Jesus And The Addict

We face a profound problem in this country and around the world, the plague of drug addiction. Lives are being lost and destroyed. Many people are affected by this issue in some way, via family members, friends, or co-workers. The question is, "How can people find true healing of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs involved in their addiction?" The author proposes leading addicted people to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus and the Addict: 12 Bible Studies for People Getting Free from Drugs is designed to help leaders in Christian faith-based recovery to guide those who come to their communities toward continuous freedom from drugs. The book contains twelve studies with biblical guidance on varying issues with which people in recovery struggle such as overcoming fear, learning to have hope, overcoming resentment, and dealing with forgiveness. Jesus Christ is the answer in all these things. Deepened relationship with Him and the transforming effect of His power and love bring redemption and new life. The book is intended for pastors, mentors, sponsors, and teachers - anyone working in jail, prison, transitional communities, or in churches to help recovering addicts. The studies are designed to be shared in large group settings, a speaker providing the teaching talk. Following that teaching time, the large group can then break out into small groups for discussion of the teaching. However, this material is workable within a single small group as well as a large one - the small group hearing the talk less formally and then discussing it. Each of the twelve lessons contains a verse or key verses from the Bible about a particular topic. Those Bible verses form the basis of the lesson. There is then a section with discussion about the background and state of mind of people seeking recovery for the speaker to consider about those who will be in the listening audience. The author's experience has largely been with people who are lower income or poor, but addiction affects all classes of society, and both urban and rural populations. The concepts discussed in the background and state of mind section are adaptable to varying recovery audiences. A prayer for the speaker is included next. Following the prayer, there is a sample talk section where some key points are given. This talk can be modified to fit the speaker's own experiences and their audience. And each chapter concludes with sample questions that can be used to stimulate conversation within your recovery group. The book also contains teaching and theology about the nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. An explanation of the cross event, resurrection, and the meaning of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers is explained such that people in recovery can understand God as being full of grace and as a source of great empowerment. The presentation of the present-day healing ministry of Christ gives hope to the addict that they can permanently be freed from drugs and feel the lifting of guilt and shame. They can also take their place as a useful and contributing part of the kingdom of God and in society. Dr. Pam Morrison, the author, is an ordained pastor from the Free Methodist Church. She has led or helped to lead six churches. She has volunteered with Prison Fellowship and has ministered with addicts in several settings. Her belief is that medical and secular means have been and are used to help addicts, but the greatest help anyone can receive to achieve permanent freedom is to find faith in Jesus Christ. So much more help is needed for addicts and families of addicts. We are short on places and those who will walk steadfastly with people seeking recovery. This is a ministry urgently needed in this hour.

The current success rate for addiction treatment is less than 30 percent, which means that 7 out of 10 recovering addicts are not being cured of the so-called disease of addiction. Why doesnt treatment work? The answer is simple - addiction is not a disease. In fact, the mainstream mythology of Once and addict, always and addict falls apart upon close inspection. Therefore addictive behaviors must be evaluated within the context of not sickness but sin. Through the study of the Bible, so-called addicts can learn how to achieve forgiveness of their sins and deliverance from their addictions by offering their hearts, minds, and bodies to Jesus Christ. They can then be taught how to take advantage of the powerful indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to wage war against their persistent addictive thoughts. Ultimately, this study has been designed to help substance abusers to focus their minds on God (instead of chemicals) in order to subdue their stubborn cravings for the seductive forbidden fruit of intoxication.

What is the basic point of this book? Theology makes a difference. The basic theology for addictions is that the root problem goes deeper than our genetic makeup. Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship. Will we worship ourselves and our own desires or will we worship the true God?

This is a true story of a man who struggled for 17 years with alcohol and drug addiction, as well as basic life management skills. Read how he journeyed from church as a young child, to turning to use of alcohol and drugs. The addiction progressed and soon came jail, overdoses, and a lot of emotional pain. At his lowest point he started to believe suicide was his only answer out of the prison he had placed himself into. On the night he decided to end it all, he began to think about eternity and talk to God. Read along as he moves through the path of skepticism and doubt, to a life committed to Jesus and trusting the Bible as Gods Word to teach him how to live. Today he works with men helping them to overcome addictions and other life-controlling issues through a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you or someone you know is struggling on this journey, then this story can help them understand more about the difficult battles, and shows how one person came through it VICTORIOUS!

Jones provides an in-depth look at how Jesus Christ offers complete and permanent deliverance from Satans traps, as opposed to the constant recycling process in which many addicts find themselves just "going through the motions" of secular recovery programs. (Practical Life)

“This book walks each of us through the reality checks we need in order to have the marriage we want!” —Shaunti Feldhahn, social researcher and best-selling author of For Women Only In today’s workplace, women are often rewarded for having type A personalities: driven, demanding, ambitious, and strong. Yet when it comes to their marriages, those same traits can backfire. After all, no one goes into marriage hoping for a promotion. What is a wife to do? April Cassidy knows this struggle firsthand. She thought she was a great Christian wife and begged God to make her passive husband into a more loving, involved, godly leader. Instead, God opened her eyes to changes that she needed to make, such as laying down her desire for control and offering genuine, unconditional respect—not just love—to her husband. Cassidy’s conclusions may be as startling to readers as they were to her, but The Peaceful Wife shares how she and many others have learned to reorient their lives to biblical commands—resulting in healthier, happier marriages. In the end, you’ll find The Peaceful Wife a powerful path to God’s design for women to live in full submission to Christ as Lord.

Substance abusers, addicts with a physical dependency, and those who cannot stop some type of pleasurable activity can gain insights and practical help from the hopeful message from the Bible regarding addictive thoughts and behavior.