Category: Addictions

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Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

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 We have a book in our bookstore that is been featured each day on this site. It is my first book called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This books has special pricing right now. It is not too early to start thinking about Easter, and this book is a great gift that fits the season.

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

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Chapter 45

 

Is What You’re Living for Worth Dying For?

 

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things

[food and clothing] will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

 

There once was a famous painter whose paintings were much in demand. He was doing really well selling them.

One day his son became ill and the father took care of him as best he could. The painter eventually carried him to the doctor, but on the way the son died. The painter later died, and his paintings became very valuable.

Everyone showed up to bid on the painter’s work at the auction to sell off his paintings. Some of them were now worth many thousands of dollars. The first painting—a portrait of the painter’s son—was put up for auction. “What do I hear for this fine painting?” asked the auctioneer. No one said a thing.

Again the auctioneer said,” We need a bid on this wonderful painting.” Still no one spoke.

A person in the back said, “Why would we want a painting of the painter’s son? Let us bid on his real paintings!”

The auctioneer gave the bidding one more try: “Do I hear $10 for this painting?”

An old man near the front raised his hand and said, “I bid $10, but that is all I have. I knew the boy and I would like to have a picture of him.”

“Do I hear higher?” Silence. “Going once … going twice … sold!” The auctioneer banged his gavel.

“Good, now we can bid on the real paintings!” the crowd shouted.

“I’m sorry—the bidding is closed,” the auctioneer announced.

A man shouted, “How could that be! There are several more paintings that are worth thousands of dollars.”

“The painter said that whoever bids the highest on his son’s painting would get all of the paintings!” the auctioneer responded.

There are people who live their lives like that! They are greedy and want the real prize—the riches. Look at this story as if it were God who had lost His Son. He has planned for us to have all kinds of riches in Him but first we must accept His Son.

Too many wait to get in a bid on the “good stuff” and overlook the invitation to accept the Son. Which one should we bid on? Are we going to be greedy and end up with nothing in the end?

We all would like to have many things for our families. It would be nice to have all the toys—for the big boys (and girls), as well as for the little boys (and girls). But what good are they in eternity? We can’t take them with us! 

We can’t begin to imagine the beauty of heaven and all that is there for us. The streets of gold. The music of a thousand angels. No pain. No suffering. New bodies. Loved ones to see.

That is what we should be working for—not the pleasures of this earth. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to what is in heaven. There is a prize above all prizes waiting for all that believe in God.

 

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Proverbs 21:21

 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians3:14(emphasis mine)

 

Further Adventures

What are your priorities in life? Sit down and list them. Is it security? Is it happiness? After you have written your list, notice how many of those you can have by knowing God and depending on Him.

Everything in life was created by God. No matter what you see and what you do, God had His hand in it. Your job? Your happiness? God helped you get your job, and He orchestrated the things that bring you happiness.

I have learned that with God in charge of my life, nothing that has happened to me or will happen to me is or will be “by accident.” God is in charge of everything I do.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that atheism is a “non-prophet” organization?

 

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If You Are Going the Wrong Way, God Allows U-Turns

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We have a bookstore for you to check out. There is the book I feature as excerpts in my post for sale there. The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” is on a special sale right now with some good savings.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering with anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.  

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Today’s excerpt lets us know that no matter what path we may take, God allows U-turns to get us on the right path.

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 Chapter 44

 

If You’re Going the Wrong Way,

God Allows U-Turns

 

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,

that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Acts3:19

 

Time is always ticking away! In my home we have a battery-operated clock that makes a loud ticking noise for every second of the day. The clock had been right at my computer desk and I could hear it as I worked. It made me think that my life was slowly going by. What have I done with my life? My life was ticking away, and I could see (and hear) each second go by.

The clock got moved into the utility room, but not before its cadence of marking time prompted me to do a “bed check” of my life. Bed checks are something that all military people understand. As you sleep, the barrack sergeant comes through and makes sure everyone is in bed—to make sure everything was OK.

So now every day I do a bed check to see if I am OK. It is so easy to “slide” if I don’t constantly check up on myself.

We tend to get all fired up about our commitment to God, even go to the church altar for prayer. We have a close encounter and are very happy. Life is good and we’ll serve God forever.

Then we get very busy and miss a few Sundays at church. Bible study gets scheduled on the evening all of our friends get together to play Bunco or go bowling—or whatever. We rush out of the house in the morning and collapse into a chair when we get home at night. There’s just no time for reading the Bible and praying.

Eventually, we fail “bed check.” We get wrapped up in our own world and get in touch with God only when there is a crisis. He will still be there to help, but our lives have lost their real meaning. We have allowed ourselves to go into a spiritual twilight zone.

