THE BEST SPIRITUAL WAY TO FIGHT TEMPTATION

[Gordon 7]

We gain self-control by fasting. Consider fasting from something. Food is good, but so is your phone. TV is good, and so is fasting from risky TV.

The fasting formula is like the quitting formula. It is 51% what you do and 49% what you stop doing.

Step one is to start a quitting notebook, or to get out your quitting notebook. What habits will you work on and pray about while fasting? I am trying to make a permanent habit of praying:

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

If your goal is 10 plus times daily, pray it a few times while fasting, or the full 10 times while fasting.

Second, do a Google search: “Verses, breaking bad habits.”

Consider spending 20 minutes praying over these verses.

Third, consider praying 10 plus times:

“Father, lead me not into temptation.”

If you don't have this habit, consider praying it 50-100 times today. Everyone should have this habit. Everyone should be praying this constantly when temptation starts to rise. Obviously, if you have an even more specific prayer for temptation, use that constantly as well.

Today, let's look at a specific fast from our phone. Goal: To not use the phone for anything but phone calls/texts for 2 hours on Sunday, starting at 1 PM.

Write down what you will accomplish during this fast.

Turn off all non-essential notifications.

At 1 sharp, get busy with your quitting notebook. Consider getting busy with working on new habits. Consider getting busy with making your quitting prayers habits. Consider getting busy studying Bible verses that will instruct you, and lead you into new ways.

Finally, if your fast is a great success, when will you do it again? Did your fast seem to bring you towards joy? Did it seem like a great way to improve self-discipline just a bit?

If yes, then consider trying to make it a more regular practice.

 

[Gordon 7]

1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

Consider memorizing this verse.

Why does God say something this harsh? It is a warning. With our first look at porn, first drink, first bet – fill I the blank with your habit _______, we think we got away with something. The Bible says that the “Wages of sin is death,” but we did not die. We also fail to understand that something partially died or began to die with that first sin.

If you ever attend AA or NA, you will hear a massive list of things that partially died, or began to die. If you go long enough, you will start to understand what a huge mistake that first sin was.

Instead, we can simply memorize the above verse and gain wisdom.

Second, why does God say this? Because He knows exactly how these habits will destroy us. So if we foolishly believe that the habit won't destroy us, He reassures us that we will be destroyed one way or the other.

Third, it is way smarter to know the future. That way we can repent, change, and live a life that is headed toward joy.

Fourth, consider doubling the amount of time you spend working on quitting. Consider doubling the reminders that you have everywhere about praying quitting prayers. Note: every repetition should be prayed sincerely, with a complete desire to change.

There is no power if you get in your 10 reps of a prayer mindlessly, but there is power when you humbly say, “I am sorry, God have mercy on me,” prayed with full remorse.

I have prayed some of these prayers thousands of times, but each time I had a complete desire to change. Consider praying:

“Father, help me remember to start quitting prayers when temptation ramps up.”

Fifth, fill your quitting notebook with tips from the last 7-10 days. Consider working constantly on the healthy habits recommended.

Sixth, if you can't change, consider printing out the SRR article. It tells you how to stop today.

Seventh, when we go to war with sin and try to do God's will, we start on a path toward joy. You can someday light up the world. Today is when you start.

 

[Gordon 7]

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2nd Peter 1: 5-8 which gives us 8 things to work on for quitting. Verse 10 says that if we do these things we will never stumble.

Eight traits to add

1: Increase faith through Bible reading. The more chapters the better. My goal this year is to read through the Bible in one year, plus 2 more chapters daily for a total of 7 chapters daily.

2: Purity. Consider praying:

“Father, Help me to fight against old ________thoughts. I will think about my goal of purity.”

3: Knowledge. The more you work on quitting, the more you are organized, the more enthusiastic you are. The more knowledge and skill you will acquire.

On my last week of addiction 5 years ago, I chose to go back to my sin. I was no longer compelled to go back. I had 99% of the skill and desire needed to quit. I had worked constantly to gain that knowledge.

When I went back for the last few times I was 100% aware of the destruction. I was 99% aware of what I was giving up and losing in life. Frankly, I felt stupid for going back. Then I was finally done.

