There was a time when preachers preached hard the Word of God, conviction occurred in the souls of men, and they were wonderfully and gloriously saved. They went home and threw out their rock 'n roll albums, they stopped cursing, they dumped their alcohol down the drain, they cut up their cigarettes, they threw out their porn magazines, and they marched forward for Christ as a NEW creature. Old things were passed away, and all things became new for them.
2 Corinthians 5:17:Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
I'm going to step back and tell you an interesting story with two blessings. I was at a book signing a week or two ago, and I didn't sell a thing. Two young men were walking their dog and came by my table near the end of the day, and looked at my books. They were interested in what I was doing, trying to reach young people for Christ through my writings and songs. They only had $5 left, so they gave it to me as a donation. I said, "Oh, why don't you take an I Will Stand book." He said, "I'll tell you what. Give that book to someone you think needs it." "Agreed."
Fast forward to today. This afternoon I was at another book signing, and again, sold nothing. But something else beautiful happened. There was another ministry table in front of this coffee house where I was, and it was for Teen Challenge of New England. This is a faith based ministry that brings hope and healing through the Word of God to those addicted to drugs or alcohol.
I got talking to one of the young men who was at the table. I had asked him to take my picture in front of my book table, which I always like to get whenever I do a book signing. He noticed my books, and asked questions about what I wrote about. I told him, and he really liked what I was doing. He gave his wonderful testimony about how the Lord delivered him from crack cocaine and heroine addictions. He gave testimony of how happy he is now, but how turned off to God he was at the beginning of his journey into drugs and alcohol. He actually grew up in a Christian home, but saw hypocrisy and abuse by those who claimed the name of Christ. No thanks. He wanted nothing to do with that.
He ended up needing rehab. It was a Christian rehab facility out of state that he went to, and finally was able to deal with the anger he had inside. He had learned to cope with his problems by using his fists, and now he used prayer and Scripture to find his strength. He is so happy now, and while he has some social anxiety to still deal with, he enjoys helping others find their way.
He has a younger brother who is at a crossroads. He felt very burdened for him, as he fears he may choose to go into drugs and alcohol like he did. He is trying to help him find the Lord, but of course has to tread carefully and can't force him. I explained that a nurse friend of mine had given one of my I Will Stand books to her nephew who was in a drug rehab facility, and it helped change his life. He recovered and decided to help others to not go down that same path. This is where that book needed to go: to his brother. I gave it to him, and he thanked me, and said he just bought an envelope and stamps, so could send it to him. I feel like I was able to pass that blessing along that started with those two young men at the first book signing, and that gave me great joy, even though I sold nothing.
So that was blessing #1. Blessing #2 was the discussion we had about drug addiction - from his perspective. That's what I wanted. I hear healthcare providers and conservatives on TV say that marijuana is fine for adults to use, as long as they are responsible, and using it like they would alcohol. You just shouldn't be excessive in its use. I wanted to hear his perspective on this philosophy. So here it is.
Basically, he said that no one becomes a heroin addict right away. No one starts shooting up with needles in their arms. They start small. If you ask a heroin or crack cocaine addict what they started with, they will say "weed" or marijuana. Now, he knows a lot of people who smoke marijuana and they seem just fine. They use it to relax themselves, cope, feel better, and when it gets out of their systems, they're not sick. It's not like the withdrawals from heroin in which you feel like things are crawling under your skin and you feel terribly sick, and you know that for $5 you can take a tiny bit of heroin, and you will instantly feel better. I've seen heroin-withdrawing patients in 4 point leather restraints (that means both arms and both legs are restrained) when I worked in the ICU, and they had super human strength as they writhed in agony from the withdrawals, and we were medicating them heavily with sedating and anti-anxiety medication.
He also noted that marijuana gives you twice as much tar in your lungs and risk for cancer as tobacco. And people who use it, while they do not get physically ill, they become mentally dependent. They use it as a coping mechanism, and feel they have to have it to feel good with eating, anxiety, etc. They might not consciously think about it; they just need it to get through their day.
The problem with alcohol and marijuana is that it is socially acceptable, and more and more readily available and financially reasonable in cost. And yet how many car accidents involve a driver with alcohol or drugs in their system? People who get high can barely keep their eyes open, and their judgments are not precise. I've seen patients under the influence of both drugs and alcohol, and the changes it makes. He was witness to a successful man who hit absolutely rock bottom, losing everything he had, because of alcohol. It destroyed his life. He didn't intend to become an alcoholic as he began to socially drink, nor do weed users intend to be heroin addicts. It's progressive. Not all will become that, but all that become that started in that place. Why play with fire? Why be controlled by a substance? Why alter your mind? The best way to quit a destructive habit is to never start it in the first place. That is the healthier and smarter choice - to abstain, and it's a choice that each of us has to make.
Christian, please see the foolishness of this type of lifestyle. I know you think you have Christian liberty, and that you can control yourself. But Satan would love nothing more than to snag you into his grip and ruin your life. You laugh, you socialize, you have fun now, but there are danger lights going off that you are either ignoring or failing to see. My stepfather was an alcoholic and hurt me, hurt himself, and hurt my mother. I have others close to me who drank wine for social and coping purposes, and it completely destroyed their lives until they could be freed from it, sometimes bound after losing everything. The young man I spoke with ended up in jail, and that was helpful for him, because he was not in contact with it. It was difficult for him to get out of jail and try to live life without using it, when that became a normal part of his daily life. It entraps, making you like a caged bird. Proverbs 6:27: "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?"
Christian, will anyone give you a nickel for your testimony (in other words, respect you) when you are living the life of the unsaved while claiming you belong to Christ? What are you doing to the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20:"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.")? This applies to gluttony, too. We can destroy our bodies with improper foods, and that is something we need to avoid also. What about listening to loud music that injures your ears, or music that is dangerous to your soul? Are you straddling the fence? God desires people who will choose to serve Him.
Matthew 6:24
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Joshua 24:15: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
If you are battling with addictions, please check out Teen Challenge. Adults are welcome, too. It's a program that offers hope and will help you gain victory over your addictions.
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