THE BEST SPIRITUAL WAY TO FIGHT TEMPTATION

[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]

If we change what we think about, we have a pretty good chance of quitting. If after 90 days, we consistently think about 10 new healthy things daily, we have increased our odds of quitting massively.

The Bible says to think about things that are true. #1 If you are a Christian, people around you are going to hell. Thinking about this truth should inspire us to work harder to quit. To think about this, consider praying several times daily:

“Father, help me to turn from lust, and help me to care about souls.”

Second, decide to be positive. Decide to be a shining light. We can either think work/school is going to stink today, or we can think, “I will try to do everything I can to make it good for the people around me today.”

Third, quote a great verse each day. If you stink at memorizing verses, simply put them in a file in your phone. Consider memorizing: 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

This verse is truth. Thinking about walking in the Light (Living God's way) is thinking about truth.

Finally, wisdom is truth. Think about and consider praying several times daily:

“Father, fill me with Your wisdom, and help me to run from lust.”

Read Proverbs to learn about wisdom. Additionally, this book is filled with warnings about lust/fornication/adultery.

Wisdom is taking time this weekend to plan a Bible verse to quote for every day next week. Wisdom is planning prayers for every day next week. Wisdom is making the decision to make it a priority to think about things that are true every day next week.

Thinking right leads to right actions which leads to success.

 

[Gordon 7]

The pure in heart shall see God. Purity in the heart is loving God with all our might.

To quit addiction, it is important to get a glimpse of the glory of God. I often recommend The God Chasers by Tommy Tenny because it is a book about thinking about and trying to find the glory of God. God wants us to see at least a glimpse of His glory so that we can be excited about Him, and about what life is like when we serve Him. Consider praying:

“Father, take away my love of pleasure, and show me Your glory.”

A second way we start to see God is to start to live in His joy.

Fun versus joy

Over the next three hours, I can try to maximize my fun my way, or I can focus on doing God’s will and try to do things God’s way.

With joy, my three good hours turn into 24 to 48 good hours of having peace, feeling God’s love, increasing in the fruits of the Spirit, increasing my willpower, increasing my self-control, and finding contentment. With joy, I can still have short-term fun, but it must be in a clean way. With joy, I always must love and serve God. With joy, my week is always better, and the long term is always better. Always think long-term.

Consider memorizing Psalm 16:11: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

We can’t pray too often:

“Father, show me the path of life.” Or:

“Father, take away this lust and show me how to find joy.” Or:

“Father, help me to run from sin, and teach me about Your pleasures.”

This week, consider taking 3 verses from the list about lust and quote them often to start to pound the sin out. Then find 3 good prayers to pray often to help you find a new path. Doing things like these start to make you pure in heart. Then… good things will start to happen.

 

[Gordon 7]

A man was in a field, and he found a great pearl. He talked to the owner of that field and discovered that if he sold all that he had. He could buy that pearl, which was worth far more than what he had. He sold all that he had and got that pearl.

We can get that pearl. But we have to get rid of habits. Since I quit, I have discovered what it is like to have that great pearl. It is a living stone. It is Jesus Christ. It is alive, and it is great.

We think, what we have is great. Deep down, we know that our habit is not great, but we need to “know” up front. We need to “know” when we see temptation coming our way.

Some readers will give all to obtain that great pearl. They will take every verse recommended over the last week and they will read them until they are half memorized. They will take every quitting prayer and they will set up reminders to pray them hourly, or every morning, noon, and night. They will take every healthy habit recommended this week, and they will think about how they can start bringing to life those healthy habits.

They will run to specific scripture when temptation overwhelms them.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

When we work constantly at quitting, we are running the race. When we add healthy habits, we are working so that we will win.

Consider praying:

“Father, help me to improve my discipline.”

Finally, which quitting verses are you focused on?

Which quitting prayers are you focused on?

Run the race. Get the prize.

 

[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 Replacement thoughts are good. Even better are replacement actions. Much harder to engage in physical sin if, as soon as the temptation starts, you engage with something that requires your attention mentally and physically (cooking, cleaning, a project, a game, a puzzle, a workout). The more extreme of a change and the more involved, the better.

