Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Monday 04/18/2011)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Woman Who Has Continued To Give Of Herself To Others In A Way That In Most Cases She Will Never Receive In Return: Mrs. Tracy A. Dixon

Hooked on Heaven

John 8:31-32 (Amplified Bible)

31So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. 32And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.

Today’s message in the music comes from the title of a song from the 1975 movie Sparkle: “Hooked on Your Love”. This past week doing the prayer chain, I received a text from a woman who was struggling with overcoming her addiction to cigarettes. The sincerity and determination of her text was so powerful she arrested God to call a special session just for her.
It was such a great testimony and mark of maturity because this dynamic woman has recently begun her journey of walking with the Lord. I sat and thought, how many of us have been saved for years, walking with Christ by and by, praying in tongues, healing the sick and preaching His word, yet we still lie, cheat, steal and bring shame to the name of God? How many years have we felt His presence and still chose to fornicate, gossip, drink, smoke and do whatever it is that we want? I loved her text because it confirmed that she really has a heart after God. When you are truly living for God, you will automatically give up things/people that upset God, abuses His temple and separates you from His presence. Light and dark can’t be present at the same time, and I just love that God is allowing me to watch His light in her, overcome ALL the dark areas in her life. 
The most powerful part of her text was that this was not her first attempt to quit. She identified that what she had been doing in the past wasn’t working. She recognized that doing it in her own strength wasn’t yielding eternal results. And lastly, she was able to pinpoint the very source and root that caused her to turn to cigarettes in the first place. I said to myself, she GOT IT!!  She came to God 100%. No hidden agenda, no cover ups, no little pieces of information to surface later. She came to God open, ready and honest with herself. God already knows it all, but until we can confess it with our mouth, we will never be free.
Today, as we head one day closer to Resurrection Sunday, get hooked on Heaven. The more you focus and trust in God, the more you will turn away from the pleasures of your flesh. The more you press into God, the more junk and baggage you will cut off and get rid of. The more of His light you let shine through you, the more of you He can deliver and set free. One good dose of God is all you need. I’m hooked for life, how about you?