The Saxophone Player

Our Little Bubba

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I am blessed to have two grandchildren, a Lucy and an Isaac. Today, Isaac is seven-months old.

When his sister was born, her eyes popped open and she began looking around, taking everything in—it was fascinating!

On the other hand, when he was born he barely opened his eyes, but started chattering. He had so much to say to his Mama! And, he hasn’t stopped talking.

Isaac really is a bouncing, baby boy. When he gets excited, his arms and legs get moving like one of those pull toy with a string that makes the dolls legs and arms pop-up.

Isaac brings smiles and laughter everywhere he goes. His joyful heart is contagious. He lives up to his name.

Happy Seven-Months, Little Isaac. ❤

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Being His Help Meet

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“The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.” (Proverbs 31:11)

There is a lot that can be said of spiritual accountability. There are a lot of ways we find accountability within the Body of Christ: between pastor and congregant, between co-laborers, between fellow church members—to name but a few. There are formal accountability relationships, and there is that more casual accountability we expect from everyone within the Body. It’s a huge topic, with lots of room for discussion, debate, and disagreement.

However, I am limiting the focus here to one accountability relationship that exists for every married*, Christian couple: the spiritual accountability between a husband and wife. More to the point, the responsibility a wife has before God to hold her husband accountable to the Word of the Lord. We are not to be one another’s correctional officers, and we are not to be the Holy Spirit’s conviction (not that we could be), but we do have an accountability before God for the one whom the Lord says should safely trust in us.

IN THE BEGINNING

I think it is vitally important to the Body of Christ—to every Christian marriage—that wives walk in the vital role God has given them: being a help meet for their husband. In fact, I believe many broken marriages, as well as much of the spiritual compromise in the church today, can be traced back to wives who neglected this responsibility.

Pardon me, while I duck for cover.

I realize that on the surface my statements may sound harsh or unfair. It will probably sound especially cruel and unkind to the wife who is suffering under the burden of her husband’s habitual sinfulness. However, one should not presume I hold a wife responsible for her husband’s choice to sin against God. Never. Perish the thought! He is a freewill agent. However, too many women raise their hands in despair at the thought of their husband’s transgressions. They play the role of victim, instead of walking in the role Christ has given them. They lament his sin, but are unwilling to rise up like Abigail to stop them. And, honestly, I don’t blame the modern, Christian woman. Who has ever preached a sermon on Abigail, except Ernie Kajala? Who is talking to wives about being a help meet? It sounds like something straight out of the 17th century. Who believes in help meets anymore? Well, I do. It’s the first calling God gave to women, and He is still calling wives to be help meets today.

This subject is so much bigger than this blog post can handle, so I will only touch on one aspect of being a help meet: accountability.  I hope I will be able to share enough to exhort and encourage any Christian wife who may be reading this, looking for a way to help her struggling husband—or, just striving to be a more godly wife. God has entrusted wives with a very important role to play in their husband’s lives, but He has also given them tremendous power with which to do it.  I truly believe that any wife who will embrace the responsibility of being a help meet to her husband will see her life, husband, marriage, and family transformed for the glory of God. Truly, we ignore this aspect of being his help meet at our own peril. It may be his spiritual life, but it is our marriage. Our family. Our life. Do you want to lose it, or are you willing to do whatever it takes to save it?

IN HIS OWN WORDS

We have all seen the woman standing beside her husband at the podium, listening as he confesses to the world his transgressions. Often, these are political couples, but there have been far too many ministry couples in that very same position. Of such scandals in recent history, one ministry couple stands out to me, and the wife’s words are telling.

I am speaking of Ted and Gayle Haggard. In 2005, Time magazine called Ted Haggard one of the most influential evangelical Christians in the country, but a year later he would face the pain and shame of having his secret life brought into the light.

It wasn’t only his secret life on display, though. The eyes of the world were focused on her husband, but I was only paying attention to her. The wife. I watched her. I waited to see what she would do. While some pitied her, feeling indignant on her behalf, I asked, “Didn’t she know? How could she not? Why didn’t she do anything about it?”

In a televised interview** three years after the headlines broke the news of his hidden life to the world, Brother Ted shared that he had prayed repeatedly for God to do whatever it took to stop him from continuing down this road. He says he promised God: “Never again.”

In reading the article written about the interview, it is clear our Brother was in a hard battle. He came into marriage sexually broken by abuse from his childhood, but his efforts to seek spiritual counsel never addressed that brokenness.

