Sat, Nov 21st - 3:37PM

RECOVERY

Brothers and sisters, let us continually refresh ourselves with the eternal truth as we are looking at the issue of addictions against the all-encompassing gospel message of Lord Jesus Christ for the whole world not to us only, but to all who believe on Him, regardless of race or ethnicity, and do His word. Let us boldly exalt the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and continually give Him honor and glory. To Jesus Christ be all  the praises, dominion, power, might and strength forever and ever: Psa 22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.

Christ’s message of the gospel is unchanging and remains for His people as to how they should live amongst one another and in the world, never failing to take the gospel message to the world as Lord Jesus commands:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Dearly beloveds, let us continue to understand that there is nothing promoting antigovernment here nor blindly following government without discernment. The scriptures are clear: Tit 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, 2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

Man run government world- wide, dearly beloveds, we know, has some corruption within it, where it willfully does not serve all the people impartially. This does not mean that Christians should not address such issues or not be a part of government or not try to make corrections where we can.

The IRS definition of a church:

 The term church is found, but not specifically defined, in the Internal Revenue Code. With the exception of the special rules for church audits, the use of the term church also includes conventions and associations of churches as well as integrated auxiliaries of a church.

Certain characteristics are generally attributed to churches.  These attributes of a church have been developed by the IRS and by court decisions.  They include:

• Distinct legal existence
• Recognized creed and form of worship
• Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
• Formal code of doctrine and discipline
• Distinct religious history
• Membership not associated with any other church or denomination
• Organization of ordained ministers
• Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study
• Literature of its own
• Established places of worship
• Regular congregations
• Regular religious services
• Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young
• Schools for the preparation of its members

The IRS generally uses a combination of these characteristics, together with other facts and circumstances, to determine whether an organization is considered a church for federal tax purposes.

Source:  Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations PDF

Brothers and sisters, we know that the church of Jesus Christ can never be defined by human government, although the church of Jesus Christ  obeys government as appropriate.  The church of Jesus Christ is not a building but the universal body of Christ of which He is the Head, and composed of all believers on earth and in heaven. We understand the IRS definition of a church is of a hodgepodge of various types groups doing religious or charitable stuff. Churches register with the IRS, although they do not have to if they meet certain criteria, but it assures those who donate that their contributions will be tax deductible.

The government offers grants to organizations and charities including those claiming to be churches to provide social services. However, the church is forbidden to preach anything about God, or to convert anyone they serve to their particular faith.  So, brethren, go figure, the same government sending addicts to church run organizations because faith-based treatment is more effective, bans them from receiving the source of faith, and in error makes faith void resting solely in an entity called faith, and not the source of faith which rests in the faithfulness and truth of God alone. It is crystal clear therefore, that this treatment is no different than that offered in the recovery movement and other secular treatment agencies.

The earlier question: dearly beloved is what do we, what does the church have to offer persons addicted to drugs and alcohol that is any better or different from that offered in the world? We know some in the church are addicted too. We must look at how the true church of Jesus Christ answers these questions.

Love

serola

Tue, Nov 17th - 10:40AM

RECOVERY

Brothers and sisters, again, over many decades, when it was minorities and poor whites having problems with drugs and alcohol, unlike the Christians who went out seeking the lost, sought them out to help them, regardless of race, thereby showing them they still had value and treated them in a wholistic humane way while giving them the gospel message and still do today, our government instead via its war on drugs formalized the stigma on addicts as an evil, and a moral failing of minorities and lower class whites, deserving of punishment/incarceration.

Treating addictions as a disease, dearly beloveds, became a model of treatment when the opioid epidemic hit middle- class white people. Nevertheless, non- whites and poor whites are still treated in a punitive way. Ironically, the stigma that the government helped to formalize/perpetuate in its so-called war on drugs, is the main hindrance today for why most people will not accept addictions as a disease, and reject the idea that the addict has no free will.

This stigma is the same reason that most middle-class white people will not seek treatment, they do not want to be identified with these groups.  For these reasons the government who greatly stigmatized the addicts are now doing major back peddling to change the language and the norm to de-stigmatize drug and alcohol addictions, to mitigate its impact on middle class addicts, not to mention advocating treatment instead of incarceration and the disease model instead of the choice, moral failure model: Addressing the Stigma that Surrounds Addiction | National ...

www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2020/04/...

Stigma on the part of healthcare providers who tacitly see a patient’s drug or alcohol problem as their own fault leads to substandard care or even to rejecting individuals seeking treatment. People showing signs of acute intoxication or withdrawal symptoms are sometimes expelled from emergency rooms by staff fearful of their behavior or assuming they are only seeking drugs.

