Straight To The Source!

Hello Guys and Gals!

This is going to be a tough one for me to write. The reason it is tough is because of a friend of mine who believes so strongly in something that I do not fully believe in. I don't want to hurt my friend's feelings or minimize his beliefs in any way. I don't want to minimize what he has gone through in his life. But that is not the same as what I have gone through in my life and where God has led me. One thing God has instilled within me is the Truth! When He shows me His Truth, I am humbled with the knowledge that He chose me to talk about it!

The topic for tonight is addiction! I am a Methamphetamine Addict! I have been for a very long time, over twenty years now. I am not using and have been clean for quite some time now. If you want to know how long, then just ask me!

My friend believes in an organization that I do not believe is right for me. It was right for him! He found a focal point in his life with them so that he could be free from his addiction to Meth. That focal point is the organization he went to in order to get the help he needed. I am very proud of my friend and I'm glad that he found his focal point in them. But that organization is not for me!

And yet, I'm clean! I am clean from using Meth and have not had any cravings for it since I did one very important thing. I prayed! I prayed to God and told Him that I had not the power to say no to my cravings and I had not the power to become clean and I had not the power to free myself of this addiction! I told God that if He wanted me out of this life, then it would have to be by His power that gets me free from it! I told Him I had not strength or will to do it on my own! Then I earnestly asked Him to lead me out of that life of lies, deceit, abuse, and immorality! So He did exactly that!

From the very instant that I prayed that very prayer, I have not had one single craving to do Meth again! It left me instantly! It left me completely! And there is no doubt in my mind, heart, or soul that it was Jesus who took those cravings from me and freed me from that horrible life of addiction!

John 8:34-36 states:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

I was a slave to Meth! Meth was my Master! But Jesus walked into my sin and broke the shackles that bound me, my own cravings! I am free from those cravings! I am free from that sin! I am free from my former addiction! Yes, I said former! I said former because since Jesus made me free, I am no longer a slave to it and no longer an addict of it!

My friend told me that the 'church route' never works! If he reads this, I do not want him to feel like I am speaking out against him but only from my heart! He is my friend and I value him very much! But I also want him to know that the organization he went to for his help in becoming clean also prays before and after each meeting to God! So if that organization has any power or strength to combat addiction, then it comes from God and has no other source than that!

I am not taking the church route! I am taking the relationship with Jesus route! I believe it is the only true route in life that matters! I could care less about any church out there when it comes to the truth! If they speak the truth, I will support them in every way that I am able! But if I find that they are promoting even the littlest of lies, then I know they are not a true church of God and I will not support them!

I want my friend to know that all that he has done is wonderful in my eyes! I want him to also know that there are many paths to freedom from addiction. I believe that all those paths that truly free one from addiction have but one source, that of God Himself! So instead of going through a middle man, I went to the source and it is with Him that I place my life!

I am very blessed by the people whom God has brought into my life since that prayer! I value each and every one of them! My friend is also one of them.

So, to my friend, I ask that you read this in the spirit it was written and not as an attack against what you believe!

May God bless each and every one of you this evening!