Goodness

I will be posting later this week our Saturday Night meeting. I invited Mark Alexander to speak and share what God was doing in his life. Mark has battled addiction for a number of years and his story really isn't much different than others who have the same struggle. But for Mark, he seemed to "do well " for periods of time. I would see him at church, at Bible Studies, at Celebrate recovery and each time he would tell me that he was doing great. Truth was, Mark has told me that he wasn't so great and that in fact, he was struggling.

Being like a ping pong ball, Mark would bounce back and forth from periods of using to periods of sobriety. It wasn't until he was in one of his dark times that Mark finally got honest not only with God but with himself.
It was at this point that God came.
Mark shared how he wasn't out of the woods yet, but he had found peace and the ability to hear God and follow Him.  It was neat to hear the passion on Mark's voice as he shared and he wanted so bad for those present to lay hold of what was on his heart and, in their own personal journey, began to move from addiction to life.

Luke 4:18
"the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to released the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

We don't get much good news any more. The news is full of fear and doubt and mistrust toward of government. It is laced with speech that seeks to condemn and beat down. The news we receive is full of false hope. It makes promises that will never be kept. It lifts evil men and presents them as pillars of hope and integrity. It dismisses the power of man's fallen nature. "Oh if we could just invent this gadget then life here in the 21st century will so much better. My friend we don't need another phone that has 493 different functions. We don't need electronic books and Ipads. We need a Savior. I see the affects of fallen man each day. I get phone calls from Mothers whose hearts are broken because their son or daughter has given in to the hellish pull of drugs and alcohol. I hear from Fathers whose daughters are caught in a lifestyle where they give themselves sexually to any man who has the money to help support their addiction. When you offer the solution, they reject it. Jesus? Really? You mean Jesus we heard about in church? YES! JESUS!

"for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Is. 9

Jesus is the answer. He's been here all along and in our blindness, we could not see the truth. But the truth never wavered and He never rejected us. The call to surrender a life that is filled with so much pain and darkness still stands to day.
You do not have to continue in the life you have today.
You do not have to bend your knee or your will at the altar of addiction.
Step#1 - you admit your powerless and that your life has become unmanageable.
Step#2 - Come to believe in a power greater than yourself that could restore you to sanity.
Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth,"Jesus is LORD," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Step#3 -  Make a decision to turn your will and life over to the care of God as you understand Him.

This is the beginning of life.
Really......
It is.......

God on you.......
mb