The Necessity for Christians to Understand the Serious Disadvantages of Constant Alcohol Usage!

18 May 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 May 2026   Ephesians 5:18.

Ephesians 5:18.        And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Oh friends, you won’t believe that it was only late Sunday evening, I realized that this was the Victoria Day long weekend, with cottage country coming alive for the summer and people beginning to plant their gardens. That just goes to show I was totally wrapped up in whatever I was wrapped up in. And don’t ask what that was, because I don’t even know. (smile) Anyway, many of us are blessed to have this Monday off, and with yesterday’s good weather, most likely to be repeated today, I can imagine the celebrations for this long weekend that usually ushers in the summer will be very big and boisterous.

But as always, let’s remember to have a modicum of circumspection as we celebrate, and don’t behave like leggo beasts, or imbibe too much of whatever you plan to imbibe, because you know that kind of behaviour only brings accidents and other heartbreaking stuff, that can often have serious, lifelong negative consequences. End of Sermon! 

And as I was looking through the Bible for something to write on, my eyes caught this section of Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, that seems rather appropriate for today. (smile) He writes: ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully) not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ (Eph. 5:15-18) Now didn’t I say that this passage was rather appropriate for today? (smile) 

And if you don’t want to listen to my warning, then you should at least have the common courtesy to listen to Bruh Paul’s and not get inebriated. And as the scholars explain: ‘This verse gives an example of what is and what is not the Lord’s will (vs. 17). Believers are not allowed to be intoxicated with alcoholic beverages; the reason for this prohibition is wherein is excess; that is, drunkenness leads to moral intemperance.

This is clearly contrary to God’s will. His will is that Christians be filled with (by) the Holy Spirit; that is, they are to allow Him to fill them with God’s own life, character and virtues. The analogy between these two moral states is this: a person filled with wine is under its influence; similarly, a Christian is filled with the Spirit when he controls his thoughts attitudes, and actions.’ 

And that’s all basic common sense my brethren! Whatever your mind and body are filled with, will influence your behaviour.  Now, if you don’t believe that Bruh Paul and I know what we’re talking about, then listen to the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol, as he warns from Proverbs. ‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging (intoxicating drink arouses brawling): and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’ (Prov. 20:1) And that’s not a lie, because we see it every day in our debauched society, meaning there are a lot of unwise people around us. 

But here’s the real kicker, as Cousin Sol gets right down into the nitty gritty of drunkenness. He earnestly asks: ‘Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? (Prov. 23:29) Now those are very good questions. And can you guess the answer? ‘They that tarry (linger) at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.’ (Prov. 23:30) And that’s the gospel truth!

Cousin Sol then continues with this wise advice. ‘Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour (sparkles) in the cup, when it moveth itself aright (goes smoothly). At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder (viper). Thine eyes shall behold strange women (things), and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst (heart) of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick (hurt); they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it (another drink) yet again.’ (Prov. 23:31-35)

Ah my people, Cousin Sol does know what he’s talking about. And so do many of us, who have either experienced the feeling of inebriation, or seen someone intoxicated, behave rather poorly. And the scholars add their take on the situation. ‘Six rhetorical questions drive home the fact that alcoholism has both physical and psychological effects (vs. 29). These effects are further specified: physical and psychological poisoning (vs. 32); delusion (vs. 33); stumbling (vs. 34); unconscious wounds (vs.35a); and enslavement (vs.35b).’

And isn’t it strange that all this stuff has been happening since Adam was a little boy, and yet we still greatly desire to imbibe the fire water. Fortunes have been made, and still are being made, on its production and sale. The devil certainly has us hooked on that one. But here’s what we should really be doing, as Bruh Paul advised the Ephesians. ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:19-21)

And to help us do just that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn for some divine help. Altogether:  ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You  this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; keeping lives and families together. We also thank You Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm You’ve wrought in our weary souls over the weekend. It’s that rejuvenation of spirit which now allows us to sally forth with confidence into the evil and ungodly world, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s evil schemes.

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing Your powerful, protective spiritual armour! We surrender our all to You, and humbly ask that You allow Your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit to lead and guide all Your servants, as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, thereby furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!

And to be able to do that, we must stay away from the fire water this holiday Monday! Much LOVE!

