Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Isaiah 38:21 Within Christianity, there are widely varying views on chemical dependency treatment and modern medicine. Some Christians feel that if you are addicted, all you need is Jesus. If you are sick, just pray. As…
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It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. Isaiah 38:17 I will do whatever it takes to change. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. This was my…
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Because you have raged against me . . . I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came. Isaiah 37:29 As I listened yesterday at our jail Bible study, two of the guys thanked God for jail. Thank…
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Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 30:10-11 When in pursuit of my own destructive appetites, I follow those voices that allow me to continue on my path.…
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You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me” . . .? Isaiah 29:16 I’ve often said that my drug addiction has not been my greatest mistake in life. My most egregious error has simply been that…
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. . . This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me . . . Isaiah 29:13 I find myself disliking today’s passage, as it reminds me of my own hypocrisy, past and present. When I read about those who follow God only with empty…
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As when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking, and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched . . . Isaiah 29:8 You are not alone. I understand what you’re going through. I know the struggle. There is tremendous power in those words. Struggling alone is exponentially more miserable than sharing a burden with…
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My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. Isaiah 26:9 Someone recently asked me what I do when the craving for a pill returns. I had to think, because it has been so long since I’ve felt that desire. Honestly, the thought of taking a pill is now abhorrent…
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He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces . . . Isaiah 25:8 I have difficulty with finding motivation in tomorrow, which is a significant life problem for me. When faced with pleasure now, even though it means some loss or pain later, it’s natural for…
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Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger . . . I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity . . . Isaiah 13:9-11 Four years ago, this week, I was in my first few days of chemical dependency treatment. This means I have been…
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