THE BEST SPIRITUAL WAY TO FIGHT TEMPTATION

[Gordon 7]

For many, the #1 most important time for hourly reboots is when life runs us over. When you are smashed down again by work, school, spouses, finances, and 100 other things, it is vital at these points to have a plan for consistent reboots.

#1 Have a plan to fight in these situations. When life punches you in the face again, consider saying every hour, “I will not give up. I will fight.”

#2 Have a plan of what to do. Every 60 to 90 minutes you can come to this site to find a plan or a prayer for these tough situations. Keep coming back “Until you get answers.”

#3 Don't complain. My (bad) habit was to complain, feel sorry for myself, and grab my perfect excuse to fall... when life ran me over again. God does not like complaining. He actually killed a bunch of Israelites with fiery serpents for complaining.

Instead, work on your “habit” of praising the Lord and giving thanks.

#4 Reset as many times as it takes. When your car repair bill is 900 and you have about 400, read a few more scripture verses and, later, a few more. Keep fighting... read scriptures about money. Learn how to do things God's way when you are in a jam. When you do... God will lift you up the next time, and many more times in the future. When you don't, you get to take the “test” again, and again, and again, and again.

Instead, reset again and again, and again, and again. That way... you will pass the test with flying colors.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

I have improved on hating evil, but I am still human. Adam and Eve learned to hate evil after their life fell apart. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to hate evil before bad things happen.”

The problem is... you did not get kicked out of paradise the last time you blatantly sinned.

You were not even aware that the blessing God had for you disappeared. You were not aware that this week could have been great.

Very few people connect falling 24 times in the past year with a bunch of crap that fills their life. But if you spend the next week asking God every hour:

“How does my lust make a mess of my life?”

He will answer that prayer. He will show you if you keep on asking. He wants every sincere Christian to know how destructive lust is.

Second, this week strive to make it a habit to pray:

“Father, help me to hate evil.”

Pray it “before” you go near any place that tempts you. Pray it before and during watching TV.

Finally, when you pray remember: What happened to Adam and Eve, what happened to David, what happened to Sampson.

After David had total disaster, he learned to “hate evil.” Joseph learned to hate evil first. He ran from what would have become a disaster. Instead of disaster, he became the 2nd most powerful man in the world and he saved his home country.

Pray often to hate evil.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Today I am praying the prayer of Jabez often. The prayer is:

“Lord, please expand my borders, and bless me indeed.”

Why did Jabez pray that? My guess is because he had experienced God's blessing and thought it was great. He had seen God's hand on his life and the results gave him joy.

Second, you need something special in your life. Something that makes you finally say, “This is the top of the pyramid. This is the key I have been looking for. This is why I will quit.”

When we are determined to expand our borders (find our God-given purpose), the Holy Spirit is right there with us. Right now if your life is good, having the Holy Spirit closer makes it even better. But if life is hard, if relationships are hard, if everything stinks... having the Holy Spirit closer makes life wayyyyyyy better.

Today, consider writing your own three versions of this prayer. Something like:

“Father, help me to turn from lust, please expand my borders, and bless me indeed.”

“Father, show me the destruction lust causes me, please expand my borders, and bless me indeed.”

“Father, show me how to live so that we can have a great relationship, please expand my borders, and bless me indeed.”

Jesus wants a close special relationship with you. Consider praying these prayers often because when you are in full pursuit of your purpose, you will have no more need for any of satan's short-term deceptions.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Blessed are the broken. We want to quit, but we want to do it “our” way. Our way = no blessing.

God created us and He wrote specific things to us about lust and other sins. Satan wants us to keep trying to quit “our way” at all costs. Um... thats a lot of costs.

Many read my articles to get the “practical” tips. They only want the practical tips because if we study the scriptures about lust we are relinquising control.

Mike Breaux said, “The greatness of a man or woman is directly proportionate to the measure of their surrender.”

Surrender is a key to quitting.

I say, “Your success in quitting depends on “New habits” you form based on what God said about lust.”

Today, consider starting a “Top 10 habits I need to learn to quit.”

Habit #1 Look at your list 2-3 times per day. At what time will you look at it?

#2 Don't worry if your list is short, you can add to it as you go along.

#3 Scan old articles to add to your list.

#4 Now you have something to always think about (Instead of always thinking about lust).

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

We all want to quit what is destroying us, but... we are not quite as excited about checking, “If there is any wicked way in us.”

