Take the "easy way" out from temptation...
One of the thoughts that has helped me keep my thinking in line with my beliefs has been the realization that someone is watching me.
This train of thought first impacted me as I found myself noticing magazine covers in the check-out line of my local grocery store. On one particular trip to the store, I was in the midst of a prayerful conversation with the Lord as I approached the check-out aisle. When I noticed a magazine cover displaying a girl who should have been wearing more clothes, I caught myself taking a second glance. It was merely curiosity, but I realized I shouldn't be giving myself permission to have second glances on things that were "not for me". And it interrupted the conversation I was having with the Lord.
I also realized that if my pastor was there beside me, I wouldn't want him to see me entertaining any "additional glances". I would have immediately focused my attention on the face of my pastor, who is my spiritual friend and mentor.
But then I also realized that Someone greater than my pastor was with me, and that He is always watching. This helped me understand that developing a strong awareness of the God's presence with me is a great way to avoid temptation. I urge all believers everywhere to press in with a personal, continuing, conversational relationship with the Father. That kind of relationship is what He created us for. It's what brings Him delight.
When confronted with temptation, it is important to notice that it's power increases with the amount of time we give attention to it. I learned to make it easier on myself by diverting my attention away from a temptation immediately. And what better place is there to re-focus my attention than toward the face of my spiritual friend and mentor. For me, that will be my pastor if he happens to be there. But we all have the Lord, and He is always with us! He promises us that He will "never leave or forsake" us. Peter walked on water while he was looking intently toward the face of Jesus. He only began to sink when he started paying attention to the "wind and the waves".
I have a friend who has often referred to those moments when a temptation first starts as "the window of the will". He says there is "window" of opportunity in which it is easier turn away from the power of temptation. After we dwell on a temptation for a while (regardless of what kind of temptation it is) it grows stronger. The sooner we turn our attention away from a temptation and replace the thought with something healthier, the easier it is to have success. Temptation becomes more powerful, and harder to resist, the longer we dwell on it. When we allow our thoughts to be entangled in a temptation too long, we will ultimately become unable to turn away from it all.
So let me encourage every follower of Christ to learn this simple lesson. When it comes to temptation, make it easy on yourself: re-focus your attention quickly. Make up your mind ahead of time what you will focus on, and be ready to have something else to think about. You might carry around scripture verses to memorize, or plan to call a friend. Most importantly, learn the habit of quickly turning to the Friend and Savior of your soul. As the song says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus... and the things of earth will grow strangely dim."
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A note about internet accountability:
I have a friend who recently asked me to call him at some time during the day, since he knew he would be alone, and wanted to have someone check on him. He was being proactive, by planning to protect himself from internet temptations. He knew that if a friend was to check on him, he would would be less likely to give in to temptation, because he wouldn't want to give a bad report about himself. This is exactly how the body of Christ should be protecting itself from "infection". If you don't have an accountability partner (or perhaps even if you do), let me recommend an internet accountability and filtering company. It's called CovenantEyes, and offers both content filtering and accountability as separate services, either or both for a small monthly fee. I have used both services, and found them helpful.
You can check out the CovenantEyes website using the link below.
http://www.CovenantEyes.com/?promocode=follow
This train of thought first impacted me as I found myself noticing magazine covers in the check-out line of my local grocery store. On one particular trip to the store, I was in the midst of a prayerful conversation with the Lord as I approached the check-out aisle. When I noticed a magazine cover displaying a girl who should have been wearing more clothes, I caught myself taking a second glance. It was merely curiosity, but I realized I shouldn't be giving myself permission to have second glances on things that were "not for me". And it interrupted the conversation I was having with the Lord.
I also realized that if my pastor was there beside me, I wouldn't want him to see me entertaining any "additional glances". I would have immediately focused my attention on the face of my pastor, who is my spiritual friend and mentor.
But then I also realized that Someone greater than my pastor was with me, and that He is always watching. This helped me understand that developing a strong awareness of the God's presence with me is a great way to avoid temptation. I urge all believers everywhere to press in with a personal, continuing, conversational relationship with the Father. That kind of relationship is what He created us for. It's what brings Him delight.
When confronted with temptation, it is important to notice that it's power increases with the amount of time we give attention to it. I learned to make it easier on myself by diverting my attention away from a temptation immediately. And what better place is there to re-focus my attention than toward the face of my spiritual friend and mentor. For me, that will be my pastor if he happens to be there. But we all have the Lord, and He is always with us! He promises us that He will "never leave or forsake" us. Peter walked on water while he was looking intently toward the face of Jesus. He only began to sink when he started paying attention to the "wind and the waves".
I have a friend who has often referred to those moments when a temptation first starts as "the window of the will". He says there is "window" of opportunity in which it is easier turn away from the power of temptation. After we dwell on a temptation for a while (regardless of what kind of temptation it is) it grows stronger. The sooner we turn our attention away from a temptation and replace the thought with something healthier, the easier it is to have success. Temptation becomes more powerful, and harder to resist, the longer we dwell on it. When we allow our thoughts to be entangled in a temptation too long, we will ultimately become unable to turn away from it all.
So let me encourage every follower of Christ to learn this simple lesson. When it comes to temptation, make it easy on yourself: re-focus your attention quickly. Make up your mind ahead of time what you will focus on, and be ready to have something else to think about. You might carry around scripture verses to memorize, or plan to call a friend. Most importantly, learn the habit of quickly turning to the Friend and Savior of your soul. As the song says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus... and the things of earth will grow strangely dim."
------------------------------------------------------
A note about internet accountability:
I have a friend who recently asked me to call him at some time during the day, since he knew he would be alone, and wanted to have someone check on him. He was being proactive, by planning to protect himself from internet temptations. He knew that if a friend was to check on him, he would would be less likely to give in to temptation, because he wouldn't want to give a bad report about himself. This is exactly how the body of Christ should be protecting itself from "infection". If you don't have an accountability partner (or perhaps even if you do), let me recommend an internet accountability and filtering company. It's called CovenantEyes, and offers both content filtering and accountability as separate services, either or both for a small monthly fee. I have used both services, and found them helpful.
You can check out the CovenantEyes website using the link below.
http://www.CovenantEyes.com/?promocode=follow
posted by Will E. Johnson at 12:49 AM
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