#5 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.

 

[Gordon 7]

Vampire films were the rage 20-30 years ago. In the classic version, you had to invite the dark one in. When you were in your sealed house, you were safe unless you invited the dark one in.

When we repent and have a plan for turning from lust, we are sealed. But when we look and don't instantly turn from lust, we have allowed the opening.

Every day in every situation, we need to focus on keeping our house sealed. We have 2 great reasons for keeping it sealed. #1 to avoid the destruction. #2 to continue to seek an increased blessing in our lives.

Any sin weakens our seal. Sin... takes us away from God's joy, and it forces us to chase fun and pleasure like some zombie in a classic film.

Meditating on scripture strengthens the seal. Preparing for temptation with prayer strengthens the seal. I have worked so hard on learning the skill of praying, “Father, help me to turn from lust,” that now it is virtually automatic.

A full commitment strengthens the seal. A full commitment is spending time in Bible study and prayer. We commit to spending a block of time every day at this site because of a full commitment to Christ.

Change always involves sacrifice. God always gives us more than we expect when we make that sacrifice permanent.

Finally, go to war with sin to strengthen that seal. Have notes everywhere to remind you to pray your quitting prayer constantly. Consider using this trick. You commit to praying, “Father, keep me from temptation,” 15 times daily or more. Have notes that say, “15.” You know what they mean, no one else will. Put notes where you will see them. Covering the corner of your TV screen, or computer screen. I would love it if someone writes in and says: I have a sticky note on my phone. That would be a dedication to making the quitting prayer a habit.

Learn a habit this week. That is step one toward quitting.

 

[Gordon 7]

When David stared at Bathsheba, he forgot to ask this question. Are these thoughts scriptural? I am guessing he learned that “habit” after all the destruction. He didn't ask: Will these thoughts build me up, or tear me down? He didn't ask: Where did these thoughts originate?

In his later years, we know that David learned to get busy doing what God wanted him to do again. He got his mind busy, thinking the way God wanted him to think again.

Today, the focus is learning to praise the Lord the way David did. He was one of the greatest Christians of all time when he focused on thinking right and praising God. David wrote Psalms. Let's see what he said.

Psalm 150:6 ESV
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

Today I learned... this sounds as much like a command as it does a suggestion.

Psalm 34:1 ESV
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 71:8 ESV
My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.”

David focused on God's glory all day, and he praised God all day.

Hebrews 13:15 ESV
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Psalm 146:1-2 ESV
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

The Bible says to learn the praise the Lord habit. It says to do it continually because it helps us to focus on His glory.

Always work on improving the habit of praising God. It is a great tool for renewing your mind to get your thinking off of the wrong things.

 

[Gordon 7]

Thanks to Nextlavishness who wrote this great article for quitting:

"Advice to overcome pornography and masturbation.

God bless you young Christians who are having problems with masturbation and pornography. Seek the Holy Spirit to fill you. Go to the presence of God with all your heart and tell Him: I ask your forgiveness for allowing myself to be carried away by this sin, for giving myself over to this idol that dominates me. Tell Him to ask the Holy Spirit to fill the emptiness you feel. Tell Him to make you like Joseph, who preferred to leave his tunic in the hand of Potiphar's wife than to sin against his God. Like Job, who made a pact with his eyes not to see a young virgin because what reward would the God of heaven give him and what inheritance would the Almighty give him? And like Moses, who preferred to suffer with the people rather than be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter than enjoy the temporary pleasure of sin. Run before the altar as I just did and be born again of water and the Spirit, and you will see that you will have the strength to overcome this sin.

And your friend who reads these lines: Come to Jesus, he will take away your emptiness, your anxiety, your loneliness and your sadness! All attempts to fill your emptiness with constant masturbation and recurrent pornography will be in vain because that emptiness has the form of God and only he can fill that emptiness with the person of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Lord is my strength says the Bible read it and you will see how the perspective of life will change in your mind and will fill you with peace.

