Hope In This Life by Ronnie Croc

When I minister to alcoholics and drug addicts, I do not spend much time teaching on heaven or hell. This is because, I have come to learn that most souls struggling with addictions are not motivated by promises of heaven or warnings of hell. They can only be moved by the here and now!

1 Corinthians 15:19 can be applied to the miserable life of the unrestored (Gal. 6:1) drug addict. It says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable" (1 Corinthians 15:19). Before he overcomes his addiction, an addict's "hope" is "in this life only."

How is a recovering addict going to learn to "walk by faith" (2 Corinth. 5:7), when he cannot even walk "by sight?" I compare what we do for the men regarding "this life" to what Jesus did (fed, healed) for the people before he taught them!

Most of the men who quit after days, weeks and months in the program, gave up because they lost all hope in this life. Since my last report, I caught 5 men doing drugs & alcohol. Despair played a part in all 5 of these relapses!

John was concerned about Gaius' eternal & temporal prosperity: "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (1 John 1:3).

This is why our objective also involves restoring their family relationships, helping them get their driver's license back, helping them buy a car, helping them find a good job, assisting them in getting a checking account, and helping them further their education.

To provoke them to begin and continue their spiritual program, we know we must give a lot of attention to their hope "in this life."

Of course, if they relapse back onto drugs or alcohol, all this help ceases until they truly repent.

We require each man to place Jeremiah 29:11 on his bathroom mirror. It says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We want them to begin each day with this verse in the forefront of their hearts! They must be convinced that God 'has their back' in this life before they will turn their wills and their lives over to His care.

11 of the 21 men in our program have jobs they love. Their jobs have positively impacted their programs (praying, reading, studying, and applying the Bible). Three of the men are attending Calhoun College to learn a trade. We have found that school works better than a good job to provoke steps toward spiritual growth.

Under the direction of Charles Baggett, Project Rescue is getting better organized. Charles enlisted Joe Drake, a member of the Beltline church, to help us. He is an expert at organizing companies and writing procedures. He has accomplished much in the short time he has been helping us.

At this time, we are full, with two men on a waiting list. We hope to be able to receive more souls in a few months.

The 21 men participating in the program attend at least one Bible class a day and all church services. The newer program members attend a daily morning and evening Bible class, a morning devotional, one counseling session a week, and one 1-on-1 Bible study a week with a Gospel preacher.

One of the most amazing experiences in this ministry is to find a soul who is "without Christ...having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephes. 2:12), and see the change on his face and in his eyes when he lays hold of the "hope set before" him, "as an anchor of the soul" (Heb, 6:18,19).

Of course, our ultimate goal is to see each of these men in Heaven. This is our great hope!