THE BEST SPIRITUAL WAY TO FIGHT TEMPTATION

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
The Parable of the talents is important in quitting addiction. A master went on a long journey and before he left he gave 3 of his workers talents. To one he gave 5, one 3, and one, 1 talent. The first man doubled his 5. 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ The second man doubled his 2 and received the same praise. But the 3rd man buried his talent so he still only had 1 talent. 26 “But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Jesus has given each of us abilities (talents) to do good. When we don't use our talents to do good works we always get into trouble. Instead, declare war on addiction and be determined to be the first man. He worked fervently to use his abilities to do good and he doubled his increase, plus the talent from the unfaithful servant.

Note verse 21 “Enter into the joy of your master.’” There is joy in serving Jesus.

The first two men were busy doing good. When we are busy doing good we leave a lot less time for temptation. When doing good, our joy can inspire us to quit addiction.

Live verse 29: “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.”

Increase the fight against addiction so that you can live the abundant life.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
If someone said: Satan does not mind it that much if you pray. The church would have a cow. But what if they say: Satan does not mind it much if we pray and then still continue in habitual sin. Oh... now it makes a bit more sense. On quitting addiction sites it is easy to find many people who have prayed hundreds if not thousands of hours. But they still can't quit.

But you won't find many people on quitting addiction sites who have prayed over all the key verses about their affliction every day. Because the Spirit fills you when you do that. Power fills you. Knowing what is right fills you.

If someone said: Satan does not mind it if you pray over all the key verses about lust every day. I would answer that with: Satan is so mad that you are doing that. Fire is coming out of his ears because he is so mad. It is the Last thing he wants you to do.

Back to prayer. Of course we should pray more. But praying a lot while ignoring Scripture will lead to imbalance and confusion.

If you want the joy I always talk about. Follow Jesus' example on how to fight temptation. He fought it with very specific verses from the Bible.

What if... you have the overwhelming habit of studying the verses on lust. Keep in mind that habits are formed through repetition. Keep in mind that satan will tell you how horrible studying those verses will be. And I will say, it's not easy. It's a bit scary. It is work.

But the rewards are fantastic. Freedom, purpose, peace, joy. Actually, I don't have time to list all of the rewards. The list is too long.
https://forum.nofap.com/index.php?threads/the-1-way-to-fight-temptation.323359/
 
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TakeActionNow

Respected Member
"Keep in mind that habits are formed through repetition."
No truer words have been said.

To break the force of habits is to replace it with something else. In a vacuum, old habits will often return in force.

Thank you for sharing.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
The Bible says to love others. To quit addictions, try that today (TTT). It says to forgive others, try that today (TTT). It says to bear fruit TTT, to obey TTT, to increase in the fruit of the Spirit TTT. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Wow, that is a lot of things to try today. Who can do all of those things today? Tomorrow maybe I should focus on one topic. But when I do that, it won't work either, and more will be needed to solve the problem. Does anyone have the secret answer to quit?

Yep, someone does. Jesus Christ does. And the secret answer is... the fire. If you really understand fire you know that it will burn and burn until everything is burnt up, or until someone puts the fire out.

A person who has the fire will take this article with a million things to try, and they will try and try to do as many things that are humanly possible. Then tomorrow, when I focus on one topic, they will try that and then come back to today's article, or another article on this site, or find a book on quitting addiction, or find a YouTube article on quitting.

Key point: A person who has the fire will keep fighting until the sin is burnt up. A person who has the fire will keep fighting until the Word (the Bible) is in them, until the Word directs them, until the Word controls them.

Pray to have the fire. Pray, “Father, fill me with your fire.” Highlight this prayer and put it on your mirror. Why? We need to stoke (stir up) the fire every day.

If you only develop a few habits this month, your life will change for the better permanently. Today, memorize the key point paragraph. If you develop these habits your addiction will be gone.

Every day, satan will try to attack you. But on every day that you stoke the fire, it will be a fair battle, and one that you eventually will win. My daughter (The one I call the happiest person in Michigan) gets up early every day to pray and study the Bible. She always stokes the fire. And with the power that the fire gives her, she is always helping people.

