I wrote that life is a grand illusion, and when we get wrong habits the price we pay is destruction. We all think wrong. To start to think right we study the Bible. James says to pray for one another and that the “Prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Today, will you commit to setting an alarm and praying for 5 minutes for people on this site? Today, will you commit to focusing on living right so that your prayer has great power? To break free of the grand illusion start making it a habit to “list” what is destroyed, or dies, or starts to die, or partially dies when we give in to lust. Here is my list. Over the last week I did not stare at any female at the beach or on TV, but, we all have our silly games to get around the rules. We need to check clearly that female over there, to make sure whether she is someone we need to turn away from. Or, we need to stop forward fasting early to make sure we don't miss something from the show. I did bend the rules this week so I will try to list what was affected. #1 I always pray for boldness. When I slip into sin my boldness quickly fades. #2 I always pray to increase in love. When I slip into lust, my albility to love starts to die, and sometimes is completely dead (temporarily). #3 When I slip into lust or sin, relationships become a struggle. #4 When I bend the rules, anger starts to rule again. #5 When I bend the rules, I am running from joy. When I fight to repent rapidly and fight to stay clean, I begin running toward joy again. Second, the list becomes filled with a lot of really destructive things if we continue in lust. But, it is still wise to have a list because your list is teaching you exactly what the wages of sin is. Today, start your list of what happens when you fall into lust. It will help inspire you to act differently next time. Today, commit to being in God's will by committing to praying for people at this site for 5 minutes daily. These are the types of actions that start to put you on the road away from loneliness, on a road toward freedom, and joy.
John in the Bible says to abide in the Word (the Bible). Thomasnelsonbibles.com noted: “Words the Bible uses besides “abide” (1 John 2:14) include “meditate” (Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8), “dwell” (Colossians 3:16), “bind” (Deuteronomy 6:7), “receive” and “search” (Acts 17:11), “hide” (Ps. 119:11), and, “hold fast” (1 Corinthians 15:2).” We start to abide in God's Word by reading His Word daily. It is a vital daily habit for quitting. Second, we meditate on His Word. Today I meditated on Bible verses about strength, and love. I have several one page printouts of key topics that I keep with my Bible. Third, we dwell on certain passages to achieve goals. I have spent a lot of time dwelling on Psalm one. It tells us how to start being blessed. I have dwelled on a lot of passages that tell us what we need to do to be blessed. Fourth, to bind is to make a full obligation to doing things God's way. This full commitment leads to freedom. Fifth, to receive and search. We commit to solving today's problems (and every days problems) by searching for Spiritual answers. We search here at this site, we search for Bible verses on the problem, and, we search at Google. For example, if anger is todays issue, you can search in Google, “anger, Christian.” You will get a bunch of ideas about how to solve “Todays” problem in a Godly way. Or better yet, search “verses, anger.” When you “always” abide in the Word, you will “always” make progress. When you abide in the Word you will always be learning how to improve relationships and how to fight loneliness. Make the Bible your consistent guide. It always leads to freedom.
Today I watched "Jesus Revolution" on Netflix. It is my new favorite Christian movie. It is set in the early 70s and the theme of it is that people are searching for something real. Searching for a real answer. For the hippies of that generation, finally, someone started telling them about Jesus. And once they were fully committed to Him they started to find joy. But, often people are told to quit drugs, and they are not told what to do. Second, like the people in the movie, my dad was always filled with joy and he always told me to pray to care about souls. Tip #1 If you want a real answer to the questions in life consider praying: "Father, help me to hate sin, and help me to care about souls." "Father, take away this spirit of lust and show me how to find joy." Every prayer needs to be 100% sincere, but with these prayers it is easy. How many hundreds of times do we need to pray about these complicated topics in order to make progress? For me, it was a lot of times. Third, the leaders and preachers in Jesus Revolution were highly focused on helping people. In my life, every time I am around people who are striving to help others and be in God's will... I am always impressed with their high level of joy. Fourth, I went to several Christian camps as a kid and about half of the time, I felt like certain Christians were living in their own personal Garden of Eden. Plus, my dad was like that, and I had two aunts and one uncle like that. These people inspired me to go to war with lust and pray prayers like the ones above, endlessly. This month, strive to make changes in your life so that you get at least a glimpse of your own personal Garden of Eden. It can happen.