4: Self-control. Keep asking for it. It takes a long time to build it up if you have a stronghold. Work on self-control in other minor habits.

5: Perseverance. Keep trying every day. Keep working at it every hour, even every 30 minutes. You can multi task.

6: Godliness. Strive for Godliness first during your day. Learn the praise the Lord habit. Put on a Christian TV show, or YouTube. Play Christian music. Have a goal to be like Jesus.

7: Brotherly kindness. If we are not praying for at least one minute per day to be kind... then we lose out on the promise of someday “Never stumbling.” Determine to be kind, plus pray about it.

8: Love. I pray a lot to be filled with God's love. Consider a goal of making it a priority.

Wow

How can we get these skills this week, or month. Well, I have a story for you.

As a kid, I played the violin, and my city accidentally got one of the best violin teachers in the country to move to it. I got a scholarship to have cheap lessons since we were broke.

I practiced 30 minutes every day. I never worried about what I accomplished. I just tried to improve. I just put in the work. I tried to do everything my teacher told me to do.

In seventh grade, I was in a state contest competing with high school students. I won.

The point is... work on these things, pray about these things. Try to do these things, trust the process you are following to do these things. It worked out well for me.

Second, consider praying for one minute daily over each of these 8 things. If you want to ramp it up, pray for two minutes daily over each one.

Third, as always, feel free to print this out for your own personal use. It would give you a chart to follow as you pray. It will encourage you to think often about this extremely important chapter. It will help you know what 8 traits God thinks are important if you want to “Never stumble.”

Fourth, Consider doing a Google search for 1 of these 8 traits daily. Read about how to make the trait more of a habit. Be intentional about adding these habits.

This works. The only question is... How much work do you need to put in to make it work for good?

 

[Gordon 7]

Some might say, “It's not my fault. Work/school/people/finances were bad. I can't help myself when life gets this bad. We have options for what to do when life gets bad, and we are tempted.

Turn instantly from lust.

Dig into scripture.

Pray fervently.

Read key articles.

Start doing other things.

Continue to strive to fulfill our purpose, or work on finding our purpose.

Second, never say, “This is what I do. This is who I am. I can't change. Consider praying:

“Father, teach me who I am when I fight to do things Your way.”

Third, don't overestimate the fun of sin. Sin's fun is short, really short, with added destruction.

Proverbs 22:3 says: A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are punished."

Consider memorizing this verse. If you are busy, just memorize one word: "Punished."

Revelation 3:19 ESV Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Finally, plan on how to “Be Ready” for temptation “Every day.” When you are planning how to defeat satan before he even gets started tempting you... You are starting down a good road.

As always, feel free to print this out for your own personal or church use.

 

[Gordon 7]

Today, I have copied an article that a few of you may have seen. After the article, I have a few notes for 2026.

Thewayofescape noted the following:

“I’m someone who struggled with lust, porn, and masturbation for a lot of the younger years of my life. God freed me from porn addiction in my early adulthood but overcoming lust and masturbation took more time to renew my mind and change my habits of thinking. I’m very thankful to the Lord in saying that lust, masturbation, porn no longer have a hold on me and it is through the Power of the Holy Spirit and being obedient to the Word that I am where I am today. Am I tempted still? Yes. Do I have thoughts that enter my head that are lustful? Yes. Do I let them stay and dwell on them? NO! I praise God for what he has taught me and where I am today.

For those of you who are also struggling, I just want to offer that there is hope for you too! If you are trusting in Christ for salvation, then you have the Holy Spirit of God residing in you to give you the power to obey.

I’ve mentored many young men in overcoming porn in the last few years and I’ve seen many of them go from struggling to gaining victory over sin through obedience.

Here are some things that I would encourage you to do starting today:

1. Take responsibility and ownership for your porn addiction. No matter how you were introduced to porn, you continue to choose it now as a conscious decision. Repent of this idol of self and make Christ your Lord and master.
2. Stop viewing all social media, playing video games, and watching time wasting entertainment. Period.
3. Diligently read and study the Word of God. Even if you don’t understand it, it will edify and encourage you.
4. Share your struggle with a trusted older Christian brother (or sister if you’re a girl) and ask them to hold your feet to the fire with accountability and to disciple you.
5. PRAY: Ask God diligently every day to give you a hatred of this sin and to want to obey and love Him.
6. Get involved in a local church and stay faithful. Ask how you can serve and get busy doing it. Most of the struggles we face in porn is because we don’t have purpose or are lonely. This solves both.

