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I Had A Drug Problem

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

           I’ve never told anyone this before, but I had a drug problem when I was younger. To tell you the truth I had one when I was a teenager too. Ya, I know it was really bad! In fact I get the shakes just thinking about it.

          I was “drug” to church on Sunday morning. I was “drug” to church on Sunday night. I was even “drug” to church on Wednesday night. My parents were so out of hand that they even “drug” me to Sunday School every week. If that wasn’t bad enough I was even “drug” to Vacation Bible School every year where they forced me to learn Bible verses and eat cake and ice cream! And I’ll never forget those dreadful summers when I was “drug” to, you guessed it, Church Camp. In case you didn’t know this, they made us sing hymns, support each other and pray together. It was terrible!

           My parents were so mean that I was also “drug” to the woodshed when I disobeyed them. Then my dad drug out his belt and I howled at the moon.

           I hate to tell you this awful truth, but those drugs are still affecting my life today! Those “drugs” are still in my veins, and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than crack cocaine or heroin.
      

          You know, come to think about it that kind of drug problem isn’t so bad after all. I don’t get the shakes from this drug problem and my mind is still clear and so is my conscience. And there is a big plus, at least I won’t be drug to hell kicking and screaming. If more children had this “drug” problem, do you think America would be better off? 

          Remember the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever {Isaiah 40:8}.

If I Were The Devil

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

           If I were the Devil, I’d want the world in darkness. I’d have a third of its real estate and have four fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I’d taken over the United States of America. I’d have TV show dirtier movies with more profanity in them. I’d peddle narcotics, and alcohol to whom I could. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. I’d have families, churches, and nations at war with themselves. And I’d promise CNN higher ratings if they would broadcast the lurid details of destruction. I’d encourage schools not to discipline. Before you knew it, you would have to have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing. I’d have judges promoting pornography. Then I could evict God from the courthouse, the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress.

          I’d subvert the churches. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. I would whisper what Satan whispered to Eve, “Do as you please”. To the young I would say that the Bible is a myth. I would convince them that man created God. I would teach them that what is bad is good and what is good is bad. And to those who haven’t any work ethic, I would teach them to pray, “Our Father, who art in Washington…” I’d substitute pop psychology for religion and have people look to Dr. Phil instead of Dr. Jesus. I would lure preachers and church leaders into misusing boys and girls and have others extort church money. I’d make the symbol of what people call “Easter” an egg, and the symbol of “Christmas” a fat man in a red suit.

          I would caution against extremes–in hard work, patriotism, and moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that casual sex with many partners is more fun then what they have seen on TV. Then I could lure children made in the image of God into bed with disease for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the Devil, I’d just keep right on doing what I am doing!

The Keys To Contentment

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

            What are the keys to contentment? First we need to play the cards that we are dealt. What you are is God’s gift to you. What you become is your gift to God. To find true contentment you need to accept yourself. The people that you have the most trouble with in the Church are the ones who have never accepted themselves!

           Secondly, you need to be content with what you have. God has blessed this nation and every one of us individually. Every breath we take is a reminder of God’s blessing upon our lives. Every free word we are allowed to speak should remind us of how much we have been blessed.

           Thirdly, know your needs and keep them simple. Some people’s needs are always changing as seen in this little poem. From 18 to 35 a girl needs her looks. **** From 35 to 55 she needs a good personality. **** And from 55 on she needs CASH. Then again there are some people who don’t know their needs. They remind me of the definition of an NFL football game. It is fifty thousand people who need exercise, watching 22 men who need rest!

           Fourthly, be content. Jesus wants you to enjoy the spring, but the summer that follows is magnificent. And the fall with its colorful leaves and freshness is pure joy. And don’t forget winter with its diamond like snow and the beauty of a snow covered meadow. Enjoy every season, every stage of life. You see, every change is a step up the trail to the top of the mountain. And when you reach the top of the mountain the only thing left is that final leap which will enable you to touch the very face of God.

