Addiction – Page 2 – Recovery In Christ Ministries

April 14, 2015

Seek First

In Matthew 6:24, Yeshua (Jesus) says that we can not serve two masters, that is, we can not serve God and mammon. The Tyndale Bible Dictionary says that, “mammon” is an Aramaic word, meaning wealth or property. In Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13, “mammon” is personified as a rival to God for the loyalty of the disciples.

In Matthew 6:33, Yeshua says that if we will seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, God will give us what we need.

That brings us to a very important question: Exactly what does it mean to seek first the kingdom of Yahweh, and His righteousness?

I have a very dear friend named John. I met John in high school, and we became very good friends. I love John like a brother. John has been on drugs since high school. Recently, John was given an ultimatum by his wealthy family: Get your life straight, and we will give you your inheritance, or keep doing drugs and lose it forever.

Last week, a friend and I drove John to rehab. It was a three day trip, and we had a real good time together.

John is beginning his new life, and he has some choices to make. Namely, John has to choose between seeking wealth or seeking the kingdom of Yahweh, and His righteousness. If John seeks wealth, he will merely be trading one bondage for another one. Wealth will enslave him, and change him in negative ways. If, however, John seeks Yahweh’s kingdom and righteousness, he will be free, and Yahweh will change him and make him fruitful and productive.

If John will accept Yeshua, Yeshua’s Spirit will enter his heart, and set up His kingdom in it. Then, if John will seek to live according to the dictates of King Yeshua, He will remove people, places and things from John’s life, and bring in new people places and things. John will then be seeking Yahweh’s kingdom.

Yeshua is righteous, and all His decisions are righteous. Yeshua is the Word of Yahweh made flesh. If John wishes to know Yeshua, he has to know the Word. If John will study the Word, and consume it, it will transform him into a new person, who will base all his decisions on the Word. Then, John will be seeking Yahweh’s righteousness.

In sum, John will live his life according to the leadings of the Holy Spirit, and the instructions of the Word of Yahweh, which will always agree with each other.

So, here is John’s choice (and our’s): seek first, money, power, and things, and empower them to rule over him and make him unhappy. Or seek first, the kingdom of Yahweh and His righteousness, and empower Yahweh to rule over him, and give him the money, power and things that he needs to walk out his calling, and be happy.

That only leaves one question unanswered: Namely, what will John (and each of us) choose to seek first?

March 22, 2014June 19, 2014

Kiss the Frog (Part 2)

The Way Out

Is there a way out of addiction? Yes! Sanctification is the way out. The word “sanctification” means to be set apart, or to be made holy. So, what do we need to be set apart from? (1.) Our spirit needs to be set apart from the Devil’s kingdom. (2.) Our soul (our thoughts, imaginations and emotions) needs to be set apart from Satan’s kingdom. (3.) Our behavior needs to be set apart from Satan’s kingdom.

How can we set our spirit apart from Satan’s kingdom? Our spirit is not able to overpower Satan, and he is not willing to release us from his spiritual kingdom. There is nothing that we can do; our spirit is trapped in Satan’s spiritual kingdom.

Thankfully, Yahweh sent His Son Yeshua to rescue us from Satan’s spiritual kingdom and place us in His Spiritual Kingdom! (save us!) When we hear the Gospel, which is the Good News that Yeshua shed His blood to ransom us out of Satan’s kingdom, and we bow to Him as Lord, His Spirit indwells us. As Yeshua’s Spirit indwells us, He removes our spirit from Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and places us in His Spiritual Kingdom, by establishing it in us.

Through the agency of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Yahweh gives us power so that we can stop our soul and body from acting like Satan. The Holy Spirit leads us and guides us in order to sanctify our soul and body. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of His character in our lives to sanctify our soul and body. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding of His Word to sanctify our soul and body. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to people through us in order to build their faith and sanctify their spirit, soul and body. And in the process of giving these gifts to other people, our faith is built up so that we can sanctify our soul and body.

So here’s the bottom line. The process of sanctification begins in the spirit realm. More specifically, the process of sanctification begins when we bow to Yeshua, and His blood ransoms our spirit out of Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and His Spirit establishes Yahweh’s Spiritual Kingdom in us! This is where recovery begins.