Surrender yourselves to God and be filled with the Holy Spirit by going to Jesus who is a faithful friend who will not complain or accuse you for your situation but will give you the necessary help and a joy that leaps up to eternal life. God bless you and give you understanding in everything, flee from the youthful passions that war against your souls.

In the evenings when you are exposed or in the morning go out for a walk, it is working for me, do not face the temptations, you will not be able to, we have strong enemies, the flesh, the devil and the world, so do not act brave until you are filled with the Holy Spirit and at night lie on the floor as a sign of humiliation and tell him that it is so that God gives you strength to overcome temptation at night this is called sackcloth and fast for this purpose one or two days a week to weaken the desires of the flesh, always pray, read the Bible and depend on God.

If you fall while you are strengthened, God try again but do not become repeat offenders to show God that you truly want to give up this, He is a loving Father and would forgive you again and again if you ask Him but you will not know the true freedom that will set you free: Jesus and you would continue to be slaves to sin and stagnate God's purpose is to use you and hinder Him in the work He wants to do in you. Remember Samson.

For those who speak Spanish and those who don't, see it in the subtitle. This video was one of the many resources God placed in my hands to free myself from this filth:

Don't give up, remember I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Bible Verses:

• Joel 2:12-13 • 1 John 1:9 • Ezekiel 14:3 • Romans 6:16 • Genesis 39:9 • Genesis 39:12 • Job 31:1-2 • Hebrews 11:24-25 • John 3:5 • Ephesians 5:18 • Galatians 5:16 • Ecclesiastes 3:11 • John 6:35 • Nehemiah 8:10 • Romans 12:2 • John 8:11 • Hebrews 4:15-16 • 2 Timothy 2:22 • 1 Peter 2:11 • Matthew 26:41 • 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 • Psalm 35:13 • Jonah 3:6 • Matthew 17:21 • Galatians 5:24 • Romans 6:1-2 • John 8:36 • Romans 6:18 • Judges 16:20 • Philippians 4:13

 

[Gordon 7]

The Bible says: "Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit."

#1 To be filled with the Spirit, I pray by asking the Holy Spirit to fill me with His power. To fill me with His fire. The next direction we can choose is to pray the prayer of Jabez.

“Father expand my borders and bless me indeed.”

We pray this prayer because we need to more fully understand:

God wants to fill us for His reasons, not ours. We need the Holy Spirit if we are going to expand our borders. God is filling us for a very specific reason. And the challenge is that often we think that our lives will be worse, with less pleasure and less joy if we do exactly what God wants us to do.

Wrong!!!

Doing exactly what God wants is the key to purpose and joy.

#2 Many Christians memorize this verse:

“Thy will be done.”

Then they spend time in prayer to be empowered to do “His will.” Often, we need to pray and ask Jesus to increase our desire to surrender and give up control. To ask Jesus to empty us of anything that’s preventing the Holy Spirit from being in control. Ask Him to increase our faith in His promise to give us the Holy Spirit. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to fight against sin, and fill me with your Spirit.”

3 Consider praying:

“Father, help me to go to war with sin."

Remember, it's the "Holy" Spirit.

Some people want to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they are empowered with the gifts of the Spirit. But if that is your method, that is a long cut. Instead, use a short-cut. Focus on the two commands that Jesus said are most important. To love the Lord your God with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This consistent focus leads us to activities that produce joy.

Helping Others.

We pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit can empower us to help others.

Consider taking time every day in prayer to allow the Holy Spirit to fill you. Second, let the Spirit know that you are available to do something today, or to say something today if He will help you do it. Remember... God knows your strengths and your weaknesses. If He is going to have a person like me talk to someone about Christ, He is going to do a lot of leading. More likely, all the talking. My only jobs are going to war with sin, spending time in prayer, and being available.

Fourth, people who insist on being filled with the Spirit quit 10 times as often as others. Why? #1 because the Holy Spirit helps us to be in God's will. #2 Because now they have something great “to do.” #3 Because now the Holy Spirit is becoming a constant help in the war against sin. #4 Because now they again experience their “First love,” and start to increase in joy. And it is great.

