{"id":1406,"date":"2014-02-04T23:04:42","date_gmt":"2014-02-05T04:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?p=1406"},"modified":"2014-07-22T11:28:27","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:28:27","slug":"philip-seymour-hoffman-heroin-and-the-heart-of-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2014\/02\/04\/philip-seymour-hoffman-heroin-and-the-heart-of-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heroin, and the Heart of Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"heart-of-addiction\"<\/a>Yet another Hollywood tragedy reported in the news this weekend. What continues to sadden me is how our culture reacts to a dead actor found with a needle in his arm as he reportedly overdosed on heroin while taking several other prescription meds for A.D.D., anxiety, depression, etc. because they deny God’s truth, they are blind to the cause of addiction.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I heard one commentator blaming parents and maybe some of the blame can always be attributed to parents, but we need not look any further than one’s own heart’s desires to find the reason for addiction. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us of the nature of our hearts:<\/p>\n

The heart is deceitful above all things,\u00a0and desperately sick;\u00a0who can understand it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So the world continues to refuse to listen to God’s Word and numerous warnings about the danger of trusting our hearts like the verses preceding the one referenced above:<\/p>\n

Thus says the Lord:\u00a0\u201cCursed is the man who trusts in man\u00a0and makes flesh his strength,\u00a0whose heart turns away from the Lord.\u00a06 He is like a shrub in the desert,\u00a0and shall not see any good come.\u00a0He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,\u00a0in an uninhabited salt land.\u00a07 \u201cBlessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,\u00a0whose trust is the Lord.\u00a08 He is like a tree planted by water,\u00a0that sends out its roots by the stream,\u00a0and does not fear when heat comes,\u00a0for its leaves remain green,\u00a0and is not anxious in the year of drought,\u00a0for it does not cease to bear fruit.\u201d<\/strong> (Jeremiah 17:5-8)<\/p>\n

You see, the Bible NEVER tells us to trust or to follow our own hearts! Instead, the Bible warns us about trusting in self, in mankind, and in the so-called wisdom of man. Read Proverbs 3:5-8:<\/p>\n

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,\u00a0and do not lean on your own understanding.\u00a06 In all your ways acknowledge him,\u00a0and he will make straight your paths.\u00a07 Be not wise in your own eyes;\u00a0fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.\u00a08 It will be healing to your flesh\u00a0and refreshment to your bones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I listen to commentators and people like Dr. Drew on news programs discuss the problem with addiction in our culture, I am reminded of the profound simplicity of the truth of God’s Word that points me to my own heart as my chief problem. That sinful heart and its desires to live to please oneself is what is the root cause of addictive choices and it will lead to death according to Romans 3:23:<\/p>\n

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/strong><\/p>\n

God offers the addict eternal life when one confesses sin as sin, repents, and places complete trust in Christ Jesus. Sadly, it is too late for Mr. Philip Hoffman, but it is not too late for you and I to repent today and place our trust in Jesus who has the power to transform us by His grace. If you are struggling with sinful choices that are enslaving like an addiction, cry out to Jesus today and ask His forgiveness that you might be saved and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

-Pastor Mark Shaw (proclaiming the truth about addiction and the compassion of our God)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yet another Hollywood tragedy reported in the news this weekend. What continues to sadden me is how our culture reacts to a dead actor found with a needle in his arm as he reportedly overdosed on heroin while taking several other prescription meds for A.D.D., anxiety, depression, etc. because they deny God’s truth, they are… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[12602,12600,15797,12633],"yoast_head":"\nPhilip Seymour Hoffman, Heroin, and the Heart of Addiction - Vision of Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2014\/02\/04\/philip-seymour-hoffman-heroin-and-the-heart-of-addiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heroin, and the Heart of Addiction - Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yet another Hollywood tragedy reported in the news this weekend. 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