Jesus is the light of the world because He is the fire. Strive to let that fire burn hotly, and permanently every day of your life.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
We fight addiction better when we get healthy. Start by drinking enough water. Then, get enough sleep and rest (honor the Sabbath). Eat less sugar and eat some real food like broccoli and skinless chicken. My wife has a bunch of recipes for canned shredded chicken.
Importantly, exercise. It is a stress buster and a great alternate activity for addiction.
Secondly, the Bible says, "Resist the devil. Pray before and during temptation: "Father, help me to turn instantly from temptation." Then when satan temps you, just tell him no.

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Jack Wellman said: "The first point I see in this is to submit to God because if someone’s not yet submitted to God, they really can’t resist the devil and he won’t flee."
We submit to God with full repentance and with a plan to do right. With these two tools, we can make him flee.

Read more: https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/7-good-bible-verses-about-turning-from-sin/#ixzz7MxnVyyEy
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
We increase in power by repenting, planning our change, and then praying over the fruits of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Pray: “Father, fill me with a Spirit of love. I pray that Your love would flow into me.” I often spend 10 minutes praying to be filled with God's love. This is a great practice because God's love takes away our darkness and fills us with light and love. We also should pray over 1st Corinthians 13:4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (endures all things).

To pray over this passage I simply pray: “Father, help me to be patient.” Then I pause and meditate on that for a minute. Then, “Father, help me to be kind.” Then I pause and meditate on that for a minute. I just go through the whole passage praying and meditating over each section.

We meditate over Scripture because usually, we are in a dark struggling state. As we meditate, the light and power of Jesus begins to flow into us. And with the Light on, we increase in our power to fight addiction.

Secondly, pray, “Father, fill me with Your joy.” This one is more complicated so I have added a link to an article about finding joy.

Tomorrow I will continue with ideas about praying about long-suffering and kindness. They are 2 fruits that are powerhouses against addiction.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” From Matthew 13”

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

We need to understand the message of God and the Bible, or the evil one will run us over. We are always bombarded with a secular message. Get rich, successful, get max pleasure. But God's message is righteousness, love, and doing good. It is a daily fight to accept and understand that God's message is always right and good.

Pray: “Father, show me how the world is brainwashing me. I will follow Your ways.”

Secondly, I always talk about finding your purpose, reading the Purpose Driven Live. Why? Because the seeds of Christianity always fell on rocky ground with me. I never got a root. I was always back and forth. Always chasing money and lust while trying to be a good enough Christian to slip into heaven through the back door. I was verse 21 and verse 22.

But, my fight to find purpose through prayer and Bible study eventually allowed my root to go deeper, and that was a good breakthrough. Then, just this morning I was using very specific verses to combat my weaknesses in understanding the Word. Once again, I was shocked by how effective the Bible can be when we use it consistently and specifically.

Jeremiah 23:29 ESV
Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

I am more like the rock than like clay. When I become more like clay, I can start to be... “The one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
K Taylor noted the following: “In 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, Paul writes about all the trouble he endured on his journeys to spread the gospel:

“From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”
The last statement shows Paul’s “why” – the reason he endured all of the trouble. If most of us had to endure what Paul did, we would have said, “Forget this; this is too hard. I am going home!”

But because of Paul’s love for the church and his desire to please God, he stayed the course.

So your first step in triumphing over trials and tribulation is to determine your “why?” Why is it important to you to stand strong to the end?

And not only that but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Many people do not endure when trouble comes. They give up and quit at the first sign of trouble.

That is a heart issue, which is why having a strong “why” is so important from the beginning.”

This article shows that we need to know why we want to endure, why we want to quit, and why we want to please God. Pray, “Father, help me to always remember “why” I want to quit.” Consider meditating for 5 minutes each day on that prayer.

If you are like I was. You go through a constant cycle of... Bad things happen and then you fall. Instead of that, realize that your trial is producing perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Pray: “Father, I will push through and flee from lust. Fill me with character and hope.” Study Paul and strive to be like Paul.