Praying always is important. But, our prayer must be thoughtful. If we are always praying: “Father, take away this spirit of lust and fill me with Your love” we need to see that we are making “some progress.” For example, Jonny prays this prayer all the time, but he is not very good at “Turning from lust.” So in this case he should first pray, “Father, help me to turn instantly from lust.” He should be planning and thinking about turning. He should read and memorize articles about turning. He should consider praying this prayer often until he has made it a habit to turn from lust. Third, try to make progress on “some” sins with prayer. While we should pray always to fight lust, if it is a deep-rooted habit, quick progress through prayer will be hard. So, at the same time go to war with some other things like anger, covetousness, or pride. For me, pride runs in my family, but when I attack it with prayer, it starts to disappear. Fourth, pray about kindness, teachability, hope, courage, love, helping others, purity, and obedience. Then practice praising the Lord, and giving thanks always. Then pray for wisdom and direction. Then pray that God's will be done. Fifth, learning to pray about a bunch of things starts to help you stop thinking about lust all the time, and that leads to success. Plus, if you make it a habit to try to do things God's way, your prayers about overcoming loneliness will start to make more progress.
Yesterday I was very tired and struggling. Instead of looking up Bible verses to learn from my situation, I watched TV. Please learn from my stupidity. Psalm 34:17-20 ESV When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” One thing I did do right was I was focusing on turning from lust, and I kept trying to pray. Those things did help, but what if I had studied the above verse for 10 minutes and prayed over it? This great verse is a reminder of the benefits for those striving to live right. The Lord hears and delivers them. The Lord is near to them. This is info I could have used yesterday. Romans 15:13 ESV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Again, should have read this verse about 5 times. 2 Corinthians 4:8 ESV We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” If I had studied the above 2 verses, I think this one would have given me the faith to have had a better day. Psalm 23:1-6 ESV A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...” Often, we are quick to punt (give up) when life gets tough. Instead, dig into the power of scripture by using the exact verses you need to get through what is knocking you down. Today I searched “verses despair” and got these great verses Make it a habit to “Always think about how scripture can help you solve today's challenges.” It is a key to quitting.
Wikihow wrote: “Build a support network for yourself. Overcoming your addiction will be easier if you have lots of support. Surround yourself with friends and loved ones who will be there for you.” Consider praying: “Father, help me to turn from lust, and fill me with Your love.” There are two reasons to increase in love. First, the Bible says to do that. Second, when we increase in love the support network (that we need) will be stronger for us. Wikihow added: “Additionally, join a support group to help you get through the tough times and celebrate your successes. To give yourself the best chances, start seeing a therapist or counselor who can help you create a treatment plan and work through the issues that led to your addiction. Choose a support group that shares your core beliefs. Some programs are based around religion, so you might prefer a group that speaks to your beliefs.” Even in my tiny town one can see a Christian counselor at a reasonable price. If that is not available see if you can find a pastor or a priest. Second, realize who can help you. Many of us have a family member or friend who could give us all kinds of advice about quitting habits. Even if you can't tell them what you are quitting, just tell them you keep slipping into bad habits. Who knows, they may, or may not have advice, but they may be willing to do “activities” with you. We need alternative activities. If you always slip up when you get bored tell your support network that. Then they will better know how to support you. Third, be highly intentional in setting up time to spend with family and friends. If you are lonely pray every day about “trying” to be intentional in spending time with people. My brother is single and he “always” tries to make friends with a bunch of people. He is grumpy and opinionated, but sooner or later, he makes friends. Keep trying! Last, pick a new activity and try it every day this week for 10 minutes. Keep trying things until you find activities that you enjoy doing. Note: always make your new activity a Spiritual experience. You are not doing that activity for a 5-star thrilling experience. You are doing it to try to implement activities that are healthy. To find activities that will distract you. To form habits of “clean” activities. So pray a prayer before you start. Say “Praise the Lord” after you wreck a pop song while trying to learn how to play the guitar. Finally, realize that doing the new activity is the win. Finding something you really love at some point is better, but one way or the other... celebrate the win. You did an alternative activity. You are starting to do things God's way.
Say often regarding quitting: I will never give up. None of us has ever fallen when we “Refused to give up.” Second, say what the most important 3 things in your life are. Often our trials are not about these things. So when trials hit, give thanks often for the important things that you do have. Plus, the Bible does tell us to make giving thanks a habit. 1 Peter 5:10 ESV And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” There is power in often reading a verse like this one when trials hit. 1 Peter 4:12-13 ESV Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you “Share Christ's sufferings,” that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” Make it a habit to rejoice as you “Share Christ's sufferings.” Pray, “Father, I rejoice because my car is broken, my website is broken, fill in the blank with what is causing the trial. If we are about to get a big raise at work, we look forward to the test because we are thinking about what comes in the future. When we go through a Christian trial and rejoice in it, we may very well see huge progress in the war against lust.