Mothers and Groundhogs

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

         Mother’s Day is here at last, rejoice Mom. Never mind when your children tell you, “Leave the dishes today Mom it is your day you shouldn’t be working. After all, you can do them tomorrow!” And Mom don’t grieve because secretaries and pickles receive one full week of national acclaim while you, like the Ground Hog, only get one day.

         Being a mother is tough because you have to live up to everyone else’s expectations. When your kids look for the perfect mother she exists in your child’s mind as everybody else’s mom. She is right out of a story book. In fact, she is the answer to every child’s prayer. She likes snakes, spiders, frogs, all kinds of creepy crawly insects, ice cream for supper, unmade beds, rooms in disarray, and she could care less if you stay out all night!

         We all know that this is not reality. But I want you to reflect for a minute. Mother’s Day is the first shoes that you still keep of your first born. It is the plaster hand imprint that your daughter made in kindergarten. It is remembering the heart shaped paper that said, “I love you Mom” written in macaroni. Mother’s Day is all the little things that you remember that have never crossed your children’s minds. It is the first glimpse of your child at birth, the first steps that your daughter took and the first time the “Tooth Fairy” visited your child’s room. That is what Mother’s Day is all about. It is not about flowers and cards, it is about memories. This Mother’s Day make it your personal business to make another memory that only you will remember. One that will make you smile when you think about it. So don’t get upset that you and the Ground Hog only get one day. Remember that Ground Hogs are people too!

The Truth Shall Make You Free!

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

            We often hear John 8:32 quoted, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” But I’m here to tell you, it’s not the truth that sets you free. There is truth floating all around us, but it will set no one free. People can sit in church buildings, where truth fills the air every time they are assembled, and still not be free. You see, freedom doesn’t come by truth. True freedom is only possible when one knows the truth! Let me prove that to you. You’ve all seen elephants at the circus, haven’t you? What keeps them from running all over the place? Well, they have a chain around their leg. Could they break that chain if they really wanted to? Yes, so what’s their problem? They don’t know the truth. When they were young they were chained to a log that they couldn’t move. You see, circus elephants have been programmed. The reason the elephant doesn’t break the chain is not because he doesn’t have the power, it’s because he doesn’t believe he can! Like the elephant many times we have been programmed spiritually for defeat. We don’t believe that we can live victoriously, because we really don’t understand what freedom IN CHRIST really is! And until we do, we will never experience true victorious Christian living.

           There was a program on television that showed a Northern Pike that was taken out of one of the Great Lakes for an experiment. They put him into a tank and then they dumped a bucket of minnows in. The Pike immediately attacked the minnows and within seconds he ate every one of them. The next day the scientists put minnows back in the tank. Only this time they were protected by a glass container. The Pike banged into the container without any success until finally he gave up and went to the bottom. The, very, next day the scientists again let minnows swim freely in the tank. What did the Northern Pike do? He just floated on the bottom and didn’t even try to eat any of them. The funny thing about it was that the minnows swam right past his mouth and he just “sat” there. What was the end of the matter? He eventually starved himself to death, even though life giving food was swimming past his mouth.

           That is exactly what is happening to thousands of Christians. They are starving spiritually while just inches away are all the spiritual blessings that they will ever need. Spiritual blessings are floating right past their noses and yet they fail to “feed” on them. Are they floating past yours? You see, you have to KNOW THE TRUTH, not just hear the truth. You can starve spiritually with spiritual blessings surrounding you. If you don’t understand who you are or whose you are you will be defeated. So don’t you think today is the day that you start seeing yourself they way God sees you?

You Cannot Sit On Two Chairs

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

Although the sun bombards the earth every hour with billions of kilowatts of energy, we can protect ourselves from most of its effects with a hat and sunscreen. On the other hand a laser can take just a few watts of energy, focus them in a coherent stream of light and drill a hole through a diamond. So what is the difference? The difference is focus.

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti learned the importance of focus from his father. When Luciano was a teenager he became a pupil of a professional tenor in his hometown of Modena, Italy and at the same time, he enrolled in a teachers’ college. When he graduated, Luciano asked his father, “Shall I be a teacher or a singer?” His father replied, “Luciano, if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.” The famous tenor wrote years later: “I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book – whatever we choose – we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.” What was been the key to Luciano Pavarotti’s success? It was Focus! He directed his attention to what he loved most and gave 100% to accomplish that goal.