Know why you want to quit! Know that living right is the key to your purpose and joy. Now, use your new knowledge to know why you should go to an all-out war with addiction.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member

Plan Where You Want To Go

Create a vision for your ideal life. Think about the big picture, where you are today, where you would like to be in the future, and why that shift is important to you.

Write down your future vision in words, with doodles, or in any other form of expression. Putting your goals down on paper or in pictures will help you develop your idea and become a great reference tool.

Define Your Action Steps

Next, identify what you need to do to realize your vision. Start with where you are today and determine one small goal to get you a step closer to your vision.

For example, a small goal could be to replace risky TV or movies with sports viewing or safer choices.

Continue writing down goals that you’ll want to tackle, but don’t let them overwhelm you. Small incremental improvements are the key to healthy habits that last.

Throughout this process, be honest with yourself about what you want and why.

When you’re entirely truthful with yourself, you begin to lay a foundation for integrity in everything that you do.

STEP 2 – Set Realistic Expectations


Before you start implementing your new healthy habit, pause to make sure that your expectations are realistic.

Is your goal a challenge yet achievable? Do you have the time and resources to do what’s needed to accomplish your goal?

If not, where can you get help? Will you find it easier to stay on track if you have someone to keep you accountable?

There likely are harmful patterns in your life that contribute to your decision to make poor choices.

Things like lack of sleep, work stress, and a sedentary lifestyle can work against your efforts to create healthy habits.

By consciously being aware of harmful patterns, you can see where you might face a setback. Instead of giving up, recognize it, give yourself grace, and get back on track.

Promise to forgive yourself if you slip up. Remind yourself that all failures are temporary and that you can get right back to your healthy habit.

Forming new habits takes focus and constant repetition. Go into this with compassion and respect for yourself.


STEP 3 – Create New Routines


Next, you want to create routines that will support you in achieving your goal. That way, you don’t have to use as much willpower to stick to your new healthy habits.

The idea is to set up routines that make it easy to say “yes” to healthy choices and “no” to unhealthy choices.

Take the example of the person who usually stares at all the hot woman at work. Instead, he decides to praise the Lord every time he sees a female.

Keep temptation at a distance whenever possible.

Often, merely stopping an old habit won’t be enough to quit it forever. Instead, focus on replacing it with a new one.

Like, someone going home instead of to the beach every day after work, this person could go to a sports gathering after work each day instead.

Or a CrossFit class. Or a meetup for people who love comics. Whatever activity you replace your old habit with, make sure it is the kind of healthy fun you personally enjoy.

STEP 4 – Make It Easy To Do The Healthy Thing

Give yourself healthy rewards for taking the desired steps, even small ones. Train your brain and your body to crave those healthy choices.

Realize that you don’t have an unlimited supply of willpower. Notice if there are certain times of day or circumstances when you are particularly likely to cave in and make an unhealthy choice.

Lack of willpower, especially when tired, hungry, or stressed, doesn’t make you weak. It just means you’re human. You can combat it by planning around it.

If you make a lapse in judgment or give in to a craving (which may happen, at least once), quickly forgive yourself and return to your healthy habits.

You may fall down, but you don’t have to stay down.

Every day you will face the choice to continue in the right direction or abandon your course. You are not powerless to your addiction.

Repeatedly making steady changes will create new healthy habits that last a lifetime.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
Today, I will share some of the top paragraphs from “WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT ADDICTION.”

Can you be happy?


One of the happiest days of my life was when I discovered that the Bible was written to make me happier, more peaceful and filled with purpose. Every passage about getting the sin out was written to keep me from further destruction. Despite my struggles, I began to realize that every passage was written to make my life better.

Isaiah 40 New King James Version (NKJV) says 31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

If you make it a consistent priority to pray and focus on what God wants you to do you will get some answers. They may not be the ones you want right now, but they will be what you need to start to be in step with God.

Key Takeaway: Spend a specific amount of time in prayer both first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. Ask God to show you what you are doing wrong. Ask Jesus to help you do things his way.

Prayer Idea. “Lord, give me the wisdom to learn how to quit this addiction. Help me to go to war against sin so that I can keep the darkness (which leads to addiction) out.”

Two Laws

Everyone follows one of two laws in life. The first is the law of diminishing returns and the second is the law of increasing returns.