Choose Your Path

The Scriptures say that Yahweh sanctifies our spirit via the Cross, and the Blood. Then, Yahweh connects our sanctified spirit to His Spirit and Word, which supply the power and direction that we need in order to sanctify our soul and body.

As we study and meditate on Yahweh’s Word, we change the way we think. We begin to think more like Yahweh, and less like Satan. We use our new reasoning abilities to cast down every argument, imagination, and emotion that does not line up with Yahweh’s Word. We also yield to the Holy Spirit, and let Him lead us.

Paul called this process the re-newing of the mind. Paul said that a believer was transformed by the re-newing of his mind. When Yahweh regenerated our spirit, and delivered it from Satan’s kingdom, that was an ontological transformation. When we cooperate with the Spirit and the Word, and allow them to re-new our mind, that is an experiential transformation. This sets our soul apart from Satan’s kingdom. Then, our soul has a new agenda that sets our body apart from Satan’s kingdom. In other words, our renewed soul changes our bodily behavior.

Yahweh’s recovery plan is spiritual sanctification that works itself out in our lives as we re-new our minds. It should not surprise us to learn that the Counterfeiter has put together a recovery plan that is also based on spiritual sanctification.

Essentially, A.A. says we can practice a set of spiritual (moral/ethical) principles, in all our affairs, and sanctify ourselves. The first three Steps, and their underlying spiritual principles, mimic the work of the Cross and the Blood of Yeshua. The first three Steps position a person to receive power and direction from a Power greater than himself (presumably his Creator), so he can work the remaining steps.

It is not possible, however, for a person to connect with Yahweh without going through His Son’s bloodstained Cross. Thus, Yahweh does not remove the person, who works the first three Steps from Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and put him in His Spiritual Kingdom. Hence, the person is not sanctified spiritually.

Since the first three Steps do not remove a person from Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and place him in Yahweh’s Spiritual Kingdom, he does not have fellowship with Yahweh. This person thinks that he is walking hand-in-hand with his Creator, but since he has rejected Yahweh’s revelation, The Master Deceiver is deceiving him.

Spiritual principles are attitudes and actions that nourish our immaterial part (spirit). Spiritual principles are closely related to moral and ethical principles. “Moral” refers to “right behavior”. “Ethical” refers to “a standard” of right behavior.

Hence, when we live by spiritual/moral/ethical principles, our conscience does not condemn us, and we don’t feel the guilt and shame that come from thinking and living wrong. The Deceiver knows that when our conscience is quiet, it is easy for him to deceive us into believing that we are right with our Creator.

Since moral behaviors and ethical standards are tied to religious doctrines, A.A. uses the term, “spiritual” principles. As the story goes, spiritual principles do not come from religious doctrines, they come from the nature of the universe. And there are attitudes and actions that bring us into unity with “God,” others and our true-self, and there are attitudes and actions that separate us from “God,” others and our true-self. Supposedly, dysfunction (addiction) is the result of violating life’s spiritual principles, and the solution to dysfunction (addiction) is adhering to them.

This is one version of A.A.’s spiritual (moral/ethical) principles.

Step 1: Honesty
Step 2: Faith
Step 3: Surrender
Step 4: Soul Searching
Step 5: Integrity
Step 6: Acceptance
Step 7: Humility
Step 8: Willingness
Step 9: Forgiveness
Step 10: Maintenance
Step 11: Making Contact
Step 12: Service

Practicing A.A.’s 12 spiritual principles, in all your affairs, will change the way you think, which will change the way you act. So, practicing A.A.’s spiritual principles will sanctify your soul and body…but they will not sanctify your soul or body, unto Yahweh. Practicing these spiritual principles may mimic Yahweh’s sanctification by correcting a dysfunction in your life, but they will not make you right with Him. Practicing these spiritual principles may even lead to spiritual experiences that make you aware of the spirit realm, but they will not awaken you to Yahweh.

The objectives of Yahweh’s plan, and the objectives of Satan’s plan are identical. The mechanisms that bring about the objectives in Yahweh’s plan are identical to the mechanisms that bring about the objectives in Satan’s plan. However, the power source that drives the mechanisms in Yahweh’s plan is the polar opposite of the power source that drives the mechanisms in Satan’s plan. This is the problem.

