It would be hard to imagine the number of times I heard those words spoken starting from when I was a teenager. They continued for about a dozen years. And, not being raised as a Christian, I'm sure I said those words myself a countless number of times. It just seemed like the thing to do. After all, didn't grown-ups drink? It HAD to be fun, 'cause all the older teens did it; everyone on television did it, and my parents did it, too! Why didn't I learn from watching what it did to those around me? I knew my father and grandfather were both alcoholics. Was I that dim? Now sober, saved, and looking back, I guess my desire to be cool... and of course, my need to escape reality and my own inferiority complex outweighed what I knew was right. It was only after my consumption of alcohol nearly destroyed my Air Force career, and DID help destroy my first marriage, that the Lord finally broke the curse and brought me out into the light... It's not only because of what it did to my life (not to mention my brain cells), that I call alcoholism a curse. But also because God Himself calls it's a curse. Imagine that... a curse... and I'd guess about 95% of Americans over the age of 13 have consumed at least some alcohol, many to the point of disaster in their lives.
"But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep." Jeremiah 11:8
"...This is what the LORD says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. I will smash them one against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them. Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom." Jeremiah 13:13-16
Imagine what could be done for the kingdom of God with the billions of dollars we spend on booze.
Pastor Jim Kilby
Harvest Youth Ministries (HYM) is an outreach aimed at young people; not a youth group. HYM is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) not-for-profit ministry. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
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