Religion – Recovery In Christ Ministries

July 4, 2016November 19, 2023

Robbing God

What? Will a man rob God? Well, yes, he certainly will! Well, just who are these men, who rob God? And how does this robbery occur?

All aboard! And be sure to buckle up, because it is going to be a bumpy ride! In this post, we will touch the deadly “third rail” of religion. I am referring to the electrically charged financial rail that most religious machines ride upon. This deadly sacred cow of rails that I speak of is, of course, ” tithing“. Feel the electricity yet?

Let me warn you: This ride is a little longer than normal, but it is well worth your time. And as we move down the tracks, I will probably offend a few people, and loose some friends, but if that is the price for standing up for truth, I will gladly pay it. The next stop is freedom from religious control, so lets start our engines, and head out!

If you have read the introduction on the home page of my website, you know that religion was one of the main reasons that I turned to drugs for comfort. Religion told me that I had to perform the right tasks , in just the right way, so that God would accept, and bless me. And my long series of lackluster performances left me in torment.

As a child, I had no option, other than to endure the inner turmoil. The guilt, shame, rejection, self-hate, and isolation that I endured overwhelmed me, and there was nowhere I could run to for relief. Religion had tricked me into believing that the only One, Who could take away the pain, would not, because He was the One causing it!

I felt like a rat on a sinking ship. There was no way out. I scurried around in the sinking ship from one emotional deck, to another, in a vain attempt to escape the inevitable. Dreams of Hell tormented me at night, and robbed me of the rest that I so desperately needed. And, sadly, this spiritual dis-ease, produced disease in my body.

In my teen years, I discovered sex, drugs, and rock and roll. These servants served me well, and took away the pain, and gave me rest. That is, until my servants became my masters, and enslaved me.

So, as you can see, religion almost killed me. Since then, I have recovered from drug addiction, and religious control. And I want to help others get free also. Who the Son sets free, is free indeed.

Beliefs

We tend to underestimate Beliefs. Make no mistake, however. Our beliefs have consequences, in the material realm, and in our lives.

Our physical reality is a matrix of excited energy fields, which have collapsed into “particles” in various configurations. Information governs these patterns of collapse, and holds everything together. The informational matrix that, in the end, is everything, and holds everything together, is God’s thoughts, manifested in His Words. (Genesis 1:1-3; John 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3)

That which is above the physical realm, and, is its source, is the spirit realm. We are citizens of the spirit realm, who live in physical bodies. We can’t explore the spirit realm with our physical senses, because it is not a physical realm. We can, however, explore the spirit realm by embracing different beliefs. This is dangerous, but easily done, because nonmaterial beliefs connect us to the nonmaterial realm.

We manifest our nonmaterial beliefs, in our material brains. Then, these materialized beliefs direct our lives, here on the earth. Hence, belief is the gateway between the spirit realm, and the physical realm. Friends, don’t be deceived: Belief will either cut you off from God and His blessings, or bring God and His blessings into your life.

In my early years, religion tricked me into believing that God had rejected, and cursed me. And it was this demonically inspired false belief that cut me off from the grace of God, and His blessings. God’s grace and blessings were available, but I could not experience them.

Religion had me performing like a circus animal, and, in the end, it “rewarded” me with disease, addiction, and lack. Words cannot express how much man’s religion angers me. And, it angers God too!

Religious Profiteers

As far as I can tell, there are only two instances, in the New Testament, where it says that Jesus was angry. The first is recorded in Mark 3:5, where Jesus was angry with the religious rulers for allowing their religion to blind them to, Who was standing right in front of them performing miracles. The second is in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 2. The gospels record a time when Jesus entered the Temple complex, and drove the religious profiteers out.

Jesus was Yahweh manifested in human flesh, and this was the source of His authority. Contrary to what some people teach, Jesus was not a classically trained rabbi, who had been given authority by men. No, if this would have been the case, then the religious rulers would not have been amazed by the wisdom that this uneducated man possessed, nor would they have had to ask Him by what authority He had done these things. (John 7:15; Matthew 21:23)

Yahweh required every male to travel to the Temple, during the three pilgrim feasts. (Deuteronomy 16:16) These males had to offer sacrifices to Yahweh. It was problematic, however, to bring animals on a long, and difficult journey. And besides that, the pilgrims never knew if the priests would accept their animals or not, so the religious leaders authorized the selling of animals, in the Temple’s outer court. The sacrifice-sellers charged worshipers exorbitant prices for “priest approved” animals, and gave the religious rulers a piece of the action.