Brothers and sisters, notwithstanding regardless of the first amendment: U.S. Constitution - First Amendment | Resources ...

constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1

First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The government, brethren, has been in the church through the tax laws codified in 1913. No unregistered church, no church that does not meet most of the IRS definitions of a church receives any tax exemption status. They are exempt from property taxes, federal, state taxes. But this is very convoluted because the government via the IRS reserves to itself  to define what is a church and what is a business apart from worship in the church. Love offerings are taxed, money made from weddings and funerals are taxed, salaries are taxed. Any business the church makes money from that the IRS determines is outside of worship can be taxed. Churches can be fined for not paying taxes if they do not meet the IRS definition of a church. The IRS allows no church to endorse or oppose any political candidate, to do so can result in the loss of their tax- exempt status. Tithes/offerings are not taxed, but donations over a certain amount requires the church to keep a detailed record concerning it. There is more about this and feel free to study this further on your own.

Dearly beloveds, this is not about whether a church should pay taxes or not although we know what Lord Jesus commanded: Rom 13:6-7. This is a glimpse of what it can mean when man run government enters the church by claiming the right to define what a church is or is not.

Brethren, despite the fact that rulings from across the nation since 1996 have established that requiring a parolee to attend court ordered religion-based treatment programs violates the First Amendment, drug courts for the most part ignore this and continue to refer addicts to these organizations. Why does the government continue to violate its own laws? This is why: Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith Is Indispensable ...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31359242

Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith Is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering From Substance Abuse - PubMed. This study reviews the voluminous empirical evidence on faith's contribution to preventing people from falling victim to substance abuse and helping them recover from it. We find that 73% of addiction treatment programs in the USA include a spirituality-based element, as embodied in the 12-step prog ….

Brothers and sisters, the government likely sees religion, and specifically Bible believing churches as resources to more economically and quickly break the norm of addictions being stigmatized and more readily accepted as an illness by the population in general. Next, dearly beloveds, let us examine what it means when the government funds addictions treatment services from Bible believing churches. More governmental convolution coming up.

love

serola

Mon, Nov 9th - 10:14AM

RECOVERY

Dearly beloveds, for well over 100 years Lord Jesus Christ through His people, have gone into skid rows, searched the streets to bring out people lost in the depths of poverty, and/or drugs. They did not shrink back from showing love and embracing even lice, flea, scab covered people they found there. For the Lord’s sake they took them in as they found them and helped them spiritually, mentally, emotionally, financially, never ceasing to give them the gospel message so that all who would believe would be saved.  Through their ministry to the lost many received salvation and changed (NEW) lives.

Even today, brothers and sisters, these ministries continue all across America.  Some of the biggest, supported by donations only, still minister comprehensively in providing permanent housing, education, biblical counseling, feeding, and employment to many thousands, while never ceasing to preach and teach the gospel message.

According to the Christian post over 60% of Feeding America’s 200-member food banks are faith- based organizations. The mayor of one large city said that if Christian food pantries closed down, the city would not be able to meet the demand to feed the needy.

Brothers and sisters, while the brethren, were ministering to all that they could, including addicts, regardless of race, the government was filling up drunk tanks and jails with poor whites and minorities. This focus on these groups continue because it was and is felt that only these people were degenerates, and not deserving of any other treatment. I may have inadvertently given the impression that the government is “friendly” towards religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Again, dearly beloveds, we need government on this present earth, it is ordained by God, and we are subject to its laws that do not infringe on our faith to worship our Lord freely without hindrance. Nevertheless, it is important to look at areas where man run government has not served all the people impartially, and why and what it means when the government enters the church. STAY TUNED.

Love

serola 

Tue, Nov 3rd - 8:26AM

RECOVERY

Brothers and sisters, it concerns many people that drugs and alcohol addictions are considered disabilities, under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A lot of the act is being defined and refined by the courts and we don’t know what this act will end up looking like. Congress stripped illegal drug users from protection by the act, although users addicted to illegal drugs under some circumstances are still considered disabled-go figure.  Here is some information that might shed a bit more light on the act as to what it is and is not: The ADA, Addiction and Recovery | ADA National Network

adata.org/factsheet/ada-addiction-and-recovery

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. This includes people with addiction to alcohol and people in recovery from opioid and substance use disorders. This is a very complex subject due to developing court cases. Structure of the ADA

There are treatment programs that do not use the disease model, but one where the person who is addicted must take responsibility and accept that addictions can be overcome. Some of the addicted are taking steps in their own recovery by setting up their own help lines. On one website addicts show before and after pictures of themselves before and after drug/alcohol addiction to discourage others from seeing addiction as acceptable, fashionable, and harmless.

