From the Pastor    A Welcome Addiction

Addiction isn’t about substance – you aren’t addicted to the substance; you are addicted to the alteration of mood that the substance brings. — Susan Cheever

Webster’s dictionary defines addiction as: 1: the quality or state of being addicted

2: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal

You know how many harmful substances there are to be addicted to.  Any one of them can hold one down like a heavy ball and chain.  Millions are tormented by their addictions each day; their lives seriously hampered, leading to the erosion of abilities and relationships.  No one has to illustrate such tragedies for you, as you know someone destroyed by an addiction.

There is, however, a GOOD addiction. How about a compulsive need for God?  How about the habit-forming substance of faith?  How about an ultimate dependence on the saving grace of Jesus Christ?

As Cheever points out: an addict seeks an altered mood.  Substances are used to mask a pain, or simply make one “feel better.”  The problem is… they don’t!

Hey, the more we rely on God, the better we feel, even when times are tough.  When you feel close to God, your mood is lifted!  If the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, as Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-23… I want more of that stuff! — How about you?

             God’s best to you today,

                              Lee