For some people, their deliverance from this is immediate. For some, it’s a long drawn out heart surgery that God does to make us more like himself.

If you have also experienced freedom from porn, lust, masturbation, please comment below also and encourage those who are struggling with your testimony.

Stand strong brothers and sisters! Praying for you all!”

Great stuff.

Finally,

Set your Bible reading goal for 2026. 1 chapter is the absolute minimum. One in the OT, and one in the New Testament is better. I have a “One Year Bible” NKJV, which allows you to read through the Bible in one year. I am using the One Year Bible plus watching one chapter in the OT, and one in the New Testament on YouTube. This gives me a total of 7 chapters per day. That is helpful. The more you read, the quicker you will quit.

 

[Gordon 7]

An eagle landed on an iceberg near Niagara Falls. As he got closer to the falls someone yelled, “Get off, you are nearing the falls.” Just as the eagle was about to go over the falls, he tried to rise up, but his claws were frozen into the ice. His time had run out.

“You can tempt God.” The Bible says:

“Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

You can wait too long, you can tempt God for too long.

I had someone who was close to me, continue their tempting of God in their sin. One day, in his late thirties, he did not wake up.

Second, be extremely serious about quitting. Start a quitting notebook and fill it with quitting ideas, quitting prayers, and quitting verses.

Third, consider cleaning up the things that lead you back to severe temptation. Does your TV, phone, computer, or friends lead you right back into temptation? Get rid of bad social media, sinful TV, life destroying computer sins, and friends who keep leading you back into temptation.

I am not Amish. Most will not discard their electronics, but there are always sermons on TV, or on your computer/phone. I often watch sermons, and Bible reading on YouTube. Insist on finding “Clean TV.”

Example: Your phone keeps temptation high.

Today, consider searching Google, “How can a Christian get sin off of their phone?” Now you can spend hours learning how to use your phone for good, instead of for evil.

Fourth, always spend plenty of time praying and planning what you will do. The truth is, most anybody can quit. The issue is understanding what you should do instead. Well... God has something for you to do. Consider praying 10 times daily:

“Father, show me what You want me to do.”

If you can't learn that habit, you “Will” have a huge vacancy in your life because you quit your habit.

If you are free from your habit for a few days, consider pounding a bunch of old articles into you advising you what to “Now do.” Be highly “methodical.” Take notes from these old articles. Fill up your quitting notebook with these notes.

Finally, if you know the reason you can't quit, you can use the above method to help you quit.

Write down why you can't quit.

1. ________________

2. ________________

Now, search a bunch of old articles that give you the solution. Take a bunch of notes in your quitting notebook. Spend a lot of time praying over these notes. Spend a block of time dedicated to learning new habits. Be extremely intentional about quitting.

God has a great plan for you.

 

[Gordon 7]

I watched a video of a rock star today. In 1985 he was one of the 3 biggest stars in the world. His part time job was on a hit TV show.

He said: I thought fame, fortune, and success would make me happy. It did not make me happy.

If he came over to my house today, I would tell him: Work on acquiring the joy habit every day of your life.

To acquire joy we fight sin constantly. Sin keeps us from joy. But people think... I don't care, I want my pleasure, and I want it now.

But you can “never” increase your pleasure with sin over time. You will “always” decrease your pleasure with excess or sin “over the long term.”

Example: Eating ice cream.

A huge bowl seems way better.

A tiny bowl seems... tiny!

Will I get more pleasure from the huge bowl, or the tiny bowl?

I get 77 seconds more pleasure from the huge bowl right now. Then later I get unhappy looking in the mirror. Unhappy with increased health problems. Unhappy with less energy.

With the tiny bowl I get 77 hours of pleasure looking in the mirror (Okay, it was a symmetrical number, I don't look any where near that often). With the tiny bowl my doctor – wait, I don't have a doctor. I don't need a doctor. My health being better will give me great pleasure. With a tiny bowl I feel like being more active. Once again, being more active makes me feel better, and gives me pleasure.

