Can Christians Be Alcoholics?

    I asked this question when I was recently teaching in our Foundation for Transformation Weekend. We call it this because it has proven time and time again to be quite transformational for those who attend. It is a verse by verse study of Romans 5, 6, & 8. On the second night we were studying Romans chapter 6:1-7. In my opinion it is one of the most fantastic Scriptures in the entire Bible!

       The idea is that our old identity from Adam has died. Our new identity in Christ has been created in His resurrection. Romans 6:6 says "knowing this, that our old self has been crucified with Him..." The old self is everything we were before we came to know Christ. It includes the identity you had when you showed up on planet earth. Romans 5:19 tells us this," through one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so to the obedience of the One many will be made righteous." That is the incredible power of the gospel. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, who we were as sinners was put to death and we were raised up in Christ with a new identity of being righteous.

         That is very difficult for most of us to accept. Why? Because we've learned to define ourselves by what we do. If we play tennis, we consider ourselves a tennis player. If we fail, we consider ourselves a failure. If we sin we consider ourselves a sinner. But that's not how it works in God's kingdom. In God's kingdom it is our birth which determines our identity. Our first birth made us sinners. Our second birth made us righteous, even though none of us will ever live a sinless life.

        So, back to my question. Can Christians be alcoholics? Many in my class said "Yes" without hesitation. Then there was silence which seemed very long. But I said nothing. One or two began to say, "That's not possible". Again, I said nothing. The silence was uncomfortable. Finally I answered." A Christian cannot be an alcoholic." However, a Christian can be addicted to alcohol. Again the class was silent." I asked, "Can a Christian be a liar?" Again I received some "yes" and "no" answers. I waited a little while longer. Then I said, "a Christian can lie but he can't be a liar".

       Here is the wonderful good news of the gospel. God has so changed who we are that our behavior no longer defines us. Can we still sin? Of course! But our sins no longer define us.

          Don't get me wrong. I understand why the 12-step programs try to get people to admit that they are alcoholics, liars, etc. It is to get them to break their denial. However, I think a better way to do this is to get Christians to realize who they are in Christ and that they have a  habitual sin problem with their addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, etc. 1 John 1:8 says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
         Our sin no longer defines us. Hallelujah! Our new birth in Christ defines us. Rejoice and be honest with yourself and with God about any sin you are consistently being defeated by. And if you need help, contact us. If we cannot help you in person or by Skype counseling, we can often refer you to someone else in your area who can.  

Live Free In Christ, 
Mark Maulding, 
President and Founder 
GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyrighted © 2012 Mark Maulding

Do You Know God Cares about How You Smell!

Did you know God likes perfume? And you are going to see that you are that perfume!

When God was giving instructions to Moses in what to put in the Old Testament tabernacle, surprisingly, He tells him in Exodus 30 to make a small alter to burn incense on it, just in front of the entrance to the Holy of Holies. As I read that passage recently, I prayed and asked the Lord, why He wanted incense burned in front of the door to where His presence lived among Israel.

It reminded me of the "hippy" days when it seemed like everybody burned incense. I think back on this time and thought it was probably just for fun and it could have made you feel cool. But then again, some people burned it to cover the smell of other things they smoked. I was not a part of that, but I do remember lots of people burning incense.

So, I was prayerfully wondering why God would want sweet smelling incense to be burning in front of the Holy of Holies. Immediately my mind went to 2 Corinthians 2:15, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." As we depend on Jesus Christ to live through us, we exude the aroma of Christ.

One of our staff had surgery a few months ago. He told me that the nurses and assistants just seemed to like to come in his room. Why? Because he was relying upon Jesus in him during his recovery and they could "smell" it. They did not know what it was but it was Jesus Christ they smelled.