I bought a used top-quality (A2000) baseball glove from my buddy. It was not very well broken in, but I knew that over time I could break it in and make it a good glove. I used it in every warm-up to every game, I put glove oil on it all the time, but it was still too tough to be flexible enough to use in a game. It is now over 2 decades later, and it is still too tough to be used in a competitive game. That must have been some tough cow. Second, I have a window that is the opposite of the glove. One day it was stuck. I pushed up on the windowsill with all my strength. The glass broke. Often life punches us in the jaw. In boxing, if a fighter has a “glass jaw” it means they get knocked down fast. For people fighting addiction, if our reaction to life punching us, is to break. Then, we will always struggle. We need to react to life punching us the way my leather glove reacts. Over my whole life, that glove has stayed tough and resilient. Consider praying: “Father, help me to react to life's problems like leather, tough, and resilient.” James 1:2-8 ESV Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Increase your toughness by counting it all joy when life punches you in the face. When my new worker crashed my other website this week I prayed: “Father, I rejoice that my website is crashed.” I had to pray it 5 times before I really started to shake it off. Finally, our weapons for fighting when life runs us over #1 Rejoice. #2 Give thanks. #3 Pray often about reacting like “leather” when life punches you in the face. We must endure trials, pressures, and blows in life. Always be ready, always have a plan. Be like leather.
Today, get fired up about going to war (through prayer) about negative emotions. I have written about 7 times in the last 30 days about creating habits of how to react to negative emotions. If negative emotions sink you, you have my permission to print out a bunch of my articles on this topic. Get fired up about understanding “why” God is so against lust. Consider praying: “Father, teach me why you are so against lust. Show me the specific destruction it causes.” If you don't understand why, pray this daily because unless you do you will never: Get fired up about turning from lust. A huge key to quitting. Get fired up about thinking new thoughts. A huge key to quitting. When we think better thoughts we act better and people like us better. Get fired up about helping others. That is what God wants us to do. Finally, analyze which of these areas you are most weak in. Then find extra articles from the past for those subjects and get your printer fired up (you have my permission to print out my articles). A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.
Yesterday, I had a really rotten day. Today started out just as poorly. As an emergency measure, I made scripture a huge priority. I had 6 printouts of Bible verses on my bed and I read every one of them. Then I put on the audio Bible of the Psalms and listened to 7 of them. One of the verses was 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Today I was strongly insulted. Paul said to delight in insults so that Christ's power may rest on me. Today I delighted in the insults. Today I had hardships, I rejoiced so that I would not deny Christ's power. Today I had persecutions, and difficulties. I tried to use a completely Biblical route to solve them. The results were not what I expected. I thought this solution would help me survive the hurricane. Instead, some of the verses came to life for me and my day started to turn around (which was completely impossible). Quickly, solutions came to me about very complex problems. Second, even if the other person is 90% wrong, we are usually not perfect either. When we dig into scripture we start to realize our lack of perfection, and the scripture prompts us to change. And when we humbly are willing to do things God's way, we make a vital connection to God. Reading His Word is a vital connection. Straining to do what it says causes a vital connection. Praying about doing what It says causes a vital connection. Finally, all of that scripture caused me to focus on this verse: “2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Today, the scripture is prompting me to forgive. I am trying to start that process. I need to speed up that process, or I will be even more lonely, and temptation will increase. When our minds are right, we can quit.
The last week was hard for me. Today, I will print out verses on forgiveness, because I need to forgive so I will have Godly thoughts instead of wrong thoughts. Is there anything you need to print out? Or look up ie “verses anger,” or “verses ______?” We learned from David's life that when he was thinking right (through digging into scripture, prayer, and praise) he was always a hero. When he was thinking wrong, and looking in a wrong way... he got in trouble and suffered to an unbelievable degree. Consider praying: “Father, help me to turn from lust, and fill me with Your love.” Consider spending 30 minutes per day on YouTube consuming Christian content. Put in their search a Christian trait you want to improve in. That kind of content helps your thoughts rise and increase in purity. Second, conquer thoughts by fighting back with a prayer every time you have a lustful thought. Doing that is a key way to obey the Biblical command to take every thought captive. If you make that your goal (I did) you will have started a technique that is huge in the battle against lust. This week has been a bad week, and a lonely week, but I aggressively dug into scripture, prayer, and praise to fight back against depression and temptation. I learned a lot and I made it through it.