Which size bowl gives more pleasure?

Everyone should pray for about 20 hours asking God:

“Show me how my life will be better after quitting. Show me how my pleasure will actually go up (over time).”

Second, my pleasure from “Doing God's will” by writing these articles is huge. My life is filled with joy when I am doing God's will.

My hero, the above rock star just got constant fame and adoration. He said he has a constant problem with depression.

Third, consider praying constantly:

“Father, I am willing to do Your will. Show me Your will.”

People think that looking with lust, and doing things (habits) in excess, or in sin will bring them increased pleasure. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Every habit is exactly like the ice cream example. You will always have less pleasure over the long-term. You will always have more destruction.

Something always dies, or partially dies with habits.

Last time I checked... Dying was not part of increased pleasure.

Psalm 16:11 ESV You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

A war against sin leads us into God's presence. Constant prayers about doing His will lead us into His presence.

Fourth, consider watching my Turn from lust video “Every time” you are tempted to lust.

You might say: “You want me to watch it 77 times daily?”

If you want to start finding joy, consider pounding the above verse into yourself. Praying these prayers constantly, and pounding the “Turn from lust technique” into yourself constantly.

Finally, consider making it a habit to say 3 times daily:

“I want to acquire the joy habit.”

It's better than being a rock star, having money, or anything else. Nothing is better!

As always, feel free to print this out for your personal use.

 

[Gordon 7]

People say, well, no one really quits. This is a big lie. People believe it because huge numbers of people never quit.

Huge numbers of people never quit because they are not willing to give God “Time” so that He can reveal their purpose to them.

Quitting is the most important thing in the world to you right now because “Purpose” is the most important thing, period. When Jesus talked about salvation, He said:

“Only those who do the will of the Father.”

Second, many people read a bunch of old articles, they print out articles, they study articles, they study scripture, they pray and pray and pray. They put notes all over their bedroom. Their bedroom is the center for quitting. Reminders are everywhere (use codes if needed for reminders). These are smart things.

Third, when we quit and do God's will, we can expose the lie that no one quits. When you have “Days clean,” you have just as much work to do. Working toward finding your purpose.

Matthew 12:43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

This principal is a fact, whether you just have a habit or something worse. If you don't replace your habit with the start of purpose, something will replace that empty space.

Fourth, consider searching for articles about purpose. Consider putting comments from articles about purpose in your quitting notebook. Then work daily to make these things habits.

That way, someday you can explain to others about the big lie saying: My quitting is proof that the big lie is a big lie.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Finally, works and purpose are keys to finding joy. Once we find joy, we are done for good.

 

[Gordon 7]

Today I was working on my poison Ivy again. I started eight years ago, but I did not know I needed to dig out the root. I have spent countless hours working on it, spraying it, digging at it, but... the root is 15-18 inches deep, and I just have never solved the problem. Two years ago, my brother said, “Just dig it out.” I did dig a lot of it out last summer, but, I never got to the bottom of the two vines with the deepest roots.

I am not highly skilled at getting rid of it.

Overcoming lust is often very deep-rooted. Anyone who reads my last 8 articles might say, “Wow, you are recommending a lot of change. This is a lot of work.”

Back to the Poison Ivy. My brother just dug the root out, and he was done. I used the easy method. I fiddled around with the Ivy a lot. I tried quick fixes. I bought special poison Ivy spray. But... I still have not dug up the root. Now it does not seem easier. The Ivy is still flourishing.

If you just read my last 12 articles, you realize that it is a lot of work to dig lust out. But really there are just two choices in your approach. First, you can work at it, try quick fixes, and give it your best shot. Or, you can do a lot of work, then change, and dig out the root.

It takes 66 days on average to form a new habit or quit an old habit. The best way to quit old habits is to form new habits to replace them. When you dig out the root, it is still going to take a while. 60 days if your habit is not so severe. Maybe 90 days or longer if it is severe. Maybe even years longer.

But, when you dig out the root, the habit is dead.

Secondly, I have been around quite a while. I promise you that you can't even imagine the destruction that lust will cost you. The list of things it affects is endless.

Tomorrow I am starting on a digging spree with poison ivy. I guess I have two choices. I can fiddle around with it again this year, or... I can change, develop new habits, put in the work, and dig until every last deep root is dug out.

