Should A Christian Smoke?

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Should A Christian Smoke?
(Cancer is the curse of the modern World)

   The Bible must be our guide in the Question. Christians did not smoke, they were on fire! They were fired with enthusiasm to live our lives well and pleasing to our Lord. A Christian should be at least the 3 things shown below.

1] Free
   Free from anything which grows into making us a slave. . .
[GW] Galatians 5:1 “Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm ⌞in this freedom⌟, and don’t become slaves again”
[GNT] “Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again”
[MSG] “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you”
[AMP]John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free”
… Our bodies are to be temps where the Holy spirit resides. Let me suggest this, would you give someone you hold in high esteem a damp mould ridden condemned house to live in? Well this is what us Christians do if our ways are not changed the way they should be.

2] Pure and undefiled
   Pure and undefiled, in His ways is an example. Let me ask you this .. “Is smoking a pure habit?” .. “Does it defile us?” .. I would like you smokers to look at your fingers and think of what it is doing to your throat & lungs. Let me put this to you, “should defiled fingers and lips partake of the bread & wine (Communion), Which we speak of such a pure and undefiled one as is Christ?”. Is it a good example to your children and the youth of the church?
[NLT] Matthew 6:13 “ And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one”

3] Personal temple
[GW] 1 Corinthians 6:19/20 “Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. 20You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body”

   Your body is the temple of the holy Spirit, and it is to be presented to God, Holy and in order to Glorify Him. I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you that smoking leads to cancer, this in it’s self should be a wake up call. . .
[GW] Romans 12:1 “Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you”
... Would you truly stand there and blow putrid smoke into the temple of God and then present it to Him, telling God it is a Holy thing? Do you sincerely think smoking positively Glorifies God? Now being honest, on which side do you think the scales weigh down? I know that any addiction can be hard, but smoking being one of the most difficult to quit. As for my Father in law after giving his life to Christ he said one day I can’t do this any more, threw his cigarettes in the bin. But today there is a plethora of aids to help.

This message is one of my own but it is actually my late father in laws, which he wrote on 

this subject.

These are the Bible translations used in this study...
GW: The Gods Word translations
MSG: The Message translation
GNT: The Good News translation
AMP: The Amplified translation
NLT: The New Liviing Translation

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Gods Peace, when
Anger Rises

James 1:19 “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God”
Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse”
Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger”

   When engulfed with anger, it can be hard to fall into restful sleep. You will be lying in bed stewing over, your mind constantly playing over and over the events that have left you in anger. It could have been something that happened just today, or your co-workers criticism, or your child's wild behaviour, or a church member bringing unwanted gossip in church. It could have happened in your past (years ago) but continually comes to the fore front of your mind. Her unkind words, His refusal to apologise, the betrayal you never saw coming, the wounds you fear will never heal. Those are things to forgive, and hard things to let go.

   While your day my be filled with so much busyness there is no time to properly contemplate these difficult circumstances, your lying in bed are often not that way. All you have is yourself, your pillow, and your thoughts. And when your thoughts turn to these provoking situations, they can lead to long nights of restlessness. Instead of peacefully dreaming, you’re troubled by ways you were wronged, mistreated, and deceived. Not surprisingly, this doesn't lead to peaceful, bliss-filled sleep. Instead, your heart fills a little hard and desire for revenge keeps knocking, holding you and your thoughts in a vice like grip.

What would it look like to let all that pent

up anger go?

   All that resentment that pulses through your veins and makes your face flushed with your frustration is really controlling you(and only you), but not the person who wronged you, not the friend who who deceived you, not the spouse who betrayed you. In short, the anger you hold and nurse and keep on simmering is now impacting you most fervently. It’s started to steal your body of rest and festering in the deepest parts of your soul. We must stay always mindful. As the enemy feeds off of your anger your feeling. But there is good news: the Lord is able to rescue you from his grip.

   In Psalm 37:8, the Psalmist said it like this “Refrain from anger and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself: it tends only to evil” [ESV]. Harbouring unforgiveness is not only harmful for you, it’s also exhausting. Right here and right now, vow to make a change in your thinking, even only a small change. As your reading this cry aloud to God for His help to over come this battle your in. Asking Him for His supernatural strength to breath deeply, inhaling forgiveness and exhaling bitterness. Imagine His loving arms around you, letting you know He understands this fretting your going through. This kind of change doesn’t happen over night. But just for this night, in these quiet moments, you can you can take a small step toward change & cleansing, purifying, rest giving change.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me take a step toward healing and forgiveness. Remind me of the everlasting patience you hold, and help me regard others with the same gracious, loving, spirit-filled as yourself.

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Every
Word ~ Thought ~ Deed

   Before we jump in, I want to tell you now that we are going to jump around your Bible. I make no apologies as we navigate this subject.