The prices that the sacrifice-sellers charged in the outer court were ridiculous. Jewish history testifies of a famous rabbi, who once successfully negotiated a 99% discount for an animal sacrifice!

Male worshippers of Yahweh were also required to pay a yearly Temple tax, which helped run and maintain the Temple, build Israel’s roads and aqueducts, and take care of Israel’s poor, disabled, widows and orphans. (Exodus 30:13) Israel was supposed to be a theocracy, and the Temple was supposed to be the seat of the government.

Yahweh specified that the Temple tax was to be a half shekel. So, in order to keep the letter of the law, the religious rulers set up money-changers in the outer court of the Temple, who exchanged foreign currencies for shekels. Sadly, the religious rulers exploited Yahweh’s Word, and made a profit from this exchange. Some scholars say that they made as much as 12% on each of the 2.5 million transactions!

As I stated before, Jesus was Yahweh in human flesh. So, Jesus had no problem with the economic system, which helped worshippers fulfill His law. What disturbed Jesus was the religious rulers, who exploited His Word, in order to make a profit, at the expense of the poor. The religious rulers were actually stealing from the poor! This is why Jesus said that these despicable religious profiteers had turned His Father’s house of prayer, into a den of thieves!

Once again, the religious rulers were keeping the letter of the law, while violating it’s intent (the spirit of the law). And since these despicable activities occurred in the court of the gentiles, or the court of the nations, everyone saw them, and Yahweh’s name was blasphemed by the unbelievers, who visited Israel. (Romans 2:24)

The Tithe

Now that we have seen what fallen human beings tend to do whenever they have an opportunity to profit from the spiritual lives of others, we can better understand why the tithe was never given as money. The tithe was never about money, it was about food.

The priests did not possess, or inherit land in Israel. Consequently, the priests could not grow crops, or raise animals. To ensure that the priests did not starve to death, Yahweh instituted the tithes.

The first tithe was 10% of a land owner’s crops, and animals, which was to be given to the Temple storehouse. The second tithe was to be taken to the Temple, and eaten by the tither, before the Lord, to celebrate His goodness. This tithe was to be shared with the Levites (the Temple workers), the poor, the disabled, the widows and the orphans. (The land owner could sell his goods, and make the journey to Jerusalem with money, but when he got to Jerusalem he had to buy whatever he wanted to eat or drink, and share it with everyone.) The third tithe was to be given every 3 years. On the 3rd year, the land owner would take 10% of his crops, and animals and throw a “big party” for the Levites, the poor, the disabled, the widows, and the orphans, who lived near him. (Deuteronomy 14:22-29)

Remember this: In its purest form, Israel was a theocracy, and the Temple was the seat of the government. The religious rulers were government officials, who collected taxes. These taxes (the Temple tax) was used to build, and maintain Israel’s infrastructure. Tithes were about food, not money. The tithes were not intended to enrich the religious rulers, the tithes were intended to feed the religious rulers, the poor, the disabled, the widows, and the orphans.

The Ekklesia

The Ekklesia, which is more commonly called the Church, is a universal Spiritual body. I describe it this way, because the Holy Spirit is in us, here on the earth, and the Holy Spirit, is in Jesus, in heaven. The Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus, and hence, we are, “In Christ“. Jesus is our King, and He has established His Kingdom in our hearts. And where two or more of us are gathered together, in His name, Jesus is in the midst, and His Kingdom begins to operate.

Our bodies are now the Temple of God, and the government of God operates in our hearts, through our Great High priest, and King. As Spirit filled believers, we no longer need an earthly Temple, human priests, or animal sacrifices. And thankfully, we no longer have to travel to Jerusalem three times a year, and buy expensive animals, pay a Temple tax, or three tithes! It is finished! We have a perfect union with Yahweh, through the precious blood of the Lamb of God!

The Visible Ekklesia

The invisible, universal, Spiritual body of Messiah manifests, where two or more believers are gathered together, in His Name, and, at that place, His Kingdom will operate, in order to bring direction, correction, edification, peace, and healing to all in attendance.

