Obeying God in a World of Compromise

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Watercolor landscape with a rocky trail beside a winding stream and distant hills

“Then at last the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will himself be Israel’s glorious crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people. He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates. Now, however, Israel is led by drunks who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol. The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol and lose themselves in wine. They reel when they see visions and stagger as they render decisions. Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere. “Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?”
Isaiah 28:5-9 NLT

There will come a day, said Isaiah, when justice and courage will prevail, when the Lord Himself will be the raison d’etre for the Israelites, and “the pride and joy of the remnant of His people”. But Isaiah then shifts to his present day, seeing how widespread drunkenness is in Israelite society, even affecting the “priests and prophets“. As is often the case, people under the influence of alcohol lose all ability to function in a way that is self-respectful, and they wallow in their own vomit. What a terrible view of society in Samaria in those days. But is that any different to today? We may not see overt drunkenness in the behaviour of our political and religious leaders, but are their decisions any less rational than if they were in a state of inebriation? The jury is still out on that one as we look at the behaviour of Western governments. Oh, that God’s Kingdom would come and His will would be done in our generation! 

Isaiah mentioned that religious leaders were associated with drunkenness. God’s intention for religious leaders in Israel was to call His people back to putting trust in Him. They were to encourage the people to faithfully observe His covenant. At best, both priests and prophets have failed in their mission. At worst, they’ve falsely represented the Lord. Without spiritual direction, the people of Israel were even less likely to worship Him or follow His law. We pause again, this time to look at the behaviour of the established denominations in the UK today. Were there any parallels with the situation in 8th-century BC Israel? Many, I think, with an institutionalised, hierarchical, and unaccountable leadership unable to reconcile their behaviour with Jesus’ commands, should they even wish to. Mark 10:42-44, “So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world Lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else“”. There may not be drunkenness present, but the effect is the same. The religious leaders tasked with dispensing and applying God’s Word are instead caught up with issues such as abuse, slavery reparations, and corporate government. It is understandable that so many people haven’t abandoned God, but they have abandoned the church. Where is the spirit of servanthood?

We pilgrims have a responsibility to obey God and hear Him for ourselves. Through the blood of Jesus we have been set free from the need to receive forgiveness through the actions of a priest or minister. Jesus came to “seek and save the lost”, not the religious institutions. One account describes an occasion when Peter and the Apostles were preaching the Good News about Jesus in the temple. The previous day, they were arrested and jailed, but an angel foiled the religious leaders’ plans and opened the jail doors to set them free. While teaching the people, the High Council was convened, after which the guards were instructed to bring the Apostles before them. But they could not be found in the jail, and we read that “When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end” (Acts 5:24). But the guards found the Apostles anyway in the Temple and re-arrested them, bringing them before the Council. The accusation laid before them from the High Priest was: ““We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”” (Acts 5:28). Then we read, in the next verse, a simple statement with eternal meaning, “But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority““.

Hopefully, in our lives today, we will not have to choose between what God has said through His Word and what is happening in our churches and society. But inevitably there will be a clash sometimes, and we may have to take a stand against worldliness, evil and sinful behaviour, instead upholding the Name of Jesus and God’s principles. Having said that, though, we must ensure that we are in fact obeying God, and not an erroneous interpretation of Scripture – human minds have a peculiar ability to twist things to suit their worldview. But in it all, we call upon the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us carefully and correctly. The way of righteousness and truth is the only way.

In Isaiah 28:9, the last of our verses today, the drunken priests and prophets seem to be resenting what the Lord was saying to them. Was that through Isaiah or someone else? But whoever it was, their attitude was, “How dare they attempt to correct them for their drinking habits and their dereliction of duty?” Those in the wrong, especially those protecting a cherished habit, often don’t receive correction well. We read in Proverbs 9:7, “Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt“.  Instead of honestly examining themselves to see whether the correction is worth listening to, they strike back with their own accusations. This pattern is especially true when alcohol is involved. But although alcohol was not banned for the religious leaders, there were restrictions on when it was allowed. Leviticus 10:9, “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation“. The same rule applies today, but thankfully, to the best of my knowledge, I have never met a leader who was a drunkard. 

