To resist satan we must humble ourselves, and submit to God. Crosswalk.com noted: “Submitting to God means elevating his Word above our own desires, yielding ourselves to God’s revealed will in the Scriptures, and desperately calling to him in prayer to ask for “grace to help in time of need” They also said that the devil can't overpower a person who is “submitting to and actively pursuing Jesus.” They also make a great point regarding the armor of God passage: “It is his strength (Ephesians 6:10) and his armor (Ephesians 6:11) that guards us against the devil’s fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16).” We pray for his strength, we put on His armor, and we fight back with His Word. Gotquestions.org noted: “Using the Scriptures to expose Satan’s lies and temptations is the most effective way to strive against and defeat them. They continue: It is important to read the whole verse: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Resisting the devil must be accompanied by submitting to God. A disobedient or unsubmissive believer will not see victory.” Solutions Repent of our sinful desires. Consider praying: “Father, help me to run from sinful pleasures. Teach me how to make You my pleasure.” Second, put on the breastplate of righteousness. Consider praying: “Father, show me how important it is to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6). Help me to increase my fight against sin.” Third, elevate His Word. Know it and quote it to satan. Fourth, it is wise to yield ourselves to God's will. Lastly, seek ye the Lord. I will repeat a sentence from above. The devil can't overpower a person who is “submitting to and actively pursuing Jesus.”
These posts timcia, just make me realize that this community is more than just quitting PMO, its encouragement and growth and changing ourselves into Christ's Image. This is far beyond what we deserve to get from you daily, and we should be paying for this info you spreading. Thanks for the daily reminder to get into the word. Psalms 119:9-13
You will find that @timcia is one of our most prolific contributors and a reliable source of encouragement. You are not the first to have benefited from his posts, and you will be far from the last!
As someone pursuing the pastorate in a short while, it's very encouraging. While at work today, I realized how this battle reveals so much more of our inner conflicts than we think. Fight PMO, and you'll be fighting everything else, especially as a Christian. When you come at it from a biblical worldview, you realize that all sin is treated equally by God, and these principles apply to so much more. If you struggle with pride, covetousness, lying, hatred, and so much more, you'll realize these are violations of God's commands, and that we should treat it with the same battle as we do anything else. This communities job, as it is doing, is speaking the truth in love, and that includes admonition and reprimanding the sinful actions that we do. What makes our group different than most others? Our mindset isn't a "smash your head through a window and scream" mindset. We don't brute force, reason with P, hide, or slide by. We face it head-on with the scriptures we have known to come and Love. It works, it's just more difficult than we think.
Tremendous insights. We cannot disciple others unless we are also living the discipled life. Scripture really only comes to life within us when we are actively pursuing Christ. When we do, its words -- his words to us -- become infinitely more precious than we ever understood before. Onward!
Yesterday was a very hard day. But I have memorized James 1: 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." I quoted this verse about 15 times in the last 24 hours and prayed about it a ton. Hard times plus this verse, plus prayer over this verse equal times of joy.
Praying for you! I know you will endure. Romans 5 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
I was talking to someone yesterday. They want to quit. I told them they needed to give up ______. They said, “I am not giving that up.” Everyone who can't quit either need to give up something they are currently doing or/and start doing something that they currently are not doing. If you choose to ignore one of these things, you are not “desperate” to quit. Second, many Christians fail to quit because they have wrong motives. The correct reason to quit is so that we can serve Christ. I had a very hard heart. It took me many years of praying: “Father, help me to care about souls,” to finally start caring. I never knew that my “not caring” was keeping me in sin. I did suspect that my sin was keeping me from caring. Third, some people fail to quit because they dip a bit in the occult. Leviticus 19:31 ESV “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” I avoid witchcraft like the plague. Some churchgoers sit back and dip a bit. Just say no. Fourth, confess that hidden sin. James 5:16 ESV Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Fifth, obey the command to be baptized in water. It is hard to get free if you won't even obey that command. Even if you were baptized as an infant, consider doing it again as an adult. Today, consider if one of these 5 hindrances is hindering you. If not, consider praying about what is: “Father, help me to turn from lust, and show me why I can't quit.” There are reasons why enslaved people stay enslaved. But God will reveal those reasons clearly if you keep on repenting, studying, and praying.
I avoid TV shows that have, (astrology, divination, witchcraft, sorcery, and other occult practices).
Satan says, “God will forgive you if you fall.” Satan told Annanias to lie to Peter and God will forgive you. Annanias believed him right until he died. Some of the Israelites decided to go into the wilderness to commit sexual sin. Satan told them, “God will forgive you.” They died that day. Second, God forgives! When and who He forgives is His business. Consider praying: “Father, teach me not to believe what satan says about sin.” Training you to assume what God will do is one of satan's top 5 tricks. Note: I have no insight on what God will do. Finally, when satan tells you that God will forgive you when you fall, consider telling him. “Get thee behind me satan, I plan to obey the command to “Work out my salvation with fear and trembling.“ Then study the Bible until you know how to do it.
