For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 The addict has learned, through experience, to treat any negative emotion with a chemical. He feels bad and so, he reaches for the drug, which provides temporary…
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Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 1 Corinthians 5:6 The addict, in his addictive behavior, often betrays the trust of those around him. He might understand this, but then, when he gets sober, he often expects that trust to be restored immediately. I’m recovered now. Why don’t you trust…
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You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:5 Spending part of my week as the medical provider at an inpatient chemical dependency treatment facility, I do the intake physical exams for all new…
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Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 1 Corinthians 5:2 Years ago, I was a regular at a recovery meeting in which one of the officers of that group began abusing a certain drug that he felt wasn’t really that bad. He’d show up high, couldn’t see anything wrong with it,…
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It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 1 Corinthians 5:1 When talking about my drug use to a group of addicts, those in the audience can all identify with me. When speaking to…
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What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness? 1 Corinthians 4:21 The addict often doesn’t understand why his life is so miserable. It often seems that bad things just keep happening to him for no reason. He can’t catch a break and everything…
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I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:19-20 In any gym, there are those of who talk a big game, running their…
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We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. 1 Corinthians 4:13 We all wear many different hats and we all play various roles in our lives, some more important than others. We’re spouses and parents. We’re employees or business owners. We’re on school boards or we…
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We are fools for Christ’s sake . . . 1 Corinthians 6:10 I grew up in a stoic, conservative church. We rarely clapped to the music and there wasn’t a lot of hand-raising. There was certainly no dancing or shouting. There was one lady who sat behind us every Sunday, speaking in tongues, but she…
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What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 1 Corinthians 4:7 It was my pride and self-reliance – doing whatever I wanted – that led me to drug addiction. In the disastrous consequences of my addiction, I began…
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