How do we pilgrims receive correction? We should receive correction with humility, listen carefully, and test the feedback against Scripture so we can grow in wisdom. We must avoid excuses and resist the temptation to counterattack with a repartee we will later regret. Proverbs 18:13, “Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish“. If we find that the feedback we have received does stack up against Scripture, and has been delivered to us in a spirit of love with our own well-being at heart, then we must thank the person who has been speaking to us, and go away to get before God in prayer, asking Him to lead us to the place where we should be. I thank God for the men and women who had the courage to confront me over some issues, particularly in my early Christian days. In Psalm 25:8-10, we read, “The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands”. Humility is a key heart attitude, because as Paul wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). With such a life principle within our hearts, we will avoid the traps that ensnare the proud and the arrogant.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your Word this morning. Help us to live our lives free from influences such as alcohol, bringing to our minds and spirits the truth of Your Word. We thank You for Jesus and His redeeming blood, that cleanses us from all sin. Amen.

How Alcohol Impairs Spiritual Awareness: Insights from Isaiah

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Shattered clay vessel leaking liquid across a rustic stone floor

“What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria— the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel. It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. It is the pride of a people brought down by wine. For the Lord will send a mighty army against it. Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain, they will burst upon it like a surging flood and smash it to the ground.”
Isaiah 28:1-2 NLT

We will spend another day exploring the first two verses of Isaiah 28 and reflecting on the reputation of Israel’s leaders. They were known for their propensity for drinking excessively, and they had therefore acquired the name “drunks of Israel”. The problem is not simply that the people drank too much but that their drinking had become symptomatic of a deeper spiritual condition. Wine had displaced wisdom, self-control and dependence upon God. This is a spiritual warning that anything that controls us more than God does has become an idol. Alcohol may be the obvious example, but the principle is much wider. Wealth, entertainment, food, possessions, sport, social media or even work can become controlling influences. Paul wrote, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). So the question is not merely, “What, or how much, am I consuming?” but “What is consuming or controlling me?”

The leaders of Samaria were responsible for guiding the nation, yet Isaiah portrays them as intoxicated. Their physical drunkenness reflected a deeper inability to think and judge rightly. Alcohol can impair judgment, but we can also become absorbed in the things of this world and lose our spiritual perspective. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour“. We pilgrims want to walk closely with God, and this needs constant spiritual alertness. We cannot afford to let anything cloud our judgment about what is right and wrong. Any alcoholic drink can have a relaxing effect, and the devil will use it to soften our resolve over sin and situations that should be avoided by believers. The problem for Israel’s leaders probably lay with their drunkenness being used by the devil to divert them from God’s ways. Samaria appears to have been living in comfort and prosperity, yet beneath the surface was spiritual decay.

Wine itself is not presented in Scripture as inherently sinful. The Bible references wine in ordinary life, and Jesus Himself turned water into wine at Cana. The clear biblical condemnation is directed particularly towards drunkenness and the loss of self-control. The danger is that something legitimate can become something controlling. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is good for you. And even though ‘I am allowed to do anything,’ I must not become a slave to anything”. We pilgrims have freedom in Christ, but the danger is that such freedom can easily turn into licence. This can be a problem in our churches, where perhaps a new Christian, turning to Jesus after a life spent in alcohol addiction, might struggle if fellow believers do not have the same restraints and freely drink alcoholic beverages. In fact, I was once in a church where the leadership decided to become teetotal. Paul addressed this potential conflict with a few verses on food offered to idols, but the same principle can be applied to alcohol. 1 Corinthians 8:9-11, “But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed”.

