Sex/Porn freedom in 30 days: day 26
Are you going to spend enough time working on getting your addiction under control? Every time you do what you need to do to change you are putting another bullet in that tiger who is trying to destroy you.
The great thing is that you get to choose the weapon you need to have to succeed in killing your enemy! I would be scared stiff if I had to attack a tiger with a low powered .22 caliber rifle. However if I was sitting in a tank I would have no fear at all. I would go right at him. So the question is: how do we attack this vicious opponent with the proper weapons?
First of all set up a time and a place that you will use every day for your attack. The greatest hunters are not always the most accurate shooters in the world. But they are always people who consistently hunt all the time. When hunting season opens they are there hunting every morning and they are back at twilight because there are often great chances at that time as well.
When you set up a specific time to attack your addiction every day you are using a high powered weapon to attack. Don’t just say I will work on my addiction at 7:00 every day. Say instead “I will work on my addiction from 7:00 until 7:30 every day”. Also be specific about where you will work on it if space is a problem. If you have a spouse and a couple of kids tell them clearly that this is your space for that time every day.
Exercise #1 – Say to yourself: Sex or Porn have caused me loss, they have in the past and they will in the future. It may be helpful to complete this exercise morning noon and night.
Temptation for lust is like a huge bonfire. The more fuel we put on it the hotter it burns. Giving in to temptation is like putting gas on a fire. Doing other activities and thinking about other things is like putting water on a fire.
Exercise #2 – Repeat this statement twice each day: ”This temptation will disappear if I don’t act on it. If I fall it will return and it will be even stronger next time. If I don’t give in it will go away and someday it will go away for good. I have the discipline to overcome this”.
Continue to read the Purpose Driven Life.
The Classic Christian Writings book “Show me Your Love” noted the following:
“Christ is our advocate. He appears in the presence of God to prevent any new alienation and to continue the state of friendship and peace between God and us. He makes our cause His own and acts for us in heaven. He is touched with a most tender understanding of our troubles and dangers. He is not only one with us by way of representation but also one with us in respect of sympathy and affection.
Christ our advocate tracks our cause and business in heaven as His great and primary design and business. It is as if our concerns were so attended to by Him there that all the glory and honor which is paid Him in heaven would not divert Him one moment from our business. He pleads the cause of believers by His blood. Unlike other advocates, it is not enough for Him to lay out only words, which is a cheaper way of pleading, but he pleads for us by the voice of His own blood. Every wound He received for us on earth is a mouth opened to plead with God on our behalf in heaven. No friend in the world is so generous and bountiful to this as Jesus Christ is to believers.
No friend in the world loves His friend with as impassioned and strong affection as Jesus Christ loves believers. There is no end of the account of Christ’s love.”
Pray: Father help me to align with you because when I am doing things your way -we are more powerful than any substance can be.
Paul Hudson wrote a great article about what things people with passion do. I have added 4 of his idea’s which are great for fighting temptation here:
“Passions give us purpose, but more than that, they make us feel that we have purpose in our lives. Being passionate isn’t just about knowing – it’s also about feeling. That’s what makes passions so important; they make us feel that we’re on the right path in life and give us hope for a happy and exciting future. Passionate people lead significantly different lives from their less-than-enthusiastic counterparts.
1. Always have their passions on their mind.
They’re basically obsessed – hopefully in a healthy manner. Healthy passions are healthy obsessions. You can’t keep your mind from returning to the topic and can’t help but get excited by those thoughts. Passionate people live in a world in which the few things that matter to them in life basically involve the passions they love.
2. Willing to risk more and put more on the line.
If you’re passionate, you have a clear understanding of what your purpose in life is – if only your purpose for that very moment. For this reason, you give much less importance to other things. Therefore you’re willing to risk more for the thing(s) that you find most important, that you are most passionate about. Those that are passionate are much more willing to give up things that don’t fall in their scope of passion.
3. Devote their lives to their dreams.
Life is filled with things worth doing and things not worth doing. That which we are most passionate about is what we believe to be worthwhile, everything else seems to be wasteful and lacking. Passionate individuals gradually gravitate towards their passions and away from the rest that life has to offer. They know what will make them happy and are willing to ignore the rest.
