DELIVERER

 

So many problems in our world today. So much pain and heartache. A lot of it is self-inflicted. No matter what, the root of all of it is we are born with a bent in our nature and in our hearts that moves us, influences us, and eventually will kill us with the 2nd death. What do I mean by this? There is a death beyond our physical death. This 2nd death is separation from God for eternity. More than just separation it is a place that I would not rather be in.

I know this all sounds like science-fiction, or a fairy tale gone bad. I know that some even have the thought of "How could a God, who is suppose to be loving, send people to such a place?" Well, He doesn't. It is a choice that we make. Oh, I don't mean that we wake up one day and declare verbally out loud that we are going to reject God and live our lives the way we want to. There may be some who choose this route. But for others it is simply a slow slide down into an abyss of sin/addiction and darkness. One other thing....sin is not the deed we do, the behavior we act upon, or the choice we make. All these are a symptom of something gone terribly wrong in our life. SIN is the state of our heart. Just as drugs and alcohol are a symptom of following our own dark desires rather than choosing to follow God. We make a choice to fill our souls and minds with a mood altering substance. We think we are escaping but in truth we are creating a false sense of life. Real life continues to go on in spite of the high we seek to achieve. Problems don't go away simply because we don't think about them or choose to ignore them. In fact our problems multiply with each time we use. We go farther and deeper down that dark hole, all the while thinking that we are still in control. Eventually we come to a place where we come face to face with the cold sobering fact that we can't stop. We try and exercise will power but it falls to the ground when that dark voice whispers for us to escape through using again. We obey.

We see the results of what happens when we choose to follow our sin-appetite rather than receive God's gift of salvation in Psalms 107

Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. That is why He broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help. 
"Lord, help!" they cried in their trouble, and HE saved them from the darkness and deepest gloom; He snapped their chains.

Let them praise the LORD for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for them. For He broke down the prison gates of bronze; He cut apart their bars of iron.

This morning, I declare to you that there is ONE greater than your addiction. There is a POWER higher than any high you could ever hope to achieve. This POWER has a name, and that name is JESUS the Christ, the Messiah, the Deliverer. You see breaking free from the power that has control of you isn't a matter of will power......it's a matter of will-direction. A choice we make of turning will and life over to God. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well it makes more sense than by continuing in the way you've been going.  

If anything I've written this morning hits home, then find yourself a meeting to go to. There is an entire fellowship of people who God has freed from what holds you in place today. A people who have found the value of moving forward in their choices to allow God to change them from the inside, not simply give them sobriety. Recovery is a change of heart, mind, soul, and the spirit. You no longer look to yourself for the answers, but rather to God to lead you daily.

My prayer today is for you to encounter real truth. That God would speak to your heart today and that desire that rises up in you to quit and walk away from the old life would lead you into His arms.

Never forget----------I love you, and so does God!

God on you...

mbb