Does the abuse from his childhood excuse his sinful choices? Absolutely not. Did the fact his attempts to seek help lead nowhere pardon his guilt? No. Brother Ted broke the laws of man and God. And, the consequence of his sinful choices brought a tremendous amount of trouble to his family and to the Christian church.

IN HER OWN WORDS

Ted Haggard’s story isn’t an original. We’ve heard it over, and over, and over. Unfortunately, his wife’s story is familiar, too.

In the same interview, and in a subsequent interview*** conducted after her book, Why I Stayed, was published, Gayle Haggard said she had known of her husband’s struggle since early in their marriage, but “assumed” it was under control.

When Ted confesses his guilt to her, after the news broke, she said, “I can’t think of anything that would have been a greater shock.”

Where was the accountability!?

I actually think Ted and Gayle would appreciate my using them as an example, because I believe they know there was a breakdown of accountability in their relationship. At least that is what is indicated in things I have read. I do not know them personally, but I believe Gayle when she describes herself as naive. I would say most wives are probably just as naive. She said he had told her about a non-contact, sexual encounter with another man, but she had not understood the gravity of what he was saying.

Honestly, my heart goes out to my Sister. She was a bride in the ’80’s. There was little to no ministry for anyone struggling with sexual brokenness in the 1980’s. Who could they have gone to for help? She says she prayed for her husband, and went on with life. This was after the birth of the third of their five children. She had a lot on her plate. Holding her husband accountable wasn’t something she even considered.

And, it should be noted, anyone living with a habitual sin is going to become a very good liar. The strength of their ability to deceive others is what allows their behavior to continue for so long.

IN MY OWN WORDS

Doug and I moved back to the East Coast just in time to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in the city where we were married, Boston, Massachusetts. We couldn’t afford to stay at the same hotel we had stayed in for our honeymoon, but I found a very good substitute. I was so excited. A weekend away with the love of my life in the city of our dreams. It couldn’t get any better for me.

Yet, for Doug, it seemed things couldn’t be any worse. I kept feeling like I had to cheer him up, prod him on. He didn’t seem very happy. I didn’t understand. In truth, this was how he was normally, but I thought on our 10th anniversary, away in Boston, staying in this really cool place, that he’d be a little happier.

I wouldn’t find out that weekend, but soon after I learned the reason behind his bad mood, behind all of his bad moods, and the night he finally explained was a very long and painful one. It was the night my husband confessed he had been living in secret sin.

Like Gayle, I had known of his struggles. I knew very well. And, like Gayle, I “assumed” that since his last “confession” everything was fine. I didn’t know I had a responsibility to hold my husband spiritually accountable. I didn’t even understand what that meant.

Instead of seeing my part in his failure, I got mad. I cried. I yelled. I accused. I threatened. I did everything wrong. Especially, when dealing with someone in addiction and brokenness. I didn’t know better, that’s for sure. I had a few lessons to learn. Yet, the worst thing about it all was that I lacked the spiritual strength to stand against the Enemy’s assault. I was so compromised in my own walk that faith could not rise up. Friends, it is much easier to point a finger of blame, than it is to conduct a rescue mission when our husband has sailed off course. It takes real spiritual muscle to grab someone out of the grip of sin.

As I said earlier, we are not one another’s correctional officers, and we are not to be the Holy Spirit’s conviction, but we should be making a deep, spiritual investment in the lives of the one whom the Lord has brought us into the most intimate of relationships. That spiritual investment is vital, if we are going to be able to support them as a help meet. It is also the groundwork we must lay, before we can hold our husband’s accountable.

BIBLICAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Someone on Twitter shared a list of rules a girlfriend has written up for her boyfriend. It was a very strict list of things he could not do, she would not do, and he had to do. I read it and felt sorry for any man who would submit to that kind of woman. Everything on her list was born from fear—fear he would be unfaithful, fear she wasn’t good enough, fear of being mistreated, etc. It was really sad. I felt sorry for her, too.

Trying to hold our husbands accountable by controlling them is not biblical accountability. Controlling your husband’s behavior will not help him become a godly man, or bring him freedom from sin. It won’t bring the fearful wife peace of mind, either. She is counting on herself, not God. That’s a fatal mistake. If we are not willing to give God control, we are denying His sovereignty over our lives and our marriage. We are hindering our husband’s spiritual growth.  We are denying the fact that he has an independent relationship with God, and that God loves him much more than we do—He has much more invested in him, and is much more wanting him to walk in righteousness. The controlling behavior is born out out of fear, and where fear rules faith cannot. I tell wives they don’t have to trust their husbands, but they do have to trust God. For most of us, we just are not walking close enough to the Lord for the job He has given us as help meet. Wives want the fix to all be on his side. He’s the one with the problem. He’s the one who needs help who needs to change. Well, he’s the one you married, sweetheart. And, God custom made you to be his help meet.

