1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.
Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Like 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
In 1975 the Lord absolutely set me up for a deeply life changing adventure. A good friend had been encouraging me to move to Monterey California to play bass guitar with him and a very talented vocalist. In the fall of that year I left Michigan with another guitar playing friend and made the long trip to the west coast. I was totally unaware that my heavenly Father had a different set of plans for the move, but as a baby believer in the Lord I was pretty much oblivious to such things.
Arriving in Monterey we immediately moved in with our buddy who was living in a Christian men’s house. The house was headed up by a young couple who were strong, loving, and had significant testimonies of the Father healing and deliverance. This was especially true for Jim, the husband who had been hopelessly addicted to heroin, spending some significant time in a Colorado prison where he meet the Lord, and set free from heroin. I remember him so clearly telling me that “apart from Jesus there was no way to really break the addiction to heroin.”
As we had no way to support our selves we were quickly recruited to become part of a crew that worked nights at a nice hotel setting up banquets and meeting rooms. Enter the banquet crew boss whose name was Richard, who was a friend of Jim’s, and was also a former heroin addict and fellow inmate. Richard was a pretty amazing boss, with great people skills and an ability to manage unskilled, totally green rebels. As we worked together we learned that Jim and Richard were pretty much lifelong best buddies, and also that while Richard was free from heroin he had not surrendered to Jesus.
While driving the hills of Monterey our monster Buick suffered a significant break down. That night at work one of the guys on the crew heard of our problem and told us he could repair the car. The next afternoon we began repairs tearing apart the top of the engine. After a couple of hours I need to pay a visit to the bath room. Entering the small house another person was exiting the bathroom, which turned out to be Richard, who as he approached me was rolling down his sleeve. He looked at me for a second or two saying “I’ve just got to get my jolt” as he walked out the door. It is hard to describe to this day the mixture of emotions that slammed my heart at that moment as I encountered for the first time, the spirit of addiction.
Now here we are in 2018 and addiction is destroying individuals at an alarming rate. Currently 90 Americans each day are dying of heroin over dose, and yet the opioid crisis is simply the most visible of the addictions. It is the Father’s heart and desire for all of His children to be set totally free through the saving grace and power of the blood of Jesus. Let us agree together as we stand under the covering of his blood that the spirit of addiction is broken!
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