Finally, if you are a rebel like I was a few years ago, being filled is a long process. But... everyone can do some of these steps and get more filled-with-the-spirit. Today, set your goals for what steps you are willing to do. It will help.

 

[Gordon 7]

Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;
The simple pass on and are punished.”

Consider focusing on becoming an expert at foreseeing evil, so that you can hide yourself.

Consider praying: “Father, help me anticipate evil so I can think of ways to hide myself.”

You can learn to see patterns that lead to that slippery slope. If you don't instantly hide yourself in these situations, it becomes tough to stop.

Second, try to make it a habit to quickly see bad patterns. In these situations, think: How did this end in the past? What were the consequences last time?

Third, what types of destruction were the net effect of “The simple pass on and are punished?”

Fourth, anxiety and other negative emotions are often the result of passing on and being punished. We think, I sinned, I asked for forgiveness, it's all good. Instead, be honest about the negatives that you still have. Use these negatives as extra inspiration to quit. Yes, the fear of the Lord should be enough inspiration to quit, but...

Fifth, determine to quit for good. Determine to avoid these long-term negatives. Determine to do God's will and to live a great life.

 

[Gordon 7]

In Hosea 4:6 God says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”

To increase in knowledge, consider memorizing what the Bible says to do. The Bible asks us to “Present our bodies a living sacrifice.” To present means to become available. Consider praying:

“Father, my goal is to fight sin, and to make my body available so that You can live in me and do what needs to be done.”

1 John 3:6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” Consider memorizing the above verse.

Second, I don't take Bible verses as seriously as I should. My Christian parents ignored certain (what they thought were minor) Biblical sins. As I study the Bible I realize that what they thought were minor, the Bible clearly says things like: If I continue to do these things, I will be judged for them.

Many have Christian parents, and or attend a good church. But... Only you will be standing before Jesus. If your Priest, Pastor, or parents forgot to emphasize certain serious sins, they will not be there to support you.

Consider praying today for 20-60 minutes about what are the most important things in life. On what activities should I spend my time on? What is important in life?

The Bible says to store up treasures in heaven. Consider praying about that until you start to understand why treasures in heaven are more important than treasures on earth.

Finally, repent, then consider praying:

“Holy Spirit, my body is available for You to abide in it. I am planning to learn the habits that I need to acquire so that Your will can be done.”

 

[Gordon 7]

All habitual sin gives satan a piece of our hearts. Porn, drunkenness, lying, covetousness, or a list of 100 other things, all give him access to us. And once he is “in” he has the extra power to tempt us with _______ all of the time.

I always say, “Go to war with all sin.” The reason for this is that when we fight “all sin,” he starts to lose his way in.

I wrote “Snap it” 3 months ago. After I wrote it, I was shocked by how sharply my temptations went down when I used that method. The article advised: “Put a rubber band on your wrist. Every time you have a tempting thought, snap it and praise the Lord.”

When I did that, my temptations went down. I was replacing his place in my heart with praise for the Lord.

Secondly, last week I got mad at my daughter's volleyball coach. He really deserved it. But, I was so mad... my old anger problem was right back in full swing. I started getting mad at everyone and everything. Suddenly, I realized that I had let satan in. And now that he was in, he was gonna have the opportunity to do a lot of damage.

So I repented of my sinful anger. Suddenly, I stopped getting mad at anyone. Repenting kicked him right out, and my war with sin put up a barbed-wire fence that he now had to try to fight through. Now he was out, and the Holy Spirit was activated again. Life was good again.

Lastly, when we are also fighting other non-______-related sins, we are taking away satan's place in our hearts. And when we are praising and worshiping God instead, we are giving the Holy Spirit space. And when He is given space, good things start to happen.

Today, consider increasing your war with sin and increasing how often you say, "Praise the Lord." That's how you give another little piece of your heart, and doing that really helps with quitting.

 

[Gordon 7]

Sorry, I never posted yesterday's article. Now it is there. Here is today's.
Galatians 6:8 ESV 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.”