People try the drug Oxy and think, “That felt good, I want to do that as often as possible.” Instead, if they were thinking “Long-term” they would think: I don't want to be homeless, broke, and broken. Consider writing Long-term at the top of a piece of paper. Then as you read a bunch of articles write down the dates and titles of articles that push long-term thinking. We work because, in the long-term, it is good for us. We eat fruits and vegetables because, in the long term, it is good for us. We read the Bible, pray, forgive, and love because, in the long term, it is good for us. Second, addiction is thinking... “Nothing in the universe can help me right now except _______.” Never say that. Instead say: “Other things can help me and I am going to “Try” them.” Consider memorizing that quote. If your world is falling apart, a bike ride with your buddy, followed by digging into scripture will be a bit slower at first, but it will help you. Third, consider memorizing this question for use when tempted: “Why do I have to fall.” There are 12-20 common reasons for falling. Most of the solutions to fight back against these reasons are covered on this site. Consider noting the articles and dates written for your top reasons. Finally, consider saying 5 times per day: “I will keep fighting for a solution.” When we put in the work, life gets good again faster.
Ephesians 3:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. When someone has ripped us to shreds, we should consider quoting this verse twice a day until we can forgive them. We all believe satan uses people in the movies... but we forget that he uses people who are right in front of us as well. I also forget that when addiction was “driving” me, I was very dark and abusive. Second, God knows “how much” we can forgive someone right now. If you have someone who hurt you for years, one quick phone call to just touch base is a start. It is obeying the command to forgive. Consider praying: “Father, take away my spirit of lust and help me to forgive others that way You forgave me.” Third, when we forgive, we increase the power of the Holy Spirit in us. We need the Holy Spirit's power in us to help us quit. We need His power to help us help others. Forgiving others may be a top 3 way to increase in the Spirit. The #1 way is getting scripture “in us.” #2 Spending time in prayer. #3 A tie between forgiving, and loving others. Fourth, do you want to be happy? Three of the best ways to increase happiness are to learn (and pray) about rapid forgiveness. #2 Learn (and pray) about running from and turning from lust. #3 Every day, consider praying, “Father, what do You want me to work on today.” Granted He is not going to talk to you any more than He talks to me. But... if we have repented of our sins, it is amazing how often a thought pops into our head when we give God a chance to be involved in our lives. Finally, today is yet another day when it seems like the whole world is against me. To try to get connected with God I watched a bunch of Lauren Daigle videos. It helped.
God told Adam and Eve: “If you eat from the fruit of “that” tree, you will certainly die. The question is... What did God mean by that? They kept breathing. What died when they ate the fruit? Their being allowed to live in paradise died. Their being allowed to live in a full blessing died (There were curses as a result of eating the fruit). But I think that the biggest thing that died (or partially died) was their closeness to God. Before the fall They walked in the garden with God. They talked all the time. They had this great perfect relationship. When I first got saved I had this great, perfect relationship with God. Then I made a big mess of it. Now I am always trying to get back to that great perfect relationship. As we start doing things God's way, we start to renew that personal relationship, which helps with loneliness. When we go to war with lust and sin, we start to make progress toward that. In my experience, we can make a ton of progress, and when we do, joy starts to increase.
We love Joseph because he was our great example of running from lust. But often we forget to ask “why” he did that. When we look at Joseph and start at the beginning, we see that he was a great dreamer. He wanted to do great things, and he wanted to do great things for God. In every situation, Joseph knew that God had a plan for his life, just like he has a plan for our lives. When Joseph was thrown into a pit, he still believed that God had a plan for him. When we get wrecked in life, we need to gain the habit of turning from lust and continue to believe that God has a plan for our lives. When Joseph was thrown into prison he still believed that God had a plan, and he still continued in constant prayer so that he could fulfill that plan. At every bad turn in life, Joseph believed that God's way was best and that God had something for him to do. He always solved his loneliness problem by turning to scripture and prayer. When Joseph's great temptation came, he ran from it. He was able to run from it because before the temptation happened, he had practiced turning from lust and sin because he knew they would interfere with his purpose. He believed that God had something for him to do despite every signal around him flashing, no, stop, it's too hard. In the pit he believed when sold into slavery, when in prison, when in a hostile foreign country, in every impossible situation, he believed that God had something for him to do. He was right, God had something for him to do. He ended up 2nd in command in the most powerful country in the world. If we also believe that God has a plan with all our heart, and if we prepare to turn from sin, we will be able to run from lust, just like Joseph did.
