addictions

“Give Me Tonight”

/ Mark Brady / 5 Comments

Whenever one is struggling with an addiction, the messages they hear in their head matter. There are only three sources that can put thoughts into your mind.

  1. Satan
  2. Yourself
  3. God

When I first became aware of this, my next question was, “How do I know the difference? Who put the thought in my mind?” I developed a quick test:

Was the thought something that lined up with God’s word? Reading the Bible and knowing the nature of God helped in this one. If the answer was “No,“ then I would realize the thought was from satan and ignore it.

The second test was analyzing the thought again. If it was full of wisdom, then I definitely knew it did not come from me.

That leaves God. If it was positive, uplifting, encouraging, and aligned with God’s word, I could accept it. This method also works for learning to hear God, his Spirit, speak to you.

This is why the Bible tells us to bring every thought into captivity.

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. 2 Cor. 10:3-6 (MSG)

So when my friend, who is currently struggling with alcohol, told me to “Give me tonight.” I asked him, “Where do you think that thought came from?” They wanted one more night to indulge in a can of liquid emptiness. After that, I asked him, “Who do you think put that thought in your head?” We ran through the test, and he summarized satan did. It’s just like the devil trying to convince someone that just one more night wouldn’t hurt anything.

Knowing who puts messages in your head is vital to changing your behavior. It also helps you know who you are listening to. The devil is not going to tell you anything that is for your good. He is only interested in ruining your life and using you to get even with God. Your thoughts can be filtered by the environment, parents, and other influences you grew up with. That is why you should listen to what God tells you through your spirit and in his word. God is for you and not against you.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Rom. 8:31-39 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Milton Bradley’s “LIFE”

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Most of us probably played the 1960 version of the game “LIFE” by Milton Bradley, which first came out in 1860. While in a car, you spun a wheel to travel down a path and decide, when you reached a fork, which was the better way to go. You also had to draw cards; sometimes, like in real life, good things happened to you, and at other times bad things happened. It was a game of “chance’ and “luck.”

I recently got a front-row seat to someone living “real” life. Their version is certainly no game, and you live as if you are holding a lit stick of dynamite. The only problem is you have no idea how short the fuse is. I understand this person has a sickness, but I also know there is a way out. I also know there are programs that help people like this, and the ones that truly work are “faith-based.” Meaning they are grounded in God’s word and promote a personal relationship with God.

From what I have witnessed, there have been many opportunities for this person to get help, and they have before. But they eventually pick up another stick of dynamite. It will go off, and the individual holding it will again get hurt severely, but so will the ones closest to them. Their parents, spouse, children, friends, and those they work with.

Oh, they become professionals at saying the right things and telling people what they want to hear. “I’m done with this!” “I don’t want to keep repeating the pattern.” “I need help.” “I want help.” Then they decide to go with satan’s substitutes for life, and they once again pick up another stick of dynamite. They seem to struggle to believe there is a higher power. They fail to keep their sight on God, who no doubt has a beautiful plan for their life. They stop living the lifestyle it takes to overcome, heal, and renew their mind.

It hurts to sit at the table and watch them live what they assume is “LIFE.” But it isn’t life at all, and if continued, it will lead to death on earth and eternal death, more than likely. The only thing I know to do is to continue to feed them words of real “LIFE” from the Bible. To continue to pray for them, but honestly, they are the only ones who can stop the pattern and choose “LIFE.”

Life is not a game! As April said to me tonight, “There is no such thing as luck.” I think she is right. There are only blessings and curses. As my church’s motto states, “Whoever finds God, finds life!”

“I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deu. 30:19-20 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.