What becomes corrupt for you because of lust? Solomon, because of his lust, turned from the true God and got caught up in putting other gods before Him. David's corruption led to him becoming a murderer. Write out a list of things that become corrupt for you because of lust. Every time you start to think about lust, stop. Instead, think about those things that become corrupt for you.

Proverbs 21:17 ESV
Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man.”

Consider praying: “Father, take away my love of pleasure.”

Consider praying: “Father, help me to love and help people more than I love pleasure.”

A love of pleasure leads to temptation. A love of God leads to freedom.

Discipline the Body

Some people read their Bible and pray daily. Then they come to a quitting site for 20-30 minutes daily. That is disciplining the body.

1 Timothy 5:6 ESV
But she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.”

Pray about purpose and always fight wanting more, looking at more, and anything else in excess.

Those who are dedicated to Christ are abundantly alive, even in hard times.

Consider praying:

Father, take away my love of pleasure, and help me to turn from lust.

 

[Gordon 7]

Yesterday I had my worst bout of temptation that I have had in months. This confused me because it should not have been an overly tempting situation. I wondered, why is this small thing tempting me? As I was almost asleep last night, I thought – did I read my Bible chapters this morning?

The next morning I checked: I had forgotten to read the Bible on Thursday. Did not mean to, I just clean forgot. The Bible says:

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

The lion is “Seeking whom he may devour.” Lions seek the most careless zebra, attack it, and devour it. Skipping our daily devotions opens us up to attack.

Daily devotions are a most important habit.

Second: To quit a habit, we decide to do new activities, and then we do them. They are not for fun, play, pleasure, or profit. It is wise to treat them like work or some great difficult goal.

1. Example: I decide my new activity is playing the piano. First, I set a goal: 30 minutes per day. # 2 Decide exactly when you will do it: 6:30 PM. # 3 Say 10 times daily why you need to do this activity: “I need to play the piano so that I stop being a slave to ______.” # 4 Consider praying, “Father, take away this spirit of ________, and show me how playing the piano will help me to do Your will someday.”
2. Spiritual goals should be # 1 in life. But after that, your activity goals should sometimes be the next most important. But what about family? It is a balance, a juggling game that you need to play until you get healthy. One solution to the family question is to work out with them. Do a hobby with them.
3. New activities are not great fun if you are really addicted. Addiction uses up all our fun and leaves us dark and empty. So keep this in mind. The exact same activities that you don't love in week one of quitting seem a lot better in week 4 after you have been clean for a month and are in a good place with God.
4. Someday, some of your new activities will become positive addictions. I lift weights every day. I play either the piano or bass guitar virtually every day. I write articles about addiction every day, and I do many other things every day.
5. Secondly, I want to try to explain how life gets better after we quit. With addiction, we move from fun event (hopefully) to fun event. Trying to find answers, fun, thrills. With freedom plus Jesus, we start to find increasing joy, and answers. With addiction, we watch TV always searching frantically for thrills. With freedom plus Jesus, we start to enjoy clean TV and we start to find contentment. With addiction, there are no answers. With freedom plus Jesus, we start to find a purpose for living. With addiction, we are driven, driven, driven. A constant flurry of trying to find... I don't know what. With freedom plus Jesus, we can ask Jesus what He wants us to do. Then we are filled with His peace, and we can do His will. With addiction, we sometimes struggle with family and people. With freedom plus Jesus, we learn how important it is to live in love.

New activities are key. They will change your life if you make it a priority to do them daily. Consider praying often:

“Father, help me to be ready to do new activities.”

Third, I have a printout of key verses for my quest to quit my third habit. If you don't have your list yet consider searching "Verses ________" fill in the blank with your habit, then find the Open Bible list of verses. Then print out a page or two of these key verses for quitting. This week, I am going to set an alarm for every hour to remind me to read 1 key verse per hour. I need to pound these verses into me so that the habit is pounded out.

Finally, idle hands are the devil's workshop. Consider making activity plans so that you can avoid his workshop.

 

[Gordon 7]

It is wise to learn the Flee from sin habit. It is wise to learn the flee from temptation habit.

