The Antidote

My mentor (Dr. Keith Gaddis) has used the metaphor “does a snake bite” with me many times over the years. Literally, if a poisonous snake bites you and you are in the middle of nowhere, you better have an antidote. If you have severe asthma, you better have an antidote with you if you have an attack. And if you are allergic to bee stings….well, you see where this is going. The Antidote.

Definition:

Antidote (noun) – a medicine taken or given to counteract a particular poison.

Do you have a poison in your life? There are all kinds of poisons. Check out the top 10 most poisonous creatures here. Or maybe it’s a bad habit that you are trying to break. Maybe it’s a person in your life who is poisonous. Obviously and interestingly enough, when Keith (my mentor) would use the phrase “does a snake bite” he was speaking of venomous people.

Snakes bite, it’s what they do. There is absolutely no reason to think they will not. People, unless they reprogram themselves or have help doing it, will repeat their poisonous ways.

The Timeline

Recently my wife and her bestie Nancy went through “The Timeline” exercise. I didn’t think too much of it as it was the girls having their devotional time together. But then I did my own timeline. Wow, what a journey in my life that took me through. With all the ups and downs and slow start in life, I can still look back and see the evidence of God’s goodness throughout my life.

This is a good place to share Josh Baldwin’s song Evidence. As you listen to it, reflect on the goodness of God throughout your own life.

So as I look back at all the challenges of my life, the valleys, the hopelessness, the poisons of my habits and thinking, and the poisons of other people around me, there was an antidote there all along.

Galations 5:1 ESV

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

The One Thing

The thing about an antidote is, it is THE antidote. It’s the one thing. If you don’t have it, then you are in trouble, stuck, out of luck, and so long! So DO NOT be caught without it. The one thing – the Antidote.

Jesus Christ, the Antidote

Two things about Jesus as the Antidote. One is the future estate planning for the hereafter part of our eternal lives. That is kind of a big deal. Have you taken the antidote to being saved from eternal damnation (it feels harsh to say it that way which is why I rarely do)? But it’s the truth.

Without Jesus Christ, being a follower of Jesus, you can’t get to heaven – eternal life with God. Send me an email (scott@youreverydaylife.org) if you have questions about this and want to know if you have eternal life. It’s a life-or-death matter.

The here and now is kind of a big deal too. “Life is short – play hard” is the saying. Nothing wrong with playing hard, going all out in life. But if we take into consideration all the poisons there are in this life, we had better have an antidote.

In other words, Jesus is the antidote to the issues of this life, as well as the way, the truth, and the life – here and now and in the hereafter. There is undeniable evidence of God’s goodness – His son Jesus Christ.

John 16:33 AMP

 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Speaking of freedom, Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Take a moment in remembrance. Here’s a past post specifically related to this holiday – What Are You Standing On?

Challenge of the Week

Identify the T in SWOT (Streng, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). What are your threats? Threats to your life are those poisons that you need to eliminate. What do you need to eliminate from your life? Pick one thing to work on this week. Jesus will help you eliminate that threat. That poison. Jesus came to set you free. So be it.

John 8:36 ESV

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:32 ESV

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”