Ellen (my wife) and I were recently in a city where we had to ride the bus quite a bit. It was amazing that almost every time we got on the bus, women who sat beside her wanted to engage her in conversations. She would look for an opportunity to talk with them about the One who lives in her, Jesus. Some times she shared the gospel with those without Christ. Sometimes, she explained the grace of God to those who were in Christ. Other times, she just listened and talked. It got to be a joke that every time we got on the bus, some lady would end up talking with her. Why? They smelled Jesus as He was expressing Himself through her, whether she was talking or just sitting.

Wherever you go, to work, to run, to the kid's games, to worship, to your neighbor, you can be the aroma of Christ if you will ask Him to live His life through you. This is a sweet spiritual perfume to God just as the incense in the tabernacle was a sweet physical perfume to God. Part of my daily prayer each day is, "Jesus fill me with Your love for me and live Your life through me today." I encourage you to make this request a part of your daily prayers too

Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christians Who Think They Are Superior

     When God freed me from my years of legalism, I was transformed forever. This resulted in my ruled based ways of living drifting away. Hoever, much later, I had to face the reality that I was still not free in one area in particular. It was a fleshly attitude that hurt some of those I loved the most. I had to be confronted in love, but very firmly, to understand that I had a problem. My problem was pride. When my mentor first asked me if I struggled with pride, I said, "No one has ever mentioned that to me". Wisely, he followed with, "Do you have a problem with believing you are superior"? Immediately, my eyes were opened to a side of pride I did not realize was there. Yet, I was puzzled. Where did that come from? I knew my identity in Christ! How was this possible?

     Well, I wish I could tell you that I could immediately pinpoint when this thinking started, but that would not come until later. I think my Father took some time to let me see the ugly hurtfulness of this sin. I kept asking Him, where did this come from? At first, I realized that it was left over from my years of legalism. The root of pride produces the fruit of superiority in the legalist. They see themselves as superior to other Christians because they "keep the rules".

Next, the Holy Spirit took me back to my high school years, where I started to beleive that had to be the best to feel significant.\

     Finally, He caused me to understand some of the messages I often observed being played out before me as a child. In this context, I realized that I had learned superiority.

Yet even before that, my real problem was that I was born into this world as a sinner and all sinners perform for acceptance. I did it in "socially acceptable ways". My younger brother did it in "socially unacceptable ways". In either case, those who think they perform well believe they are superior.

     My loving Abba began to slowly free me from my sinful pattern of superiority. It was a really big pattern in my flesh, and it took multiple crises for me to come to grips with it.

In Philippians 2:3, we are instructed to "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves". When we are confident of who we are in Christ, we can actually consider others as better than us. This does not mean we are to put ourselves down with some twisted false humility. But it does mean we are to realize that the flesh can lead us to sit on the "perch of superiority".

     Galatians 3:28 says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." All of our superiority died with our old sinful identity on the cross.

     How about you? Do you have a problem with superiority? Do you have spiritual superiority? Gender superiority? Racial superiority? Socioeconomic superiority? Those are all sinful ways of feeling superior and come from this world.

     In God's family, the only One superior is our God! Yes, in Christ, we are all important but no one is more important than any other regardless of how we perform, how big our ministry is, what we possess or our what position we have. We are all children of God with equal value.

     If you realize you have a problem with the sin of superiority, I urge you to face it. Ask God to show you where it started. Then ask Him to bring into your experience your freedom from this because of who you are in Christ.  In Christ, you are humble!

Until next time, remember He loves us!


Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Lecrae Video "I;m a Saint"

Here is a cool video by Lecrae about our identity in Christ.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAKxJ5I8VXw 

Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding,
President and Founder GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

My Struggle with Negative Thoughts

              I have a confession to make. I struggle with negative thoughts. Yes, I know I have been a follower of Christ for 46 years, in full-time ministry for 30 years, and I am the president of a vibrant growing ministry. Yet, I struggle with negative thoughts at times.

             Most recently, it happened when I had negative thoughts from comparing myself to someone else who has a very influential ministry. If you have ever struggled like me, you have learned that you do not overcome these thoughts by saying to yourself, "Just don't think about it".