…mankind takes pleasure in the devil’s delights…although they harm him in every possible way… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 August 2022   Ephesians 5:15.

05 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ephesians 5:15.       ​ See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise.

Well friends, the big sighs of relief went up this morning, as everybody declared: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ You’d believe that we worked so hard this week, when many of us only worked four days. That’s not counting those who booked off sick sometime therein. (smile) 

And would you believe the same thing that happened on Wednesday evening happened yesterday afternoon. The skies got dark, as though they were preparing for a huge deluge, with plenty thunder rolls. But yuh know what? Eventually we still only got a small sprinkling of heavenly blessings. 

Chuh! The thunder rolls were more than the rain. When yuh hear the rain didn’t even wet my porch, that’s to tell you how poor the shower was. Sorry, can’t even call it a real shower, for real showers splatter all over my porch, and soon thereafter the place was dry like chip again. So, Mother Nature is still crying out for thirst. 

Don’t know what is the problem between rain and my neighbourhood nuh. Can it be that we’re so ungodly that the Lord is withholding His blessings? Who knows? Anything is possible. But today, I want us to concentrate on some verses of scripture from Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that are ever so important in these dangerous and disastrous times. 

The first one says: ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise.’ (Eph. 5:15) Yes friends, it’s of the utmost importance that believers walk very circumspectly if we are to set a good example for the unbelievers, for it’s so easy to fall into the deceitful and lying traps of the always prowling enemy. 

Then Bruh Paul writes: ‘Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.’ (Eph. 5:16) Wow! That shouldn’t be news to us, because we are seeing and experiencing very evil times and actions! That’s why we need to take every opportunity to redeem, reveal or expose the sins of the lost, being a faithful witness to them in these seriously evil days. 

And Bruh Paul continues: ‘Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.’ (Eph. 5:17) And believe me, my people, do we ever need to be wise and understand what’s the Lord’s will since the world is so overrun with evil. It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Rome. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) 

And the only way we can know the true will of God is by meditating on His Word, talking to Him in prayer and associating with other believers. Then, as is his wont, Bruh Paul gives a few practical and physical examples of what he’s talking about. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit.’ (Eph. 5:18) 

Yes my fellow saints, ‘drunkenness leads to moral intemperance, which is clearly contrary to God’s will. His will is that Christians be filled with (by) the Spirit; that is, they are to allow Him to fill them with God’s own life, character and virtues. The analogy between these two moral states is this: a person filled with wine is under its influence; similarly, a Christian is filled with the Spirit when he controls his thoughts, attitudes and actions.’  

This brings us to a rather interesting subject -The Fullness of the Holy Spirit. What’s it all about eh? The scholars explain it thus: ‘The words be filled here mean “be continually filled,” emphasizing that the fullness of the Spirit is a repeated experience for believers. When a person is drunk with an alcoholic beverage, his walk, talk, and sight are controlled by alcohol. 

God desires that the minds of Christians be controlled by the Holy Spirit so that they will walk in the Spirit, speak on behalf of God, and understand the things of God. Because people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation, they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer. 

Illustration: As we establish our fellowship with God through confession of sins (1 John 1:9) and yield to Him (Rom. 6:13), we can be filled with the Spirit if that is our desire (Matt. 5:6) and prayer Luke 11:13). (Please take a moment and check out those scripture references) Application: Every Christian should be filled with the Spirit in order that he may have God’s power to serve Him (Acts 1:8).’ Now, hopefully that gives us a better understanding of what it means to be filled with Spirit. (smile) 

And we move on to some more practical examples of Bruh Paul’s will of the Lord. He advises: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:19-21) 

Oh my brethren, that kind of stuff is so essential to helping us lead the true Christian life: songs and melodies that lift up our spirits, encouraging words and deference from and to each other, giving thanks to God, being grateful for all that He’s done, doing and promises to do for us. Those are just a few things that keep us on the straight and narrow path. And then there’s sincere prayer. So let’s get to that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. 

As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

Also, please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, if we are to receive positive answers to our prayer, then we need to clean up our act and give the Lord some incentive to act on our behalf. Much LOVE!

…in these very sinful and ungodly times…the Holy Spirit ought to play a greater part in the believer’s life… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​