Perhaps one reason people become dependent upon alcohol is the desire to escape anxiety, disappointment, loneliness, guilt or pain, and, for a while, alcohol can seem to provide relief, but it cannot deal with the underlying problem. But, as we know, we pilgrims have somewhere else to take life’s burdens. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”. Instead of seeking escape through intoxication, we are invited to seek refuge in God. There is a particularly powerful contrast in Ephesians 5:18, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit”. If alcohol is consumed to fill an aching hole in someone’s heart, then ruin is inevitable. Drunkenness diminishes self-control and spiritual alertness, but the Holy Spirit produces self-control as part of the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Self-control can be eroded by alcohol, as I’m sure anyone who has been to a wedding celebration will know.

Isaiah’s criticism is especially serious because Samaria’s leaders were affected by drunkenness. Their personal behaviour had consequences for the people they were supposed to guide. This principle also applies to Christian leadership, parents, grandparents, pastors and anyone whose example influences others. Paul told Timothy: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Remember, our private habits can eventually become public examples. There are many people out there who would be delighted if they could find some aspect of our behaviour that they could find fault with. Alcohol abuse can destroy health, marriages, families, finances, reputations and relationships. More importantly, addiction can gradually diminish a person’s capacity to live the abundant and purposeful life God intends. Proverbs 23:29-35, “Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?””

We pigrims have an obligation to restore people gently rather than simply condemn them. Galatians 6:1, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” Someone struggling with alcohol dependence needs truth, but they also need grace, prayer, practical help and Christian fellowship.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please fill us again today with the right Spirit, I pray, We don’t have to head for a bottle to find the answer to our problems because Your Spirit will lead and guide us, and, as we cast our cares on You, we know that You have the answers. Please lead us not into temptation and deliver us from all things evil, so that we can continue our spiritual journey in the knowledge that You are there walking with us. With deeply grateful hearts, we worship You today. Amen.

Unstable People

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.”
2 Peter 2:14 NLT

How can any person be lured into sin? Such a thing is surely not possible. The Bible is a clear and indisputable source of what is right and wrong, and therefore must be the final arbiter over anything that even carries a hint of sin. But one thing I have noticed in my pilgrimage through life is that some people become overly dependent on the minister or pastor for their spiritual lives. And I have also noticed that some ministers or pastors, through their own insecurities, foster dependent relationships. These are mainly harmless I’m sure, because the leaders I have known are people of integrity and well founded in the Bible and its teaching, but the influence is there. This is something that I personally came upon as a young Christian, and I experienced much hurt and disappointment when the person I looked up to didn’t quite live up to my expectations. My house of cards came tumbling down, and I believed God spoke to me about only being dependent on Him, and Him alone. Yes, we look to our pastors for teaching and leadership, but not for an unhealthy relationship. We must hear God for ourselves – that is why Jesus came to this world, that we might have a personal relationship with Him. And that is what good pastors teach.

But that is not what Peter was writing about in 2 Peter 2:14. He was referring to deliberately-false teachers, and the previous verses call them out for their fruit. Peter writes, “they scoff at things they don’t understand“, they do harm, “they love to indulge in evil pleasures”, “they delight in deception”, and so on. Peter is very scathing about such people. We wonder who he had in mind when he wrote this, but what we do know is that the churches Peter was writing to don’t exist today. Perhaps, in the end, the false teaching prevailed, because what has been proved time and time again in history is that a church that lapses into error will, sooner or later, disappear. As an aside, the established Presbyterian and Anglican churches in the UK are in serious decline, and perhaps this is because what they teach is no longer distinct from the society around them. Are they in fact guilty of luring “unstable people into sin”? God will not bless anyone who rejects or corrupts His teachings and principles, and He will turn His back upon them. But we shouldn’t be surprised when people end up in a sinful place. Paul wrote to Timothy, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” Thankfully, His grace and mercy will prevail, and anyone who falls into error has a path back into His arms through Jesus.

Jeremiah heard some hard words, about false prophets, from God, and he wrote them down in Jeremiah 14:14-15, “Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine!” I think we can see that being either a false prophet or teacher might not be a good place to be in!

