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Quote
As my AA, NA, and CA friends have repeatedly reminded me, rigorous honesty is the first rule of recovery. -
illustration
Housing the Fullness of God
One of my favorite stories is of John of Kronstadt. He was the Nineteenth Century Russian Orthodox priest at the time when alcohol abuse was rampant. None of the priests ventured out of their churches... -
Quote
I have now come to believe that addiction is a separate and even more self-defeating force that abuses our freedom and makes us do things we really do not want to do. While repression stifles desire, ... -
Quote
The mentality and behavior of drug addicts and alcoholics is wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help, they h... -
illustration
The Clever Husband
The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smi... -
Quote
Sobriety is the counterweight that must balance out success. Especially if things keep getting better and better. -
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Telling the Same Story
In The Case for Grace, Lee Strobel interviews former drug addict and current Las Vegas pastor Jud Wilhite on what it is like to become addicted to drugs: “All addicts tell the same story,” Jud said t... -
Quote
Classically, there are three ways in which humans try to find transcendence--religious meaning--apart from God as revealed through the cross of Jesus: through the ecstasy of alcohol and drugs, through... -
illustration
Not Addicted
Tallulah Bankhead (1903-1968) was a flamboyant actress, whom one critic called “more an act than an actress.” At the opening-night party for a play in which she was performing, she got into an argumen... -
Quote
People use drugs, legal and illegal, because their lives are intolerably painful or dull. They hate their work and find no rest in their leisure. They are estranged from their families and their neigh... -
Quote
I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the de... -
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Addiction & Idolatry
In his excellent book on the subject of power (Playing God), author Andy Crouch describes the connection between idolatry and addiction: In modern, secular societies perhaps the clearest example of ... -
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A Life Changed by a Stolen Gideon Bible
Steve May tells the story of “Dee,” who grew up in east Tennessee in an affluent, but unchurched home. Dee’s time at college involved as much wild living as it did studying, and soon her life became a... -
illustration
Drinking from Cups that Hold No Water
Humanity is thirsty for God, but we drink from cups that can hold no water. We draw well water and find that we are thirstier after we drink our fill. It is the water of self-hatred and rejection. It ... -
Quote
To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace. -
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A Great Killer
Depression is one of the greatest killers of our time. It affects 50 million Americans at some point in their lives and has increased 400 percent since 1987. Depression is associated with suicide, div... -
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The Perfect Soil for Winemaking
My first call to ministry was in Eastern Washington state. It turned out to be one of the most prolific winemaking regions in the country. One of the things I learned from a local winery was really qu... -
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The Most Damaging Charge
At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being “judgmental.” He found ... -
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The Cycle of Brokenness in Poverty
For some people the brokenness in these foundational relationships results in material poverty, that is their not having sufficient money to provide for the basic physical needs of themselves and thei... -
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Troubling Statistics about Mental Health in our Youth
Most alarming is the absence of peace among our youth. Research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is showing an epidemic of mental health problems among eighteen- to twenty-four-year... -
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The Justice System for the Rich and Poor
Robert H. Richards and Ethan Couch illustrate how opportunity bends toward affluent white males. Richards was found guilty of raping his three-year-old daughter, but because of his connection to the D... -
liturgy
Gracious God, forgive us for when we
Gracious God, forgive us for when we fail to recognize the destructive power of mental illness. Every day we are surrounded by people with real emotional and mental difficulties that we ignore. We con... -
Quote
The sin of injustice is defined in the Bible as the abuse of power—abusing power by taking from others the good things that God intended for them, namely, their life, liberty, dignity, or the fruits o... -
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Rodney King & Driving While Black
Rodney King had led the police on a high speed chase through Los Angeles. Eventually the police got him to stop, and after he exited the car, he was savagely beaten by four officers. The entire countr... -
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When the Israelites Abandoned God’s Authority
In the Bible, the children of Israel fall into disastrous behavior patterns whenever they abandon the majestic authority of God revealed to them through Moses at Mount Sinai. In fact, they commenced r... -
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The Warning Light
Imagine you’ve just purchased a brand-new car—it’s no ordinary car, it’s a luxury vehicle, with the highest trim levels, equipped with all the latest technology. Among its many upgrades is a voice ale... -
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An Eye for an Eye
Zaleusus flourished as king of the ancient Greek Locrians in about 500 B.C. His government over the Locrians was severe but just. In one of his decrees he forbade the use of wine unless it were prescr... -
Quote
I developed a problem with authority. Any time that authority was what I interpreted as being unjust, I stood up to it, and that became my personality. -
Quote
We are a society that despises lack. We despise weakness and need and insufficiency. We turn the other way and pretend to be watching oncoming traffic when the red light halts us and the beggar reache... -
Quote
Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.
