Through prayer, we seek His insight into the temptation and the potential sin to which we can fall if we are not careful.  We ask for His empowering strength to persevere, change our affections, and overcome. As we rely on God, He is helping us stay alert, aware and discerning in order to walk obedient to His will. We rely on God by fellowshipping with Holy Spirit; by keeping on asking, seeking and knocking for what we lack and for the formation of the person we want to become. 

Bible Verses

• "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

• "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." - Pjilippians 2:13 NLT

• "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." - James 1:5 NLT

• "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." - Psalm 37:5-6 NLT

• "Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!" - Psalm 119:1-8 NLT

• Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭41‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

• "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.“  ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 We look to fight the battle in our mind to keep ungodly beliefs from motivating us into employing wrong strategies to soothe our pain or distract/entertain our mind through temporary, ungodly comforts (sex, drugs, alcohol, money, overworking, etc). 

God does know that we will be tempted and fall into sin throughout our life because of our ingrained commitment to self-protection and to our selfish, stubbornly rebellious ways. Yet He also knows that as we cling to Him over time we will gradually change. That is His promise. Sanctification really means a gradual, progressive work of becoming like Christ over a lifetime, a process that will not get completed until we see Christ face to face. 

Furthermore, God shows us how deeply loved we are. He chose us, redeemed us, made us His own and set His affection on us. And He is empowering us to become, through His Spirit's power, what we could never do on our own, become more and more like His Son. We are fully known (as messed up as we are) and fully loved and nothing can snatch us away from Him and from His transformative work in our lives. If we know this, why are we so hard on ourselves?

Why is this stance important?

• As a believer, you are not an orphan trying to survive this hard, dark world on your own strength and limited resources; you are a child of God with access to heavenly resources and access to the love of God the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ and the fellowship and empowerment of Holy Spirit. You have union with Christ and communion with the Holy Trinity. You are not fighting this battle from a deficit; you are fighting it with heavenly support.  You are not a victim but have being made victorious in Christ, even before the fight to change began.

• Your righteous standing with God will not change as it is based on an "alien" righteousness - a righteousness that comes from Christ, from outside yourself and completely unrelated to your performance. By grace He saved you and makes you stand righteous before the Father, a permanent reality (justification) even while you are progressively being changed slowly throughout your lifetime (sanctification). You are accepted in the Beloved because you are in Christ. So cheer up and don't let the lies of the enemy knock you out of embracing and living in the safety, comfort and peace of this divine reality: Despite being fully known (warts and all) by God, we are fully and eternally loved - a love from which no one can ever separate us! 

Bible Verses 

• "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:26

• “'And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' says the Lord Almighty." - 2 Corinthians 6:18

• "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." - Romans 8:14

• "Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." - Galatians 4:7

• "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!" - Psalm 139:1-6 NLT

• "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:31-35,37-39 NIV

• "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding." - Ephesians 1:2-8 NLT

• "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." - Ephesians 1:17-19 NIV

We curve the input that inspires evil, tempting thoughts by limiting the very things that flood our senses on a daily basis. We stay away or limit, through wise actions, any negative influences in the media we consume (the things we watch, hear and participate in), the types of friends we spend time with and the types of conversations in which we partake. We put healthy boundaries around the perimeter of our life so as not to be shaped by the worst of our culture - a shaping that happens over time through the repeated and unrelenting exposure to the things of this world. This is a general rule for Christian living. The cultural pull is strong and is gradually yanking us towards a downward, ungodly lifestyle that is being normalized in our society. But it's important to know we do have choice and we can set limits and, even more so, inversely, we can choose to increase the godly input and influences God has made available to us (through His Word and through His people).     

Bible Verses

• "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2 NLT

• "For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world." - 1 John 2:16 NLT

• "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." - 2 Timothy 2:22 NLT

• "Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers. Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving." - Proverbs 4:14-15 NLT

We remove ourselves from specific situations that may cause us to fall into temptation and/or remove the presence of that object, person/group or practice from our ongoing access. We stay away from anything that tempts us and causes us to fall. And any tempting thoughts we reject and do not give it mind space on which to dwell or consider. We don’t want to make it easy for us to carry out sin when tempted, so we do what is needed to remove it from our lives, and if not possible we remove ourselves from its exposure. 

Bible Verses

• "The TEMPTATIONS in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ 

• "TEMPTATIONS comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.“ - ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

• "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

We do this by identifying the nature of the temptation, our specific affection towards its lure and by confessing and repenting for the sinful behavior if we do end up falling into it. We bring our sin before God to force ourselves to be honest with Him in the struggle and our failure to obey. Secrecy and unwillingness to do this work helps keep the sin entrenched in us. So we confess our sins to God and to one another that we may be healed. We do this as needed. We employ close brothers and sisters in the Lord who are willing to hold us accountable to a holy, God-honoring life and seek their input, correction and encouraging support.