Accountability is important in our house. We believe we need to hold one another accountable, and as Christians we hold each other accountable to the Word of God. The Bible is our standard. And, that’s challenging! After I learned of this secret life of sin Doug lived, the first thing God told me to do was to minister to him. Minister to him? But, God, I’m the victim. I’m the one hurting here. God saw things differently, and I had a choice: see it God’s way, or try to go it on my own.

Well, I knew I couldn’t go it on my own. And, I feared disobeying God. The Bible is very clear that we are to obey God, so there was no way I could ignore His directive.

I don’t like that my husband came into marriage with sexual brokenness, and I have failed 500,000 times at being a godly help meet to him. However, the times I have been able to serve him well have only brought a blessing to my life, my marriage, and my family. More importantly, though, he is a transformed man. He is not the man I celebrated ten years of marriage with, and he’s not even the man I married again after 26 years. Years and years ago, God gave me a vision of who the Saxophone Player was called to be, and I have seen that vision come to life. That has been God’s work in his life, and his yielding to the Potter’s hand, but I know I have played a small part in who he is today. I am so thankful for a God who takes the broken and makes them whole. It is a process that will likely take our entire life on earth, and still not be completed until Heaven, but we must remember this life on earth is fleeting. As long as it might be, it is only a blink of the eye compared to the eternity we have before us. We must also remember that God is using our husbands to perfect Himself in us. Not every wife will marry a man with the same challenges, but every wife is still called to help her husband meet God’s expectations for his life. He may be a dandy fellow with no secret sin, but is he serving God in his community? Is he leading his family as the priest of his home? Is he laying up treasures in Heaven, or only on earth? Or, is he so busy working for the Lord he is not caring well for his relationships with his children, or family? I don’t know your husband, I don’t know God’s call on his life, but you do. As his wife, the Lord has entrusted you with this responsibility. Embrace it. He will help you accomplish it. He will help you learn to surrender to Him and walk closer to Him and trust Him more than what you see with your own eyes.

LET’S REVIEW

  1. Christian wives are called to be their husband’s help meet.
  2. Part of being his help meet means holding him accountable to God’s Word.
  3. We must have a strong, intimate relationship with the Lord in order to do this.
  4. Faith must rule us, not fear.
  5. Seeing our husbands surrendered and submitted to the control of the Holy Spirit should be our objective, not trying to control them ourselves.
  6. God cares about our husbands more than we do, and has a much more vested interest in his victory over sin.
  7. It takes obedience to serve our husbands as their help meet. God will equip us and lead us in doing this, if we will obey Him

I pray God bless any wife who is reading this. God will lead you and help you as you seek to obey Him in being a help meet to your husband.

*There are some important relevant differences between married and unmarried Christian couples where spiritual accountability is concerned, but that is a subject for another post.

**On January 31, 2009, Ted and Gayle Haggard were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. LINK

***In January 2010, Gayle Haggard was interviewed again by OprahWinfrey. LINK

Saturday Evening Post 8/18/18

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There are certain things I am just not going to do anymore.

Overall, my yard this year is a bit of a wild mess. Not a lot to share, but I wouldn’t want to season to pass without mentioning it.

  • The weather has been very hot and humid. Reminds me of summer in Ohio.
  • Rain has been helpful. Hopefully, it helps relieve this drought, but for now watering is only allowed two evenings a week.
  • Had already planned to keep the garden small, but I am very glad I listened to a friend who said, “Just go throw some seeds out, anyway. Go on!” As a result, I have two tomato and four summer squash plants. No tomatoes or squash, yet, but that’s OK. At least something is growing.
  • Doug planted some more pintos this year, and they are doing great. I think he’ll actually have enough for a pot of beans. Well, a small pot.
  • I did plant lots of flowers—over 20 zinnias and several sunflowers. They are doing very well!
Baby sunflowers.
Baby Girl.
  • I have a wild tomato. It comes back year after year. It’s kind of a crazy thing. And, it’s more than one plant. In fact, one day I thought I was pulling out weeds, but it was actually a bunch of seedlings all growing together. I managed to separate the roots and have eight more tomato plants.
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My wild tomato.

 

  • Last week I tossed some green onion seeds and marigold seeds in some dirt. They’re coming along. I don’t know what chance the marigolds have of blooming before the first frost.