There are small pockets of the Messiah’s Kingdom all over the world. In these small assemblies, there are not two classes of people. There is not an elite class of religious rulers, who have authority over the common worshipers. No sir, we are all brothers and sisters with different assignments, and different functions within Messiah’s Spiritual body. No one has the authority to lord over an assembly. The leaders of an assembly must be its humble servants. (Matthew 23:8; Mark 10:42-45; 1 Corinthians 12:12-18; 1 Peter 5:3)

Paul appointed a group of elders to oversee each assembly. These elders were to guard the flock (their fellow assembly members), from false doctrine, and teach the Scriptures, so that they would grow up, and go out and do the work of the ministry. Paul said that the local elders, should perform their duties willingly, and not for personal gain. Paul said that we owe the elders, who serve well, double honor. However, Paul said that each assembly should help support traveling apostles, and evangelists, who couldn’t hold a steady Job. (Ephesians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 9:11; 1 Peter 5:2; 1 Timothy 5:17)

So, here’s the question: How did the assemblies help support traveling apostles, evangelists, the poor, the widows, the orphans, and fellow believers in other assemblies? Did the members of each assembly pay a tax, or a tithe? No record of any such tax, or tithe is recorded in the New Testament. No, the only offerings that were ever given to apostles, evangelists, the poor, the widows, the orphans, or struggling assemblies were free will offerings. (1 Corinthians 16: 1-9; 2 Corinthians chapters 8 & 9)

The Scriptures

It doesn’t matter what I think about the tithe. It doesn’t matter what your pastor thinks about the tithe. The only thing that really matters is what the Scriptures say about the tithe. And, strangely enough, the tithing system is only mentioned in the New Testament twice.

First, the tithe is mentioned in Matthew 23:23, and Luke 11:42. In these verses, Jesus tells the religious leaders that they should tithe their herbs, and not neglect the more important things of the law. Well, of course, Jesus Christ would tell these men to tithe, because they were under the law for righteousness. If Jesus would have told them anything else, He would be telling them to break the law (to sin), and He would become a law-breaker (a sinner)Himself!

Secondly, the tithe is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 7. In the ancient eastern world, to pay a tithe was to submit to someone greater than yourself. People would pay tithes of things to kings, to get on their good side, and receive favor from them. The writer of Hebrews, is addressing Hebrews, who are familiar with tithing. The Jews revere Abraham, and hold him in very high spiritual regard. The writer of Hebrews is emphasizing the greatness of Melchisedec’s priesthood. This priesthood is so great that even Abraham, and the Levitical priests, who were in his loins, paid tithes to it! Without any doubt, the Melchisedec priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood. And Jesus is the High priest of the Melchisedec priesthood! This lets the Hebrews know exactly how great Jesus is.

Some preachers say that tithing is a general principle, or “a spiritual law“, which is why people tithed in the Old Testament, and so should we. The writer of Hebrews, however, says in verse 5, that the Levites were commanded to take tithes from the people according to the law. (Tithing is not a general principle, or a spiritual law, it is a Mosaic ordinance to those, who were under the law for righteousness.)

And in verse 12, the writer of Hebrews says that since the priesthood has changed, the law has also been changed.

Paul

God sent Peter to instruct the Jews. The Jews knew all about tithing, but yet the Apostle to the Jews never mentioned tithing one time. This is very telling. God sent Paul to instruct the gentiles, that is, the people of the nations. The gentiles did not know a single thing about tithing. And the Apostle Paul never mentioned it one time! The Apostle Paul’s silence on the issue of tithing is truely deafening.

If our ability to be blessed rested on, whether or not we tithed, and if our assemblies were to be funded with mandatory tithes, don’t you think that Paul would have explained the tithing requirements to us?

Paul told us to follow him, as he followed Jesus. Jesus Christ didn’t pay tithes, because He wasn’t a farmer, He was a carpenter. Paul, being a Pharisee, didn’t pay tithes (unless he paid them on the herbs he grew in his window sill). More importantly, Jesus and Paul did not collect tithes to support their ministries. Both of their ministries were supported by free will offerings. Both of them were outside of the Temple tithe system, because they were not Levites. Only Levites could receive tithes. (Mark 6:3; Luke 8:1-3; Philippians 4:15)

If the Son of God, and the greatest Apostle in the New Testament, did not collect “monetary tithes” (because there was no such thing), to support their ministries, then what in the world makes preachers today, think that they can compel people to give them “monetary tithes”? Once again, tithes were not about money, they were about food for the priests, disabled, poor, widows, and the orphans.

There is absolutely no Scriptural basis whatsoever for requiring New Testament believers to tithe 10% of there monetary gains to their elders, in order to be blessed by God. None. Zip. Zero. Notta.

Twisting Profiteers

The fact that tithing is not possible today, and that it is not meant for New Testament believers, because God has changed the priesthood, and changed the laws that govern it, has not stopped those, who wish to profit from the spiritual lives of others. Today, Doctors of theology skillfully twist the Scriptures, and threaten God’s people with curses, if they do not give them 10% of their gross income. This behavior sickens me, and, more importantly, it sickens God.

This is no different from what the money-changers, and sacrifice-sellers did in the Temple’s outer court. These preachers are taking money from the saints, by force. These preachers are thieves, and robbers. And this spiritual thievery hits the poor the hardest.

I know a lady, who can’t buy a much-needed new car, because, her pastor has told her that she has to tithe, or be cursed by God. Another couple that I know had to choose between buying diapers, and baby food, or angering God, and falling under His curse!

Not long ago, a dear woman that I love very much came over to my house in tears. She told me that her pastor said that God had cursed her for not tithing. She said that she could not afford to tithe, and pay her rent, and she had no hope of ever prospering!

This dear lady really believed that God had cursed her. And since belief is the gateway to the spirit realm, that was her reality!

And all these despicable actions are taking place before the eyes of the world, and for this cause many unbelievers blaspheme God’s name. I know this to be true, because I have relatives, who want nothing to do with God, because they see “His leaders” swindling money from people. It is really a sad, and sickening situation.

Shutting up the Kingdom

Today’s thieving preachers are doing the same thing that the Jewish religious leaders in Galatia were doing. They were shutting up the Kingdom of God unto believers, and perverting the Gospel, counting the blood of Messiah as a worthless thing. “For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

These preachers proclaim Malachi 3:7-11, at the top of their lungs. Pronouncing a curse of God on the non-tithers. Now, obviously, if you are under God’s curse, you are not right with Him. That is to say, you are not righteous in His eyes. What a perversion of the truth!

The Gospel, the good news is that Christ fulfilled the law and earned His righteousness, along with all the blessings of God, and then He freely gave us His righteousness, and all the blessings that He earned. There is no way that a believer can be cursed by God.

Little do these thieving preachers know that when they proclaim Malachi 3:7-11, they are actually testifying against themselves.

Will a man rob God?

Malachi 3:7-11, asks if a man will rob God. How could a man rob God? We can’t hold a gun on God, and take His stuff. We, however, can rob God by not supporting the people He tells us to support. The tithes were to help feed God’s people, who could not provide for themselves. The priests couldn’t provide for themselves, they didn’t own land, and then there were the poor, the disabled, the widows, and the orphans. Robbing God, is, in fact, robbing God’s people.

So, will a man rob God? Definitely, it is done routinely, every Sunday, when men put on fancy suits, and rob God, as they rob His people!

New Testament Giving

After the Holy Spirit birthed the Church, believers met in each other’s homes, and they continued to do so for a long period of time. So, during this time period, did all the believers pay each of the homeowners, who hosted Church in their home, 10% of their income? No, of course not. Much later, perhaps after the third century, the Church started meeting in large buildings that were built specifically for that purpose and they had a lot of bills. In order to pay those bills, some of them misappropriated the Old Testament tithe system. There is nothing wrong with having a big building, but there is something wrong with misappropriating the Old Testament tithe system to pay all the bills that come along with it.

Now, let me be clear: God expects us to give, whatever we are able to give, to help the less fortunate. (2 Corinthians 8:2) And if we want to be a member of a large institutionalized business-like corporate assembly, then we should help with its expenses. We should do our part. If you give 10% of your gross income, or more, simply because you want to, then God bless you! There will be a lot of fruit in your account, so rejoice, and be glad that God has given you so much! If you can’t, however, God is not going to curse you, and condemn you.

In the New Testament dispensation, God will prompt you to give money to support your assembly. God will also prompt you to help the poor, the disabled, the widows,the orphans, and all the saints, who are in need. If you fail to obey God’s promptings, you will sin, and you will miss an opportunity to sow a good seed, which may have brought you a great harvest. Nevertheless, God is no longer counting your sins against you, so, one thing is for sure, God is not going to curse you for not giving money to a church!

Wow! This would really put the Ekklesia to the test. It would prove, which leaders are true shepherds (God-appointed), and, which are hirelings (self-appointed). It would really take a lot of faith to believe God would prompt the flock to support the elders, and keep the doors of a large building open every month. I guess that’s why they pull the old tithing scam.

New Testament giving is summed up in 2 Corinthians 9:7, when Paul says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Isn’t it telling that Paul was collecting an offering for the saints in Jerusalem, who were starving, and suffering great need? Think about it, if the saints in Jerusalem were starving, shouldn’t the Temple tithes have been used to feed them? The Temple tithes were not used to feed the saints, because Messiah’s followers were outside of the Temple tithe system, and did not benefit from it. So, Paul had to collect a free-will offering for them. And as believers in Messiah, we are still outside of the Old Testament Temple tithe system.

As believers in Messiah, we have been freed from the law, for righteousness. There is no Temple standing today, and there are no Levites around to collect tithes. It is abundantly clear that the Old Testament Temple tithe system is not for us. Listen to Holy Spirit and He will inspire you to give what He wants you to give to your church. By all means, do your part to support your church, but don’t listen to the people in the fancy suits who tell you that if you don’t give them 10% of your check that God is going to curse you and condemn you.

So, make no mistake about it, every Sunday morning, God is being robbed, and it’s the man in the fancy suit, who is misappropriating the Old Testament tithe, who is robbing Him!

June 6, 2016

Supernatural Restraint

Religion will not teach us, who we are “In Christ“, so that we can walk in the Spirit, because, its leaders fear that they will loose control over us. See, when we learn, who we are in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, we will be free, but since religion derives its power from controlling, and exploiting us, they will not teach us the truth.

Sadly, religion performs its diabolical service, i.e., controlling, and exploiting its members, all in the name of God. Consequently, God’s name is held in derision by the unbelieving world. (Romans 2:24) Religion hurts God’s efforts to reach the unbelieving world, because the unbelievers recognize control and exploitation when they see it.

What is even sadder is that God’s people are so in love with Him, and so eager to please Him, that they are, by and large, blind to the fact that their religious institutions are controlling and exploiting them. God’s people mistakenly believe that God needs these corporate institutions to build Him a dwelling place on the earth, and spread His kingdom throughout it. God, however, doesn’t need them.

God told His people to go into the nations and make disciples, not to build large buildings, and require people to come to them, and pay for them. Believers go out into the world, and proclaim the gospel, and as a person believes the gospel, God comes to live in their body, and, by doing so, He enlarges His Body, and spreads His Kingdom.

The Body of Christ is not a physical body, in the form of some religious institution, no, the Body of Christ is a Spiritual organism. Likewise, God’s Kingdom is not a physical institution with tentacles that reach into politics, business, and entertainment, and slowly squeeze the players in these fields, until they submit to God. No, God’s Kingdom is within us, for it is a Spiritual Kingdom, which can only be entered by embracing God’s love, which is made known to us via the gospel. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Luke 17:21; 1 John 4:9-10)

The leaders of these religious institutions are not called to become rich, powerful, and influential, so they can, use their power, money or social influence to bring people to God. No, no one comes to Jesus, unless the Father draws him, through the Gospel. (John 6:44)

Now, am I saying that believers should not assemble together, at some location, in order to worship the Lord, encourage each other, and study the Scriptures? God forbid! The Scriptures are very clear: We should do these very things! (Hebrews 10:25; Ephesians 4:9-10)

We have gotten off track, however, and established cash-hungry religious institutions, which are run by “little caesars“, who like the Caesars of the old Roman Empire, believe that they are God-men, who demand absolute obedience, and can not be questioned. These God-men hear directly from God, and speak for Him, whereas his subjects do not. These priests stand between God, and His people, and give them their marching orders, which they dare not disobey.

