Get enough sleep. People who don’t sleep enough have been proven to struggle with their weight more than people who get enough sleep and rest.
One trait that all people with addictions have is that we have the habit of giving up. Work is harsh, relationships stink, money is elsewhere and a list of a million other problems get us down. So we tell ourselves that we have the right to go back to our addiction. We can’t fight back anymore. One of the reasons I recommend daily Bible reading is because of people from the Bible like Paul. His reaction to problems was the opposite of ours – he never gave up. He always fought to the end. When he was whipped and put in chains he praised God and sang so heartily that God just couldn’t resist breaking him out of jail. He was stoned (at that time in history sometimes groups of people would throw large stones continuously at someone in an effort to kill them. Through every trial he never gave – he kept fighting. 2 Corinthians 11:27 talks about Paul’s tribulations: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Instead of giving up, Paul always had the habit of fighting through problems. Develop the habit of never giving up and of fighting through problems. Because Paul always kept fighting he always won and he always had joy and he will always be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
We can learn so much about quitting addiction from Genesis.
Genesis chapter 2 verse7Then the Lord God formed a man
[d] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs
[h] and then closed up the place with flesh.
22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib
[i] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
In life there are always a couple of things that we can’t do if we want to find real joy. I always think when I read this story – I would never have eaten that apple. But the fact is that we do the exact same stupid thing she did. We get the same destruction she got (we will talk more about that tomorrow).
The first thing we can learn from this chapter is that satan wants us to fall. God told Adam and Eve they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit. Satan said to them “You certainly will not die. Satan will tell you “if you don’t eat donuts/candy/chocolate (insert your vice of choice here) you can’t be happy”. But you were created to worship God and to fulfill your purpose. That is what we are supposed to be thinking about and doing.
Make worshiping God your favorite thing to do – after all we were created to worship God and doing that give us more joy than indulgence does. Indulgence is fun for a few minutes, worshiping God will give us real joy for the whole day and week.
Key Point #1 if you overindulge with others – tell friends this: “I am making an attempt to quit eating unhealthy food – it is killing me. I don’t know if it will stick this time but I am going to try”.
How to lose weight: tip #1 Eat a healthy high protein breakfast. Keep the calories from carbs under 20 at breakfast.
Read Proverbs 4
Continue to read the Purpose Driven Life
Let’s continue to watch people who quit to see what they are doing.
Jan determined to form a habit to say to herself 6 times a day: my #1 goal is being healthy.
Jim focused on praying “Father keep me from temptation”.
John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Pray this prayer “Jesus what am I doing that keeps you from setting me free from this addiction.”
Today we will continue to talk about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why is this important? The reason is because something in your life is going to drive you in a way that you are not sure you want to go. When out lusts drive us, we think we want it. Then we crash. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to drive you, you may not be sure you want what He wants, but He knows better than you what you really want. When He drives we find joy, purpose and we flourish.
www.wikihow.com had a Christian expert write the following regarding being fill with the Spirit
“Desire to be fully controlled by the Holy Spirit, which may also be called being under the full influence of the Spirit or to be constantly led by God. Seek this control in prayer. Do not place any conditions on what God may do in your life. Be ready for him to exhibit his control in any way he pleases. Do not demand anything as a sign of his filling. Expect only that he will make his full dominion evident as He did in the beginning.
Read examples of people being filled with the Holy Spirit. Such as Acts2:4, Acts10:44-46 and Acts19:1-6″
Why is being filled with the Holy Spirit a priority? It is because we were created to be filled with something. We all marvel at how hooked people become with booze or sex. They are filled with those spirits. There is a drugs spirit. Those of you with a light addiction may fight this notion. But anyone who is really hooked knows it is true. This is why being filled with the Holy Spirit is great for users. Once you become really filled, food addiction starts to fade because it has been replaced by something better.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit, get all sin out of your life. Keep it out. God has a mighty plan for you. He is waiting for you to be ready to fulfill your destiny.
Matthew 5 is about how we can change so that we will start to be blessed by God.
www.relijournal.com noted the following
The Seventh Beatitude v9
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called children of God.
Being a peacemaker is not the same as being a peacekeeper. Making peace does not mean you try to keep everybody happy. A peacemaker does not say yes to everybody and everything. A peacemaker builds their character on truth and righteousness. We can create true peace if we are at peace with God. Peacemakers are also those who try to make peace even if they fail.
On the other hand, if you are a keeper of peace you will try to keep everybody happy whatever the cost, even if that means going against God. The world is full of peace keepers. We need to be different and make the peace instead.
Romans 14:19 tells us to pursue those things that make peace and harmony. As a body we should be living in harmony and encouraging each other in our walks with God. By disciplining ourselves and by accepting discipline correctly, peace will be created. We will be blessed for working to make peace and it tells us in James 3:18 that those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness, becoming known as God’s children.
Being at war with others often leads to overindulgence. learn to let things go and to concentrate on your goals.
1. Checklist for avoiding relapse: Have an all consuming goal that will help other people and that will use up a lot of the time you used to spend on your addiction.
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Thank you for reading day 10 of this permanent weight loss program.
Index
Day 1: cravings
Day 2: Develop positive addictions
Day 3: Start an overcoming addiction journal
Day 4: Controlling emotions
Day 5: Don’t sell your pleasure backwards
Day 6: With the Spirit we have liberty
Day 7: You have some self control
Day 8: Have coping statements
Day 9: Living water
