HOW TO ESCAPE ADDICTIONS THAT DESTROY YOUR MIND, BODY AND SOUL
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” (Isaiah chapter 55, verses 1 & 2).
ADVICE FROM A WISE FATHER
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house.
At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” (Proverbs 5:1 – 14).
DON’T FALL INTO THE TRAP!
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1).
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. (Proverbs 23:20 & 21).
My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways, for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” (Proverbs 23:26 – 35).
For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. (Proverbs 6:23 – 29).
TELL-TALE SIGNS
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. (Proverbs 11:22).
Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin! (Proverbs 21:4).
“This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.'” (Proverbs 30:20).
DON’T BE LED ASTRAY
The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way.”Let all who are simple come in here!” she says to those who lack judgment.
“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”
But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave. (Proverbs 9:13 – 18).
A VICTIM…
At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home: now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks). She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
“I have fellowship offerings at home; today I fulfilled my vows. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with coloured linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deep of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.”
With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life. Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death. (Proverbs 7:6 – 27).
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the Lords wrath will fall into it. (Proverbs 22:14).
ESCAPE!
In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them. (Proverbs 22:5).
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favour from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:22).
A wife of noble character is her husbands crown, but a disgraceful wife is like a decay in his bones. (Proverbs 12:4).
GOD OFFERS US THE BEST THING IN LIFE – AND IT IS FREE
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” (Isaiah 55:1 & 2).
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
[…] Yahshua declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. […]. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (based on John 6:35 – 40).
(Yahshua also said) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3).
THE END OF THE WORLD – GOOD OR BAD NEWS?
First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this `coming’ he (Yahshua) promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed
– and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (based on 2 Peter 3:1 – 13).
YAHSHUA SAVES!
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Yahshua Messiah, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11 – 14).
THE VERDICT FROM SOMEONE WHO TRIED IT ALL
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labour.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:10 & 11).
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”. (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
- THOUGHT: “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” – (1 Corinthians 6:18). •
ESSENTIAL STUDY MATERIAL:
- Genesis chapters 1 – 3, (all), (Creation).
- Exodus chapters 19 – 24, (all), (‘The Law‘).
- Isaiah chapter 53, (all), (Prophecy About Yahshua).
- Matthew chapters 1 – 4, (all), (Yahshua’s Early Life).
- John 6:25 – 71, & 4:1 – 26. (Bread & Water of Life).
- Isaiah chapters 24 & 28, (all). (Rebuke of Drunks).
- Micah chapter 2, (all), (Man‘s Plans and God‘s).
- John 8:1 – 11, (Yahshua’s Forgiveness).
- John 3:1 – 21, (Yahshua’s Teaching on Eternal Life).
- Matthew chapters 5 – 7, (all), (Yahshua’s Teaching).
- Matthew 13:1 – 24. (The Parable of the Sower).
- Luke 15:11 – 32, (The Parable of the Lost Son).
- Luke 18:15 – 17, & 17:20 – 37, (Heaven).
- Luke chapters 22 – 24, (all), (Yahshua’s Death & Resurrection).
- Matthew chapters 27 & 28, (all), (as above).
- John chapters 13 – 16, (all), (Yahshua’s Teaching).
- Luke chapter 12, (all), (Watchfulness).
- Hebrews chapters 8 – 10, & 12 (all), (New Order).
- 1 Corinthians chapter 6:14 – 7:40, (Marriage).
- Ephesians 4:17 – 5:33, (Life as a Child of God).
- 1 Peter 4:1 – 11, (Encouragements).
- Jude, (all), (Warnings).
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 12, (The Man of Lawlessness).
- Revelation chapters 21 & 22, (all), (Heaven).
- 1 John, (all), (Important instructions).
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).