4. Always think positively about the future.
Their minds are always looking ahead, looking at what can be instead of what is. This has its good sides and bad, but nevertheless, they are always thinking about their next move.
The one great outcome is that they always have something to look forward to and are excited to make it happen. As long as they remember to hang around in the present from time to time, they don’t run into too much trouble.”
For More Of His Thoughts And Ramblings, Follow Paul Hudson On Twitter And Facebook.
Wes MCAdams gave a great sermon on passion:
“Romans 12:9-11 says, “Let love be without hypocrisy Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
That is a passage full of passion and excitement words. Words like abhor, cling, devoted, diligence, and fervent. I see at least four things in this passage about which every one of us should be excited!
- (Abhor) Hate What is Evil. Christians have a hard time using the word hate. Instead we use words like “dislike.” Well that’s not good enough! God expects us to HATE evil! Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.” It is time that Christians starting hating evil. Of course I’m not saying we should hate evil people! I am saying we should want no part of their evil. We should not welcome it into our homes, our schools, or our minds!
- Cling to What is Good. We usually “like” what is good. But that is not good enough! We must be glued to it. We must be so committed to good that we are inseparable! Paul says we are to, “hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). Things like moderation, discipline, fellowship, prayer, worship, and service are “good” things; be glued to them!
- Be Devoted to One Another. It is time that Christians learn to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. That doesn’t mean you tolerate each other for a couple of weeks during worship! That means you are family! You are passionate about helping, serving, teaching, and even admonishing one another. When you see a brother in danger of losing his soul you don’t gossip about it; you go and talk to him! Church, be devoted to your family!
- Serving the Lord. Paul said not to be lagging in diligence and to be fervent in our service. The word fervent literally means to be boiling over! Can you really say you are boiling over in your service to God? In 1 Corinthians 15:58 Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” Can you really say you’re “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” When was the last time you truly wore yourself out in service to the king? If you’re not busy, then it’s time to get busy! You are never more useful than when you are selflessly serving the Lord with everything you have to offer!
Keys to overcoming sex addiction and porn addiction are to not being lukewarm! Let’s commit ourselves to giving everything we have! Let’s commit ourselves to being passionate in our Christianity!”
Passion is a key to quitting addiction. Have a passion for your work. If you don’t currently have a job it is important to have a passion for helping others or for working for your church or charity. If your job stinks have a passion for working hard and doing your job for the glory of God. Have a passion for your hobbies and activities. Just going through the motions leads to boredom which leads to depression which leads to addiction. I play golf with plastic balls in my backyard. This year I am not improving – that makes it less fun – less of a good distraction from addiction. Today I am going to start improving my passion, watching golf videos, upping my effort. Do I care if I am ever good at golf? I really don’t. I do it for a bit of exercise (having a passion for exercise is vital – it makes you tougher and it makes you feel better). And do it as a distraction from unhealthy things.
Have a passion for reading the Bible. It is a fact that people who read 5 chapters of the Bible every day have a lower chance of going back to their addiction (read as many as you can). It is also likely true that people who have a passion for reading great Christian books have a lower chance as well.
Spend 5 minutes thinking about what you need to have more of a passion for.
Read John 23, 2nd Corinthians 7 and Proberbs 21,
If this article has helped you, share it with your friends. Share buttons are below the index.
Thank you for reading day 26 of this program on fighting temptation.
Index
Day 1: Overcoming cravings
Day2 : Is God real?
Day 3: Quitting addiction exercises
Day 4: Getting negative emotions out
Day 5: You can never increase the amount of pleasure that you can have for the month by going back to an addiction
Day 6: Sin leads back to addiction
Day 7: Worshiping God helps us overcome addiction
Day 8: What causes you to stay addicted
Day 9: Develop positive addicitons
Day 10: Overcoming negative emotions
Day 11: You have some self control
Day 12: Always have a list of alternate activities to do when temptation hits
Day 13: Only living water can satisfy you for good
Day 14: Learning form the story of Adam and Eve
Day 15: Blessings and curses
Day 16: Self Control
Day 17: Self Control continued
Day 18: Learning to pray
Day 19: What kind of prayers does God answer
Day 21: Finding a Church that can help you
Day 22: Why is it so hard to quit
Day 23: plan plan plan
Day 24: Don’t condemn yourself
Day 25: Get the anger and negative emotions out