Addiction!

It may surprise some, but I do read books other than the Bible. I even read books that are not specifically Christian! I enjoy a good crime novel, and have read many good stories in that genre. 

However, it is interesting to read stories that,although fictional, have a distinctively Christian flavour. One such is my current "extra-curricular" reading material. It is named "And He healed them all", by Jeffrey McClain Jones, sub-titled "A day in the life of Jesus of Nazareth".

The basic story-line is that James Wolfer goes to visit his old friend Walter Schrader in a nursing home, expecting to find his former professor as depressed as the last time he visited. However, instead of a dour Walter, mourning the disabilities left him by a recent stroke, James finds his friend excited to tell him about a compelling dream he had the previous night. In that dream, and many dreams that follow, Walter believes he is seeing a day in the life of Jesus. And it was a day in which a great multitude came to him, with a whole range of physical and spiritual ailments, and he healed them all. One of the passages (that I have highlighted, in full) concerns two girls who have been involved in 'paranormal activities', and who have been brought to the Lord Jesus for healing. Part of the story reads as follows:

"The Teacher addressed  them. 'Do you want to be free of these spirits? Do you choose to let go of this power?'

They checked with each other. ''Yes', they said, simultaneously.

The Teacher nodded. But when He reached for their hands, both girls stepped back.

Their mother grabbed their arms. 'You have to let Him do what you're asking Him to do. Do you want to be free, or not?'  ... ... ... ... ... 

"Each girl let Him take a hand. I had the impression that they had just attached themselves to a power source that was not entirely pleasant to touch. ... ... ... ... ... ... 

"The Teacher almost bellowed. 'Do you want to be free of these spirits? Do you choose to let go of this power?' It seemed that neither girl could speak, but they both managed to nod their heads, haltingly, against the force that radiated from the Teacher." (emphases added). Although this particular incident is the product of a man's imagination, it does bear some similarity to the incident involving the apostle, Paul, and recorded for us by Dr Luke, in Acts 16:16ff (q.v.).

In his account of the Gospel record, John relates an incident that took place in Jerusalem: "Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Beth-za'tha, which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be healed?'" (John 5:2-6; emphasis added). I used to think that that was a rather pointless question. After all, the man would not have been there if he had not wished to be healed - would he?!

Addiction may be defined as "a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The word is most commonly associated with alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs (most of which are, in a majority of countries, illegal) but may,of course,apply to anything that has, effectively, taken over our lives. I may be addicted to chocolate (a very common addiction!); or to sport; or to work (yes - even to work!); or to gambling; or to watching TV Game Shows; etc., etc.

It is said that the first step in overcoming any addiction is the acceptance that one is, in fact, addicted! However, I would suggest that there is a required "second step" - and that is that one wishes for the addiction to be broken. I recall, just a year or so ago, asking a young friend who is addicted to nicotine if she honestly wanted to stop smoking cigarettes. To her credit, she was honest! She said, "No." I knew then, that although I had been praying for her deliverance for a long time (and continue to do so), she was not going to overcome her addiction - because she didn't want to do so!

The problem, I suspect, is one of the dependency that an addiction creates; and the 'comfort zone' that it provides! Sadly, there is also a vicious circle that can, like a whirlpool, suck a person down to the very depths of despair. I yield to the temptation to have just one drink; just one cigarette; just one pill; - and then feel so disappointed with myself, and my failure, that I take another! And so it goes on.

During my lifetime I have dealt with a number of addicts, addicted to various substances that are harmful to the human body. I have discovered something that is of extreme importance - that while organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Gamblers Anonymous, may help (and, for many people they do!), only Almighty God can heal (and He does!)!

The answer to these addictions, and every other one, is not to be found in a bottle, or a packet of cigarettes, or an online casino, but by yielding oneself to the indwelling power of God the Holy Spirit allows Him to have His way - and that is always for our good!

Do you truly want to be freed from your addiction? Then ask the Teacher for His help. He never turns anyone away!

Slave labour!!!

Much has been said, over the past week, about the plans announced by the Coalition Government for reform of the welfare system in the U.K.  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, a lot of it has been negative and sensationalist.  I confess to having become somewhat annoyed at being told, repeatedly, that the unemployed - who are fit and able to do so - being expected to provide voluntary labour for a number of weeks in the year, is slavery.  Those who make these grandiose pronouncements appear to have no idea as to what slavery really is!  The folk who will be expected to work in these ways are being paid, all the year round, for the work that they will be expected to do!  They receive a number of additional benefits due to the fact that they are receiving the Job Seekers' Allowance!  The purpose of the exercise, as I understand it, is to break the cycle of benefit dependency that has become a blight on British society - and, many would claim, a magnet for criminal elements from other countries who set out to deliberately exploit the system!

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams is, reportedly, opposed to the whole idea, claiming, among other things, that "It can make people who start feeling vulnerable feel more vulnerable".  With all due respect to the Archbishop - the same one who, not so very long ago, claimed not only that the acceptance of Sharia (Islamic) Law in the UK is inevitable, but also that it wouldn't be a bad idea; who has consistently failed to provide strong leadership with regard to active homosexuality within the ranks of the Anglican/Episcopal clergy; and who appears, at times, to be esconced in an ivory tower - I would refer him to, for example, the inspired words of the apostle Paul, to the early followers of Jesus in Thessalonika:
"And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don't follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.  Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat."
Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people's business.  We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living." (II Thess 3:6-12, NLT)

It seems to me as one who, at the last General Election, voted for neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats, that while it is right and proper to care for those who are genuinely unable to provide for themselves, everyone should be encouraged to support themselves as far as is possible.  If this new system brings about, for many, a new attitude to work, then it will not have dealt with all of the unfairness in our modern society - both real and perceived - but it will have lifted some out of the 'poverty trap', and made them positively-contributing members of the society to which we all belong (whether big or small!).  That can't be a bad thing!

It's been a hard week, so far! Physically hard, that is. Yesterday, I took delivery of a total of nine tons (imperial!) of assorted garden landscaping materials - whin dust; red chips; decorative chips; and decorative bark - in order to bring one stage closer the end of the 10-year plan for the back garden, that was commenced almost 16 years ago!!! :-)

The problem is the the delivery lorry could only operate from the road, and that meant that I have been transporting barrowload after barrowload from the front to the back. Of course, before doing that, I had a lot of digging to do in preparation - the foundations are the most important part of any building! (see Matt.7:24-27). I have also been transferring decorative slabs from the area outside the back door, to the new 'patio' area at the very back of the garden.

Doubtless, when the job is completed, it will all have proved to be very worthwhile, and my wee wife will have a delightfully secluded area in which to enjoy the summer sun (before we head off to France to increase our chances of seeing it!). But without the hard work, nothing worthwhile would be achieved.

I suspect that this idea was in the mind of Paul when, writing to the young church in the Roman colonial city of Philippi, he exhorts: "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear." (Phil 2:12). The life of the one who has placed his/her trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation, is "... hidden with Christ, In God." (Col.3:2). But that does not mean that, having been saved and justified, I may just sit back and await my call to glory!

Jesus, Himself, made that clear in the parable of the 'talents' (Matt.25: 14-30). the man who accepted the bag of silver from his master - and did nothing with it - ended up being thrown out into "... outer darkness ...". There was a time when I firmly believed in the 'doctrine' of "once saved, always saved". However, the older I get, and the more I get to know the Word of God, the less certain I am that the situation is as simple as that. Perhaps some who claim to have been saved have confused religious activity with divine grace! Jesus' words as recorded in Matt.7:21-23 would certainly seem to support such a teaching!

So, what am I saying? Basically that, once we have been saved - by grace, through faith, as a gift from God. Not as a reward for some good things that we may have done (Eph.2:8-9) - we are saved eternally. But that we must not forget the next few words in Epesians 2 - "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." (v.10; my emphasis). A passage such as I Cor.3:11-15 is also highly relevant. My good works (that, in reality, are no more than 'filthy rags' - see Isaiah 64:6) do not save me but, having been saved, I must follow the example of my Saviour, and seek always to do the Father's will.

On that glorious Eternal Day when I stand in front of my Lord, I want to be able to do so with the confidence that He is going to utter those wonderful words, "Well done, My good and faithful (not successful!!) servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!" (Matt 25:21). And if that means trundling barrow-loads of whin dust, then I will still say "Glory to His Name.!