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The only cure for a besetting sin is SOMETHING MORE DELICIOUS! (Besetting = nagging, annoying, returning, dogging)
Yes, the scripture teaches that sin is momentarily delicious. (Sin hath pleasure for a season.) Some sins can become so delicious to you (that may not tempt another brother or sister at all... they have their own set of hot buttons to deal with) that unless something far more delicious replaces them, you will fall and fall again at that same point of temptation.
I propose to you that a major part of the solution is SOMETHING MORE DELICIOUS: INTIMACY IN PRIVATE PRAYER & WORSHIP WITH GOD.
Better taste trumps lesser taste!
Something more delicious easily replaces something less so!
Get addicted to something more delicious!
You and I get tripped up while in the midst of the DAILY RUSH. There are so very many distractions, and so many voices vying for our attention. In our lightning speed high tech culture, images, ideas, information, agendas, voices, opinions, and choices are coming at us so fast that we don't even realize our circuits are being overloaded and Satan is setting us up for a fall. Our hearts and minds were not designed to process and filter so much information and distractions at once.
Our only defense against this DAILY RUSH is a MORNING HUSH... with God our Father!
A key to a satisfying prayer and Bible reading time is praying aloud, reading the scriptures aloud and confessing God's Word back to Him in praise, worship, warfare, and requests. THIS IS WHY JESUS SAID, WHEN YE PRAY, GO INTO YOUR CLOSET AND SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND YOU! He knew you needed to RELEASE YOUR FAITH and RELEASE YOUR HEART... ALOUD, not just silently! Even if you are somewhere that people could hear you in a normal volume of speaking, at least whisper your prayers aloud and read the Bible aloud in whispers under your breath. YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE LEVEL OF INSPIRATION AND SATISFACTION YOU RECEIVE WHEN YOU DO THESE THINGS ALOUD!
The simplicity of sensing His warm embrace as we read our Bibles, study, memorize and meditate certain verses, and sing and talk to Him in private INSULATES US, IMMUNIZES US, and INNOCULATES US against much of the madness that we face each day. There really is NO OTHER defense against the pressures, temptations, and mind-games that try to bombard us throughout the day (and sometimes at night).
I must get FULL OF HIM before I face each day!
God is FULL!
God is so FULL that He needs to run over on someone! That someone be me! Look no further, Lord! Splash on me, Lord; spill into me!
God is FULL of anything and everything I need.
This is so awesome! Psalms 86:15 (KJV) - But thou, O Lord, art a God FULL! ...of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
BUT THOU, O LORD, ART A GOD FULL...! Full of what? Fill in the blank! God is FULL of whatever I need! God is full of whatever you need.
But thou O God's people, art a people that can be FULL OF whatever GOD is FULL of!
Full! Overflowing! Overcroppage! Extra! Surplus!
God is pregnant!
God my Father is burgeoning!
My God is about to POP with all the good things He wants to give me and do for me!
God is full of blessings!
God is full of miracles.
God is full of peace.
God is full of glory.
God is full of love.
God is full of contentment.
God is packed full of deep satisfaction!
God is full of life.
God is full of strength!
God wants to impregnate me with Himself, His attributes, His qualities, His love, His energy and power! A Divine Infusion!
1 Corinthians 1:24 (KJV) - But unto them which are called... Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Christ my wisdom from God today. Christ my power from God today. Christ my power with God! Christ my power over myself! Christ my power with men! Christ my power over the circumstances! Christ my instantaneous wisdom in all situations!
A song is a CORRIDOR into the presence of God! (Mike Murdock)
God can take the simplest or the shortest of things to DRAW YOU INTO HIS PRESENCE! One morning, being a bit sore in my body from using muscles I had not used for a while and having slept on a hard cabin bed the night before, I needed to get into His presence. As I approached the Lord I seemed to recall a simple musical chorus with the words, "O draw me Lord, O draw me Lord, O draw me Lord, And I will run after You." (I knew I hadn't thought about that song for a long long time, so I surmised that the Holy Spirit may have been reminding me of it.). So I began to sing this simple tune to Him as my prayer and my consecration. As I sang I could sense His approval, His drawing, and His strength. Nothing sensational but definitely significant. As I repeatedly sang this simple chorus, my focus became fixed on Him, my heart began to soften, and I could sense Him smiling at me!
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