Bible Verses:

•  "Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, EXPOSE them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be EXPOSED when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible." - Ephesians 5:12-14a NLT

• "The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!" - Luke 12:2-3 NLT

• "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." - ‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

• "For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light." - Psalm 56:13 NLT

• “...I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” - John 8:12 NLT

• "Jesus replied, 'My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.'” - John 12:35-26 NLT

• “...If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:311-32 NLT

• "But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7 NLT

Seek to follow the visible sin (bad fruit in our lives that we and others can easily see) in order to get to the "root" behind it (the sin behind the sin, the sins of the heart). You want to get to the cause (root) of your weakness, brokenness and rebellion, and not just be satisfied with identifying the surface-level effect of it (the fruit). All this means is that you have to be intentional to take an "inside look". You are choosing to be proactive, honest and transparent in your search. If your commitment to getting to the root of things is strong, you will even welcome others to help you in this process - a trusted friend, a counselor/therapist, or a pastor. 

Bible Verses

• "And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you." - ‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭20‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬.

• "You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." - Matthew 7:16-20 NLT

• "A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart." - Matthew 12:33-35 NLT

• "Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire." - Matthew 3:10 NLT

• "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." - Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

Once we begin to look deeper within, we look for what has captured the allegiance of our heart - the sin behind the sin -  which is the deeply entrenched and wicked intent and motives of the heart fueling our wayward ways.

"Idolatry...means putting something in the place of God, trusting something instead of God, and loving something more than God." - Brian Rodney

Bible Verses

• "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." - ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

• “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." - Matthew 6:24 NIV

• "Then God gave the people all these instructions: 'I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an IDOL of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods...'" - Exodus 20:1-5a NLT

• "Those who cling to worthless IDOLS turn away from God’s love for them." - Jonah 2:8 NIV

• "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped IDOLS made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen... Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done." - Romans 1:21-25,28 NLT

• "And the word of the Lord came to me [Ezequiel], saying, 'Son of man, these men have set up their IDOLS in their hearts and have put in front of their faces the stumbling block of their wrongdoing [iniquity]. Should I let Myself be consulted by them at all?'.. Therefore say to the house of Israel, This is what the Lord God says, 'Repent and turn away from your IDOLS and turn your faces away from all your abominations... in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their offenses [transgressions]. So they will be My people, and I shall be their God,’ declares the Lord God.'” - Ezequiel 14:2-3,6,11 NASB 2020

"Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention arouses your emotions. Then your emotions activate your behavior, and you act on what you felt... Since temptation always begins with a thought, the quickest way to neutralize its lure is to turn your attention to something else... This is the principle of replacement. You overcome evil with good." - Rick Warren

"Sin is disordered affections and distorted knowledge. We do not love what is lovely, and we do not know [or value] what is good." - Jen Wilkins

A stronger and more captivating affection has the power to dispossess our "illegitimate" desires by replacing them with life in Christ. When Christ is more beautiful and glorious, the temptations of the world will lose their appeal and power. So we look to Christ and His Word, not so much to see rules and principles to guide our life into holy living (this is a good part of it), but to see how beautiful He is and how glorious His ways are. The attractiveness of such pure love and perfection we see and feel from Him can become our greatest ally to motivate us towards the abundant life only He can offer. When we make His beauty our life focus, we cannot help to be attracted to it. The end result? We become what we behold; we imitate what we worship; we image what we love.

"Enjoy a superior satisfaction. Cultivate the capacities for pleasure in Christ. One reason lust reigns in so many is that Christ has so little appeal. We default to deceit because we have little delight in Christ…. You were created to treasure Christ with all your heart — more than you treasure sex or sugar. If you have little taste for Jesus, competing pleasures will triumph." - John Piper

Examples of the expulsive power of replacement from a lesser affection/pleasure to a more glorious King:

1. The Samaritan Woman At The Well (John 4:4-42) - Though the Samaritan woman had a sinful life with a secret secret past she wanted to keep hidden, she was transformed in her encounter with Jesus, the long awaited Messiah.  She then brought the whole town to Jesus with her testimony, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”

2. The Sinful Woman Washed The Feet of Jesus (Luke 7:36-50) - This "sinful" woman came into a Pharisee's house, an unlawful and radical things to do, only because she wanted to wash the feet of Jesus and pour her expensive perfume on them. Instead of the usual hiding in the cover of night as someone considered "sinful" would do in that culture, she braved her way into an unwelcome and judgmental environment just to demonstrate her love and gratefulness to Jesus. She did not care what others would think, or what the jeers and judgement her reputation would spawn,  she only cared to please and love on Jesus. That's radical transformation!

3.   The Early Church (Read this article) - The transformation of the early church is so radical and in many ways in which we 21st century believers have a hard time seeing or wrapping our mind around - radical changes that come to light from other things we read in the New Testament or in the history from that time period. This new identity in Christ led Christ followers to wildly different social, cultural and religious practices out of which they stuck out, pushed people's buttons and challenged the world around them. These counter-cultural practices even brought the ire of religious leaders and governmental authorities upon these believers (Stadium Christianity, anyone? But the kind that puts you and your family before lions to be torn apart for your faith). There are countless, counter-cultural examples showing the early church's unwavering allegiance to Christ, even in the face of assured persecution and death. 

Bible Verses

• "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. FIX YOUR THOUGHTS on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.“ - ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ 

• "SET YOUR MINDS on things above, not on earthly things.“ - ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV

• "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to GAZE on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." - Psalm 24:7 NIV

• And we all, with unveiled face, BEHOLDING the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." - 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV