May 6th - Addiction

All of us are addicted to something. And those who overcome an addiction are some of my heroes. My addiction was to the local church. It caused me to fall out of the grace of God and into religious bondage. Then, miraculously in my mind, I was set free by Christ Jesus. 

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:1-6)

Sometime after moving back to Sayre in 1977 I became addicted to the local church. I am not talking about my relationship with God or Jesus, or my place in the Body of Christ, or my love for the Bible. I am talking about organized, programmed involvement in the local institutional church. I got "high" on this ritual. I felt good and fulfilled only when I was participating in these church related activities. It was an addiction! 

Over twenty five years later God intervened - lovingly, graciously, and mercifully. I was at my computer, and in the search engine I typed the word "hell," and God began a five year process of delivering me from my addiction and setting me free from my addiction.  

I have been clean since that time and now seek to live every day in the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, and peace. I have a real appreciation for my loving and gracious heavenly Father, and for His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I grow in grace and knowledge of Them as I read and study the Bible. I am thankful for my addiction, for God knew it was necessary FOR ME to find Him and His plan for me and my family - and all others. Here is what I have learned about that plan in a a nutshell:

God is not mad at humanity. He loves us unconditionally. The Son of God became a man named Jesus. He came to die for the sins of the world and to demonstrate the love of God for His creation. Jesus died for our sin, was entombed, and then raised to life. Forty days later He was transformed back into His preexistent spiritual immortal body as He ascended back to His Father to be seated once again at His right hand. The Son of God will return soon, raise the body of Christ, and together they will reign over this earth for one thousand years. Thereafter, He will raise the rest of humanity, judge them, save them out of the second death, and transformed them into His glorious immortal image. All humanity will then enter and see the New Heaven and New Earth, the Kingdom of God where we will live with Him forever. 

As I continue to study the Bible I discover the details of His incredible plan to become ALL in ALL in the new creation.

"If we are having an expectation in Christ in this life only, more forlorn than all humanity are we. (Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing. For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified. Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ's in His presence; thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority and power. For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy is being abolished: death. For He subjects all under His feet...Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all." (1 Corinthians 15:19-28)

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away... He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 21:1, 5)

"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)