What emotions, circumstances, or other things lead to severe temptation? If we know what leads to temptation, we can prepare in advance of temptation.

A person who prays:

“Father, I will change my thoughts of ______ to thoughts of loving others,”

is preparing for temptation. If one prays this 77 times in one day, they are likely 99 to 100% prepared for the upcoming temptation.

Then temptation happens, and they flee. Their preparation paid off.

Second, have an alternative activity planned. When you flee from temptation, do your alternative activity enthusiastically unto God. Consider that activity as part of your work toward quitting.

Third, today, consider writing down 3-5 reasons why you should flee. After you flee review these goals. Often, this simple exercise is cool water taking you slowly down from your short-term destructive desire.

Fourth, after you flee, say 20 times:

“I believe that God's ways are best.” Consider praying:

“Father, show me often that Your ways are best. I am trying to learn.”

If you can't quit, memorize this next verse.

“This kind can only go out with prayer and fasting.” (Matt 17:21)

Fifth, fasting. Fasting from food is great. It works great. Fasting from the thing that tempts you the most is fantastic. The porn guy who still looks at bikini girls will still be the porn guy. The drinker who still watches party movies, the gambler who still hangs out with gambling friends, the... Wait, we get the idea. If we flee or fast from the things that lead to things that tempt us the most, we will have less temptation.

Sixth, repent, get the darkness out, then stay sealed.

Consider writing down 2-4 things that lead toward temptation.

Finally, what habits do you need to work on this week?

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

 

[Gordon 7]

We become slaves to what we choose to obey. I love it when people encourage others who slip up on quitting sites. They say: “I had 10 days and I blew it.” The kind stranger says: “That was a great streak, you will start another one.”


It is not wise to say, “I blew my streak.” Say, “I blew my streak, and I read my Bible every day for 10 days, I was quoting some quitting prayers. I was working on adding quitting habits.


Consider reading the first sentence again, and underline become. You did not form this habit in one day. Likely not even in 10 days. But, you were becoming a slave to _______. You did things on your streak that were leading to your becoming free. Acknowledge those things. Do those things again, plus add more quitting habits.


Know exactly what you were doing right during the streak. If you fall, repent fully, then acknowledge what you did right. Then start again.


Second, if you sent me a list of everything you did for the last 3 days before the fall, it is possible that I might say. “Maybe you should avoid looking at ___________, avoid being around __________, and work more on praying quitting prayers more often.


Third, it is wise to write down exactly what you think led to the fall. How will you work on avoiding that sequence of events?


Fourth, consider repenting by saying, “I will work tirelessly on adding a quitting habit this week.”


Finally, quitting is a process, not an event. Once you add enough good habits, you will quit for good.

 

[Gordon 7]

This week I am watching the French Open tennis tournament. The temptation is about average for watching something like this (beautiful female tennis players).

I will focus on two things to stay “free” of lust this week. I will practice turning from lust consistently and often. The more we think about turning, the more we will practice it. Before I turn on the TV, I will pray:

“Father, help me to turn from lust.”

Then I will pray it often throughout any program that has any risk.

Second, I will focus on studying the fruits of the Spirit on the days that I watch. Today I am printing out the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

This month, I will be praying over each of the fruits of the Spirit. Reading each fruit, then praying: “Father, fill me with Your love.” “Father, fill me with Your joy.” “Father, fill me with Your self-control etc.” I will pray over each and every fruit.

Praying over the fruits of the Spirit is wise because it allows the Spirit to fill you and help you.

There are always two parts to quitting. What you stop doing, and what you start doing. Plus, if what you start doing involves scripture... that is a real home run.

Third, you can use this powerful verse for fighting temptation. With every temptation, read this verse, then pray over each fruit. You might say: “I will be doing that 89 times if I do it with every temptation.”

That would be so great: 89 prayers for increasing love, joy, peace, toughness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

Fourth, Biblical Paul was not great because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was great because... If he had bad habits, this is exactly the kind of thing he would do to pound bad habits out while pounding in great Biblical things.