 

[Gordon 7]

If you can't quit, something specific is the reason. Consider rating each topic below from 1-10, with 10 being best for quitting. That way you will know what types of articles you should be searching for.

Alternate activities _____

Daily Bible-study _____

Daily prayer time (A block of time in prayer) _____

The habit of praying quitting prayers _____

Replacing bad thoughts with good thoughts or prayers _____

Fighting negative emotions _____

Friends who cause temptation _____

Going to tempting locations _____

Lack of ability to cope when bad things happen _____

Ability to fight triggers _____

Interest in moving toward purpose _____

Consistent awareness of the destruction it causes _____

Fear of God _____

Righteousness _____

Other _____

Consider reminding yourself often of what is most important to work on. If you have little fear of God, print out articles that teach the fear of God. If you are weak in righteousness, fill up your quitting notebook with every tip on how to go to war with sin. Sin leads to sin. Sin leads back to habits, sin kills joy.

Second, we dig out the root with a new article, plus reviewing key old articles about topics that you need extra advice for.

Example: Jonny is great at quitting for about 5 days, then something bad happens. He falls.

So Jonny searches: Bad things happening, trials, plus two more ways of saying what he is experiencing. He finds specific articles that will plug that leak.

He studies today's article, plus notes or old specific articles that he knows will help him stay free when bad things happen.

He searches his weak topic in this column and at Google.

In some articles I will say exactly what I do when bad things happen. At some point he memorizes new techniques. Now his weakness is a strength.

Third, know exactly what you need to improve in. Read extra notes or articles about that topic daily. Print this out and pray about exactly what you should work on. If you are someday willing to do what God wants you to do, He will guide you in this process. Then... you just need to put in the work.

 

[Gordon 7]

I loved my last article. Knowing what you are weak at, and working daily to plug the leak. But I teach people to quit with God's power. To quit with God's power, pray over His mighty Word.

Job 28:28 ESV Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Do you want God's power in your quitting process? If yes, then do a soft memorization of this verse. The fear of the Lord is step one toward joy in your life. Late in my quitting process, I was very aware of what the Bible said about my habit. When I would drive, I drove like a grandmother because I was scared of dying in that condition. Read the verse again.

I was learning the fear of the Lord. Consider praying:

“Father, fill me with Your wisdom. Help me to fear You.”

Second, “to turn away from evil is understanding.’” Consider praying:

“Father, help me to turn away from evil.”

Wow, hard to pray these prayers too much. I would estimate that I have prayed a variant of that last prayer over 100,000 times, and every time I was completely sincere with a full desire to change.

Third, back to Wednesday's article. Find an area that you are weak in, research it, and work on improving that trait daily, in addition to today's article.

The above article would be an example for a person who gave a low rating to their level of fearing the Lord. To raise your rating, you find an article like this, study it, pray over it, and increase your fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is an excellent skill for quitting. Study this verse, and consider praying these prayers. When we fully “Hide” a verse in our hearts, we start quitting with power.

 

[Gordon 7]

Many have read verses about lust to combat lust. Some have studied verses about lust to fight lust. But only a few fight lust exactly the way Jesus did. When Jesus was tempted, He fought every temptation with a Bible verse. But… Jesus did not have any sin strongholds in his life, so satan bounced from one temptation to the next. But that is not how he attacks us. Lust, more lust, then some more lust, maybe with a side dish of covetousness.

When we are trying to break down a stronghold, one verse helps, two are better, but three are even better. Here are three that I really like:

Matthew 6:22-23

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Romans 6:16 ESV

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

2 Timothy 2:22 ESV

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Second, three are probably not enough, but Jesus had the verses memorized. Start by memorizing one and get to three as fast as possible. Then continue to add more.

If you really know all of the verses about lust by heart, you won’t think porn is stupid and destructive… you will know it.

Matthew 6:22 completely opened my eyes. I always ended up trading in my great life filled with light and joy for short-term fun which led to darkness, and depression. The more I quoted this verse, the more I knew what was really happening. The last few times I went back to porn, I literally said: I am ruining my week and month. I am going back to darkness. I will have destruction.

