Wake Up and Feel the Hangover!

I've never been one for the drinking scene. There has just never been any point in my life where that looked like fun. However, I've been surrounded by enough people that think it's just the way to go.

Most of the stories are usually the same, you've heard them before. "Man it was just awesome. I was so trashed. I don't even really remember what happened, but it was awesome. You should have been there." But as you know, the story does not stop there. The story usually always finishes with the morning after throw up party. I must be missing something, but that just doesn't sound like much fun.

I realize at this point this looks like an anti-drinking blog, but that's not the focus here. The real focus is on that morning after experience. Why is it that the morning after vomit party always happens? Because your body is rejecting it. Your body hates what you have done to it, and it is trying to clean and purge itself. That is amazing to me.

It is amazing how God designed our bodies. When our bodies get sick, our body is designed to fight off the intruders. When you trash yourself with drugs and alcohol, your body is designed to clean it self up. That is amazing.

Even more amazing, is how God designed such an amazing plan to purge and cleanse us from our sin. There are to many scriptures to cover for a blog, but just open the Word for even a brief moment and you will see God doing everything possible to bring his people from their sin. He delt constantly with the children of Israel to get them to turn from their sin, yet they still went back.

1 Corinthians 10 gives us some warnings about Israel's history. It explains to us that all of them walked in and experienced the amazing miracles of God's love and grace. Each and everyone of them knew the truth. But listen to verse 5: "Never the less, God was not pleased with most of them: their bodies were scattered over the desert." It is significant that it said their bodies were scattered over the desert, becuase it is showing us that they did not recieve the goal of entering the promise land.

There are many of you out there that continue to walk the fence with your sin. You experience God when you want, and then find yourself with a "sin hangover" the rest of the time. Verse 6 goes on to tell us that we should not set our hearts on evil things like they did. I want to encrouage you today to avoid the sinful things of this world. There is no future in it.

Do not play with God. He is not just a ride to heaven. He desires relationship with you, and like any other relationship, it takes hard work and commitment. Do not be fooled, just going to church and being a "good person" is not enough. You can go to church every day of your life and if you do not live the life, then it does no good. No matter how good you think you are, we are all sinful people that cannot be good alone. None is good without the presence of God in our lives.

Wake up and feel the hangover of your sin. Your spirit is rejecting it and your flesh is craving it. But remember that your spirit and your flesh are always at battle with one another (Galatians 5:16-18). Do not do as the children of Israel did and let the flesh win. Do not do as the majority of this world and let the flesh win. Do not do as the children of Israel did and forefit the goal, which is our eternal life with Christ.

So wake up, feel the hangover and get sober! The greatest news is still that "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6.

Get Sober!

Brandon