IF YOU ARE NEW HERE

IF YOU ARE NEW HERE

Welcome. This site has a ton of advice. But we all want something new to solve our problem. But the truth is, the fastest way to solve our problem is with something old. Advice you get from today's forum could be very helpful. But, you could fill up 50 pages in a google doc if you look at all the old stuff on this site. Plus, it will not take you very long to figure out which people are giving a lot of tips on how to quit. So you can read their posts back from the beginning of time.

Secondly, fill up a Google doc or Word doc with tips. Then study those tips daily and most importantly, start to implement them into your life daily. You can choose to read 20% or more of your new “book,” every day. You can delete tips that you thought were great (but aren't really great for you). You can start a top 20 tips for quitting and work at seeing which tips should be in your top 20. You can move certain things to the front and demote others to the back to make sure you are working on the best things first.

If you fill up your book and put in the work, life will improve.

 

Have a time and a place to work on addiction every day. Quitting starts to increase joy.

 

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.

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  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.

 

The Bible says: "Take every thought captive." If it tells you to do that, it means you "can" do it. The first step to success is to remind yourself to do it every day. Then, write out a list with 5 or 10 things that you should be thinking about. Include 1 or 2 of the quitting addictions things you are trying to work on.

Secondly, realize that satan will pop sinful thoughts into your head. But now you are prepared to take them captive. You reject his thoughts (that lead to destruction) and you look at your list and replace that thought with a good one.

If you make this into a permanent habit great things will happen!

 

“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” Psalm 119:9.

Some people read the Bible every day and still fall every third day. Some add to that, by reading a key verse about lust every day. Or 2, or 3, or 4. Taking heed means remembering what the Bible says at moments of temptation. It means knowing it, it means believing it.

I'm not above average at overcoming lust. But... I know exactly what the Bible says about it. And that knowledge gives me fear.

Fear of heroin is good. Fear of punching your annoying volleyball coach (who makes your daughter cry) is good. Fear of driving 130 mph is good. Fear of looking with lust is good.

Today, increase your fear of the bad things that are killing you.

Pray: “Father, fill me with Your wisdom.” Proverbs one says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Following that first verse can turn a life from sorrow and point it towards joy. Embrace wisdom, embrace purity – they will lead you to freedom.

 

The number 1 key to quitting is to study and pray until God shows you which permanent habits you must have to quit. Then it is just a matter of time.

 

Jesus prepared for temptation with prayer. He fought temptation with the Word. He had the Word memorized so that He knew exactly which verses to quote to satan.

 

My latest article The Pyramid has no verse memorization required. That might be better for you.
But it is a fact that Jesus prepared for temptation with prayer and he fought temptation with the Word.

 

When I was young I looked at sin as something I wasn't supposed to do. Today, I realize that God created me with a purpose in mind. Am I supposed to be worshiping and praising God? Should I be praying about helping others? Should I be doing good works?

What does God want us to do? Consider praying:

“Father, show me the plans that You have for me.”

Genesis 39:9 “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

When our lives lack purpose one sin seems like a simple negative. Then sin multiplies until it ruins us.

It is wise to consider one sin a great wickedness. It is wise to consider one look at sinful things as sin against God.

When we have wisdom, we avoid the trap. We stay free to be the shining light that God wants us to be. Consider praying:

“Father, give me the courage to be a shining light for You.”

Finally, today I look at sin as something that will cause destruction and keep me from joy.

Consider praying: “Father, show me the full destruction of sin?”

Consider praying: “Father, help me to hate sin.”

It is wise to love God and hate sin so that your life is filled with light.

Jesus is a spectacular light. Always work on the habit of running from sin so that He can shine through you.

 

NoFap can give you up to 25 great quitting ideas every month. But it is important to prioritize which ideas you should work on the most. You will often hear about acquiring the habit of turning from lust. Should you work on it 20 times as much as other things? Yes, in fact work on it all month until it is a habit. The reason why is because it is a top 5 skill to learn to quit porn.

I shared what are my top skills for quitting here.

With every skill for quitting, think about how much you should work on it.


Today, I am writing about keeping hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
God wants us turning from lust, but also consistently praying about something scriptural that we want. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to turn from lust, and help me to have hope.”

If you struggle with hope, quote this verse twice daily and pray this prayer often.

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.

Romans 12:12 ESV
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
To rejoice in all things is connected with hope.

Isaiah 40:31 ESV / But they who wait for 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.

Romans 15:4 ESV / 4,149 helpful votes
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Reading the scripture gives us hope.

Today analyze how important focusing on hope is for you. If it is hugely important find verses on hope so that you can print off a page or 2 to study daily. If it is only a tiny need for you, study it for a day and move on tomorrow.

Consider writing down 2-3 skills that you should work on daily until they are habits. These habits will become the foundation that you need for quitting.

 

Cheating happens if we fail to consistently review the destruction that it causes.
This week I was on vacation and saw something that I thought was quite spectacular. That led to my article earlier this week because I looked, and then looked again. Then I made a trivial travesty of repentance, leading to a dark day.
What if we "knew" what we are looking at when we look with lust? Are we looking at a beautiful person who is showing too much? Yep, but that is not what we are "really" seeing. What we are really seeing is a portal that leads very quickly to darkness, depression, and destruction.
What if we made it a habit to remind ourselves of what we are really looking at "every" time we are tempted to look, or when we started to have a lustful thought? Consider praying:
"Father, remind me that when I fall into lust, I enter a portal that leads to darkness, depression, and destruction."
But what if you have constant temptation and would never remember that when temptation appears? Simply pray that prayer when you do remember it.
How many times do you need to read this prayer so that you make it a habit to pray it? How many notes and reminders do you need? How important is it to you to please Jesus, and to avoid darkness, depression, and destruction?
Learning this habit gives us a great tool to fight with.

 

We need to know exactly what we are working on to conquer lust, today, this week, and this month. To start, it is vital to form a habit of spending a block of time at this site "every" day. Consider setting a time and setting an alarm every day until you make it into a habit.
Second, work on the #1 thing you need to change for the month as often as possible. You can copy and paste any of my articles into a Word file or Google doc so that you have a huge # of tips to fight against the #1 thing that causes you to fall.
Third, think about the 10 issues that cause you to fall or get down. Things like anger, depression, bad TV habits, people problems, or hopelessness. Take extra notes when you read articles that are about things that often affect you.
Fourth, solve today's problems if possible. Today I am not content with anything. So, I have already prayed a dozen times: "Father, help me to be content." I will probably pray it another dozen times. To solve today's problems try putting your issue in the search. So for today, I could put "content, or contentment" in the search at this site. That technique often works, but if it doesn't you can put your issue in a Google search. They certainly have a lot of advice for many problems. One can also put "content, Christian." Then Google will bring up articles on both subjects so that you will get more information that is Bible oriented.
Every day, at the same time, consider working on changes you need to make for today and for this month. It will give you the skills you need to succeed.

 

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, and praise increases God's love in us.
5 “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
Sinful pleasure = darkness and depression. Being radiant is better.

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."
Sinful pleasure starts to and eventually drains everything from us. Lacking nothing is better.

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 Pray to be filled with love so that you can do good effectively. #5 Study these 5 traits that Psalm 34 says to have. They will prepare you to do good and to have a great life.

 

The Rule of 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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