I was correct. That was what happened.

What are the two or three verses you have used to fight back against lust? Please help me out by picking the ones from this list. I am trying to figure out which great verses about quitting are not on this list. If you have a verse specifically about lust that is not on the list please let me know so I can add it.

Lastly, it is hard for us to exactly copy how Jesus lived. But, we certainly can copy His method for fighting temptation.

 

[Gordon 7]

People were healed when Peter's shadow was on them because the Spirit of the Lord was a full 10 in him. Peter would shake off our habits in 24 hours because the Spirit was fully in him. The Spirit was fully in him because he was fully at war with sin 99.8% of the time, and if he did start to slip up he would “Immediately get back into scripture.”

2 Corinthians 3 Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

The Spirit gives liberty, but the Spirit is not involved in a sin activity. Example: the person who wants to quit drinking decides to do a little porn. Well... in that person maybe the Spirit of the Lord was a 3 rating in them before that decision, but now, what is the new rating?

Does the verse predict their success in quitting their habit now?

Second, if you want to quit, go to war with all sin! Consider working daily on learning the habit of constantly praying:

“Father, lead me not into temptation.”

Third, even neutral activities sink us if we do not do them in moderation. Example: A person quitting porn decides to play a game for 30 minutes. Now, 3 hours later, they still can't quit. 2 hours later, they quit, stressed out and exhausted, now they are really ready to fight porn's temptation (not).

Fourth, consider setting strict limits on nonspiritual activities. If you plan to play for 30 minutes, also plan to stop and study scripture after “exactly” 30 minutes. A few minutes of scripture will do. Read enough to keep the Spirit in you, in at least the rate it was in you before you did the activity. Then get back to quitting prayers, and a search of purpose.

Fifth, consider identifying 2-3 ways that you lower the Spirit of the Lord in you. Sin is an obvious culprit, but if you quit sinning and then game for hours or do _________________ way longer or way more than you should, the Spirit of the Lord rating drops like a rock, and your odds of quitting drop right along with it.

Sixth, consider doing a Google search “Verses __________.” Fill in the blank with what kills your rating of how much the Spirit of the Lord is in you. Find Open Bible verses and print out a page of them or save them to a file. Next, consider setting strict time limits or quantity limits on the activity you plan to do. Then, stop at “exactly” the right time. Then, instantly study the verses for a few minutes.

Doing this keeps the Spirit of the Lord level from being lowered within us. Obviously, we need to do spiritual activities to raise the Spirit of the Lord in us, so always try to do that more.

Finally, if you keep the Spirit of the Lord in you at a good level, you “Will” have power in you. And that power will set you free.

 

[Gordon 7]

Yesterday I had a rotten day. Everything went wrong. Plus, many were criticizing me, so I was often praying:

“Father, help me to be tough.”

“Show me what You want me to do.”

I kept trying to do right, and as the day ended, I felt like the Holy Spirit was right there with me (See Sunday's article about increasing versus decreasing the Holy Spirit in us). So I ended the day by looking for a few extra people to help. Well, I found them, and some of them encouraged me.

Second, always try to help people. Always work on the habit of helping people.

Philippians 2:4 ESV Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Some of you are worried that you will never quit because you are always “down.”

You struggle when you are down, you fall when you are down.

What if you always help others when you are down? What if, when you are helping others the Holy Spirit rises up in you? What if the verse that says:

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,” is true?

Third, we increase the Spirit in us when we practice the praise the Lord habit. The Bible does tell us to say it. Consider setting a goal of how many times you will try to say “Praise the Lord.” I try for about 30 times.

Fourth, practice always giving your problems to God. If you are committed to helping others, then God might be committed to helping you. In fact, if you are also going to war with sin, He almost surely will be interested in helping you.

So, ask Him to help you. Ask Him what to do. Involve him in your problems and in your life.

Finally, God may or may not magically solve all of our problems. But, if we do things His way, He will be right there with us, helping us go through the problems. And I will say... that is just a great thing.

 

[Gordon 7]

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

Consider always searching for key quitting verses. Always be at war with sin. Consider praying:

“Father, I will be the salt of the earth. Help me to fight sin.”

Verse 14 “You are the light of the world.”

