GETTING DRUNK   I just read a story about a man who broke into a reptile park in Australia and rode a 15 foot crocodile. He only lost one leg. Can you guess what enabled the man to make such a decision? That's right...He was drunk. People do stupid things when they are intoxicated, because alcohol takes away the fear response in the brain. As a result, the drunk person will fight, drive an automobile, ride a crocodile, etc. and unfortunately, sometimes not survive their decision. This brings us to the subject of sin, which is "making selfish choices with no regard or fear of God" (my definition). Sin is intoxicating. It is deceiving. (Hebrews 3:12,13) It impairs our vision, turns us into a different person, causes us to stumble...you see the similarities. Like a drunken man, when someone continues in unrepented sin, they are totally unaware of how far from God they have fallen. They may know they are sinning, but they feel in control and believe they are still relatively close to God. It's only when something shakes them into repentance that they realize how frighteningly far they had fallen into darkness. Toward the bottom of this death spiral of sin is "Unbelief". No longer able to clearly hear or behold God, the sinning person turns from the Holy Spirit and begins to trust their intellect. But there's a problem with this. The fleshly mind is hostile toward God. (Romans 8:7) As a result, God begins to look like a fairy tale, memories of  encounters with Him in the past become distorted. Faith is lost. Power is gone. The scriptures are meaningless and prayer is a waste of time. The thought of being around other Christians or going to church is repulsive. They have willingly "suppressed the truth with a desire for unrighteousness". (Romans 1:18) A decision to no longer believe is made, with no fear of God whatsoever. The person is drunk and has broken into a reptile park, but you can't tell them that. They can't hear you. Maybe they will survive with minimal trauma. Maybe not.  Pray light will break through to them. If it's you, don't quench that inner voice any longer. AN EPIDEMIC There is obviously a wave of unbelief sweeping the world right now. A recent poll revealed that a huge number of people are leaving the church. Half of these people were raised in Christian homes, but now no longer believe in God or miracles. What happened? It's simple. Their choices have intoxicated them. They are in the downward spiral. If things spiritually change in your life, always remember this: God hasn't changed. You have.