• Every ~ Word

   So gather your scraps of paper as we begin. I’m starting with these couple of questions . .

1. When someone cuts up on the road, do you either say .. ‘bleep bleep – swearing like a trooper’, Or, you say ‘oh you silly been, careful as you go now?’.
2. When hitting you hand with a hammer, Or, drop something heavy onto your toes, do you swear, Or, manage to control what you say in that moment?’

… If by doing so controlling the smallest member of the body, managing what most people have not done so, down through time.
[GW]James 3:2&3 “All of us make a lot of mistakes. If someone doesn’t make any mistakes when he speaks, he would be perfect. He would be able to control everything he does. 3 We put bits in the mouths of horses to make them obey us, and we have control over everything they do”

   I was once told of a businessman, whom would count to 15 seconds before ever replying to what was asked of him. He would do this as to always to be in control of what he response was, and never to be angry and loose control of what he said. I have to say this is very difficult, as I have tried, and failed. Never have I heard of anyone else like this?

[NIV] Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”

   As we seek God’s utterance to help us, metaphorically – with a horses bit, to control our mouths and words. May be one way, could be, to think of our words as seeds. I reckon many would remember things they said to others during their school days, some I’m sure some were once good, and some were hurtful words uttered. The truth being both have landed, and have taken root. Just as in the parable of the sower … [NIV] Matthew 13:1-9 ...Even if this parable is one you know very, or at least you think you do, might I suggest you now read it again, only before you do, ask God to show you something new.

   Before moving on, let me say one more thing on this matter . . .[NIV] Matthew 12: 36/7 “I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned”. . . as kids, most of us have uttered at sometime .. ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me’.. sadly some of these words, even today, have left wounds that will never heal. When speaking, we must, think of every word as a seed. Will they help to flourish or will they grow into a brier patch and hold this person back.

• Every ~ Thought

[NIV] Psalms 139:23 “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts”
   May be you didn’t ‘say anything’, but you still thought it. God still counts these words as spoken. What we must still remember to do is .. STOP .. and ask for God to help, but, honestly just repent and mean it . . “God, know my heart” . . Doing this which is very hard, means turning your ‘whole’ life completely over to God. Only then will our lives be totally turned around, leading to a closer walk with Jesus. This will mean less . .”Anxious thoughts”

   If your thinking your worthy, chase these thoughts away in Jesus name. You may feel that all He has ever given, I have never deserved, but, He still gives to us day after day. He does this through His good graces ~ mercies & love. For this every morning we must thank Him. Acknowledging Him is just the right thing to do, thanking Him for what He did yesterday, and for those He will do in the day coming.

   I do wonder how many times in the past I have fretted about silly things, instead of turning my worries over to Jesus . .
[NIV] Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” . . Did you see that ..”Do not be anxious”.. How many times in the OT* & NT*, do we see God ~ Jesus or even Paul, tells us not to worry .. “about anything” .. so, STOP fretting, remember, we live by faith not by sight .. “but in every situation” ..I don’t care if it’s taking the dog for a walk; travelling to work; needing green traffic lights, an easy parking space; or the rent is due; an over draft that seems to be getting out of control; or your expecting your first child. All bar of the last I have experienced at some time or another since coming home to Christ. We need to seek Gods face daily, yes daily, more than once as well, and not on your phone, it needs to be face to face, one on one, with NO distractions. OK, God knows what we need before we ask for it. But He still wants us to come to Him daily.

• Our .. Deeds

 In this the last ..‘Our Deeds’ .. I want to show that even by doing ‘nothing’ it will still be counted as a ‘Deed’. Example: You may gather with old~Earthly friends, when something happens where you receive a tug on your heart, but all your old friends are laughing, but you say/do nothing to help, this is a non-deed, which will still count. You can stand there are try to argue that you did not laugh or mock, it is still counted.

[NKJ] Ezekiel 24:14 “I, the Lord, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you, Says the Lord God”

You see there is no way around this .. “According to your ways” .. see that .. “your ways” .. I know I have swung this wet fish around a lot. Don’t you see we are held to account to every .. Word ~ Thought ~ Deed .. and “They will judge you”. There is no age limit to this, there is no saying ‘I didn’t know better’.

[NKJ] Proverbs 20:11 “Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right”
[NKJ] John 3: 20 “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed”
21 “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God”

   God wants us to live in the light, so that we may be held to our actions, because God wants us to have life more abundantly.
[NKJ] John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”
[NKJ] Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you”

   Lets stop and look at these 2 verses. I have not come to share where our short comings are. But, also to show how not to break Gods heart for saving us, but also to show what happens to those who walk by faith and not by sight, (or by the flesh/World).

