Deuteronomy 32:31-33
For their rock (or the foundation of their belief's) is not like our Rock. Even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter and their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of cobras.
We are either living our lives with a foundational under pinning of Christ's Saving work and His presence....
or we are standing on shaky ground. That which we think is solid, and will support us for life....isn't and won't. Such is the deception that drugs and alcohol bring.
Heroin as defined by the dictionary:
Heroin /ˈhɛroʊɪn/ (diacetylmorphine or morphine diacetate, also known as diamorphine (BAN, INN[4]) and commonly known by its street names of H, smack, boy, horse, brown, black, tar, and others[5]) is an opioid analgesic originally synthesized by C.R. Alder Wright in 1874 by adding two acetyl groups to the molecule morphine, which is found naturally in the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-diacetyl ester of morphine. Administered intravenously by injection, heroin is two- to four-times more potent than morphine and is faster in its onset of action.[6]
Lot's of terminology that I don't understand.
Big words and scientific grouping of components that are beyond my comprehension.
To me, the definition of heroin left out one key component.
It is the "DESTROYER OF LIVES".
Oh, I'm not trying to make heroin into the latest scare fad to grab your attention.
Heroin has been around and really hasn't gone anywhere.
It was just bumped from the TOP 10 by Oxy's, Crack, Crystal Meth, Prescription Meds, and the old reliable....weed. Heroin has managed to hang around there in the back ground since its inception.
Now heroin has made a huge comeback.
We're seeing more and more people who are battling heroin addiction.
I don't make any claims to being an expert on the subject, but in my dealing, a person who is dealing with heroin seems to have a spiritually darker component to their demeanor. Lot more anger in their heart and a greater propensity to reject anything to do with God and the healing He offers. Like I said, it may just be me, but somehow I don't think so.
4 months before we held the first meeting of Vineyard ReCovery, God spoke to me about what lay ahead.
I confess that I missed the message that was given.
The whole concept of VRC is about spiritual warfare. The ebb and flow, give and take of going against the darkness that the devil dishes out everyday. We know from experience that if God does a work, demonstrates power, or opens hearts on some level, then we can expect a counter attack from Satan within a short period of time. In trying to dissect what I had heard God say, I missed it. I went back in my journal to re-read the words. "You are going to experience a new level of spiritual warfare as you move forward. It will be unlike anything you've ever experienced before." When I first got this, I assumed that God was talking about spiritual warfare in our personal lives. We have had the enemy come against us whenever we moved forward in ministry. Sudden illnesses, major malfunction in the things we possess, sudden onset of depression or sadness....all coming in retaliation for advancing the Kingdom of God. In my mind, I thought the message was a warning to guard ourselves from the coming attacks of the enemy. I now know that what God meant was that the level and type of darkness we would be encountering would be different than anything we'd ever experienced before. I think we are seeing it now with the reintroduction of heroin into the addiction picture.
Like I said earlier, heroin has been around and really hasn't gone anywhere...it was just not as popular as it has become. But for whatever reason, the enemy seems to have attached a greater level of darkness to this particular season.
So what do we do about this new scourge?
We do the works of Jesus.....
You don't pray against the darkness.....
You push darkness away by loving and serving in the name of Jesus.
You push darkness away by doing the works of Jesus.
Praying healing over those in need....feeding the poor.....breaking off demonic oppression .....and yes...even raising the dead. (I know such flies in the face of the model of church we've come to know)
You intercede for those out there under all addiction.
You speak the word of God in every meeting....
You go one on one with those who are trapped, asking if you can pray over them...and as you do, you invite God's Holy Spirit to come and break off hardness and blindness so that the individual can experience the healing touch of God.
You want to get them into a place where they can have a power encounter with the real-deal-promise-a-real-promise-GOD of the universe.
For He alone is the answer to every level of darkness the enemy places on people.
There is not darkness so deep that it can stop the work of God's Holy Spirit in a people who are laid low by the weight of addiction/sin. John 1:5 -- And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (over power it).
We read in Matthew 5 where Jesus refers to those who have chosen to follow Him as being "Salt and Light". These two were created for one thing....to influence and touch everything they come in contact with. Salt brings flavor to that which otherwise is bland and dull. Salt also preserves and keeps. Light brings the ability to see and discern when it is interjected into darkness. If ever there was a time when the church should rise up, that time is now. If ever there was a need for Salt and Light, now is the time.
Think on these things....
God on you..
mb
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