Sin leads to sin. So if we want to quit P, but still keep killing people, our sin of killing people will lead to a huge increase in temptation for P.

Today consider doing a moral inventory. Consider praying:

“Father, show me the wicked ways that I need to change.”

Second, wicked ways lead to anxiety, anger, and other emotional issues. Consider setting a personal goal of getting the anxiety (Or some other emotion) out.

Third, now you know that sin and P lead to anxiety or _______. Now you know what you need to do to get that emotion more under control (Go to war with sin). Now you know the answer to the question: Is God's way best?

Fourth, consider praying over the above verse for 10 minutes, or for as long as it takes.

Finally, when David (who wrote the above verse) ignored his wicked ways, terrible things happened that stayed with him for years. After he got back to fighting his “Wicked ways” he became the great man who helped all of us, and who found his joy again.

Today, consider praying over the above verse. Fight. Win.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Depression is defeated by an attitude of gratitude. In Haiti, many live in boxes and eat at the town garbage dump. Just thanking God that you have fresh food is an attitude of gratitude.

Second, consider developing the habit of giving thanks on a regular basis for all things big and small (that are good).

Third, let's say, a person feels like everything has gone wrong for them. They could say: Thank you Lord for running water, many don't have that in Haiti. Thank you, Lord for fresh food.

Fourth, maybe you have a good church. You should thank God twice a day for that if you do. If you don't, consider getting busy trying to find one. Having good goals helps to fight depression.

Fifth, consider praying:

“Father, help me to form the habit of having an attitude of gratitude.”

Sixth, tell someone a couple of things you are grateful for. Be aware, that others are depressed too. Telling them what you are grateful for might just help them as well.

Finally, consider searching “Verses gratitude.” I just did that. Wow, those are some great verses. Dig into them. They will help.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

What you feed your mind will determine the release of your full potential.

#1 Feed your mind prayers that will help you change. Every day pick a new or old prayer to pray that day.

#2 Feed your mind a memory verse about the topic you want to change:

Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Don't worry about reciting any verse word perfect. Worry about feeding your mind great things like scripture. Google “Verses lust” for new verse ideas.

#3 I gave 20 things to think about in the August 13th article. As always, you have my permission to print this out. As I reread that article I thought, I wrote it, but I still need to print it out.

#4 When you have a lustful thought think: #1 Prayer, #2 Bible verse, #3 Where is my list with ideas about what to think about?

Finally, if you develop the habit of feeding your mind good things... The temptation will go way down.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

God wants us to be warriors and soldiers. Yesterday, I was complaining because life was too hard. Today I am remembering that God will help me if I do the things from the Feb. 28th article. That is what I will do.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Yesterday I felt overwhelmed. To try to fight back I pulled up the article I referenced Friday about 20 things to think about. That got my thinking on a better track and I thought: “Pray about the fruits of the Spirit, love joy peace etc.”

I would love to say that heaven opened up and all my problems were solved. But... what really happened was, I was now getting busy, I was starting to climb out of my deep “rut,” and I now had a goal of what to think about.

Today, I realize, I have not read my printout of my verses about love in weeks. If I treat other people better, they likely will treat me better. Today I read those verses. Today I prayed often:

“Father, help me to turn from lust and fill me with your love.”

When we are tired, overwhelmed, frustrated, or exhausted, it is vital to pray a prayer like this one “before” and during tempting situations. If we start praying this in earnest before temptation skyrockets, then the Holy Spirit might just remind us to pray it “instantly” when a real temptation starts.

Second, when overwhelmed, review your quitting goals. Tip: Never say, “I don't care right now.” Instead say, “These are my goals, and this _______ is why I want to quit.”

Third, make a plan of action. It's not a miracle plan. You won't likely go from depression to full joy, but you will be doing something. Thinking about something new. Not rehashing what is overwhelming you over and over and over again.

Fourth, patiently work on your plan to turn things around. Prayerfully, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to change so that your future can be brighter. Then pound a few scriptures into yourself so that the Holy Spirit pounds the darkness out of you.

Finally, when you fight back with all your might when are overwhelmed, at some point, someday, you will be flying, instead of continually getting stuck in that rut.

Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

The most important Bible verse says to “Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.” It is probably a great idea to memorize that sentence and then memorize that Bible verse. I know that I don't think of that verse often. I certainly don't focus on doing what it says. Consider praying:

“Father, teach me how to love You with all my heart, soul, and mind.”