People think that their favorite movie star or rock star are so great. But you are supposed to be the light of the world. We need to be filled with God's love to be the light of the world. I pray constantly:

“Father, help me to turn from temptation, and fill me with Your love.”

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Consider praying:

“Father, help me to care about souls.” My goal is to pray this 10 times daily.

Second, today consider adding 5-10 minutes to the time you spend working on quitting “Every day.” Be serious about quitting. Consider memorizing key verses about quitting.

I have never had anyone say: “I have worked on memorizing all of the key verses regarding my habit, and I still can't quit.”

I going to go way out on a limb and predict that out of the next 500,000 people who read my articles, I will still not have one person saying that. Why, because if you memorize the key verses, you can fight temptation by quoting them when tempted. Satan just don't wanna hear scripture. Your temptations will go way down.

Scripture gives you power. With enough power, you will quit.

 

[Gordon 7]

Satan tempted Eve with an apple in the Garden of Eden. She gave in to temptation despite probably knowing God as closely as anyone in the history of the world. Why?

Satan is known as the shining one. When Eve talked with him, he almost had a glow to him. When he talked to her, she took in every word meticulously, as if he had something great to offer. He put on a great show then, and he still puts on a great show now.

Satan will fool everyone who is not prepared for his tricks. How to prepare:

1. Pray before and during every situation where you can be tempted:

“Father, help me to run from lust.” Every prayer must be sincere with a strong desire to change.

1. Focus on the fact that he will make a spectacular offer. It will be shiny and beautiful, and it will promise you great fun. Eve should have told satan about the 5 ways her life would be ruined if she ate the apple. We need to tell satan about the 5 ways our life will be ruined if we listen to him.
2. Spend time in prayer every day. Pray about things you want. Pray even more about what God wants. Pray even more over scripture to learn how to do what God wants.
3. Focus on believing God's truth. Satan conned Adam and Eve into doubting. Instead, consider saying: Following God's truth will make my life great.
4. Focus on increasing in righteousness.
5. I try to increase my focus on turning from lust every day.
6. Believe the Bible, study it, meditate on it, and use it as your ultimate weapon to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Never listen for one minute to what satan is telling you. Fight him as aggressively as he fights you.

Last, the more we do these 7 steps, the more we will start to return to the Garden of Eden.

 

[Gordon 7]

The Bible says:

“13 I can do all things through [a]Christ who strengthens me.”

Consider memorizing this verse. Once memorized, you can use it as a valuable tool for quitting. Once memorized, you can quote often. If you can do all things, then you can quit your habit. But, it says “Through Christ.” Now as you quote it you start to realize that “Through Christ” means that you are going to war with sin. That you are preparing for purpose.

Second, quote it and ask God, “What does “Through Christ” mean? If we plan to live “Through Christ” should we plan to do what He wants us to do? Consider working on the habit of praying:

“Father, show me what You want me to do.”

Second, every time you quote this verse you are rewiring your brain.

Third, every day you need one or two things to think about to get your mind off of your problems, and off of temptation. Every one should have a list of ten things to think about based on past articles. If you don't have a list, consider working on that today.

Example: Work, or school sucked and you get home and are tempted. Or, you are just tempted. Grab your list of things to think about and pick 1-2 things. Now start quoting the above verse. Now start thinking about your better things. Now start praying about your new thoughts. Now make plans on how you will have this great life if you “Always do this.”

Fourth, here are today's ideas of what to think about:

Give thanks for good things, then think about helping others. Then pray about helping others.

Fifth, always consider working on the Praise the Lordhabit. First, the Bible says to do it. Second if we want to live “Through Christ” we need to do it.

Finally, consider quoting this verse constantly, and determine to “always” work on thinking healthier thoughts. Both are keys to success.

 

[Gordon 7]

The Bible says that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” In Exodus, the pharaoh had 10 plagues rained down on him because of his sin. Anyone who has studied Deuteronomy 28 knows that the same thing happens to us if we continue in bad habits, or in sin.

The Pharaoh could have stopped after 5 plagues.

Isaiah 59:2 ESV But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

If you keep sinning, your prayers become unheard. Search for key verses and study and pray over them. That is the emergency plan for continuous sin.