Since the objectives and mechanisms of Satan’s recovery plan are identical to the objectives and mechanisms of Yahweh’s recovery plan, some people think the recovery plans are identical. They are not! The power and information source that drives the mechanisms in the two plans are very different. Why does this matter? It matters because power and information come from relationship, and there is only one way to establish a relationship with Yahweh! You must go to the Cross!

Some people say that we don’t have to travel down the “Roman Road” in order to submit to Yahweh. These people say that they can submit to Yahweh by working the 3rd Step (surrendering their will and life to a God of their own understanding.) These people are denying Yahweh’s revelation, and His Son’s finished work on the Cross. These people are preaching “another Gospel”. And when they preach Jesus in this other Gospel, they are preaching “another Jesus”. Run from these people!

These people say that the only thing that differs between Yahweh’s recovery plan and A.A.’s recovery plan is terminology. These people say that they can use the terminology that they want to use to submit to God, and you can use the terminology that you want to use to submit to God. The only thing that is really important is that we submit to God, and we all do that differently. This is wrong! If you do not submit to God, the way He said to submit to Him (through His Son’s bloodstained Cross), then you will submit to someone other than God.

Some things Never Change

In the beginning, the wise old Serpent promised that we could be like Yahweh by knowing right and wrong. That is, the crafty Serpent said that we did not have to submit to Yahweh’s revelation, and promised that we could create a more pleasing reality by practicing a set of moral/ethical/spiritual principles. The Serpent lied.

The Serpent has not changed his tactics. Through A.A., the Serpent says that we do not have to submit to Yahweh’s revelation, and promises that we can recover by practicing a set of moral/ethical/ spiritual principles. The Serpent is still lying.

The lies of the Serpent are subtle. The Serpent counterfeits the works of Yahweh. This is why the counterfeit recovery program just sounds like a less threatening, or a modernized politically-correct version of Yahweh’s recovery plan. It is not!

The counterfeit recovery program is carefully crafted. It uses some of the terms and concepts that are in Yahweh’s plan. The Serpent knew that if his plan looked very different from Yahweh’s, he would have a hard time getting you to accept it.

For the sake of contrast, let’s say that the Serpent’s plan instructed you to kiss a frog, so that it would turn into a savior, who would deliver you from addiction. In this outlandish hypothetical scenario, you would probably realize, very quickly, that Yahweh’s plan was a viable plan, and the Serpent’s plan was a fairy tale.

This is exactly why the Serpent made his recovery plan look like Yahweh’s. And to sweeten the mixture, the Serpent used earthy concepts that appeal to the natural mind. Then, the Serpent put the icing on the cake, by eliminating the specificity that Yahweh built into His recovery plan, in order to make it all-inclusive.

The Serpent’s frosted cake appeals to fallen people with natural minds. The sad thing is that the Serpent’s sweet-cake does not impart any of the spiritual blessings that Yahweh’s Heavenly Manna does. And the saddest thing of all is that after a person eats the Serpent’s sweet-cake, he views Yahweh’s plan as a fairy tale.

In Yahweh’s recovery plan, He sanctifies our spirit, soul and body. Yahweh recreates us as a new creature, and gives us new desires that please Him.

In Satan’s recovery plan, we attempt to sanctify our spirit, soul and body. We do the religious things that A.A. prescribes in order to subdue our fallen nature, and change our desires.

It is our choice.

We can work Yahweh’s recovery plan; or, we can kiss the frog.

February 18, 2013June 18, 2014

Love Potion #9

Have you ever seen the movie, Love Potion #9? In this movie, when someone drinks the love potion #9, suddenly, they see the world through “rose-colored” glasses. After imbibing these chemicals, a person sees the beauty in the world, and they also see the beauty in whomever happens to be in front of them. This quickly leads to trouble. The chemicals in the potion cause the person to perceive a reality that does not exist—one that is more palatable to them—, and unfortunately, they also cause the person to interact with the reality that does exist, wrongly.

