Drugs and Drinking no more, A 40 day program: Day 35
Coca Cola is the highest selling brand of soda in the world. In the 80’s Pepsi came out with the Pepsi taste test. They said try Coke and Pepsi in a blind taste test and see which one tastes better. 57% of people who took the test said they liked Pepsi better.
Pepsi sales shot through the roof and Coke panicked. They quickly came up with a sweeter New Coke. But within a few weeks Coke drinker revolted. They did not like the sweeter Coke. Coke panicked again and brought back old Coke now called Coke Classic bringing joy to the world again.
So is Pepsi better than Coke? Why did so many Coke lovers choose Pepsi in the test? It was because the first sip of Pepsi is sweeter but when you drink the whole bottle the sweetness is a negative for many people. Sin and addiction are exactly the same way, the first sip is sweet and fun. But quickly we remember we are again on the road to the Law of Diminishing returns.
When heavy temptation hits always pause to think about two things you can do right now that will give you increasing returns this week. Reject the short term pleasure and choose lasting long term joy.
Key Point: When temptation is hard pause, pray and plan what you can do right now that will give you increasing returns this week.
Addiction is usually the opposite of love. Plan ways every day for how you will treat others with love. Plan 5 ways on how you will show love to God today. Plan when you will have a time and a place for Bible study and prayer today.
Work on sleeping well today. Get enough sleep and if your sleep is inconsistent or restless start to study deep breathing exercises and learn how to use them. You can fight your addiction better if you are well rested.
God has things for you to do. But can He count on you? Did you help out at the shelter or Church a few times and then quit? Is chasing a good time more important to you than people? Of course not. Today renew your efforts to helping people!
What kills faithfulness: Apathy, sin and sometimes partying. Apathy: some people want GA or AA to help them but then you don’t want to find a way to help others. Sin: sin will make you hard so that you don’t care about helping others. Is sin keeping you from being the person you want to be?
God has more work for people than what is getting done. When you are learning how to do your part, maybe God will have mercy on you and help you not only to quit addiction but to also find joy and purpose.
If you are faithful helping others the Bible promises to bless you.
If you want to leave the habit of drugs or drinking memorize Proverbs 23 29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.”
Responsibility: Do we blame our past or other people or God for a willingness to do wrong? Do we mistakenly think we are not required to work, do chores, follow rules, be disciplined and be structured? Do I blame basic human desires for choices I willingly made? I must reject the lie I believed that I could go on living irresponsibly and ________ or __________ without consequences. The truth is that there are consequences to sin and rewards for doing things Gods way.
We are held responsible for our words, thoughts and actions by God. If we mess up we don’t blame others or our genetic makeup. We look in the mirror and ask ourselves: did I put in the work I need to put in to stay free –am I praying urgently? Romans 12:2 says we are to transform our-selves by the renewal of our mind. By reading the Bible we let Gods Word take up residence inside of us so much that it permeates all that we do.
If you feed the flesh you will fall. The best way to feed the Spirit is by reading the Bible. Saying yes to God gives us positive emotions like peace, hope, joy and improved self-control. Read your Bible to replace your thoughts with Gods thoughts.
Read a Bible chapter then meditate on the key points for 10 minutes. Give the Holy Spirit some time to change you. Do this for each of the 3-5 chapters you read each day.
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.”
Psalm 36:7
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Read Matthew 7, Proverbs 30 and James 3
- Pray: Father help me to have toughness to be able to say no to my habit.
- Checklist for avoiding relapse: Form a plan with new places or people or activities that will help you avoid relapse. Have a list of people that you can reach out to for support when times get tough.
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Thank you for reading day 35 of this detox program
Index
Day one: How to overcome cravings
Day two: Would believing in a higher power be good for you?
Day three: Quitting addiction exercises
Day four: Does God answer pray?
Day five: Starting to understand that we can’t increase our pleasure for the whole month by going back to our addiction
Day six: Planning our day to keep addiction temptation to a minimum
Day seven: We find liberty (or start to find liberty) from addiction when we find Jesus
Day eight: First fruit of the Spirit
Day nine: Benefits of worshipping God
Day ten: Getting rid of negative emotions and overcoming cravings
Day 11: How to be blessed by God and self control
Day 12: Have a list of coping statements
Day 13: How to have living water so that you will never thirst again. How to become a christian.
Day 14: Adam and Eve show us what we do that causes things to go wrong
Day 15: Consequenses of doing wrong
Day 16: Self control
Day 17: What leads back to using and self control
Day 18: How to pray to fight addiction
Day 19: Can we get our prayers answered?
Day 20: Overcoming relationship problems
Day 21: Finding a church that can help you
Day 22: Overcoming addiction exercises
Day 23: Don’t worship pleasure – serve others instead to find real joy
Day 24: Always planning will help you stay clean
Day 25: Don’t condemn yourself
Day 26: Knowing why you can’t quit gives you clues to help you quit
Day 27: Knowing why you can’t quit gives you clues to help you quit
Day 28: Anger leads bad to addiction – get it out
Day 29: Set up a time and place to fight your addiction daily
Day 30: Expert planning each day can help you star clean
Day 31: Coping skills for emotions and temperance
Day 32: How to overcome cravings
Day 33: If God is real we should be doing something to help people
Day 34:Who or what do we worship