Psalm 34 1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” Consider focusing daily on always giving the Lord praise. Praise was one reason why God favored David. When we do things God's way and praise Him, He draws nearer to us. That helps with loneliness. 5 “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Look to him and see what happens. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Finally, we end with what to do. We should make it a habit to turn from lust. But if we skip the next command: “To do good,” it will be twice as hard to turn from evil. Consider praying: “Father, show me how to “do good.” Teach me Your ways.” To do good: #1 Be willing to do good. #2 Be prepared through Bible study and prayer to do good. #3 Make it a habit to be available today (and every day) to do good. #4 Study these 5 traits that Psalm 34 says to have. They will prepare you to do good and to have a great life.
To quit, every day we need “Foundations” that we can depend on. #1 Daily Bible-study. #2 Preparation with prayers. #3 A time and a place to study at this site for 20 minutes or longer. Second, Geno Smith is an NFL player who was drafted by the New York Jets. In game after game, for season after season, he was told: “You can't do it.” When the Jets dumped him, that was a loud, “You can't do it.” In year 7 of his career (After being dumped by 3 teams), Geno was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. Now he was being trained by the great head coach Pete Carroll. Day after day, week after week, Pete showed Geno what to do. But the bigger point is... Geno never gave up. Geno kept working, he kept believing. Day after day he worked on the foundational, fundamentals of being a winning quarterback. Then in 2022, Geno became Seattle's starting quarterback. He won his first game and he kept on winning. Pete and Geno had turned Seattle's fortunes from bad to good. Now they were winning and they are still winning. Third, I gave 3 foundational ideas. We need a bunch of these foundational habits to quit for good. Today, consider making these 3 ideas into habits, plus think about two other foundational habits that you vitally need. Geno figured out what foundational habits he needed. He fully believed he could do it, and he put in the work. Today Geno is a star playing for the Seattle Seahawks.
Pursuing the character of Christ helps us quit. Jesus always prayed. Always be prepared to pray. Take prayers with you everywhere on 3 by 5 cards, or on a printout. At some point you will have a bunch of them memorized. Righteousness is desiring living right over fleshly indulgence. Study blessings, and do what it takes to get them. Living right is “knowing” that short-term pleasure with added destruction is never worth it. That thinking long-term (God's way) starts to lead to joy. Consider praying: “Father, show me what living in Your continual presence would be like.” Tip: The more we live in it, the less loneliness we will have and the more joy we start to have. Second, if you have 200 lustful thoughts per day, 90% of them are from satan. When you fight back every time with prayer, or especially with scripture, how discouraged will he be? Answer, quite a bit. If you fight back every time you might be shocked that those thoughts drop to only 10-20 per day. That is just the start, but it is progress. Proverbs 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. It is easy to see death in an Oxy overdose. It is easy to see something starting to die when a person drinks round the clock. It is easy to see something partially dying when a gambler gambles every penny and begins to ruin every relationship. But it is harder to see it when it is me. I am an expert at ignoring the destruction I cause myself. I do everything to convince others it is not happening. Consider praying: “Father, show me exactly what my consequences are.” “Father, help me to flee my lusts, and help me to pursue living right.” It is hard to think about pursuing living right too often. Consider praying this often and pursue it hourly. It will light up your life.
When the Lord's prayer says: “Hallowed be Thy Name, it has a number of meanings. When I was young I thought, “There is this far-away God who made up a bunch of rules for us.” But God's commands are not arbitrary at all. He knows exactly what is best for us. When He tells us not to look with lust, it is the smartest thing in the world to realize that our life is better if we stop lusting. So when you say great is Thy Name, consider adding: “Father, You are right, lust messes me up. You are right, lust causes destruction, You are right, sin leads to darkness, and darkness leads to depression. You are right, lust kills my joy, kills my purpose, and it starts to kill everything else that is fun when I focus on lust incessantly. Your laws are wise and perfect for me. God knows exactly how I should act so that I can live a great life. Second, since lust leads to fears, anger, and other negative emotions, consider becoming obsessed with planning to fight lust for a block of time every day. What time will you block off for this fight? How long will you commit to the fight every day? Third, some don't quite believe the long lists of the negatives of lust that I write about constantly. If that is you, consider copying and pasting all the negative things that you read, that are a result of habitual lust, into a Google doc or Word file. Then study that list over the course of the year to see if your consequences are similar to mine. Or... you could consider printing out the above-underlined paragraph. God knows exactly how mixed up I am. But when I humbly tell Him that He is right, wise, great, and correct about lust, He will very likely start to lead me into greater wisdom concerning my folly. Finally, telling God how “right” He is about lust is a great way of emphasizing the words “Hallowed be Thy Name.” It can be a habit that helps you break “The habit.”