Some leaders sadly fall into immorality, and, because of that, inevitably some of their followers will commit the same sins. People in their churches will see their leaders as role models, worthy of respect and admiration even. But apart from some high profile cases that get mentioned in the news, most leaders are good people who try and pastor their flock well. They take seriously the verse, “Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16). One church I knew had a leadership that decided that they shouldn’t drink alcoholic beverages. They took this stand because their church was located in a culture that had a problem with alcoholism, and they adopted this position to show that an alcohol-free lifestyle was possible. Their counter-cultural leadership was commendable.

But returning to “unstable people”, the Apostle James wrote, “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do” (James 1:6-8). In the end, regardless of anything else, our “faith is in God alone“. It’s all about Jesus and following Him with inspiration and help from the Holy Spirit. There is no other way in which we can avoid the erroneous messages of false teachers.

Dear Father God. Only You have the words of eternal life. Please help us to follow them, we pray. Amen.

The Second Death (3)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”
Revelation‬ ‭21:8‬ ‭NIVUK

“But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation‬ ‭21:8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

What are “intoxicating drugs”, as described in the Amplified version of this Revelation 21:8? It used to be the fact that alcohol-based beverages were the only way intoxication could be achieved. The first mention we can find of wine in the Bible was when Noah got drunk. We read in Genesis 9:21, “One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.” But I would think that fermented drinks must have been around before then. Throughout the Bible there seems to be an acceptance of alcohol but accompanied by warnings to avoid excess. Proverbs 20:1, “Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.” Paul wrote to the Ephesians, as recorded in 5:18, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit”. But in it all, and especially in societies where clean water was scarce, a beverage with an alcohol content was considered to be acceptable. 

Sadly, in modern times, a whole wealth of products that cause intoxication have become available. Just the other day I discovered an empty canister of nitrous oxide, a gas used for anaesthesia, amongst other things, on a park bench near where I live. An example of a medical substance being abused for recreational intoxication. And then there is the illicit manufacturer and trade in natural and synthesised products, all of which are collectively called “drugs” and which cause varying effects including intoxication and addiction. In my home country of Scotland, fondness for alcohol is endemic in some sectors of society, to the extent that social and health problems abound, with a shortened life expectancy being common. And Scotland has gained the dubious distinction of being referred to as the drug capital of Europe.

In the Amplified version of Revelation 21:8, sorcerers assisted by “intoxicating drugs” are singled out for God’s judgement. It is a fact that substances that affect our minds will lead to all sorts of unacceptable results, and the openness to things of the occult is just one of them. The use of drugs of any kind will lead to a breakdown in inhibitions and will open a door for the devil to enter with his nefarious arts and acts. The ingestion of drugs will lead to mental aberrations and illness, hallucinations being one of them. People start taking drugs to try and relieve their symptoms of stress, misery, and to try and forget their problems. But the root causes of their distress are still there when the effects wear off. And a cycle of taking drugs develops, leading to addiction and worse. Thankfully, God is bigger than any drug and people have been miraculously healed from a lifetime of drug addiction. If they want to be.

In our verse today, God warned John about ”all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth]”. Ouch! Who has never told a lie? Why is it that human beings try and get out of a difficult spot by lying about it? We know what is right and yet we do what is wrong. There are plenty of Biblical warnings about the dangers of telling lies. Proverbs 12:22 is just one example, “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.” Colossians 3:9, “Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.” 

But there is another insidious development of lying that seems to have emerged in recent times. And that is disinformation. Social media has presented an opportunity for people to express their opinions on anything they choose, and much of it can be twisted to present a conclusion which is a lie. It goes something like this. A few words can be taken out of context from a scientific report on, for example, a vaccine, and developed into a theory that is different to what the author of the original report intended. And then this theory is presented on the internet as fact, and this soon attracts a huge following of readers who believe it. So we end up with the anti-vaccine movement, peddling conspiracy theories about dark government actions against society. All because of misinformation. All based on lies. 