We need to be mindful of walking by flesh/world, as this is what the evil one wants. Look .. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” .. This is Gods warning to us as the evil one wants to .. “ steal” .. any good thoughts you may have to help someone, he’ll tell you that ‘they don’t need you help’ or see ‘they’ll not even thank you’. “kill”.. any thoughts of kindness, I stand against this, in as much, in my local shop I need to use a trolley, the one I have to pay to use. Now after putting my shopping into the car, I look to see if there is a parent with a child, I ask them if their child can return my trolley and keep the coin for doing so. If so, I say ‘God bless you’. This was to say thank you to God for letting me bless them, and sow some seeds of kindness.

[NKJ] 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom"

   Jesus came that we should have “they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” .. surely this has to be crystal clear to us, at least I hope so. The next time we have ..Words ~ Thoughts ~ Deeds .. stop for a second and think ‘Do I want to sow weeds ..that are only going to choke any good, that this person will do because they will forever be there preventing forever achieving their goals. Instead lets help them, even when we don’t want to, by planting seeds of greatness, Gods greatness that is. . . .
[NKJ] Romans 15:18 “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed ...19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God”
. . . You see all things are possible with God, that is why He wants to be continuously on our lips. Our Lord God can help us navigate this treacherous ~ wicked & perverse World. Lets be that light in Christ, with our Words ~ Thoughts ~ Deeds. Lets show what that looks like in the light of Christ Jesus.

   I have one more verse to leave you with, to show you how to be a winner in life through our Lord God ..
[NKJ] Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”
… This verse should always be on your lips & embedded in your heart.

Prayer

Thank you Heavenly Father for saving us and be that lamp unto our feet, I may we be given the fortitude to have the stength to control  our words thoughts and deeds, in our Lord Christ Jesus name/ Amen

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Victory

   Victory .. What is it? Some will tell you it’s about winning, coming first in what ever your competing, from spelling B to the Olympics. It could be you have over come a crippling fear, that is very real to you.

Point A .. Over Coming ~ Point B .. Who can help

Point C .. Living in Victory without fear

Point A .. Over Coming

   Yet in, Romans 8:37 .. it tells us that .. “We are more than conquerors” .. Lets not forget the rest of this verse .. “through Him who loved us”. God looks after the birds in the air, the crops we grow. So how much more does He want to take care of us! “He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the World”. [NKJ 1 John 4:4] In other words God created ‘ALL’ we .. See .. Do .. Have, far more that anything man could ever create. So having Victory should be second nature to us.

2 Samuel 23:12 “But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory”.

   If we try and to do things in our own strength, we are, every time going to fail. As throughout the Bible, we’ll see that with God on our side, anything is possible. One the most famous, is always going to be ‘Noah’. We need to have, as I have always said .. ‘Have Faith & believe’ .. giving peace of mind that God is always going to come through for us.

Matthew 12: 21 “In His name Gentiles will trust.”

   You can see that .. ‘Victory’ .. comes to us who are NOT Jewish, not of even one of the old Apostles. Who is it? It’s knowing when God is for us, who can stand against us?

“through Him who loved us”

   It can be a misconception, though some are, good living for a living. But, how many can actually say they know personally enough and are willingly to be making a major sacrifice for you, to improve your life. Well we do .. His name is .. Jesus Christ [John 16:33] “I have overcome the world.” .. Christ died so we don’t have to. When Jesus rose from the dead on 3^rd day, He rose with the keys to hades. Such is [present tense] His love for us.

   Don’t ever let yourself be so discouraged that you forget the personal love that Jesus Christ has for each and everyone of us. We also must in those dark lonely days take assurance that His love & affection is, and will always be ever present.

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Galatians 2:19/20 “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”

   It is a sad fact that so who were saved, never really felt God in their lives, because they never truly gave ‘ALL’ over to God. How can you really walk into a restaurant and want to only pay half (½) and yet expect to get all the food .. “no longer I who live” .. This means that you and your old ways are now dead, no ties, no more sin. As I recently heard Pastor Keith Moore say “The dead can’t be tempted, because they are dead. As we are now” So the next time you find yourself being tempted to sin, you need to turn around and tell the devil, the following .. “My old ways have died to sin through Christ Jesus who saved me. I am a new creation in Christ, who now resides in me”.

Point B: Who can help

1 Corinthians 15: 54/8 “So when this corruptible has put on *incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord”.

*[Incorruption is the state of being free from decay, ruin, or physical decomposition, often referring to a, imperishable, immortal condition]

O Hades, where is your victory?”