Should we pray that prayer every day of our lives? Should we think every day about what it means to do what it says?

If we do what that verse says, our worship of God will increase. The question is: Is my life an example of how valuable a person's life can be if they live God's way Consider praying:

“Lord, show me what you want me to do.”

Finally, sin will distract us from doing God's will. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to fight sin tooth and nail, and show me Your will.”

Today, think about what “habits” you need to acquire to start to know God's will. Then start to set up a daily system so that you can acquire those habits.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

The Rule of 10

We may need 10 new habits to quit for good. But at first glance that is a bit impossible. But with the “Rule of 10,” we are working on a bunch of new habits but we are focusing mightily on one habit right now.

What one habit do you need to have a huge focus on? Today, consider making it your hobby to research how to form new habits. Read a bunch of articles on Google. Put out notes about what you want to change. Look up Bible verses about what you want to change. Pray over those Bible verses and pray about what you want to change.

Second, even adding one habit is hard. Be patient, think longterm, keep restarting.

Third, add the habit you want to acquire with a Christian trait. A dramatic example of this is when we go to war with our love of pleasure and replace it with the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.” Consider praying:

“Father, take away my love of pleasure and help me to fear You.”

This prayer has a triple effect. Fighting our love of sinful pleasure, teaching us to do what the Bible says (Fear the Lord), and it teaches us to have wisdom.

Today, consider rewriting this prayer to add the one habit you want to acquire. Then start to move mountains to acquire that habit.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Can you increase your pleasure by going back to an addiction? The correct answer is not yes, but it is also not no. The Heroin addict who relapses increases their short-term pleasure (unless they die or overdose), but, then they return to their own personal hell for the long term. If you are addicted for life you will always choose the short-term over the long-term.

Second, the pleasure that we get from addiction never includes joy. I wrote an article that stated: “You can't increase your pleasure with addiction.” While this does contradict the above statement a bit, it is true if you have any joy in your life.

When you are free for a bit you may love your job, mom, spouse, hobby, sport or a million other “clean” things. But within hours of going back to our chains, the darkness surrounds us, we treat others more poorly, our great job seems meaningless, and we almost don't care about “anything.”
The truth is... that tiny short-term bit of pleasure, made almost everything that was good in our life decrease. Now read the above-underlined sentence again. It makes more sense now.

But if you fully believe that fact, that is great news. With your newfound faith, you can now try activites with a new confidence. Example: you tried playing the guitar as an alternative activity. It did not take. If you were going back to the habit regularly, you contaminated that activity or any other activity.

Instead, if you are going to war with lust, and trying to do things God's way, guitar playing might become a great hobby for you. You might even learn a few spiritual songs to play. The key thing with hobbies is: “The more fully dedicated to quitting you are, the more fun your new hobby will become.”

Do you believe your life can be great if you do things God's way? Consider praying:

“Father, help me to remember that I can't increase my pleasure by going back.”

Even our pleasure will “Always” be better for the week, month, and year if we focus on living life the right way.”

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

The Bible says “Take up your cross daily.” What is your system for taking up your cross to fight lust daily? How do u remind yourself “daily” about the things you want to change? Some set up a system in their phone, or use sticky notes, or a cork board with 3 by 5 cards pinned to it (so u can change your cards over time). To take up your cross, work often on a system of how to remind yourself of how to change.

Second, the way God wants me to think is better than the way I think I should think.

“If I think His way, I will be happier.” Consider memorizing that sentence.

I spent decades with zero joy despite having success in many areas of life. Since I quit, my joy has been increasing and increasing.

Third, you are not a slave to your thoughts. Your thoughts are a slave to you. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to not allow my bad thoughts to control my life.”

How to take control of your thoughts.

You will “always” have bad thoughts until you pound them out of you with scripture. Today consider praying for 30 minutes about what extremes you want to go to to have good thoughts.

Finally, we change from bad thoughts to good thoughts based on how much scripture we get into us. I have given a dozen ways to get scripture in you. Memorizing key verses, praying over them, etc. If after praying you say: “I will go to any extreme to pound out bad thoughts so that I can have a great life,” Then... write down every way that you can get scripture in you from every article that you can. Then add more ways to your list in the future. It works.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Deuteronomy 28 says that God will bless us all over the place “If” we follow His ways and obey His commandments. Usually, we need to be about twice as dedicated as we think for His blessing to start to shower on us. But... all we can do is start trying, be fully dedicated, and be patient.

