ADDICTIONS

Ad·dic·tion - noun: the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

We are all addicts of something...

• Alcoholic: addicted to alcohol.
• Workaholic: addicted to work.
• Chocaholic: addicted chocolate.
• Spendaholic : addicted to spending money.
• Sportsaholic : lives to watch or play sport.
• Talkaholic : Incessant talking.
• Tweetaholic : Addicted to tweeting.

The one addiction that trumps them all is the “addiction to self-will”.

"I'm going to do what I want to do!"

It began in the garden of Eden and continues to this day. We are aware of Good and evil and seem to instinctively know when someone has trespassed against us. We don't pay heed to God's guidance and counsel and instead we "trust in our own understanding" as we respond/react to those who have done us wrong. Thus the cycle of self-will reaps ill-will in our hearts and our relationships. And we find all sorts of ways (other addictions) to ease our unhappiness for a moment!

All this happens because we listen to, and believe the lies the enemy of our Soul tells us. He speaks these lies in our thoughts and tries to convince us of "who" we are.

The enemy uses Pride or Condemnation.

1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This spiritual battle manifests itself in our thought life. The enemy of your Soul can use your self-will addiction to make you believe you have it within yourself to be "happy" and encourage thoughts of self-confidence/righteousness. The enemy of your Soul would be content to leave you there. But…

This addiction to self-will manifests itself in an infinite number of ways. In our pride, most of us never come to realize the destructive consequences that self-will has in our lives. We "manage" the turmoil in our relationships by practicing "self-actualization" and make ourselves feel better by blaming others for our situation. But…

If you trust in your own understanding, sooner or later you will make mistakes. Then the enemy of your Soul changes his tactics. From thoughts of pride to thoughts of condemnation. These thoughts of pride or of condemnation, the enemy uses them with one goal in mind, your destruction.

Luke 5:31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sick and need to change the way they think.

Stop believing lies about who you are and embrace the "Lover of your Soul" He created you and He has a better plan for your life.

Seek Him out with all your heart!

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart don't lean on your own understanding, recognize God in all of your ways and he will direct your paths.

Read this...

https://www.gotquestions.org/seeking-God.html

Blameless?

What does that mean?

When I first became a "christian" it was one of the first words that God spoke into my life that I was aware of.

"Be blameless"! It was in context to the current situation then. At the time, my first wife had left with my two kids and was pursuing another relationship. I was convicted of my own complicity in the situation and God said stop giving her reasons to justify her actions. Regret was the overwhelming emotion at the time. It was one of the reasons I "called on the Lord" in the first place.

This "regret" was the result of living a life as I saw fit and God was telling me that to be free of regret I needed to be blameless in all my relationships. It seemed simple enough. At least in concept. Just trust God to guide me in what I say and do and no one will be able to blame me for how things turn out. Yeah, right.

The issues...

• You have to really seek out and pay attention to the Holy Spirit's guidance. There are a lot of reasons we don't do that.
• People tend to blame others for their predicament. Mostly because we give them a reason.
• The enemy is constantly running around making accusations in our minds and in the minds of those around us.

I have come to realize "I am to Blame". But in that realization God's love covers my complicity and by the Blood of Christ I am forgiven. In the same realization I am called to "Trust in Him with all my heart and not trust in my own understanding. To recognize His presence in everything I do, and he will guide me on the path that leads to no regrets" Proverbs 3:5-6.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/blameless.html

Battle of the minds.

Have you ever considered your thoughts? Do you ever think about your thoughts? Why are your thoughts like having a conversation?  Have you ever argued with yourself?

Your thoughts are an integral part of your life. They reside in the realm of your mind. Every choice and every decision you make is a result of the "thought processes" that go on within your mind. The Bible says "as a man thinks in his heart so is he."

What you believe has everything to do with what you think. What you think will be revealed in what you say and what you do. These choices and decisions have their consequence, good or bad! They become unalterable facts in the gist of your life. Will they be lessons for you today?

So what you believe affects what you think, what you think affects your decisions and choices, which creates unalterable facts about you.

This all takes place in your mind. A battleground of competing thoughts, where a conversation is carried on and sometimes even arguments happen.

How do you explain it all? VOICES?

To be "present" in the Now.

Have you ever been distracted? Has your attention ever been occupied? Have you ever lost track of what you were paying attention too?

Being "Present" in the "Now" is the last thing the enemy of your Soul wants you to be aware of, understanding the reality of your existence, being aware and cognizant of your surroundings, both physical and Spiritual.

It is there you "attend" to the need. It's the last thing the enemy of your soul wants you to realize. There is no better time than "Now". There are no other considerations as important, no other distractions that beg procrastination. Time and effort proclaim "do it now" there is no better opportunity for the doing,  and the promise "Be at Peace" is fulfilled when done. There is no greater Joy than to obey "Now".

"for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." ROMANS 14:17

Lies and Distraction

Satan is a liar and he uses distraction.

Wikipedia defines Distraction as the process of diverting the attention of an individual from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information (TRUTH).

The world is full of distraction. It is designed to take up your time. To occupy your attention and to bring your focus on the temporal instead of the eternal.

The enemy’s basic attack is to make you doubt what God has said is true about who you are in Christ. Your identity. He does that by trying to get you to focus on the flesh and what your 5 senses tell you. What you can see as opposed to the unseen. The work of the enemy is to destroy relationship with God and those around you. The battleground is your mind and the weapons are truth and lies. (in your thoughts)

II Cor. 10: 3-5 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience (Lordship) of Jesus Christ