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    Green onion seedlings. So delicate!

  • I have three other pots with some good soil that are begging for life. I was thinking I’d plant something hardy that will survive the Autumn cold. Any suggestions? Kale comes to mind. It likes the cold. My parsley lived well past frost last year. Maybe, I try that.
  • One bit of fancifying to the garden this year: Doug redid the border for my flower bed. It looks so nice!
    Zinnias in early summer – and Doug’s lovely edging.
    Zinnias now.

Though we haven’t had the time to play in the garden much, we do get to play in it with Lucy more. That’s pretty awesome. She doesn’t mind the untrimmed edges and overgrown grass. She doesn’t notice the weeds. She always loves to look at the flowers and give them a sniff. Then, she’ll grab the flower head with her little fist to pick it. She is a charming brute with those little buds.

My little strider.
Off to do some watering.
“May I see your flower, Lucy?”
Still working on her bubble-blowing technique. 😉

 

P.S. This little guy isn’t playing outside this summer, but as active as he is at five-months, I’m guessing he’ll be running around soon!

 

 

Saturday Evening Post: 2/24/18

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Is it really Saturday, already?

The week is blur right now. What happened? Did I accomplish anything? I don’t know if I did. Made several dinners. Washed lots of dishes. Spent precious hours with my granddaughter.

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Received a copy of Qene’s book. Read my forward, and was surprised by myself. Qene came into my life at a rather critical time, and that was the story I shared in the forward. I’ve never written with such detail about that season in our lives, but it was important to explain how serious things were in order to convey the true worth of her writing ministry. Nonetheless, it took me by surprise. I know that was the Holy Spirit, because I know her book is anointed of God. I know it is going to bless many people.

We had a Spring day on Wednesday, but Winter was back on Thursday.

Did some work in the attic on Friday. The snow was almost all gone. The sunflower patch is that dark spot on the left  of the second picture.

This crazy weather has me tempted to start planting, but the sunshine doesn’t last long. It’s really strange. Tonight they predict sleet. Snow tomorrow. As strange as it is to have 70 degree weather in February, though, it would really be strange to have snow in August. If that ever happens, well, I’ll be sure to take a picture!

Have a blessed Sunday. ❤

My Saturday Evening Post: 12/9/17

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Lots of pictures and videos ahead. You have been warned! LOL

The Upstairs Neighbors* were out of town this week. They arrived back home early Saturday morning, and it was so good to hold them all in my arms. Lucy came home with a pretty bad cold that she shared with her Daddy. So, when Tim requested chicken soup, I offered to make it. Making broth is one of my favorite things.

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While I was cooking, I heard a sound that I had been missing this week. I sneakily slipped my phone into the bedroom and captured Doug and Lucy singing books. 

 

 

We had our first snow today. and it was mostly very nice. Grateful we had a cozy place to be, and glad we finished our Fall clean-up yesterday.  Can you believe my pansies are still alive? They are rather neglected, but still alive. I brought them to our enclosed porch. 

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My parsley was still alive, too.  Even covered in snow, it looked pretty healthy. I added some to the broth.

My 2017 garden in three pictures. I have so many pictures of my garden. I’m so grateful the Lord has given me this garden. It is such a kindness. 

I will say goodbye with lots of love, and share one more video. It is my sweet husband singing to the Lord. Yes, he is The Saxophone Player, but he has a few other talents. ❤

God is so good!
*Our daughter and her family live in the upstairs apartment—be still my heart!

Poppa & Lucy Making Music

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Today, I captured this moment, and a song I did not recognize. He confirmed it is brand new—the first in many years—and it is beautiful.

Lucy has inspired the songwriter.

That One Time, When We Made Music

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Once upon a time, before we had ever heard of New Brothers Fellowship, we were on another mission.

For about 15 years, the Holy Spirit gave Doug songs. There weren’t many, but they came regularly.  His fingers would start playing a melody, and the words would just come.*  This went on, until it didn’t. That was when Doug knew it was time to make the songs available to the Body of Christ. He knew they were meant to be shared.

Taking songs from scraps of paper to published works of art is a lengthy process. I was our sole extra-curricular occupation for about three years. The process began with his working through the music with a band of brothers the Lord had brought into his life—extremely talented musicians and men of God. In the end, a songbook was produced, demos were recorded, a website was designed, a publishing company was formed, the songs were registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, and listed with the Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI).  And, because Doug doesn’t do things half-way, he wanted not only sheet music, but chord sheets. overheads. and lyric sheets made, too—everything anyone could need to use the music—all available online.