This caesar mentality is not biblical, and in fact, it is antithetical to what the Bible teaches. The Bible clearly says we are all equal, i.e., we are all brothers. It says that the greatest among us, will be the one, who is the servant of all. It also says that those, who serve us, must not lord over us. (Matthew 23:8; Mark 10:42-45; 1 Peter 5:3)

Not only do these so called God-men priests stand in between us and God, and shut up the kingdom of heaven unto us, unless we obey them, as they steadily lord over us, and fleece us, they also attempt to bribe us into obeying God, and scare us into not disobeying Him. Usually, this entails obeying God so that He will bless us with wealth (most often by giving to the religious institution, or the caesar), and threats of sickness, poverty, death or Hell, if we dare disobey Him.

Does this sound a little familiar? It should! This is exactly what the Jewish religious leaders were doing to God’s people in Israel, when Jesus arrived. See, human nature has not changed since that time: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In the Old Covenant, a person was saved by believing whatever God had said about the Promised Seed. After that, the law penalized disobedience, and rewarded obedience. So, the law determined the quality and length of your life, but it didn’t determine your salvation.

When a person was saved in the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit did not enter his body, and abide with him. The law is what attempted to keep the believer on the “straight and narrow”. When the believer failed, he offered the prescribed sacrifice in order to be restored.

The situation is different in the New Covenant. Now, when we believe what God has said about the Promised Seed (Jesus), the Holy Spirit comes to live in our body. The Holy Spirit gives us new desires, and restrains us from doing evil. The law’s threats of curses, and promises of blessings are no longer needed, neither are its sacrifices. Thankfully, there is no longer a need to meticulously keep the law.

Don’t misunderstand: The law is good and holy, but our flesh is not. The law stirred up the diseased emotions in our flesh, which strengthened sin’s control over us, and this drove us to the sacrifices, which symbolized Jesus. The law was our schoolmaster that led us to Jesus. (Romans 7:8, 12, 14; Galatians 3:24)

Jesus kept the law perfectly, and earned the blessings that the law offered, and put away the curses it prescribed for disobedience. And since Jesus is in us, and we are in Him, our salvation, and our blessings have been secured forever, by His perfect obedience!

It is finished! We are blessed with every blessing that God has to give us! We are forever saved! We are the righteousness of God! We are Holy! There is nothing more that we can do to be more saved or more blessed! God in Christ paid it all, and did it all! Glory!

Now, hold on, wait a minute. This kinda steals the thunder away from the little caesars, and their religious institutions doesn’t it? Exactly: That is why they will not teach this in its entirety. The whole truth removes their ability to control, and exploit their members.

Caesar is afraid that without his promises of blessings, and threats of curses, he will not be able to expand his kingdom, and we will not obey God. The caesar’s empty promises and vain threats, however, are no longer needed. We now have the loving embrace of the Holy Spirit, who will change our evil desires, and motivate us to do good works, which glorify God, not caesar. (Galatians 5:17)

So what shall we say? Since we are free from the law, and under grace, shall we sin so grace will abound? Since it is finished, and God is not going to take away our blessings, or our salvation, shall we just live the way we want to, and go on sinning? God forbid!

The choice is yours: You can listen to the promises and threats of caesar, hoping that they will restrain you from doing evil, or you can embrace God’s loving restraint within you, the Holy Spirit, your supernatural restraint.

June 2, 2016

Follow the unseen

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is the foundation that we stand upon, in order to receive that which God has promised, and it is the proof that we are seeking a reality, which we can’t see with our physical eyes, within our current temporal frame of reference.

Paul said that if we would walk in the Spirit, then we would not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) Paul also said that it was the standard operating procedure for a Christian to walk by faith, and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

What Paul, and the writer of Hebrews, is telling us is that if we want to overcome our flesh, the devil, and the world, and receive what God has promised us, we must embrace the unseen reality that God says is real, based strictly on God’s promise that it is real, and live in that unseen reality, and let it guide us through this temporal realm.

God says that we can rise above the flesh, and live out our salvation, here on the earth, before we leave this corrupted flesh and enter into eternity in order to experience its fullness. (Philippians 2:12)

This is extremely important, because addiction occurs when we give ourselves completely over to the lust of our flesh. Our flesh craves comfort, and it is willing to sacrifice everything and everybody in our lives to get that comfort. Addicts are captives of their own flesh!

Consequently, the only real and lasting solution to addiction is to learn how to live and walk in the Spirit, and then live each day in the Spirit, so that the Spirit can direct each step in your earthly walk.