These people live in a pliable artificial reality that is embedded in an unbending absolute reality. The differential between the artificial reality and the absolute reality creates strain and tension, and the only way that a person can manage this strain and tension is by increasing the dosage of the love potion in order to bend the artificial reality even more, while making minor adjustments to how they interact with the absolute reality. At some point, however, there is a break. The spiritual, emotional, physical and relational tension and strain between absolute reality and artificial reality becomes too great. Absolute reality crushes artificial reality in order to eliminate the stored up strain and tension. This pent-up energy is released and transformed into another form of energy called, consequences.

These consequences are negative, but they can either create or destroy. On the one hand, when a person looks at the consequences of his or her behavior and accepts the fact that he or she has not interacted with absolute reality, rightly, and does not enter into their “artificial reality of choice” anymore, the consequences create a new life for him or her. On the other hand, when a person refuses to acknowledge that he or she has interacted with absolute reality, wrongly, and continues to enter into their “artificial reality of choice”, the consequences destroy his or her life.

Sound familiar? It should sound very familiar to addicts and alcoholics.

Drug addicts ingest chemicals. The chemicals disrupt the person’s neurotransmitters in his or her brain. As the neurotransmitter balance is disrupted, the brain modules begin to interact with each other differently, which causes a change in consciousness—–a change in the way that person perceives his or her self and absolute reality (the external world),—- producing an artificial reality.

As a bonus, when the addict ingests chemicals, the mesocortical limbic system, a brain structure involved with motivation and reward processing, is flooded with dopamine (the feel-good neurotransmitter), producing a rush (an intense sense of pleasure and well-being).

A similar thing happens when we bond with others and experience love. As we bond with others and experience love, our brain produces a hormone/neurotransmitter called, oxytocin. As oxytocin binds with its receptors, it triggers the release of a wave of dopamine that floods the mesocortical limbic system, which is why bonding and love feel good. It is also why we become addicted to it.

Some scientists think that addiction is the byproduct of the brain’s love system. According to this view, we are seeking the sense of pleasure and well-being that comes from being loved and nurtured. Nevertheless, most scientists agree with the concept that addiction is a byproduct of the brain’s reward center that responds to natural rewards that are necessary for our survival. The bottom line is that addiction is the misuse of the natural reward/love system that God designed into our brain/body complex so that we could survive.

So you might as well face it…..you’re addicted to love.

Addicts are addicted to a love potion (a drug) that allows them to escape from the confines of absolute reality in order to live in their artificial reality. This is what the addict has deemed to be rewarding for him or her and so this is what makes them feel good and what drives their behavior.

God created our brain, and He allows us to place values on our experiences. The prefrontal cortex is where we assign these values. The prefrontal cortex interprets each experience. In the past, if we have assigned an experience a positive value, then the interaction between the prefrontal cortex and the mesocortical limbic system produces a rush of pleasure. Thus, we want to repeat the behavior that generated the experience, so we can get the rush (get high). This is why the people on the TV show, Strange Addictions can eat dirt or cigarette butts and feel pleasure, and get addicted to it.

Conversely, when we have an experience that we have assigned a negative value to, the interaction between these two brain regions produces feelings of displeasure and disgust. Thus, we avoid the behavior that generated this experience. This is why my son will not eat chocolate cake. When my son was little, he ate some chocolate cake and became violently ill. Consequently, now he refuses to eat chocolate cake because he does not want to be violently ill again. He has a strong aversion to chocolate cake that you cannot reason him out of because the experience triggered the fear center in his brain and created a semi-flashbulb memory that overpowers his rational centers.

Drug addicts live in an artificial reality of their own making, because they are uncomfortable in the absolute reality that God has placed them in, so they can grow spiritually. This is rebellion, because we refuse to submit to God’s authority and deal with life on life’s terms. It is witchcraft, because we seek to change absolute reality with our minds. It is sorcery, because we use chemical potions to try to change absolute reality. It is idolatry, because we put our trust in the chemicals rather than God.

Here is my point, addiction is not a disease. Addiction is not a breakdown or a misfire of the human machine that we have no control over. Addiction happens when we make a choice to misuse the human machine and place values on things that we have no business valuing. Addiction happens when we do not accept life on life’s terms. Addiction happens when we refuse to bow to God, and bow to an experience that is rewarding. Addiction happens when we drink the love potion # 9.