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[h=1]From Darkness To Light[/h][h=1]Craig Byrne[/h]Postedon August 27, 2012by admin
By abusing drugs andalcohol, a Christian is contradicting his own belief system—that God is all oneneeds to survive. God, after all, is the only source a Christian must dependon. An addict is dependent upon chemical substances, which in turn, becomefalse idols. Without even realizing how the evil one has manifested himself inthe mind of the addict, he has already convinced the drug user that drugs areall they need to propel them through the day.
As a result, theaddict takes on the characteristics of the entity who deceives. The addictlies, cheats, steals, breaks commandments, and hides from his or her true self,all in an effort to protect his reverence for the false idol—the drug.
Moving from darknessinto light is a process. This process requires the help of fellow believers tooverpower the entity who is out to destroy the Christian addict. This power canbe found in Christian drug rehabs, in local churches, or in Christian outreachcenters who desire only to shine the light of Christ upon the addict until theevil one recognizes that he is no match for God’s truth. The true believer,after all, will recognize the light as his true source and the deception willbecome clear because the darkness begins to fade to allow this clarity.
At this point, God’sgrace will be recognizable, as having always been there for the believer. God’splan of salvation will have unfolded before the addict’s eyes. The Christianaddict will understand that the Church that he or she belongs to is a refugewhere no one person stands alone.
When the grace, or“undeserved favor of God”, rests in this suffering addict, he or she will thenproceed to renew his or her mind. It is this renewal of the mind that Pauloffers as a demonstration of the faith by which men and women are saved. Thisrenewal, therefore, leads a person to live in light, where Faith with Worksbecomes a natural demonstration of the believer’s gratitude for God’s gift ofgrace.
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As a result, theaddict takes on the characteristics of the entity who deceives. The addictlies, cheats, steals, breaks commandments, and hides from his or her true self,all in an effort to protect his reverence for the false idol—the drug.
Moving from darknessinto light is a process. This process requires the help of fellow believers tooverpower the entity who is out to destroy the Christian addict. This power canbe found in Christian drug rehabs, in local churches, or in Christian outreachcenters who desire only to shine the light of Christ upon the addict until theevil one recognizes that he is no match for God’s truth. The true believer,after all, will recognize the light as his true source and the deception willbecome clear because the darkness begins to fade to allow this clarity.
At this point, God’sgrace will be recognizable, as having always been there for the believer. God’splan of salvation will have unfolded before the addict’s eyes. The Christianaddict will understand that the Church that he or she belongs to is a refugewhere no one person stands alone.
When the grace, or“undeserved favor of God”, rests in this suffering addict, he or she will thenproceed to renew his or her mind. It is this renewal of the mind that Pauloffers as a demonstration of the faith by which men and women are saved. Thisrenewal, therefore, leads a person to live in light, where Faith with Worksbecomes a natural demonstration of the believer’s gratitude for God’s gift ofgrace.
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