Law of Diminishing Returns: Addiction – the more you do it the less fun it is and the darker it is. The more you do it, the more you increase the damage.

Law of Increasing Returns: Following Christ, being filled with the Spirit, doing things God's way. The more you seek the Lord, the more fun, exciting, fulfilling and joyful life is.

Key Takeaway: Quote these laws every morning for the rest of your life. (How will you remind yourself to do it)?

Living With Passion


We need to be filled with passion if we are going to quit addiction and then fulfil our Christian purpose. I am going to skip forward to John 4 New International Version (NIV)

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

This is one of the most pertinent passages in the Bible on addiction. The addict keeps going back to their habit but they get no satisfaction. The more you get of your addiction the more messed up you are. The more sex/drugs/booze you get the bigger the void of emptiness becomes.

Jesus is the exact opposite. The more we get of Jesus the more we are filled with light, joy, direction, purpose, vibrancy, I could go on and on. The more we seek to be filled with His spirit, the better life gets.

For the full book click: WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT ADDICTION
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
If in 4 months we have the habit of:

  1. A daily block of prayer

  2. Fighting temptation with specific Bible verses

  3. Daily Bible reading

  4. Studying to overcome addiction for 1 hour daily

  5. Praise and Thanksgiving

  6. Fighting temptation before it starts. Pray, “Father, help me to turn aggressively from sin.”

  7. Always saying that God's way is always best

  8. Working to find our purpose
If we have these habits, we will be on equal ground with satan in our war. He will no longer be able to “always” knock us around. We will have gained some control. And at that point, we will have a very real chance to quit for good.

12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Great habits lead to peace, contentment, and success.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
When we don't think right our minds become distorted. Our reality becomes based on what we feel instead of on God's Word.

Example: Jonny wants to quit porn but he is content to keep his covetous materialism raging at full strength. The problem with that is... his other sin is keeping darkness in his life. It is likely killing the joy that a committed relationship with Jesus brings. So now he is chasing fun through his materialism, never finding satisfaction, and fighting lust in that condition is really hard.

I have mentioned studying the verses for quitting for fighting porn temptation. But it is best to focus on God's Word in all areas.

Know what sin is killing you

What other sin do you struggle with? Pick one to work on this week in addition to lust. Simply do a Google search: Verses about materialism, or lying, or drinking – fill in the blank ______ with what you want to work on.

Open Bible almost always has a list of verses for any sin. Now study these verses and start to change your reality to what God wants, instead of what you think you want. Print out 10 or 15 of the verses. Study them, pray over them, meditate on them.

Fight any sins that plague you in this manner until your life is filled with light.

Lastly, study a list of verses about being filled with God's love. This also brings light into your life.

Key Point: The more you fill your life with Light, the easier it becomes to fight addiction.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
The Bible tells us to take every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5) That means that I have a chance to do something about all thoughts that are not well-pleasing to God, before they enter my heart and become a part of me! “As a man thinks, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7. Who we are is shaped moment by moment by the thoughts we choose to let into our mind and heart. But how can we control the thousands of thoughts that enter our minds each day? What do we do with the thoughts that are not pleasing to God? How can we, in reality, take every thought captive?

Taking every thought captive – a battle
Every day, we can catch thoughts and attitudes that are contrary to God’s will and keep them from gaining control of our minds and heart. Paul explains how this is possible: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.’’ 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. It is written that we need to battle to keep our thoughts pure, but it is also written that we have weapons to fight with!

Pray: “Father, take away this spirit of lust, and show me what to think about.”

God's Word is our weapon!
For example, if we know we are easily tempted to impure thoughts about the opposite sex, we can take Jesus’ words to heart: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:28-29.

Is it even possible to keep my thoughts pure? Click here for the answer!

If we are prone to anger, we can arm ourselves with James’ exhortation: “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20. These words of God are our weapons, and will give us power to take all impure thoughts captive!