I know this seems like a nebulous statement, which is overwhelming. Just relax: Don’t worry, you will grow and learn how to live and walk in the Spirit, if you seek to live and walk in the Spirit. The more you study the Scriptures, and discover, who you really are, and exercise your spiritual senses to discern good and evil, the more proficient you will become at living and walking in the Spirit. (Hebrews 5:14)

Most people worry that they will mess up, and follow the flesh, while thinking they are following the Spirit. Let me assure you that you will, but that’s ok. Grace covers your sins and shortcomings. Just do the best you can, and exercise your spiritual senses. The results you get from your actions will let you know whether you are following the flesh, or the Spirit. Relax, God has you covered. (Romans 4:8)

Who are you?

It is imperative that we know, who we are, because knowing, who we are provides the framework that guides what we do. When I was an addict, I knew that I was an addict, so I did what addicts do. And for the most part, it didn’t bother me, because I was being who I was.

That all changed when I hit “rock-bottom”, and suddenly being an addict wasn’t fun, or comforting to my flesh anymore. It hadn’t been fun or comforting for a while, but rock bottom brought it to a head. I had to change in order to survive, and have any peace, or comfort.

What did I need to change? Did I simply need to put myself in a safe place where I couldn’t get drugs, until the chemical chains fell off my body? No, that was just the beginning. I had to become a new person with new desires. But how could I possibly become a new person?

Well, I stopped self-identifying as an addict, and self-identified as a born-again child of God. I embraced, with every fiber of my being, my new identity “in Christ”. That meant that I read the Scriptures, and chose to believe what God said I had become when His Spirit fused Himself with my spirit, which made me a totally new creature in Him.

Even though my physical eyes beheld the wreckage of my life, and “who” I had become, my spiritual eyes obtained momentary glimpses of who I really was in Christ, and the glorious future that He had planned for me. I felt a little psychotic, and people didn’t understand the goal that I was striving for, which was the high calling of God.

Accordingly, I could not afford to sit around in meetings and call myself an addict, and listen to people talk about drugs, and the carnage that comes with them. No, I had become a new person, so I had to forget those things that were in the past and press on towards the high calling of God in Christ. (Philippians 3:13-14)

The unseen reality

In my childhood, I suffered spiritual abuse, at the hand of institutionalized religion. The God they preached was angry with me, and the only way I could get on His good side was to “be good”, and do what He said to do. I thought that if I kept God’s laws, He would love me, and bless me. (This attitude is hard to shake, and it still rises up to torment me from time to time, and I have to cast it down.)

My spirit, the real me, lives in a corrupt flesh vessel (my body). My body was born into sin and corruption, so it has all kinds of diseased emotions, which move me towards sin, corruption, and death. The Bible calls these emotions, and the mindsets that correlate with them, “the flesh”. This is exactly what we need to overcome in the Spirit, so that we can live lives of peace, prosperity, and freedom.

Here’s the problem: God’s law actually strengthens the diseased emotions in our corrupt body, which increases sin’s control over our lives! (Romans 7:8) So, if we do not want sin to rule over us, we must not base our relationship with God on whether or not we keep His laws. (Romans 6:14) We must base our relationship with God on the grace that Jesus’ blood freely bestows upon us. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Yes, it is true. God loves and accepts us just the way we are, warts and all! (Romans 5:8) In Christ, you are holy, un-blamable, and un-reprovable. (Colossians 1:22) In Christ, you are the righteousness of God! (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus redeemed us for all eternity. (Hebrews 9:12) Jesus has given us eternal life. (John 6:47)

Even though we can’t see these things with our physical eyes, or feel like they are true, they are true! And if you will believe them, and live as though they are true, you will enter into God’s rest. (Hebrews 4:9-10) Not only will you rest in God, but this restfulness will defuse the diseased emotions that move you towards sin, so that you can overcome it. This is how you escape from the trap of addiction.

So, you can try to “be good” and earn God’s approval, and blessings by focusing on your sin problem, and fighting against it, or you can simply focus on, who you are, and what you have “in Christ”. If you choose to focus on your sin, and trying to defeat it, you will sink further into despair. If you choose, however, to focus on, who you are in Christ, you will reframe your life, and then, over a period of time, your behavior will conform to that new framework, and your desires will change. That is the solution. (What then? Shall we sin, so that grace should abound. No, God forbid. More on this in the next post)

So, here is the fundamental choice: Do we walk by sight, and follow what we see, or do we walk by faith, and follow the unseen?