That reminds me of what Jesus said concerning commitment in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” He also said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Stop straddling the fence and get on the right side with the Lord.

Remember, the clock is ticking and time is fleeting. If we intend to stand on the streets of Gold in that fair city we had better decide who our Lord is. I don’t know about you, but as far as me and my house we will serve the Lord!!! Get your act together and make Jesus Christ number one in your life. Remember a man with two watches is never quite sure what time it is!

Liberalism, America and the Church
Written By
Dr. James Spinnati

Liberalism is like water in a gas tank and it is killing America. Liberalism is defining the culture in such a way that the America that I grew up in no longer exists. The entitlement mentality and the nanny state is exactly what those that can’t spell work ethic let alone function in that mode desire. They remind me of the pew sitter who hasn’t opened up his Bible in five years and yet he is the first one to holler, “I’m not being fed” to anyone who will listen! The Federal Government will be the down fall of America! The socialized government wants to spoon feed you, burp you and change your diaper as you sit in the corner and drool down the front of your tee shirt! The problem is that more and more people are buying into this philosophy. When we finally get to the tipping point and we will, we will look more like Russia than France.

So what is a main contributor to societies slide to moral decay? It is the Church! The Church used to make a difference in the culture now the Church, on the whole, is more useless than useful. She is useless the Father of lights who has equipped her for service. The Church is no longer standing for holiness and godliness. Now even the preachers ascend the pulpit to tell jokes or insignificant stories in order to appease the mummified pew sitters. The Church begins to mirror the government by trying to “buy votes” by trying to please the masses. Instead of feeding the flock spiritual food she seeks to entertain. It is a foregone conclusion that the Church has devalued truth for numbers. It is seen from the Sunday school classes to the assembly. Attendance is shrinking as “the Church” seeks to administer another dose of food, fun and games to the biblically malnourished! To prove my point next week count the number of Bibles brought to the assembly, then count the number that are open!

What we need to turn this nation around is a church that believes that she is the Church! We need a church that believes that she is relevant to the world in which she seeks to win. We need Christians that are true Christians not someone who is a Sunday morning want to be!

So how are we going to get where we want to go? We need to realize that the road to anywhere starts where you are right now. In the worldly sense we can see how true this was in the life of Wilma Rudolf. She was 20th out of 22 children, born to a struggling handy man. At the age of 4 she was stricken with Scarlet Fever and double pneumonia. The illness left her left leg paralyzed. They fitted her with a leg brace and told her parents that she would never walk again.

Wilma said, “I kept cheating. I’d sneak away and take off the brace and test my leg. What happened? She was walking normally by the age of ten. She played basketball at 13! At the age of 16 Wilma ran with the Olympic relay team in Melbourne Australia. The rest of the story is public knowledge. In the 1960 Olympic Games she was the first woman ever to win 3 gold medals. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Women’s Sports. The road to anywhere starts where you are right now.

In the Christian perspective the road to anywhere has been opened for us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The only one who can block the road to anywhere is you. So do not give me an excuse, because there are none! You can make a difference! You can change your congregation from the geriatric mind-set to the soul winning life changing organism that God has called it to be. You need to realize that when one is in Christ they are equipped to accomplish everything that God asks of them. Remember, He has all power and He is your Father! Now ask yourself a question, “Why would anyone want to be a ho hum Christian?” Why would anyone settle for less? The Church and America is not going to be changed with you sitting in the “bleachers”. It is only going to happen when you decide to be a committee of one and begin to act as you have been equipped!

Paul knew the secret. He knew that all things are made brand new in Christ Jesus. He knew where his strength lies. That strength wasn’t Paul and it isn’t you. Paul knew the true road. He said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives within me.” He knew that he could do ALL things through Christ Jesus who strengthened him. Hey Christian that same strength is available to you. The road to anywhere has been cleared. All you have to do is get on it and make a difference in the Church and America!

Pro-Life, Anti-Abortion and No Apologies!!!
Written By
Dr. James Spinnati

Psalm 139:13-19 says, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.”