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We had not anticipated doing everything ourselves, but as the process began we learned that submitting his work to a publishing company would mean surrendering his rights to the music. In order to be true to our mission: make the music available to anyone in the Body of Christ, free of charge, we realized we would have to become a publishing company.  There was no way around it.  And,  you cannot be your own publisher for some strange reason. So, guess who “owns” Doug’s music? Yes, that’s right! Yours truly. I am the President and sole owner of LAMP Songs.  I am even a card-carrying member of ASCAP.  Pretty funny, huh?

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You know, God always asks His people to do things they cannot do. That is is our testimony, and I bet it is yours, too. We always find ourselves disqualified for what God calls us to, but if we will just look to Him, and follow Him, He will lead us in accomplishing His will.  The Lord provided everything we needed to bring the songs to the public. His hand is very evident. I could write a small book on this season in our life—so much was happening to try to stop God’s will. Provision for the special equipment Doug needed was such that only God could have done it. The particular men who worked with him on these songs were all men of like faith and commitment to music that glorifies God. Those rehearsals were mighty times of worship! There was less emphasis on “getting it right,” and more focus on just letting the Spirit have His way.

So, I invite you to listen for yourself. Click on the logo above to go to the songbook page. You will see all the music there.  If you hear something you like, share it with others. If you would like to use a song in your church, please do! You will find everything you need is at your finger tips—overheads, lead sheets, the lyrics, the music—even the entire songbook can be downloaded, free of charge. If you have a CCLI membership and report using the songs, Doug might earn a few pennies. However, if you do not have a CCLI membership, you are still welcome to use everything for personal or congregational worship.

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Some of the demos you will find on the website are with members of the LAM Worship Band, but the songs that are just Doug were recorded in our bedroom. We were on a deadline at that point, so we just set-up a little studio. It worked pretty well!

I am very gratified by the work we did. I love these songs. They bless me, and I hope they bless you, too. When we hear from someone on the other side of the world, or get a report from CCLI showing a song was used in Africa, it kinda blows my mind. God gave the vision, and He fulfilled it. Glory to His name!

 

Note to Lisa: Thanks for inspiring this post.
*The lyrics to one song, “Your Love Reaches,” were written by my eldest sister. Doug had the melody for so long, but no lyrics. One Sunday evening he played it for her; minutes later there was a beautiful lyric floating along with the notes. That was pretty special to witness!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies That Taste Like REAL Cookies!

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Eureka!

The Saxophone Player doesn’t like many sweets, but he loves chocolate chip cookies. Tonight, I have found the best gluten free, chocolate chip cookie recipe, yet.  They taste like real cookies with that wonderful “chew” of gluten, but without the awful side effects.

The recipe was inspired by a recipe from this terrific recipe website, Cooking a la Mel.  You can see the original recipe here: CLICK.  Melinda Novak has many great recipes on her website—I encourage you to check it out.  Below, is my version, with  cooking instructions that match exactly what I did for my oven and my cookie sheets. The goal is to not over bake.

Hey, if you try this recipe, let me know.  Doug says it’s an 8 on his scale from 1 to 10, so I’ll have to keep looking. For now, though, it’s a lot better than no cookies.

edited

JUST-LIKE-REAL GF CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. In medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and soda together. Set aside
3. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add vanilla and egg and combine well. I used my mixer, so I scraped down the sides a few times during this process.
4. Add the flour and mix well. I added the flour in four parts, scraping down the sides each time.
5. Scoop dough onto cookie sheet. I used a teaspoon-sized scoop and an insulated baking sheet lined with parchment. I highly suggest you use parchment, too. It helps keep moisture in the cookie, which is important with GF baking.
6. Bake 11 minutes at 350° F. That is what worked for my oven. I suggest you check them at the 10-minute mark. You just want to be sure the cookies tops look dry.
7. Let the cookies sit on baking sheet for one or two minutes. The longer they sit, the more they will dry out, but if you remove them too soon they do not have a chance to set. Gently remove to a cooling rack.

This made 36 cookies, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

Enjoy! 

Had To Tell Someone

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It’s not good news.

Today the Saxophone Player heard the words we never wanted to hear: You were right.

My heart aches.

Of course, we knew he was right. We knew he was hearing from the Lord. We just hoped it wouldn’t be as bad as this. (This subject is closely related to the subject of this post: CLICK.)

We hoped.