Still many are afraid to come for treatment as it can mean the loss of jobs and possibly take away their security clearance for performing certain jobs involving weapons, or highly sensitive jobs, and those involved in treating patients.

Research shows, brethren, as stated earlier, that most addicts quit on their own. Some have joined with opponents against seeing addictions as a disease. But most believe the important thing is to overcome the addictions with or without help, and being open to choosing to be responsible for being fully engaged in believing in change whether in self help or a treatment program. Others who oppose the disease model of addiction see it as a slippery slope on a course of wrongly  medicalizing deviance in modern society.

Some addicts have gained recovery from refusing to accept their identity as that of an addict. They felt without this change of identity, neither treatment or self -help efforts would be successful. But then, holy people, I met the gentleman who had come to the place where he fully realized, faced,  and accepted the truth and responsibility that he had destroyed his own life and now desperately wanted to get his life back. He did not know how, just that it would be somehow. Now he had moved beyond substance use and wanted a real life. He was desperate and he was hopeful that he would, I felt hope for him as well. Brothers and sisters, people like this are in the church, coming to the church, and we are meeting them in everyday life.

The question, dearly beloved is what do we, what does the church have to offer persons addicted to drugs and alcohol that is any better or different from that offered in the world?

Love

serola

JESUS IS STANDING BY

Mon, Nov 2nd - 2:39AM

RECOVERY

Brothers and sisters, nothing in this study is about being against the government. However, we have the right to discern, understand and follow the laws of our land that do not intrude upon our right to freely worship, obey, and believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Life prison sentences for repeat DWI offenders raise ...

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/...

Donald Middleton, 56, of Houston was sentenced by a Montgomery County judge on June 6, 2016, to life in prison for a DWI conviction stemming from an incident on Memorial Day 2015. It was the man's...

“Montgomery County prosecutors agree with seeking treatment for first, second and even third offenses. The county has a special felony DWI court that works with repeat offenders who can avoid prison by accepting "intensive" probation, which includes an interlock device and counseling. That's appropriate, says James, the assistant DA, but not forevr.’

We must conclude, brothers and sisters, that the casual way in which the disease model and the recovery movements  minimizes and accepts chronic relapses are problematic, as contrariwise, the law will not tolerate endlessly the harm done by those who have relapsed, and has, when deemed warranted, resorted to incarceration for the protection of the public. This truth is not fully revealed to those seeking help in the secular recovery moments and those so -called recovery movements that have come into the church.

No one, dearly beloveds, who is addicted or binges should be lulled into thinking that relapses are benign or that chronicity is harmless. Time is of the essence to prevent permanent brain/body damage.  Brain injury occurs in both those who binge and the addicted.  New learning is impaired due to the brain damaged by either binging or addictions. The brain damage can be temporary or permanent. The life span of addicts for men and women is significantly shorter than the average life span.

 SOUND THE ALARM BRETHREN

Holy people, the word to the wise again, and again, time is of the essence for any binger or addict to get clean and stay clean. This is the only way to avoid or lessen the damages done to the body by alcohol/drugs, legal or illegal. If the binger or addict waits too long permanent damage can be done to the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and lungs, muscular and immune systems.

In short, brethren, the person due to substance induced damage which would not remit if the person were to stop drug/alcohol use and for which no medical treatment would amend and as a result is unable to carry out the daily activities of life and/perform work would be considered disabled.

Look at some of the permanent substance induced medical disorders: Substance-induced persisting dementia; Substance-induced persisting amnestic disorder; Alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorder; Inhalant-induced neurocognitive disorder; Sedative-hypnotic, or anxiolytic-induced disorder; and Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder.  This list is not complete, there is so much more including gangrene of the stomach within a few hours of cocaine use.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the effects of cocaine on the human body range from mild to severe to life threatening, even with a single use.

Dearly beloveds, these are true end stage medical disorders that have arisen solely induced by alcohol or drugs. Still, people want them to have help, but from some funding source other than social security which is currently underfunded and predicted to run out by 2035. Social Security cannot deficit spend and is projecting a shortfall in 2035 if Congress doesn’t act, that only leaves benefit cuts.

Love

serola

JESUS IS STANDING BY