The Pharaoh could have stopped after 7 plagues. We could stop our habits after 7 disasters as well.

Galatians 6:7-8 ESV Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

The Pharaoh could have stopped after 9 plagues. We could stop our habits after 9 disasters as well.

Romans 6:23 ESV For the wages of sin is death.”

Something always dies, begins to die, or partially dies when we go back to habitual sin. Consider studying how many things began to die or partially died with Adam and Eve. Consider praying about it. The verse has many meanings, and all of them are...

Second, the Pharaoh did not stop. All of the firstborn in Egypt died. The Bible says there was a death in every house.

Some of you are not connecting the disasters in your life with your habit. Well... Pharaoh didn't either. He should have.

Third, don't overestimate the fun of sin. Sin's fun is short, really short, with added destruction.

Proverbs 22:3 says: A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are punished."

Consider memorizing this verse. If you are busy, just memorize one word: "Punished."

Revelation 3:19 ESV Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Finally, consider praying:

“Father, show me the destruction that my habit causes me.”

Then learn from the pharaoh. Pound those key verses and quit now!

As always, feel free to print this out for your personal or church use.

 

[Gordon 7]

The challenge, when you have a severe addiction, is... you sometimes have no idea what is going on. You find a great article, you did everything it said... for a while, and 2 days, or 5 days later, down you go. What went wrong? Was the article no good? When this happens, pull the article back up, repent fully of your lust, and consider praying:

“Father, is this article a great one for me, or is there a better one.”

Then just start praying over the article and focus on it. Then at some point, you will start to realize: A, this was a great article, and it is great for you, you just have to execute on new days the same way you made it work for the days it worked. Or B, it is a good article, but it does not really solve your problem of _________ (fill in the blank, with something that often sinks you). Or C, it was a great article, and you also need to study a bunch of other things in order to quit.

The main point is... God tells us a thousand times to quit, and we act like He won't give us any guidance when we are straining to quit. And I know why we think that. In the past, I lived in my rebellious ways and I only rarely had prayers answered. But now that I am going to war with sin, I have more prayers answered, and I do get guidance.

Key point: When you are doing exactly what God wants you to do, ask Him for some guidance about which articles to study and pray over. We need that guidance because sometimes studying 17 articles hard is what is needed to quit. If that is the case... you need to figure out which 17 it is, fast.

Finally, consider reading old articles and praying over them. Ask God to show you which ones are key articles for you. Then “keep trying” to build the habits from those articles to build your foundation.

Don't give up on solid techniques for quitting based on bad results. Keep asking God what to work on no matter what. If you keep praying about it... someday you will have a great idea of how to quit.

 

[Gordon 7]

Today, I am setting my phone alarm to go off every 10 minutes. Every time it goes off I will pray:

“Father, fill me with Your joy.”

“Father, fill me with Your love.”

“Father, show me what You want me to do.”

“Father, keep me from temptation.”

“I praise You Lord.”

Here is the thing. When the “Spirit” is fully in us, we have full self-control, and habits are gone.

Second, assume “Randy” reads his “One Year Bible” daily, which allows him to read the entire Bible in one year. Then Randy prays 30 minutes daily.

But, after 4 days free, life punches him in the face, and down he goes. Why? Well, it likely is several things, but one thing is for sure, the Spirit was not fully with him for the hour before he went down.

Third, if we pray several key prayers every ten minutes, we are keeping the Spirit right there with us. Note: We need to first repent and have a complete plan for change before any of this works.

Fourth, God has this great plan for your life, but if your mind is all over the place, how will you ever know what that plan is?

#1 believe! #2, when you ask God to show you what He wants you to do, listen. Then try helping people.

Fifth, today consider setting an alarm for every ten minutes, then pray several prayers. Choose the best prayers that you know that will help you quit and find purpose.

Note: Every prayer must be prayed sincerely with a complete desire to change.

Finally, when Biblical David was doing things God's way (with the Spirit fully in him), he was killing lions with his bare hands, and he was defeating giants. He was fully filled with God's joy. When David sinned with Bathsheba, darkness and depression ruled him. Then he got back on track, and joy filled him again.

Today, choose joy, choose prayer, and find out what God has for you.

My plan is to do this every day until I have the habit of doing it without a phone alarm.