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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Come,” each one cries, “let me get
wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even
far better.”
Isaiah 56:12
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Yesterday, we looked at the dangers
of substance abuse and how it can remove focus from the Lord and all other important
aspects of our lives. Today, as we look at the end of verse 12 of Isaiah 56,
and subsequently the end of the chapter, we will find the seventh indicator of
wicked living in this series. Look again at these words:
“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of
beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.” Isaiah
56:12
Note here that the Israelite people
at the center of this conviction of God are looking to their alcohol to make
their day. “Drink and be merry, making every day great or better than the day
before” would be their motto. There’s only one real big problem with their thinking.
Substances rarely make anything
better. Conversely, they make things worse.
Take alcohol for example. People
typically drink to get a high, to feel removed from the realities of life and
taken to a higher plain where they can be free from their troubles. But then,
the real nature of alcohol takes over.
Did you know it is really a
depressant?
That’s right. People who are
already depressed tend to over indulge in alcohol to feel better but in the
end, the depressant nature of alcohol only leaves them worse off than they
were. Things don’t get better at all.
Going back to when I was in Djibouti,
I remember that about 70 percent of the local population chewed these green
tree leaves called khat, an action that would release a powerful narcotic drug
into their systems. The effects of the drug usually lasted around six hours
with the first hours leaving the user in a euphoric state. But the last three
hours produced far from euphoria. Instead, it left the user in an induced state
of anger and rage before the drug finally wore off. Days hardly got better for
the Djiboutians under the influence of this drug.
Now, don’t think that it’s only
substance use or abuse that can lead people to sinfully substitute things of
the world to make their days better. There are plenty of people who go out and
shop in order to feel better. Or over eat. Or smoke. Or any number of other
enticements the world can offer. Anything except the Lord.
Friends, the Lord wants us to focus
our attention on Him and Him alone each and every day. For it’s only through
Him that we can find our days going well with the prospect for the next day to
be better yet. Look at these words from the scriptures:
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in
it. Psalm 118:24
It is the Lord that grants us each
day. He is the architect of all the days of our lives and it’s by His grace and
mercy that we draw in each breath and feel our hearts beat. This alone should
be enough to make us glad and in a spirit of rejoicing.
In the end translation, we are
blessed beyond belief by a God who meets our needs. Avoid any indication of
wickedness by seeking other sources of pleasure or enjoyment and revel in the fact
that you are perfectly loved and cared for by a divine, supreme Creator God who
is always working things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Only
He can make tomorrow as good as today and maybe even better.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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