Facing the Giant of AddictionSample

Hey, wise up! 

‘Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts.’ Romans 13:14 NKJV 

Johnny Cash sang ‘I keep a close watch on this heart of mine; I keep my eyes wide open all the time’. Good song; even better theology! Insanity is doing the crazy stuff others do, hoping for a better result. Wise up! David messed around with another man’s wife and ended up with a blighted conscience, a ruined reputation, and two shattered families. Run while you still can! Sound old-fashioned? Try talking to some of the people you thought ‘got away with it’. They paid in ways they don’t like to talk about. Such as: 1) Fear: ‘What the wicked dread will overtake them’ (Proverbs 10:24 NIV). 2) Lack of confidence: ‘If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God’ (1 John 3:21 NIV). 3) Regret: ‘I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly’ (1 Samuel 26:21 KJV). Solomon had it all; a home that took 13 years to build, 40,000 stables for his horses, a fleet of ships, a thousand beautiful women, and more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes. Yet he ended up turning his back on God and on the very advice he gave others. Why? Because he lacked personal discipline! Here’s how he sums up his life in the book of Ecclesiastes: a) ‘I denied myself nothing’ (2:10 NIV), b) ‘I hated all the things I had toiled for’ (2:18 NIV), c) ‘Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning’ (4:13 NIV). Hey, wise up! 

Prayer Point:

Lord, help me to be more disciplined in my Christian walk. Forgive me, Lord, when things are busy and I haven’t prayed or read Your Word. Let that be what I cling to in the busy times to find strength and fulfillment. Help me realize, Lord, that I don’t know best; You do. In my times with You, let me hear Your still, small voice and not dismiss it but act upon it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.