Nehemiah 13
Verse 22 - .....Remember me for this also, O my God and show mercy to me according to your great love....
Verse 29 -.....Remember them, O my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
Verse 30 - .....So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task.
Bible truths that most know with their head but for whatever reason, choose to ignore it with their hearts.
"What truth?" You may be asking.
The truth that sin has deformed this world and those in it. It has created a society of people living outside the will of God. It has become so ingrained in this culture and society that those who occupy time and space in it see it as normal. To any who is a follower of Jesus Christ, this is what is known as a "biblical worldview."
We see the truth of this statement concerning culture and sin in the lives of the men who come to Rapha for healing. They have become deformed by years and years of sin and rebellion. Here in is the insanity.....those trapped in addiction want to quit ow that further usage only leads to more destruction and possibly death. They have family that wants them to quit. Family that loves them. Yet armed with this knowledge, the one thing that is first and foremost in their minds is "I Want To Use Again!"
Sin may deform....
But God reforms....
The word "reform" means to take the form and rebuild it.
To be reformed by the hand of God is the work that occurs when we enter into salvation through Jesus Christ. Some call it being born again. What ever your term, the heart of being reformed lies in the fact that we divorce ourselves from the culture of sin. It also involves making hard choices about changes in our future. We do not know a lot about the life God wants us to have when we give our hearts to Him, but when God reveals His will to us we find that we want to change our lifestyle to accommodate our Lord. That is called "Walking in obedience." From this place, obedience, flow the blessings of God.
The heart of the Twelve Steps is reformation.
The "reforming" of a life owned and operated by sin, into a God-pleasing life now under the direction of God's Holy Spirit.
True reformation begins with the very first step....the realization that we have become powerless. Evidence of this powerlessness is the fact that our lives have become unmanageable. Truth be known....we are living a god-less existence totally in rebellion to God and His word. We have left a trail of broken relationships....lies and deceit...legal troubles....and broken promises to everyone who ever loved us. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I think that may be pretty good evidence of someone who was powerless.
True Reformation begins when we turn from looking inward for answer to our problem and begin to look for a Power greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity. Sanity being the ability to make sound decisions. That Power seek is found in a person........The Lord Jesus Christ. You see, our drug and alcohol problems stem from one thing....I have a sin problem. I have a broken relationship with God. I have lived my life outside God's will and as such, have suffered the consequences for my actions and my choices. Drugs and alcohol are merely a symptom of this broken relationship.
Armed with this information, we must make a decision. IT will be the hardest decision you will ever make. The Devil does not want you to decide, his desire is to keep you in bondage to your addiction He will come at you and whisper to you..."You know you can't stop using.....You know you'll never be free no matter what anyone tells you." Lies! All lies from the pits of hell. The decision we know we must not only make but then follow is very simple.....I make a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understand Him. Some church folks have trouble with that phrase....God as we understood Him. But truth be known...the God I know today will not be with the same understanding as the God I will know a month from now. My perception and understanding of God is always changing as I am changing. SO I come to Him with the understanding that I possess today.
Why not let the Great Reformation take place in your life today?
Think on these things....
God on you....
mb
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