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

 

[Gordon 7]

I often forget this verse: Matthew 6:15 ESV But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”


Ouch! But they were wrong. But they are wrong.


The problem is... When we don't forgive, we hurt ourselves almost as much as anyone ever hurt us.


Matthew 18:21-22 ESV Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”


Forgiveness starts to bring us into the Light. Unforgiveness leads anger, resentment, frustration, darkness, and then the real trouble rears its ugly head – it's hard to fight addiction when we stay dark.


Sometimes we need a miracle to forgive someone. But, God loves to do miracles in the area of forgiveness. Click on the link below, then read the first dozen verses ending at Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”


https://www.openbible.info/topics/forgiveness


We can read as many Bible verses on forgiveness as we need to read every day in order to forgive.


Key point: Pray about forgiveness. Study the key verses on forgiveness. Then forgive and forget.


Second, quitting ________ causes us to miss the dopamine rush that our former destructive habit gave us. Music can sometimes help with that. Put on some loud Christian music and see what happens.


Psalm 95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!”Make some noise, and have some fun.


Psalm 105:2 ESV Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!”


Strive to make a habit of doing what this verse says, instead of dwelling on problems.


James 5:13 ESV Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”


Today, I added this to my verses for daily meditation. Great stuff.


Colossians 3:16 ESV Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”


Consider shutting off music that tempts you, or music that is just openly evil.


Consider praying:


“Father, help me to turn off the trash.”


Then put on some good stuff.


Psalm 150:1-6 ESV Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! ...”


David praised God eleven times in this passage. Consider reading this passage enthusiastically, exactly the way David wrote it. Then add two or three things of your own to praise God for. Music and praise are two powerful habits to learn to replace the vacuum addiction causes. If we determine to make them permanent solutions, they will help us permanently.

 

[Gordon 7]

Viacharacter.org noted: “Prudence means being careful about your choices, stopping and thinking before acting. It is a strength of restraint. When you are prudent, you are not taking unnecessary risks, and not saying or doing things that you might later regret. If you are high in prudence, you are able to consider the long-term consequences of your actions.”

#1 Being careful. What do you keep feeding into your phone? A-I will spit back out what you keep clicking on. I am a YouTube watcher. I try to never click on things like bikini girls or, sexy movie stars because if I do, YouTube will keep recommending them to me.

#2 Stopping and thinking before acting. Wrong acting gives darkness for the week and maybe the month. Wrong acting gives unknown destruction, but there will be some. Wrong acting steals your chance at joy, purpose, peace and many other things. Consider having a few “Stop and think,” notes in places where you often are.

#3 Strength of restraint. Try saying 100 times daily for the next two days:
“I can stop. I will stop.”

Simply repeating it increases our restraint and determination.

#4 Long-term consequences. Doing things God's way causes great long-term consequences. Doing things satans way involves short-term fun and disastrous long-term consequences. Consider which one leads to a great life.

Finally, consider making habits that involve prudence. It is a wise decision.

 

[Gordon 7]

Pray for peace and contentment. His peace will guard your heart and mind. Pray about everything. Fix your thoughts on Jesus. When temptations arise, think about Jesus on His cross.

Resist is the wrong word. Replacing and refocusing is what we need to have the habit of doing. Always learn better ways to fight temptation. Wise people learn and store up knowledge. Hosea 4:6 says: My people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge.

If I always pray to be more filled with peace and love, what don't I have time for? Satan really doesn't have time to try to tempt a person when they are busy doing what God wants them to do.

Matthew 5:9 ESV
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

When we pray and focus on peace, we start to be blessed. Then we understand that life is better God's way.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

Repent, give thanks, then ask for peace. If we have perfect peace, the need for satan's silliness starts to decrease.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Consider praying:

“Father, help me to run from temptation, and help me to be content.

Second, we triple our success rate over habits when we give Jesus the respect He deserves.

Isaiah 9:6 ESV For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

30% of my readers have been taught that you can't call Jesus all of these four names. Don't listen to what people say. Instead, consider memorizing this verse. Allow His power to rise up in your life.

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