There are few who would not identify in some manner with one or more of these expressions.
Abandon Yourself to God
July 22, 2009
According to Webster Merriam Dictionary an addict is one who abandons oneself, to become physiologically or psychologically dependent in a compulsive or obsessive manner to a habit, practice, or substance. The core issue is stated in this definition… ‘Abandoning Oneself’. Who or what are you abandoning yourself to? An addict chooses to fulfill their needs by using an outside source, drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, etc. they become a slave to their addiction in an attempt to perpetuate the fulfillment of their need.
However, God has asked us to abandon ourselves to Him and ultimately He is the source for our provision. From the very beginning He has given us the choice to rely on Him for our strength, however, we in all of our humanity often choose to rely on our own strength… this fails us, so we turn to other sources to meet those needs, to numb us to our inability to have control over our lives, to stay on top, to be in charge, to “have it all together”; or maybe just to make it through the day. As long as you continue to think that you can get out of this by your own strength and resources, you will continue to try.
You’re trying to save your pride and that is keeping you from experiencing the grace of God. Many of us try overcoming addiction on our own; some of us put our confidence in secular programs and popular strategies. These may help addicts achieve a degree of abstinence, but the emotional, mental and spiritual freedom for which they long for will continue to elude them. We can not achieve total control of our lives by sheer human effort. Ironically, when we surrender to the Lordship of Christ we experience self-control, which is a Fruit of the Spirit. We are saved and sanctified by faith not by how we behave.
Paul wrote ‘not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants to a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.’ (2 Cor. 3:5-6)
Making Choices – Are We Really Free?
July 12, 2009
When God created us he gave us the freedom of choice. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, we are in bondage to the consequences of that choice. Some people define freedom as the right to exercise their own choices, to be free moral agents. No restrictions! “I can do whatever I want to do,” say the libertarians, defending the right to make their own choices. “If I want to have a drink, I’m going to have a drink.” They don’t seem to have a clue as to how deep their bondage is… freedom doesn’t lie only in the exercise of choice; it is also always related to the consequences of that choice.
I suppose I am “free” to tell a lie, but wouldn’t I be in bondage to that choice? I would have to remember to whom I told the lie and what I told them. I suppose I am “free” to rob a bank, but wouldn’t I be in bondage to that act the rest of my life? I would always be looking over my shoulder, wondering if I would be caught. We can choose to drink shots all night, sleep with a prostitute, or inject heroin into our body… but we would have to live with the consequences of each choice.
So, I ask you, are we really free? The bible says in Deu 30:19
“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live.”
A Message of Hope – and a Plan of Action
July 12, 2009
Addiction forges its own chains of pain and problems that grow with each day and seem impossible to overcome. If you, or someone you know, are a captive of addictive behavior, the Word of God and New Heart Place have both a message of hope and a plan of action. Anyone can be set free from addictive behavior, can experience victory in Jesus, and become an overcomer in life! The key is to identify the root cause of your problem and instead of running away from it, run to God! Do this, and your mind and spirit will be renewed; and no matter what you struggle with, you will find freedom in Christ!
Testimony of God’s Overcoming Addiction Power
July 6, 2009
Hello my name is Richard, and this is my testimony of God’s overcoming addiction power:
My mother loved myself and my siblings, and as a single parent did the best she could to provide for all of our needs. Sometimes providing for us included moving; different neighborhoods, different towns, and even different states. I had changed schools at least eight times before I was thirteen. I always felt like an outsider and that I did not fit in. Having quality friendships was difficult. I had finished elementary school with exceptional grades. That changed as I entered middle school. I made friends with the wrong people, I skipped school, and ultimately began smoking marijuana and drinking. My mother moved me to my Grandparents home and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior for the first time. My life changed.
I missed my family and returned to Portland. I believed things would be different, but they were not. By the time I was sixteen I had experimented with hard drugs and dropped out of school. I began working full time, which afforded me to continue in the same lifestyle and at that age it was very appealing, my life was out of control. At nineteen I went through my first treatment program, passed the ASVAB test, and went into the Army. I was finally on the right track. I left all of my former life behind thinking a change of environment would solve the problem. However, I began to drink, and eventually was using cocaine again. I returned home to Oregon. In Portland the same people were still doing the same activities, nothing I wanted to be a part of, I requested a transfer to Washington to be near my family. I knew that if I just had the support of my family and church everything would turn out all right.
The problem was not the environment, or the circumstances, or the friends, it was me. Read more
The Addiction is the Symptom
July 1, 2009
Addiction simply isn’t the point. Most people have the “horsepower” to get “clean and sober.” Many have the ability to stay clean and sober for awhile. But then, it happens: life serves up that trigger; that one thing that gives me my reason – my entitlement – to return to my “drug of choice.” Or, worse yet, I have convinced myself over time that “I can handle it, now. I’m OK. All I need is a good job and a nice place to live and the rest of my life will be fine.”
But it never is fine. It never will be fine, because you are not fine at the “core level” of your life: where who you really are lives.
What do you mean by “core level?”
Heart…soul: It’s the space inside you that defines the your person-hood. It’s the place you love and hate, experience joy and disappointment. It’s the place we invite the Living God to live by His Spirit. To love at this level of our lives is to fulfill the two greatest commandments:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. this is the first and greatest commandment. And, the second is like unto it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22).
For many our “core level” – our heart – is cluttered with shame and guilt, unforgiveness and bitterness. So significant are these “core issues” that they often determine what we believe about God, our self and others. We often have sabotaged our best relationships and convinced ourselves thar we are inadequate, deficient and unlovable…all because of our “core.”
Obviously, our “core” cannot be “fixed,” it must be healed. There are simply not enough “Steps” to work that will resolve our core. Only God can heal the core. He created it…he can heal it.