The number one cause of death in America today is abortion, taking 1.6 million lives per year–4383 per day. While we sit in the assembly this morning for an hour 183 babies will be murdered! That is 3 per minute. Abortion kills more Americans than heart disease, cancer, aids, guns and auto accidents combined. Then we ask, “How many have been killed in Iraq???” There are those who wanted to stop the war and yet they stand behind those who would murder innocent children!

One woman who was a “Human Shield” in Iraq was asked if she believed in abortion, she said yes and then added, “What has that got to do with anything!”

Brothers and sisters over 50,000,000 Americans have died as a result of legalized abortion since 1973–that’s more than 30 times the number of Americans killed in all of our wars put together. If you were born after 1973, one out of four of your peers died from abortion. Currently 27-29% of all American pregnancies end in abortion.

What Does God Think about It???

Proverbs 6:16-17: God is not pro-choice– He hates the hands that shed innocent blood.

Genesis 1:26-27; 31: We are created in the image of God.

A. We reflect our Creator, and we are valuable in his eyes.

B. Life is sacred – including life in the womb.

Read the rest of this entry »

Try the Spiritual Etch-A-Sketch

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

           How many times do you suppose you have said or heard it said, “If only I had it to do over again…”? Hindsight is always 20/20. We learn some things by experience that often we could not see before. That would be good except for one thing – in most areas of life we can’t back up and do it over again. The old saying, “You only go around once,” seems to apply in a lot of cases. Do you remember the Etch-A-Sketch? The Etch-A-Sketch was a little red and gray drawing board full of granulated particles. It was not equip with digital readouts and it didn’t beep or flash. In fact, it didn’t even take batteries. Instead you twisted two knobs on the bottom of the screen to draw a picture. If you messed up all you had to do was shake the thing a couple of times and you got a clean screen – a chance to start all over. Wouldn’t it be nice if some parts of life were like that Etch-A-Sketch? I know some who would like to do that to their maxed out credit card account? Just pick up the card, shake it a couple of times, and the bill is paid off. I know. It doesn’t work that way, but, neither does the rest of your life.

           There is good news though, with God it is possible to start all over. We are all on this pilgrimage called “life.” During the time we live here on earth we are determining where we will spend eternity. Somehow, though, all of us seem to mess up and get ourselves into deep trouble with God. We need a chance to start all over. We need a Jubilee, like the Israelites had. The Old Testament Jubilee began with the blowing of the ram’s horn on the ancient Day of Atonement. It signaled the release of all debt and the freeing of slaves. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do the same thing? Well today we have something greater. We can be set free spiritually. We have the blood of Jesus Christ which can free us from sin. Don’t you think it is time to start your day off right? How can you do that? How about obeying Christ? I want to assure you, there is nothing like freedom.

What Happened To Someone Else?

Written By

Dr. James Spinnati

          I hate to break the news to you, but a well respected member of the Lord’s Church passed away the other day. In case you didn’t hear about it, his name was Someone Else. Someone’s passing creates a terrible void that will be difficult to fill. Else has been a hard working Christian. He was truly a servant of the Most High.  In fact Someone did far more than his share of work.

          Whenever leadership was the priority everyone looked to him. Someone Else would always be looked upon to fill the gap, to make great things happen. In fact when any project came up in the church everyone assumed that Someone Else would handle it to the best of his abilities. Someone was supposed to teach class, lead the young people, and do all the calling. If a person in the community was in the hospital everyone knew that Mr. Else would be there! And no one got bent out of shape when a funeral visitation was expected, after all Someone Else would always take care of it too. Someone Else was looked upon to create an atmosphere of love and harmony.

          I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know, but Someone Else was a wonderful Christian. He would arrive at the assembly early and never leave until all the work was done. He sometimes appeared almost super-human. To tell you the truth I think everyone expected too much of Someone Else! Yes, Someone Else’s death has left a tremendous void. So what are we going to do now? We can’t depend on Someone Else any longer. If the Church of our Lord is to grow in grace and knowledge don’t you think it is time for we start making a difference instead of leaving it to Someone Else?