Gambling Freedom in 60 Days: Day 45
Therefore, it is not surprising that our gambling careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could gamble like other people. The idea that somehow, some day, we will control our gambling is the great obsession of every compulsive gambler. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it to the gates of prison, insanity, or death. (GA, 1989a, p. 2)
Jonah had a bad day on top of his bad week. To make matters work he had to drive all over his old stomping grounds where temptation would be high. At first he went to war with his old temptations – passing them by and praying earnestly. But he was totally exhausted and as time went by his enthusiasm started to wane. He started to pass a place of temptation and stare at it for a second. Soon thoughts of the old days popped up and he would entertain them for a few seconds before repelling them.
Then to top it off he drove straight into a blizzard. He became quite distraught and he turned on his old heavy metal music (some of which was openly demonic). Driving into the storm he determined to never slow down. He passed car after car as he slipped all over the road.
By the mercy of God he made it home but upon arrival the temptation to sin was fierce. He did slip up with sin a bit but then he humbled himself before God and asked for forgiveness. This got him back on the right road and he stayed free from his main addiction.
Micah was also having a bad day on top of his bad week. He also had to drive all over his old stomping grounds where temptation would be high. At first he went to war with his old temptations – passing them by and praying earnestly. But them he started to pause to remember the old days. But – instead he sat straight up in his seat and reversed his mindset. He determined to fight with everything he had. He prayed repeatedly: Father, help me to turn aggressively from temptation (please only pray while driving if it is safe for you). He prayed: Father, bring people to stoptheaddictions, help them to be given some answers. He prayed for his rehab clinic: Father, I pray that your hand would be on the people at Teen challenge. Give them the wisdom they need to get clean.
He prayed about the top 5 reasons he wanted to quit his addiction. He reviewed the top 5 ways his addiction brought him destruction. He reviewed his top 7 techniques for overcoming temptation.
Both Micah and Jonah were determined to practice self-control. But Micah also added knowledge to his self-control. He is clean 39 weeks because he is a dedicated Christian now. He also is becoming an expert on techniques for quitting addiction.
He also drove straight into a blizzard. But he felt calm and confident – it was as if the Holy Spirit was right there with him. He simply pulled into a safe lane and he continued to pray, worship God and later he listened to some great Christian music. He had not had peace like this in the past, but now that he had it, he really liked it.
Determine to increase in knowledge during the good times. This will prepare you for a successful fight during the tough times.
How can you increase in knowledge?
Read Matthew 17, and Acts 9-10
Today I watched a show called Kingdom Connection. On my TV system it is on at 9:00 AM eastern on sunday morning. He had a guest Christine Caine on the show who runs a ministry to try to stop human trafficing. In 2013 there are an estimated 27 million people who are slaves. Many of these slaves are sold as sex slaves.
His guest told a dramatic story about how she rescued Three woman who were sex slaves in Turkey. The woman had been in slavery for over a year. When they were dramatially rescued one of the woman asked Christine “why are you here” Christine answered saying “There is a God in heaven who loves you and He has redeemed my life and He wants to help you”. She then told her about the love of Jesus and how He had changed her life.
The girl was crying, but then she asked Christine “if what you tell me about your God is true, why didn’t you come sooner”. This question had a dramatic impact on Christine. If the story of Jesus is true: how that He loves us, died for us, saves us, has mercy on us. If it is true, why are we not going sooner to help people in need.
This is why in a quitting gambling program we read the Bible every day. This is why in a quitting gambling program we read the purpose driven life and pray aggressively about finding our purpuse. We need to start very soon – helping people in need.
When Christine was asked what can we do. The first thing she said was that we can pray for their ministry. You can pray every day for her ministry, or 3 times a day, or 5 times a day. You can do the same for my ministry.
You can watch the full interview with Christine Caine at www.jentenzenfranklin.org
Quitting gambling is easy to do when you are doing something else.
Matthew 5 is about how we can change so that we will start to be blessed by God. www.relijournal.com noted the following
Jesus then goes on to tell his disciples that his people are the salt of the earth. However, if we lose our saltiness we become useless. If a seasoning has no flavor it has no purpose. It would no longer be a seasoning. If we make no effort to affect the world around us, we have little value to God. Salt is a natural cleanser. We are God’s holy and clean people. If we let the world take over us we lose our cleanliness. We should not blend in with everybody else. Instead, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best flavor in food.
Jesus also tells us that we are the light of the world, like a city on a mountain that is obvious for all to see. You cannot hide a city that is sitting on top of a mountain, especially in the dark because its light can be seen for miles. If we live for Jesus we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. Why should we hide that light anyway? Why should we keep quiet or go along with the crowd when we should speak up? Why should we let sin put our light out and ignore the needs of others? The answer is, we shouldn’t. We are God’s light for a reason. If a lamp doesn’t help people to see it isn’t worth much.
Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Fulfill your purpose – do something to help. Pray “Father, bring people to this website and give them a chance to overcome addiction, find your love, start to find their purpose and to start to find joy again.”
Say 3 times each day: I can’t control gambling. I will be happier in the long run if I quit 100%.
Index
Day one: Quitting addiction exercises
Day two: It is important to admit you are powerless
Day 3: Learn the right way to live
Day 4: Getting rid of negative emotions
Day 5: Remember – money lost is not yours. Don’t try to get it back or you will lose more.
Day 6: can you increase your pleasure by gambling?
Day 7: Staying clean in all ways helps you quit the addiction
Day 8: Decide what pain and pleasure you want
Day 9: Analyze what leads you back to your addiction
Day 10: Change your emotions and your mindsets. Stop believing that your big score will come in.
Day 11: Where the Spirit of the Lord is – there is liberty
Day 12: Learn how to worship God. Also try to develop positive addictions.
Day 13: Write out a letter saying why you want to quit
Day 14: Overcoming cravings and negative emotions
Day 15: You have some self control
Day 16: Have a list of coping statements. Have a list of substitute activities.
Day 17: How to find living water that will always satisfy you
Day 18: Do not have faulty beliefs abourt gambling odds
Day 19: Interview with a professional poker player
Day 26: Which prayers are answered quickly – which prayers time more time and persistence
Day 27: How to fill the vacuum that addiction caused
28: Finding a good church
29: Knowing why you can’t quit can help you plan how to quit
30: How to eliminate the vacuum created by quitting
31: Tripping your addiction trap. Overcoming sloth
32: You need clean people around you if you are going to stay clean
33: Use real math not gambling math
Day 34: Don’t condemn yourself
Day 35: Don’t test yourself to see if it is safe to gamble a little bit
Day 36: Knowing why you can’t quit can help you quit
Day 37: Do not chase pipe dreams
Day 38: Getting the anger out
Day 39: The vice of greed
Day 40: Specific planning helps break addiction
Day 41: Embrace the truth about gambling. Know your odds of hitting the big score.
Day 42: Quitting permanently
Day 43: Financial problems
44: Overcoming cravings