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D
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E
- Economics
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F
- Face of God
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G
- Gardening
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H
- Habits
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I
- Identity
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J
K
L
- Labor Day
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M
- Magnificat
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P
- Pace
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R
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S
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- Sun
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- Sustainability
- Sustainer
- The Sacraments
- The Saints
- The Sick
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T
- Taking Up the Cross
- Talking
- Teachers
- Team
- Teamwork
- Tears
- Technological Progress
- Technology
- Temptation
- Tension
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- Thankfulness
- Thanksgiving (General)
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- Tired
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- Town
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- Travel
- Trees
- Trouble
- True Self
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U
W
Top_level_categories by Reference
Genesis
Exodus
Deuteronomy
Ruth
1 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Esther
Job
Psalm
- Ps 1 (11)
- Ps 2 (2)
- Ps 4 (2)
- Ps 6 (2)
- Ps 8 (7)
- Ps 9 (3)
- Ps 10 (3)
- Ps 11 (1)
- Ps 12 (2)
- Ps 14 (1)
- Ps 15 (3)
- Ps 16 (4)
- Ps 18 (1)
- Ps 19 (8)
- Ps 20 (2)
- Ps 22 (2)
- Ps 23 (16)
- Ps 24 (5)
- Ps 25 (3)
- Ps 27 (5)
- Ps 29 (2)
- Ps 30 (6)
- Ps 31 (1)
- Ps 32 (3)
- Ps 33 (7)
- Ps 34 (40)
- Ps 37 (9)
- Ps 39 (2)
- Ps 41 (1)
- Ps 42 (7)
- Ps 46 (26)
- Ps 49 (1)
- Ps 50 (2)
- Ps 51 (23)
- Ps 52 (2)
- Ps 55 (1)
- Ps 56 (1)
- Ps 62 (1)
- Ps 63 (3)
- Ps 66 (2)
- Ps 68 (1)
- Ps 71 (2)
- Ps 72 (6)
- Ps 73 (3)
- Ps 77 (2)
- Ps 78 (4)
- Ps 80 (1)
- Ps 82 (16)
- Ps 85 (4)
- Ps 86 (1)
- Ps 89 (3)
- Ps 90 (13)
- Ps 91 (2)
- Ps 92 (2)
- Ps 96 (4)
- Ps 98 (2)
- Ps 99 (1)
- Ps 100 (4)
- Ps 101 (1)
- Ps 103 (13)
- Ps 104 (3)
- Ps 106 (1)
- Ps 111 (1)
- Ps 112 (1)
- Ps 113 (2)
- Ps 115 (1)
- Ps 116 (2)
- Ps 117 (1)
- Ps 118 (4)
- Ps 119 (22)
- Ps 121 (3)
- Ps 122 (1)
- Ps 124 (1)
- Ps 127 (5)
- Ps 128 (2)
- Ps 130 (4)
- Ps 131 (2)
- Ps 133 (4)
- Ps 136 (2)
- Ps 139 (14)
- Ps 141 (3)
- Ps 143 (1)
- Ps 145 (4)
- Ps 146 (5)
- Ps 147 (5)
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
- Isa 1 (38)
- Isa 2 (3)
- Isa 5 (5)
- Isa 6 (15)
- Isa 7 (1)
- Isa 9 (10)
- Isa 11 (1)
- Isa 25 (2)
- Isa 26 (3)
- Isa 28 (4)
- Isa 30 (4)
- Isa 32 (2)
- Isa 33 (2)
- Isa 40 (26)
- Isa 41 (17)
- Isa 42 (2)
- Isa 43 (12)
- Isa 44 (3)
- Isa 45 (2)
- Isa 47 (1)
- Isa 49 (1)
- Isa 50 (1)
- Isa 51 (1)
- Isa 52 (1)
- Isa 53 (20)
- Isa 55 (19)
- Isa 56 (2)
- Isa 57 (1)
- Isa 58 (23)
- Isa 59 (3)
- Isa 60 (3)
- Isa 61 (23)
- Isa 65 (1)
- Isa 66 (1)