Have you ever tried to throw away an old bad habit…or a self-defeating addiction?

Someone said that the best way to break a bad habit is to drop it.
If we don’t break that bad habit or addiction-
– it will have a way of breaking us!

So how do we break that bad habit and/or a self-defeating addiction?

First, we need to admit-
– that we have a problem and that it has us beaten.

The only person God or anyone else can ever help is the one who admits, “I have a problem. I need help”—and genuinely means it and is prepared to do something about it.

Bad habits and addictions rarely, if ever, leave us without a battle.

Second, we need to avoid-
– playing the blame-game at all costs and accept full responsibility for our actions and our recovery.

We need to realize that bad habits and especially addictions are a means to medicate some inner problem or pain that we have never faced, dealt with and resolved.

Bad habits and addictions are almost always the “fruit of a deeper root.”

Third, we need to ask-
– for qualified help, be it a support/recovery group and/or that of a qualified counsellor/therapist.

We need this support in order to keep us accountable and to help us stop acting out our addiction and thereby medicating (deadening) the pain.

To heal it we need to feel it.
Medicating it stops us from facing and resolving it.

Fourth, we need to allow-
God to handle the root cause.

Many people beg God to deliver them from their destructive symptoms but never think to realize that they need to pray that God will confront them with the reality of the cause or causes that drives them to act out in destructive habits and/or addictions.

It is only as we face and confront the truth behind our destructive habits that we have any chance of recovery.

When we are hiding a deeper sin or fault we tend to confess a lesser one all the more vigorously.

That is; instead of confessing the cause/causes of our behaviour we get obsessed with and confess only the symptom.

This tends to reinforce the addiction rather than overcome it because whatever the mind dwells on, the body acts on.

When we pray for truth and genuinely mean it, God always answers.
Once we see the truth (cause) of our problem, we usually know what we need to do about resolving it.

As God’s Word says, “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth” (Ps 145:18).

(PR)

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There are three forces at work in the life of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5.

First there is Satan!

Just like a roaring lion-
Satan had already come into that man, intending to destroy him (1 Peter 5:8).

Next, there was Society!
What had society done for him?
They had chained him up, but he broke the chains.

What else could they do?
Society couldn’t solve the problem, because the problem was in the man’s heart.

No one could help this man.
His situation was hopeless.

But then the Saviour!

What did Jesus do for him?
He came to the spooky little graveyard where the man lived.
Jesus saw his hurting, tortured soul and offered hope.

What society could not do to release the man from Satan and sin-
Jesus did with one simple command:
“He said to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit!’ ” (Mark 5:8).

The demons came out of the man, and went into a herd of pigs.
Jesus transformed the man’s life!

As Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Isn’t it interesting that with all of our wonderful achievements today-
– society still cannot deal with problems caused by Satan and sin?

Jesus Christ can transform your life and make you free, too.
We know that’s true, because He has already done it for many of us.

Come to Him!
Let Him make you free!
Let Him be your Saviour!!

(PR)

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“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10). 

So many people want to know what the victorious life is. But let me first tell you what it is not. It is not a life without ever committing a sin. It is not a life without ever having any failure. It is not a life without ever having any doubt. It is not a life without ever having discouragement.

Instead, the victorious life is the life of bringing our failures to the Lord Jesus and allowing Him to give us a brand new start. Day after day I tell the Lord that I need a new start, that I need to be anointed with fresh oil today, and that I need forgiveness. I thank God that He is a God of grace, a God of glory, and a God of a second chance. You’re probably more prepared to serve God after failure and restoration, than perhaps at any other time in your life.

Have you recently failed at something? There is no better time than right now to ask for His forgiveness (if you have unconfessed sin) and ask Him to give you a new start.

“A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth” (Isaiah 42:3).

(PR)

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“But I tell you the truth… the Counselor will…convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-8). 

The devil condemns you of sin! The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin!! The Lord Jesus Christ cleanses you of sin!!! Do you know the difference?

The devil accuses you to drive you from Christ! The Holy Spirit convicts to draw you to Christ!! The devil wants you to get under a load of guilt, so you’ll say, “I’m no good. I can’t live the Christian life. There’s something wrong with me. God doesn’t hear my prayers. It doesn’t do me any good to go to church.”

When you believe those lies, you let the devil drive you away from God! He accuses you to destroy you.

The Holy Spirit convicts you to reclaim you! He is trying to correct you and bring you back, that you may know the fullness of joy.

The Holy Spirit draws you to Christ that you may confess your sins and be cleansed!

Ask God to show you if you have been listening to the accusations of Satan.

Ask Him to silence those accusations and give you discernment to only hear the conviction of the Holy Spirit through His Word!
“…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

(PR)

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If you need victory in your thought life- You must depend on the Spirit’s power to control your thoughts! Here is what the Scriptures have to say on that point:

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God (the indwelling Holy Spirit) … bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:4, 5).

Only the Spirit of God can make this possible in our lives! And He does it only when we are under His complete control. When an evil thought comes to your mind
– What are you to do? You should turn it over to the Spirit and ask Him to take charge!

It is the only method that works for me! I cannot help it when a thought comes, whether it is good or bad. I do not, however, have to dwell on that thought.

So the moment a wrong thought comes, I ask the Holy Spirit to take over, for that is His responsibility. When I give Him control, He gives me victory! In I Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to pray without ceasing. Can we possibly do that?

Only by letting the Holy Spirit control us. As He dwells in us and we continue to give Him control so that no sin hinders His working in our hearts, He reminds us of the things He wants us to pray about. And He also helps us in the praying.

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). So –
“…be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph. 4:23).

Mind your mind!

(PR)

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“Lord, there is none beside thee to help” (2 Chronicles 14:11).

