Good Morning,

This morning I want to share an extended number of verses with you in our reading schedule, Proverbs 23:29-35. We are living in a day and age where people have turned to, and become addicted to many different things. People are looking for joy and fulfilment, they simply are looking in the wrong place to find it. Joy and fulfilment are found in Jesus Christ, but they are unaware of this, so they turn to drugs, alcohol, pornography, and even VIDEO GAMES. Yes, there is now an addiction to video games. Reformers Unanimous sent me a communication recently recognizing video game addictions. Our passage deals with alcohol consumption, notice now the text.

"29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."

The description is clear concerning the effects brought into one's life through alcohol. Verse 29 lists, woe, sorrow, contentions, babbling, wounds, and redness of the eyes, as companions with alcohol consumption. Verse 35 concludes with the words, "...when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again." This points to the continued and increased repetition of one drinking wine. Why would one continue to return to something that brings the items listed in verse 29? It is because, ultimately, he or she is addicted. My own father lived this cycle for many years until he came to trust Jesus Christ as his Savior. God freed him from this awful way of living, and it changed not only his life but also the life of our family.

Do you know anyone struggling with addictions? Are you struggling with an addiction? The first step to recovery is to admit it, then turn to the Lord and others who can help you find your way to freedom. John 8:32 states, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Verse 36 reads, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." May your life be made complete in Christ, as well as the lives of others. Joy and fulfilment are found in Jesus.

Have a great day!

Your Friend and HIS,

Pastor Abbott