Today I went back to the place where I used to go
Today I saw that same old crowd I knew before
When they asked me what had happened
I tried to tell them
Thanks to Calvary, I don't come here anymore!
~Thanks To Calvary - Bill Gaither ~
Not long ago I saw a video online from a health nut I follow every now and then. His name is Thomas DeLauer and his claim to fame is that he turned from the ultimate couch potato to dedicating his life to helping others be healthy. Well, he said something in one of his videos that struck a chord with me, and perhaps others who read this as well. While on a recent shopping trip, Thomas happened to find himself in the candy/junk food aisle of his local grocery store. There, as he tells it, he suddenly became uneasy, almost anxious. I get it. For Thomas, a walk through the candy aisle was akin to a walk back in time to the days of his own addiction. For those who are not familiar with my own history, you might wonder why I get a bit uneasy whenever I come near a topless bar. The reason is that this is where one of my main addictions took hold of me. Those who have experienced the pain and struggle of substance abuse can relate to these experiences I'm sure. The questions that remain. Will I go back to my old ways? Am I still a addict? Like Thomas DeLauer, I've had ample opportunity to revisit those places I used to hang out in. These days I just don't see time spent there as productive to what I trying to achieve. Not long ago, I made a commitment to my health. From exercise to nutrition, my focus has been on reversing the damages that have been done over the years. For the most part this journey has been successful so far, except for the actions of one incompetent liberal democrat governor who continues to play games with the lives of people here in Oregon. But, as I say, I play the cards I'm dealt. I have had the opportunity over the years to witness the ravages that addictions can have on people lives. I've had a few friends who have lost jobs and family because they chose their addiction over all else. I get it. However, my focus in this post is on those who have overcome their own destructive behaviors and, through faith, found a new beginning.
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV
Can I tell you what I believe is one of the most destructive feelings brought on by any type of addiction? Guilt and shame. Shame because we realize that what we are doing is wrong in the Lords eyes (So we've been taught). We feel guilty because we know that we are sinners (Again...so we've been told). Each time I entered a nude bar, my own guilt and shame struck at my heart as soon as I touched the door to enter. What if someone I know sees me? What will God think of me? How will He punish me? Through my experience, all of these fears were partly brought on by my own behaviors, but also by what I had learned about God up until that point. You think I'm joking? If you ever get the chance, watch someone as they enter a nude bar. I guarantee that as soon as they hit the door they will look over their shoulder to see if anyone is watching them. That's the guilt on display for all to see. So, what have we been told about how God looks upon sin? Well, I don't know what church you attended, but I was raised in a Christianity that said that the Lord can never be in the presence of sin. I was also raised to know and understand that I was but a sinner saved by the grace of the Lord. Knowing this, each and every time I entered a nude bar I did so separate from God. How could God love me if I kept behaving like that? If God can never be in the presence of sin...what chance did I even have? I'm thinking that most people afflicted by their own addictions have felt this way. What changed for me was a pastors sermon. One Easter Sunday I was sitting in church while the padre told us the story of how Jesus died for our sins and three days later rose again. Same story, we all know it. However, at the end of his sermon, this pastor asked everyone in attendance to come forward and confess any sins we might be carrying with us. Honestly, my first thought upon hearing him say this was, "what sin?" Really? You just finished a sermon where you told us that Jesus died to absolve us from all of our sins. I never returned to that church. So, if you are sitting there reading this for the first time, I don't blame you at all for feeling left out because you feel that you are somehow separated from God. I've been there. The truth is, we have never been apart from the Lord. The very notion that we ever were separate from God is a lie spoken by our accuser {Genesis 3:4-5}. The apostle Paul introduces us to the truth of Christ Jesus in Galatians. Here, Paul reveals that it is Jesus who lives through us today {Galatians 2:20}. This is confirmed by the apostle John that we would be one with Christ {John 17:21}. We do well to remember that even in the darkest of times, it is Jesus who is walking that road less traveled with us.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2: 20
~Scott~
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