Read also: 20 Bible verses to use as a sword against impure thoughts

Transformation – by the Holy Spirit
By the Holy Spirit, we can get grace and power to bring the thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and in this process, we become transformed into the person He wants us to be. We have the wonderful hope that by overcoming sin in our thought life, we can become a little more like Christ as each day progresses. In this way, we become valuable tools in God’s hands. Allowing this inner work of God to take place in us is the greatest task we can take on in life.

Lastly, respond to wrong thoughts with a specific Scripture.

  • Use your list of verses to respond to lustful thought with certain Scriptures. If you keep at it, it will at some point be automatic.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
The power of life and death is in the mind and in the tongue. Never say regarding addiction: This is who I am. Instead say: I am committed to Your will oh Lord. #2 Say: I am available for the Holy Spirit's use. He has something great for me to do.

Pray: “Father, increase my wisdom for fighting this addiction.”

Being converted means that I turn away from my own will to do God’s will. Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42. The point is that people are to do the will of God here on earth. We have received power to do His will through the Holy Spirit which has come upon us, the same Spirit that was over Jesus in the days of His flesh.

Firstly, we make it a habit to go to war with sin and addiction. Secondly, we make it a habit to be refilled with the Holy Spirit every day through Bible-study and prayer. Then, as we are refilled we start to get an idea of what the Holy Spirit wants us to do.

My practice is to spend 60 to 80 minutes in prayer each morning to try to get an idea of want God wants. Then, despite the fact that I am absolutely nothing and nobody... I listen to see if God has something for me to do. If He does, I try to do it.

None of us will ever be filled with the Spirit like Paul in the Bible. But we can be filled enough to help the messed up hurting people that are everywhere.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
I always write about developing the habit of turning instantly from sin, and praying, “Father, help me to turn aggressively from sin because when we look even for a moment, we open Pandora's box. Once it is open we got full-time trouble.

I always write about developing the habit of worshiping God, (Do a Google search for ideas about how to do it) because that is what we should always be doing.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are the men in the fiery furnace story. They were so focused on obeying and worshiping only God, that they got in real trouble. The king told them that he would burn them alive if they didn't worship his gods. They refused, into the furnace they went, but then Almighty God saved them.

These 3 men always worshiped God, and that practice gave them a full awareness of the disaster that bowing to sin is. The great habits they practiced kept them from opening Pandora's box. If we absolutely refuse to open Pandora's box for even a split second, temptation will start to lessen.

I have notebooks filled up with phrases I want to memorize and make into habits. I have written certain things so many times that I now merely write the initials of the sentence. Instead of “Turn aggressively from sin,” I write tafs. I know exactly what it means because I have written it so many times. Care about souls, cas etc.

Pray: “Father, Your will be done.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego developed great habits which kept them fully in God's will. Because of their dedication to worship and obedience a fourth presence was in the fire helping them go through the fire. Maybe it was God, maybe an angel. But one thing is for sure. If we work on building great habits as they had... God will be with us, and great things might happen.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
Daniel was one of four youths captured and brought to Babylon. The first observation of the four was that they were serious about pleasing God in all ways. Firstly, their diet was important to being a committed Israelite, which was all part of how God formed a people for himself in Old Testament times, so they feel strongly that they can’t eat the food and drink required to be eaten from the King’s Table.

In 2022 diet is not part of a Christians religion. But if we eat lots of vegetables and drink a lot of water like they did, we can fight addiction better and fulfill our purpose better.
Secondly, Daniel is a story of a person being faithful to God. We need to be reminded that the God of the universe, the all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present God, wants a personal relationship with us – with each of us. God knows you, He knows your needs and your struggles, and He cares for you. He formed you. He has a purpose for your life. He wants to talk to you. He wants to walk with you. He wants to help you. He wants to be your God.

Do you want Him to be your God? To be human is to have gods and the most likely gods vying for our attention revolve around power, money, and sex. Friends, these are false gods: they demand more and more from you – and give you less and less. If they become our gods, we may find temporary pleasure, but not permanent and fulfilling purpose.

We make Almighty God our God by studying Scripture like Daniel did. He studied Scripture studiously, and God-breathed power into him through Scripture. He was also a man of great prayer. Daniel 9 says: “Then I set my face toward the Lord to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” Daily, he went to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God.