For the full article click.

Also, here is an excellent article about finding God's blessings.

 

[Gordon 7]

Satan will plant lustful thoughts in our minds. We can reject them, and we must reject them.

Step one: Determine to control your thoughts. Many will try this today, only a tiny few will succeed. But those who employ the tricks of discipline will still have a great chance.

Experts at discipline struggle and say: I need more notes to remind me to reject bad thoughts. I need to pray more so that the Holy Spirit helps me more. I need to have more Bible verses available so that I can fight back effectively.

I need to say and think more often: “I will control my thoughts.” I need to pray more often:

“Father, help me to control my thoughts.”

Step two: Always “try” to reject lustful and sinful thoughts. Today I will watch pro football. Many receivers were drafted in the first round. The Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown was picked in the 4th round but he has more catches than the 17 receivers picked before him. Why? He “Tries harder.” Not only this week but this month and “All year.”

Rejecting and replacing lustful thoughts is a skill that takes time to master. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to work on the skill of rejecting and replacing lustful thoughts every day.”

Today (12/24) many celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, consider praying this when lustful thoughts strike:

“In the name of Jesus, I reject this thought.”

Today, pray about whether you will make a lifestyle choice to consistently “Try” to reject and replace lustful thoughts. It is a key to quitting.

 

[Gordon 7]

Temperance helps us conquer habits. Temperance is being sober-minded. If we like wild females on TV or are attracted to wild females in real life, we get more temptation. A sober-minded person praises the Lord and strives to be attracted to females who have self-control and are modest and godly.

Today, there is this giant tray of cookies and desserts. I need to stop the celebration and get back to self-control. My plan is to eat 1 cookie only today. The more areas that we practice temperance in, the more self-control we will develop. Second, reject and replace thoughts of anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions (as well as lust). Temperance says that anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions are from satan. We practice self-control by determining to reject and replace these bad thoughts. It is hard to find too many prayers for this and to work too much on this.

Finally, if you work on controlling your thoughts today (and every day), you will have “more” joy than people who overindulge in any area. Why? Because the Holy Spirit will start to be with you more.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Frustration has been starting in me sometimes this week. I am fighting back by rejecting and replacing frustrating thoughts with prayers.
What negative emotion overwhelms you right before a fall? This emotion must be rejected and replaced or the odds of falling go through the roof. Use prayers, scripture, and Christian music to fight back. Please comment on what you do to fight back successfully.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Pray daily about respecting others. Ask for wisdom on how to get along with others. Consider praying:

“Father, show me how to get along with people. Help me to respect others and allow them to have an opinion.”

Be determined to have peace. It helps to keep you from lust, and it shows others the path to God.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Luke 6:47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was [j]founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it [k]fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

This passage tells us what “To do.” If we hear the Word and do nothing we get ruin.

Second, many read articles, but only a few think constantly about how to form new habits that will squeeze out the old habits. Make it a hobby to research online about “How to form new habits.” Your library probably has a book on forming habits.

Third, your house is your life. Consider memorizing:

“Being a doer of God's ways makes my life rock solid.” “Hearing the Word and doing nothing = ruin.”

Fourth, repent, be a doer of the Word, form new habits, success.

For the full article click.

 

[Gordon 7]

Yesterday I was complaining again. People just don't do things in a perfect way when they are working with me. Since I am perfect, that is a – Wait, I am not perfect either.

We forget that we are not perfect when someone else makes mistakes we would not make. The problem is, we make a bunch of other mistakes they would not make.

#1 I need to be humble and remember that we all make mistakes.

#2 I need to remember how God reacts (Sometimes with fire) to people who complain.

#3 How popular will I be if I am Mr. Negative?

#4 Complaining puts us in a worse mood. Forgive, and forget. Or ignore the issue if possible.

#5 Complaining helps us believe the theory “Life stinks,” on a higher level.

What does the Bible say about complaining?

"Do all things without complaining and disputing, " (Philippians 2:14-). Consider memorizing this command.

Finally, I will repeat the last line of the Feb. 28th article:

Consider focusing on making it a habit to praise the Lord, give thanks, or to rejoice every time you are tempted to complain. That habit will make you happier, and it will help in the fight against lust.

For the full article click.