[NLT]Matthew 28:6 “Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying”…    Don’t you see, God keeps his Word. Jesus told us He would rise again on the 3^rd day, and guess .. what He did .. not only did He rise from the dead He defeated .. Death Hell & the grave. I hear you asking, “that’s all well and good, that was then, what about the here and now”? .. The promise of then is as good today as it was then. He [Christ Jesus] died so we would no longer be lost in death. I’m sure many have seen the film Ghost with Patrick Swayze & Demi Moore, well there is a scene where this really bad man dies, dark shadowy figures come out of the shadows, and grab this mans soul as it leaves his body, kicking and screaming into the demented shadows , where there will never be and peace. So tell me does the sound of the shadows sound where you want to be? OR, do you want that elusive peaceful Victory?

1 Corinthians 15:55 “O Death, where is your sting? .. Let me say that again .. “O Death, where is your sting? .. Having God with us, who can stand against us? No matter what we go through God is always by our side. All throughout the Bible we are told to Fear-not, why not? Not just because God said so, or Jesus Christ, to that matter. But, God, who created the Heavens and Earth. So no matter what comes before you, God will show you how to defeat what comes against you. The first thing to do is thank the Lord Jesus for His wisdom, to help turn the problem around, and for the .. Victory .. in His name. No matter the problem or situation, this prayer will help you, when talking to God. We all know formally as the .. Lords Prayer .. it’s from ..

[NKJ]Matthew 6:8/13

“8 Your Father knows the things you have need of

before you ask Him.

9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in

heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver

us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom

and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

I had always thought these 2 verses were part of the main

body of this prayer, and not coming after, but this

how God wanted done is, so who am I to disagree ...

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

   It is the bluntness that leaves no room for ambiguity. No vain repetitions in prayer; we walk by faith not by sight. So remember always, no matter what is said or done .. “Thanks be unto God” .. Stay strong in him who is in you.

[NKJ] 1 John 4:4 “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”.

Point C: Living in Victory without fear

   My last look into having .. Victory.. in our lives, will be show you how to over come crippling fear. Lets start with Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”. This is a perfect place to start, I accept fear can be crippling as ..

• Some have food fears ..

• Some have germ fears ..

• Some have height fears ..

.. for me it had been Moths. There are so many, that these barely scratch the surface, however these all can be over come with Gods love & help.

   I’m not saying .. “I will fear no evil” .. is the instant fix (though God can be) . Lets take my old fear of Moths, I had. I have been taking a left of field way to over come it, I’ve started to look at ‘Butterflies’, with all their amazing variety and colours and sizes. This has made me look at moths and their variety colours and sizes. Before you do anything (we do), it must be offered up to God. Be it the morning; the day ahead; the drive (to work or day out); the fear you have. I’m not talking scary movies here. As there are enough scary things~people~wars happening around the World. The last thing you should be doing is opening the door for fear to plant another seed. It is time to drop kick the devil/fear out the front door. In fact, right now grab a piece of paper write the devil and or the fear you have, now scrunch up the paper into a ball, walk to the front door and open it, kick the paper into the street saying this .. “Good by devil/fear your not welcome here any more in Jesus Christ’s name”. Followed by .. “Thank you Jesus for the victory”.

[NIV] 2 Samuel 5 17/19 “17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

   You would think that the Philistines had learnt the first time, they had attacked, nothing and no one is bigger than God. The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. But, oh no, they still come back for more. So what did David do? Anyone .. (pay attention here cometh the leason). . .

• Did he run around panicking? .. NO

• Did he try and to escape? .. NO

• Thinking that he had defeated the Philistines before, and thought I can do this by myself? .. NO

… Now the pressure was ramped up a notch. Whilst everyone else was scared, asking David what are they going to do? David calmly prayed .. “Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer”. [2 Samuel 5:23/5]

   This is what a close walk & relationship with the Lord looks like, it brings forth true victory. It matters not the size of the problem, the Lord can and will deliver you. Just whether or not we are willing to walk by faith and not by sight. If we truly want VICTORY, we all need not fear, only being brave in the knowledge that ..

[NKJ] 1 John 4:4 “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”.

   We have victory over what ever this world has to throw at us. We must pray every day & every day we must pray, this is part of our relationship with God. As I bring this study to a close, let me leave it in the words of James ..

[NKJ] James 5 13/16 “13 If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms. 14 If you are sick, call for the church leaders. Have them pray for you and anoint you with olive oil  in the name of the Lord. 15 (Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them.) If you have sinned, you will be forgiven. 16 So admit your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you will be healed”.

Closing Prayer

[NKJ] James 5 16/18 “Prayers offered by those who have God’s approval are effective. 17 Elijah was human like us. Yet, when he prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell on the ground for three-and-a-half years. 18 Then he prayed again. It rained, and the ground produced crops”. As we pray in Jesus name, my we have the portion of faith in His name to receive your Victory, claiming it in your name and glory. Amen