Opening up a can of worms this morning. Gonna talk about something that I haven't heard much about from the pulpit in my life. Gonna talk about addiction, which is something very easily demonized by good Christian folk. Too easy to think it's not a problem because it's not a problem for YOU. It's on THOSE people, in your opinion. They made their bed so to speak. Or maybe too easy just to say it isn't a problem because you don't want anyone finding out that it IS a problem for YOU!

Why do we do that? Pretend that we're okay when we're not? I bet that if most people were honest with themselves and really understood the power of the sinful nature, we would realize how easy it is for anyone to find themselves trapped in sinful addictions.

You'd think that once we give our lives over to the Lord, then sin and addiction shouldn't come into play anymore, right? That "good Christians" don't deal with addiction. And yet, that's not what we find. The Bible tells us that there is a spiritual war we enter when we step from the darkness into the light. And the enemy isn't one to just give up ground in this war. The power of God is there to free us from the punishment of sin - but it's also there to free us from the power of sin and one day free us from the presence of sin as we step into eternity.

Now here's a disclaimer this morning: addiction is a big issue, and this is merely an overview and a look at addiction from a biblical perspective. And that's good and necessary. BUT…if you think you have an addiction, it would be wise to also seek out other avenues of support and accountability, Christian counseling and other support programs. MY job today is to tell those struggling with addiction that God is for you and gives us some valuable wisdom in dealing with this battle.