The odds against Asa were enormous! There was a million of men in arms against him, besides three hundred chariots. It seemed impossible to hold his own against that vast multitude. There were no allies who would come to his help; his only hope, therefore, was in God.

It may be that your difficulties have been allowed to come to so alarming a pitch that you may be compelled to renounce all creature aid, to which in lesser trials you have had recourse, and cast yourself back on your Almighty Friend.

Ask God to come between yourself and your foe! To Asa’s faith
– The Lord seemed to stand between the might of Zerah and himself, as one who had no strength. Nor was he mistaken.

We are told that the Ethiopians were destroyed before the Lord and before His host, as though celestial combatants flung themselves against the foes on Israel’s behalf, and put the large host to rout, so that Israel had only to follow up and gather the spoil.

Our God is the Lord of hosts!
-who can summon unexpected reinforcements at any moment to aid His people. Believe that He is there between you and your difficulty! And what baffles you will flee before Him, as clouds before the gale. He will fight for you, actually He is fighting for you to give you supernatural victory!

Say to your sight, “Stand back!”
Tell the laws of nature, “Keep quiet!!”
Command your confusing heart, “Hold your peace!”

The battle is ONLY the Lord’s! But the victory is His and yours!!

(PR)

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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Heb 12:1).

I did some comparisons to see the similarities between life and running a race:

1.  There is a start and end point.  Not all of us may have started well.  We might not have been born with high intelligence, or gone to the best school, or had money entrusted to us.  But it is important to finish well – by being faithful and obedient to the Lord.

2.  Life is a marathon.  We need to keep our pace and persevere when we run up the slope.

3.  Life is about winning.  We all want to win.

4.  We are competing against someone.  In life, our competitors are our flesh, the world, and the devil.  Our competitors are not our schoolmates or colleagues.  Our flesh, the world, and the devil want us to lose, to be defeated, to give up, be discouraged, worry, fear, doubt the goodness and wisdom of God, be lazy, procrastinate, disobey, do our own thing rather than obeying God.

5.  There is a prize at the end of the race.  We run to win eternal rewards, and above all, to win the smile of God.

6.  There are risks to take.  Whatever risk we take, we commit to the Lord and He will establish our ways.

7.  We need a game plan to win.  Life’s game plan is to pray, read the Bible, witness, serve, be part of a church.

8.  There are rules to play by.  Life’s rules are determined by our Creator, and can be found in His Word.  By doing according to His Word, the path will ultimately lead to success.

9.  Discipline.  Every runner disciplines himself to eat the right kind of food and avoid certain food.  To succeed in life, we must say no to temptation and any desire that would draw us away from God or from living a blameless, godly life.  And discipline ourselves to follow the Lord.

10.  Practice, practice, practice.  We need to live out the Christian life.  To grow stronger, we practice our faith.

(MT)

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How does the devil see you? Does he see you as a terrifying and mighty warrior of God? Or does he see you as a wimp he can whip in a minute?
The answer to that question depends on you! The key to the Israelites’ failure to enter the Promised Land is found in the words: “And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in theirs” (Numbers 13:33).

The reason the Israelites were so terrified to fight the giants in Canaan wasn’t because those giants were so big. It was because the Israelites saw themselves as so small! It was what they were in their own sight that defeated them.

The same thing is true for you as a believer! It’s what you are in your own sight that will make the difference. If, in your own sight, you’re a weak, powerless Christian, the devil will run over you three or four times a day or more if he’s not busy. But –

When you begin to see yourself as God sees you, as a conquering son or daughter of the Almighty God equipped with the very power of God Himself, the devil will want to steer clear of you.

Ever since Jesus came up out of that grave – Satan’s heart has melted within him at the sound of that Name in the mouth of one who has faith in it.

If you’re not strong in the Lord in your own sight, you need to change that. You need to get so full of God’s Word and so full of the Holy Spirit that you walk around like a spiritual giant. Turn the tables on the devil and let him find out what it feels like to be a grasshopper for a change!

(PR)

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A Buddhist monk was asked by a missionary: “What is your desire?” “Nothing.” “Where are you going?” “Nowhere.” “Where have you come from?” “Nowhere.” He wanted to be a blank. He ardently desired to be a blank!

So desire was still there, turned toward the absence of desire. How do you go about controlling your strong urges?

Are these urges with in you too strong for you to handle? By your repression? Do you push them under? Repressed instincts are like bad boys who, when put out of class, retaliate by throwing stones at the windows. It’s better to keep the bad boys in class, and teach them to direct their energies to better ends.

Cravings or urges cannot be repressed or suppressed. Why? Because we are born with them! But we still have the sinful nature within us. Read Romans 7 for the remedy.

By your expression? If the answer is not to be found in repression, then is it to be found in expression? Shall we give free rein to the urges within us?

No, for that would lead us into deeper bondage. Shall we try to eliminate them? By no known process can these driving urges be eliminated. Put them out of the door and they will climb back in through the window, often in disguise.

If we can’t eliminate the driving urges by repressing or expressing –
Then what can we do? By your submission!

We must allow the Holy Spirit to take them over. Our urges are properly fulfilled only when-
– they are submitted and surrendered to the will of God. When we allow the Holy Spirit to get into the driving seat of our personalities, then we are in safe hands.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:1, 2).

(PR)

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For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) (1 Corinthians 15:27).

God has given us kingdom authority! Jesus said: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

When problems get over your head- Remember they are under His feet! You need not be discouraged when troubles strike. It is the pathway your Saviour has walked before you. It is the way of the cross! And He has won the victory!!

Write down the hardest thing you’re having to deal with now! Put that paper on the floor. Look down on it. Now you have a glimpse of God’s vantage point over the problems in your life!

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Romans 16:20).

(PR)

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