Time is ticking away. There is no way to buy it back. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. But as long as God gives us another breath, it is not too late to turn around and get back into the loving arms of God. Our God is an awesome God. He loves us very much, and He will be there to accept us in whatever state we have allowed ourselves to lapse into.

As we get back into the center of His love and try to walk in His path, we will have done a spiritual U-turn.

 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

 

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:7

 

Further Adventures

Do your own bed check. Think about the direction you’re going. Do you need to make a U-turn? God allows you to get back in His love any time you want to seek Him more. His love is everlasting. He never forgets you. He never turns His back on you. After all, He even knows every hair on your head doesn’t He? Make that big turn and drive (or dive) into the loving arms of your heavenly Father.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just enough to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong?

 

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If God Brings you to it, He Will Bring you Through it.

A special thank you to those who have taken the time to sign-up for our RSS feed. It has helped us climb up in the Google Search Rankings. Please sign-up today if you haven’t already to help us climb even higher. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

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We have a special going on right now in our bookstore. The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly world,” is on sale for $15.99. In the retail stores it is $19.99. There is a special price cut in shipping as well. A total savings of over $6.00.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

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I have another excerpt from the book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This is one of my favorite chapters in that it shows us the way to be strong when the storms and trials hit.

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Chapter 43

 

If God Brings You to It, He Will

Bring You Through It

 

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Psalm 91:4–6

 

Sometimes God allows things to happen to us to let us know He is there for us. I have known people who have had things happen to them that caused them to turn to God for help—for the first time in their lives. 

September 11, 2001changed many lives. Events of this proportion seem to change lives every time. He uses situations to make people stronger and to send them a message. These are the close encounters that help us grow.

If the steps we take seem to come to a wall we can’t climb over, we need to consider whether or not God might have another plan in mind. We need to pray to Him and seek His will. That kind of prayer will be answered faster if we ask for the wall to be moved!

We’ve all been through personal crises—health issues, loss of a job, separation from a family member, the death of a dear friend or other things that have thrown us for a loss. At those times we wondered if we’d make it through the situation. It was devastating at the time.

God knows everything about us, and knows what will happen to us even before we face hardship and fear. The most important thing to understand is that God prepares us for this kind of hard times.

I told you about how close I came to committing suicide and how I thought I had nowhere to turn. In reality, I had a source that was there for me all the time. It just took me that frightful moment to realize I could turn to God for help. God let me come to that point. He brought me through it, and He will bring each one of us through any pain and tragedy we face.

We need to stay close to God, and always rely on Him for comfort. We can do this by reading the Bible each day and praying. There is never a time I read the Bible without finding something new that gives me peace and strength. The same verse in the Bible can have a different impact depending on what I’m going through at that time.

I have a friend who puts the date next to a verse that stands out to her and notes what it means to her at the time. When she looks back years later, she can recall the circumstances that made that particular verse stand out to her.

God does allow sorrow, sadness and danger in our lives, but we will be able to cope with it much better with the knowledge that He is there for us when we need Him.

Second Corinthians 1:9 says: “In our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Another version says that Paul thought it was good that they thought they were doomed! How amazing to see that his faith let Paul know that he and those traveling with him would be killed if it weren’t that God was there to save them. Do we have that level of trust? We should. The same God who saved Paul is the same God that is with us today.

I would like to suggest a book for you to read. It is an amazing book about a man who was declared legally dead for 90 minutes and lived to have a huge impact on people’s lives. The book is 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. It was published in 2004 by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group,Grand Rapids,Michigan.

Don Piper was in a horrible car accident and was pronounced dead by the medics. He was stuck in his car for 90 minutes, and the first part of the book is about what happened to him while he was supposed to be dead.

A friend “just happened” to be going by the accident scene that day and refused to agree with the medics that Don was dead. He prayed over Don the whole time he was supposed to be dead. That part of the book is amazing enough, but then when Don began to recover, many wonderful things began to happen. It is a story of lost hope, and how God brought him through the hard times and made him a stronger person than he could have ever dreamed.

 

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.”

Isaiah 41:13

 

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:24

 

Further Adventures

  1. Spend time praying each day. This will help you know ahead of time what God has for your future. Often through prayer God sends a message for you to understand. We shouldn’t wait for a crisis to start seeking God’s help.
  2. If you know of someone who is troubled by a trial God is allowing, be there for them and help them to know that He will help them through it. Let them know they don’t have to fear, because God is with them.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that the more we depend on God, the safer we are?