Another problem comes from our news bulletins and newspapers. To try and get a balanced view of, for example, world events, involves a knowledge of who wrote the article, and what their political persuasion is. We pilgrims need to be discerning when it comes to reading the news, sifting facts from opinions. More potential misinformation. More potential lies. 

God was quite clear about the need to always tell the truth. We won’t get it right all the time, but, thankfully, we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares for us and to whom we can take our sins and ask for forgiveness. Revelation 21:8 is a verse that does not fit well in modern society. The steady drip drip of the devil’s influences warp and twist society drawing it away from God and His ways. There is only one way to stand firm in God’s truth, and that is to read, follow and implement His Word in our lives. There is no other way. When Jesus’ teaching become too counter-cultural for the people of His day, many left Him. But with Peter, we echo John 6:68-69, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

Dear Lord. You indeed are the only One who has the Words of eternal life. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Getting Drunk

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians‬ ‭5:18-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Drunkenness. As Paul wrote, it ruins lives. But not only the lives of the drunk but the lives of those in their families and communities. Health destroyed. Destitution probable. The future for an alcoholic is bleak except for the fact that there is a loving Heavenly Father. There are many testimonies from men and women who have found healing and a new life through the power of the Holy Spirit, prayer and care leading to salvation and freedom. And it started with a pilgrim introducing a drunk to Jesus. But from those who don’t find God, the slippery slope can end in an early death with the final years blighted by illness and misery. I know because that is what happened to my sister-in-law. 

On my early morning prayer walks, there is a man I occasionally meet who is an alcoholic. The ravages of drink are clearly visible in his face. His unsteadiness on his feet, even first thing in the morning, betrays a legacy of inebriation. He is usually locked into his own world, but I try and speak with him, desperately trying to find common ground over which we can walk and talk together. Always looking for an opportunity to share the love of God. One day, when he was more lucid than usual, he opened up and shared how he would love to get a job. But in the natural world he was a reject. A man to be managed, rather than helped, by the society around him. But in God’s kingdom there is a place for him. God will never turn away a repentant sinner. I’ll keep trying to introduce him to the love and forgiveness of God. And I’ll pray for him in the meantime.

A dear lady I know is a very committed Christian in a family blighted by alcohol and drug addiction. It’s a family where misery and devastation is constantly knocking at the door. She is a lung cancer survivor but suffers from constant ill-health. Her brother, a lovely Christian man who I once had the privilege of knowing, died in his forties from lung cancer – he was a very heavy smoker. Her husband, died young, what of I don’t know because she doesn’t speak of him. This lady had four children – three boys and a girl – but sadly in the past year or so the two oldest boys have died in their forties of substance misuse – alcohol and drugs. A family destroyed. A family devastated.

So Paul was right when he advised not to get drunk on wine. I would add to his list beer, and anything else containing alcohol, while we’re at it. And I’m sure if drugs were available in his day he would have been writing about them as well. He wasn’t advocating teetotalism. He was just saying that we must stop drinking wine before we get drunk. I personally have no objection to drinking wine. It can be a pleasant companion to a good meal. Or perhaps something that would be appropriate in a social setting. But like many things in life, an alcoholic beverage is good in small quantities, dangerous if taken to excess. And potential addiction is always lurking in dark corners.

As pilgrims in our societies, moving slowly but surely through the corridors of life, alcohol will never be far away. Premises dispensing alcohol are ubiquitous, at least in Western societies. So as Christians we cannot avoid contact with drinks that contain alcohol. Of course, we can exercise our right to free choice, and replace them with soft drinks. And alcohol-free wines and beers (and even gin I understand) is available. Drunkenness is a dark place for many but we can shine our light into the lives of needy people who have been seduced by an alcohol-fuelled lifestyle. We can show a better way. And we can share God’s love and compassion with people who have been left to their fates by institutions and governments who seem powerless or unwilling to get involved in their misery. 

Paul goes on to write about being filled with the Holy Spirit, but more of that in tomorrow’s blog.