Quote from Forum Archives on July 1, 2010, 1:13 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 640 new subscribers since January 1, 2010!!
There were 1367 new subscribers during 2009!!

07.01.10

The Joys of Drinking

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who
has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at
the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when
it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at
the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will
see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will
be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at
the top of the mast, saying: "They have struck me, but I was not hurt; they
have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek
another drink?" - Proverbs 23:29-34.

In Australia, two 34-year-old men were drinking together, and they started
wondering whether it would hurt if they were shot with an air rifle (pellet
gun). So, they conducted an experiment to find out if it would hurt; taking
turns shooting each other in the backside and the back of their legs.
Apparently, it does hurt to be shot with a pellet gun and eventually when
the pain became too much for them, and they sought medical treatment. Now,
the state is going to do what any good parent would do, take away their
pellet guns.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania three men are in trouble after they attacked a
police officer after he attempted to arrest them for failure to bag their
dog's waste. The men have been charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy
and public drunkenness.

In England, a man has been fined $108,000 and banned from working as a
broker for at least five years. He had been drinking and attempted to
manipulate the market for oil by buying a large amount of Brent crude oil.
He then tried to lie to his employer about his actions.

In western New York, a couple of Canadian men who attended a church festival
somehow ended up in the woods, naked, and covered in mud. Of course, they
were drunk and one of them had passed out in a ditch when they were found.

There are many dangerous drugs in the world but perhaps the most dangerous
of all is the legal drug of alcohol. Alcohol has been creating problems for
the human race since almost the beginning of time. The four news stories
above are only a few of the many during the past week revealing the terrible
consequences of drinking.

King Solomon in his book of Proverbs asks "Who has woe?" Dictionary dot com
defines "woe" as: grievous distress, affliction, or trouble; or as an
exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation. For one of the murderers
that I had under supervision while I was a parole officer who killed his
brother while he was drunk he certainly had grievous distress, grief, and
trouble. Another murderer that I had under supervision killed his best
friend while he was drunk, and he too knew what it was like to have "woe" in
his life. They both knew the "sorrow" that Solomon mentions.

Alcohol also causes physical "woe", afflictions in addition to all of the
emotional distress. Alcohol can cause heart problems, sexual problems,
cognitive problems, gastro-intestinal tract problems, liver problems,
central nervous system problems, and breast cancer. A friend that I had died
in his early forties from cirrhosis of the liver because he refused to stop
drinking. Some have died at even earlier ages because of cirrhosis of the
liver caused by drinking.

Solomon also asks "Who has contentions?" Dictionary dot com defines
"contentions" as: "a struggling together in opposition; strife." As another
murderer that I had under supervision while I was a parole officer informed
me, "I'm a mean drunk." He was drunk and mean when he murdered his wife.
Many who drink alcohol are "mean drunks" and seek out arguments and fights.
One man that I had under supervision made a decision for Christ on Sunday
and the next Saturday while drunk nearly beat his girlfriend to death with a
two by four. He went to prison for ten years. Thankfully, his girlfriend
recovered completely from her injuries.

If you are a drinker I plead with you to stop, and if you have never drunk
alcohol I plead with you to never ever start because there is no joy to be
found in drinking.

Copyright © 2010. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals
in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was
primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities
throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer
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forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need
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Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube (now Tangle) at:
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You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist
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There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
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