We all know how the story ends. A law was passed prohibiting worship of anyone but the king. He kept praying and was thrown into the lions den. Then, God saved him.

Daniel always prepared himself to be available for God to do something through him.

After he was saved from the lions den: 25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.

Daniel went to war with false gods and he worshiped the true God. Go to war like Daniel did, and see what God will do through you.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
We are commanded to worship God. And worshiping a beautiful woman (who is doing bad things) is the opposite of worshiping Him. For example: We find some show on Netflix that has a real looker, and the story is not bad either. Then your new favorite star does a very explicit scene.

A person who is 100% dedicated to worshiping God will no longer be impressed or excited/interested in being a big fan of that woman. Why? When we study the verses for quitting, we get a bunch of very specific reasons why.

But the best reason why is because we can not worship God and lust. If she is using lust to promote herself, we should have a problem with her. She will at the very least... disrupt our worship of God, and at the most, she will cause an increase in temptation and an eventual fall.

There are thousands of shows out there. Satan works overtime to make you believe that you have to watch certain shows.

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord you God with all your heart. When we make it a priority to keep our eyes clean from sin, we can obey this commandment.

Fight to keep your TV and movie viewing clean. Strive to worship and praise God at all time. These two practices will lead you to a better way of life.

Cleaner shows link: https://forum.nofap.com/index.php?threads/watching-clean-tv-helps.323554/
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
You don’t recover from an addiction by temporally stopping. You recover by creating a new life where it is easier to stop. If you don’t create a new life, then all the factors that brought you to your addiction will eventually catch up with you again.

The following strategies can help you approach troubling situations positively.

• De-catastrophize. Do not overreact to events. Ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? How likely is it that the worst will happen? What can I do even if the worst happens?

• Use hopeful statements. Be kind and encourage yourself. Pessimism (always thinking the worst) can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Tell yourself: Even though it is tough, I can handle this situation. I can change.

• Forgive yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, but they are not permanent reflections of you as a person. You can learn from your mistakes.

• Stay on task. Focus on what you need to do. Taking action will make you feel better.

• Focus on progress. Focus on the positive changes in your life. For example, what has gone well recently? What do you like about yourself? What personal skills have helped you cope with challenging situations in the past? If you find it difficult to cope with troubling situations, do not get discouraged. Instead, consider them a challenge or sign to practice new, realistic thinking patterns.

Challenging Distorted (Addictive) Thoughts

This four-step process can help you assess your addictive thinking and learn how to create a new recovery belief system.
  1. Listen to your thoughts. What are you saying to yourself?

  2. Identify the addictive thought

  3. Challenge the addictive thought

  4. Replace the addictive thought with a recovery belief — a more realistic and accurate self-talk statement. For example, consider the self-talk statement, “I can look for a bit.” Ask yourself: 1. What am I thinking? 2. Is this a distortion? Yes, it’s an addictive belief. 3. Is it true? No, it’s not.

    A new recovery belief: I can’t look at all. If I do look, I’ll keep looking, so I won’t look. I can cope without looking. My week will be way better if I don't look.

  5. Pray: “Father, help me to change my thought patterns. Give me the faith to believe what you say.”
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
Exercise is a key. Movement makes us feel good. Write out a plan for exercise and for alternate activities. Studies show that we are twice as likely to succeed with a plan when we write it down.
Copy and paste quitting articles that will help you. Then write out your plan. When, where, how. It works.
 

Gordon 7

Well-Known Member
A desire for normal pleasure leads to a focus on pleasure that is short-term and one that controls and enslaves us. A desire for the Holy Spirit's self-control leads to a type of pleasure that is clean and long-term.

We increase self-control by decreasing bad things and increasing good things. One example of that is to cut out a risky TV show and replace it with a cleaner show. Another idea is to set up an hour of a new way of thinking. One hour in the day where you have the most temptation. We plan a new way of life for that hour.

Pray: “Father, guide my eyes.”

My brother quit a case of beer day drinking habit just by deciding to quit. Why? Because he hated his addiction. Sometimes we still have some love for the thing that is destroying us.

Pray: “Father, help me to hate this addiction.” Praying this a lot really helps.
 
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