A Brand Plucked Out of the Fire
Thursday, June 29, 2023
And the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Zech. 3:2.
I was definitely "a brand plucked out of the fire." Although I was born of very religious parents, I became involved with drugs during my early 20s. Heroin, cocaine, and marijuana were my gods. The police arrested me more than 40 times in the Denver area between 1966 and 1984 on a variety of drug-related charges, and I ended up in prison. I lost my family, my home, and my employment as the result of my 20-year drug habit.
And then in 1985 I realized I needed help. God says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7, NKJV). When I turned my life over to Him, I found even more than I had ever hoped or dreamed of finding.
I met Freddie one Sabbath in church, I proposed the next day, and three months later we were married. Next to the Lord, she has been my inspiration, my constant companion, and my soul mate.
During my 20-year struggle I had no one to help me get off drugs. Every time I'd try to keep clean for a couple days, something would happen, someone would tempt me, and I was right back where I started—or even worse!
I was a bricklayer by trade. But once I became converted, Freddie and I began to dream of providing more than just brick walls for people. We wanted to give others the support they needed to break their addictions, and to prevent as many young people as possible from experimenting with fire. And so, shortly after our marriage, we moved from Denver to Grand Terrace, California, and through a series of miracles started DAP—the Drug Alternative Program. Together we have given our lives to helping pull other "brands" from the fire of drug dependency. We've made a lifetime commitment. No retirement.
I tell my story to give you hope. Whatever your addiction, God is the answer. He can pluck you from the fire, for He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20).
Look to Jesus. He is the answer to life . . . and the source of all liberty!
I was definitely "a brand plucked out of the fire." Although I was born of very religious parents, I became involved with drugs during my early 20s. Heroin, cocaine, and marijuana were my gods. The police arrested me more than 40 times in the Denver area between 1966 and 1984 on a variety of drug-related charges, and I ended up in prison. I lost my family, my home, and my employment as the result of my 20-year drug habit.
And then in 1985 I realized I needed help. God says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7, NKJV). When I turned my life over to Him, I found even more than I had ever hoped or dreamed of finding.
I met Freddie one Sabbath in church, I proposed the next day, and three months later we were married. Next to the Lord, she has been my inspiration, my constant companion, and my soul mate.
During my 20-year struggle I had no one to help me get off drugs. Every time I'd try to keep clean for a couple days, something would happen, someone would tempt me, and I was right back where I started—or even worse!
I was a bricklayer by trade. But once I became converted, Freddie and I began to dream of providing more than just brick walls for people. We wanted to give others the support they needed to break their addictions, and to prevent as many young people as possible from experimenting with fire. And so, shortly after our marriage, we moved from Denver to Grand Terrace, California, and through a series of miracles started DAP—the Drug Alternative Program. Together we have given our lives to helping pull other "brands" from the fire of drug dependency. We've made a lifetime commitment. No retirement.
I tell my story to give you hope. Whatever your addiction, God is the answer. He can pluck you from the fire, for He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20).
Look to Jesus. He is the answer to life . . . and the source of all liberty!
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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