You know, sometimes we are only given enough information to make the right choice. No matter what others think of us, we must do the right thing. We must pray for the courage and faith to choose well and do what will honor God, not please man. It isn’t easy to disappoint people, but there are wicked forces at work in the world. We must have the wisdom to know when God is saying, “This is My fight.”

Friends, things are happening in our nation that I never thought I would witness. I urge you to seek the Lord, while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6).

P.S. The Lord’s timing is always so interesting to me.

Guest Post from TSP: “The Question of Authority”

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A guest post from The Saxophone Player. Feel free to comment, or leave questions. He will be glad to respond.

THE QUESTION OF AUTHORITY
by Doug Gregan

The most astounding thing about the subject of Christians drinking alcohol is the narrow focus that both sides of the discussion tend to stay on.
The spiritual root of drinking is one of authority, and friendship with the world; neither of which do I ever hear discussed. The very nature of an intimate relationship with God is one of increased presence, resulting in increased holiness. This question of whether or not a Christian should drink, or if drinking is sin, is shallow and weak. The real question should be:
“Why aren’t Christians more Christ-like?”
We are called out from among them, to be separate. Friendship with the world is enmity with God, and brings us under the authority of the world and its spirit. The spirit that drives alcohol is undeniably of the world, and under the authority of Satan. There is no man or woman alive who can tell me of a time when drinking brought them into a greater intimacy with Christ, drove them to love God more, or brought them into greater holiness and sanctification.
Does not the scripture tell us from beginning to the end that He is calling us out and unto Himself? Consider Romans  6:18-22:
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves.
“Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” (Romans 6:18-22, NIV)
This is the key to the whole issue, whether it be drinking, watching anything that exalts the flesh, gluttonous eating, dressing like the world, or engaging in any behavior that opens the door for the flesh to be strengthened.
“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” (Romans 6:21, NIV)
And, it does result in death.
Complacency, laziness, a lack of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, a lack of compassion towards those who don’t, can’t, or won’t “handle” the same things you can—it is all death. It produces a self-righteous, self-centered attitude evidenced by the countless defensive comments that come up in these type of discussions.
Then, there is the subtle, but incredible importance of spiritual authority mentioned in verse 16:
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16, NIV)
Those who drink are yielding a measure of their spiritual authority to the flesh and to the Devil. Alcohol, by it’s very nature, deadens sensitivity to Holy Spirit and weakens our ability to control the flesh as we should.
The angry man is more susceptible to anger.
The lustful man is more vulnerable to lust.
The proud man is prone towards pride.
The depressed man more inclined toto be depressed.
The jealous man more easily made  jealous.
And, on it goes….
This all takes place when one “walks in his freedom to drink.”
I’ve served in prison ministry for fourteen years and cannot begin to tell of the devastation and carnage left in the wake of alcohol. This includes Christians, men and women becoming casual with drinking, declaring their freedom to do so. I have yet to have a drug addict tell me that their addiction was not preceded by alcohol use.
Yet, we proudly demand and defend our right to drink. It is sad and shameful. The Devil mocks and laughs at the impotence of the Church to touch our generation with Christ-like love, life, and POWER. We would do well to heed the call of James 4. After exposing the Lord’s attitude towards worldliness, James says in 4:7-10:
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10, NIV)
I understand fully the emptiness of imposing restrictions and not trusting in the transforming work of the Spirit to bring about abundant life, balance, and control. The emphasis of my sharing is on the yoking of ourselves to spiritual forces and influences we have no business being in agreement with. Light has no agreement wih darkness. Consider 1 Corinthians 6:12:
“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians 6:12, KJV)
We interact with this verse only on the level of the substance or behavior in question, but it transcends that. It speaks to every spiritual dynamic that is associated with those elements.
Where are those who are broken, weeping between the porch and altar, for the souls of those bound and enslaved? One can defend the biblical right to eat and drink. I get that. But, who can show me a man who is ministering in power and authority, yet allows himself to be brought under the authority of the spiritual forces connected to these worldly elements? They are not profitable. We will never step into the realm of darkness, addiction, and brokenness with any authority to bring genuine deliverance, if we are yoked to these things.
Should this be the shining prize I declare to the addicted and their broken family? “One day, you’ll be able to drink in freedom, like I do.”
I am deeply concerned by the absence of genuine discipleship that prepares God’s people to be ambassadors of reconciliation, walking in the power of God to bring the lost, broken, and hurting into freedom. Please, take a few minutes to read Ephesians 4:11-27, and prayerfully consider the life you are living today.
I welcome your comments and questions.