             For me, as I look back on my life, this has been a pattern from time to time, not every day or every week. It is what the Bible calls the "flesh". The flesh is a set of patterns through which we have learned to cope with life or to attempt to meet our God given needs for love, acceptance and significance. These are negative ways for me but I also have positive ways. The problem is that both are wrong and sinful.

I do not know about you but it seems like negative thoughts most often come right before I go to bed each night. That was my first clue years ago that this was a spiritual problem.

So, how do you deal with negative thoughts? First and foremost, you need to realize that these thoughts are not coming from you. They are actually a type of temptation. When these thoughts come, they are designed to defeat you, discourage you, or bring you down into depression. You are smack dab in the middle of spiritual warfare. Knowing this, you can defeat these thoughts.

             To deal with these thoughts, you can pray or even tell yourself the truth, "These thoughts are not from God and not from me!" This situation is not my life. These people are not my life. Jesus is my life. (Col. 3:3-4) My needs for love, acceptance and significance are already met in Christ and I choose to believe that even it I don't feel it! (Col. 2:10) So, in the name of Jesus Christ the risen Lord, be gone and leave me alone. Then, I often thank God for how much He loves me over and over. That, more than anything else, calms my racing thoughts. Ps. 50:15

             We have nothing to fear but we do need to recognize we are in a spiritual battle. And most importantly, please realize this.  We already have the victory but need to apply it. Why do I say we already have the victory? Because the Victorious One lives in us!  "Greater is He (Jesus) Who is in us than he (satan) who is in the world!" 1 John 4:4.

Until next time, remember He loves us!


Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
 All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

How George Washington Carver Learned So Much about the Peanut

George Washington Carver was asked by the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means committee in 1921 how he knew so much about the peanut.  Carver said, "By reading an old book." "What book?" asked the chairman.  Carver answered, "The Bible."

Surprised, the chairman asked if the Bible actually talked about peanuts.  "No sir," Carver explained.  "It tells about the God who made the peanut.  I asked him to show me what to do with it, and he did."

He created over 300 products from the peanut!

What could the God who helped Carver with peanuts do with your life if you asked Him?

Live Free In Christ,

 Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com
 All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

How to Have Enough Faith

     If I had enough faith, I would be healed!   If I had enough faith, God would give me a lot more money! If I had enough faith, I would not be depressed! If I had enough faith....You fill in the blank.

     How many of us have heard that if we have enough faith, God would have to come through and bless us in some way. I have and years ago I fell into the deception. And like many of you, I came away feeling disappointed, confused and guilty. I concluded, "I must not have had enough faith". Have you been there?

     A good friend of mine, went down that road with her husband who had cancer. She believed every promise she could believe about his healing. She did not waiver. Yes, he received medical treatments but over time he progressively got worse. The day he died, she was so resolute in her faith, she was certain God was going to raise her husband from the dead. Yet, God did not do this. I don't know that I have ever met anyone who believed God more diligently than she did. Like many of us, in the end, she was confused and befuddled.

     This teaching that if we only have enough faith, God will somehow bless us is a form of legalism.   It is simply a different flavor of it. The essence of legalism is if we do A, then God is obligated to do B. It is sort of like playing a slot machine. If I believe enough, my faith will pull God's arm down and I will win a big prize.

     Because we live under grace, I believe there is a different way to approach God's promises. First, let me say loud and clear, we are to believe in God's promises 100%. But here is where being under grace takes the pressure off of us and our relationship with God. As we are believing God's promises, we then take any course of action regarding His promises that He leads us to take.  Finally, we leave the results up to God.  

     Do you sense the freedom of this?  Every Christian has enough faith to believe God's promises.  We may not always feel like we believe, but we cannot trust our feelings.  The results of our faith are not up to us having enough faith but up to God Himself.  Read Hebrews 11 about those who had faith.  Some received the fulfillment of the promises they believed.  Some did not.

Until next time, remember, He loves us!

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyrighted © 2012 Mark Maulding