What in the world does McFly mean?<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nIn temptation and even in failure, we can’t trust our Bible reading plan or our prayer calendar. Depending on us has never worked and it never will!<\/p>\n
We run to Jesus for protection and forgiveness.<\/p>\n
For example, if you struggle with lust, you can stop dead in your tracks at the mall after a hottie sighting and approach Christ right there:<\/p>\n
“God\u2026 it\u2019s on! Enemy warship off the port bow\u2026 raise shields to full strength and arm torpedoes\u2026 dive, dive, dive!”<\/p>\n
Wow. Mixing Star Trek and Hunt for Red October metaphors even confuses me. But, I hope you get the picture.<\/p>\n
Make your battle against sin a spiritual conflict, not an exercise in human discipline. Make your greatest strength your weakness acknowledged in the\u00a0presence of all powerful Jesus.<\/p>\n
With that, here are some practical things to do within that context that will help wage war. Again, do not make these human disciplines on there own. If you do you will fail, but if you elevate these to spiritual expressions of dependence on Jesus, He will fight for you:<\/p>\n
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ex 14:13-14). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nHonesty & Confession:<\/strong><\/div>\nDon\u2019t settle for living with facades. I\u2019m not saying you should be an open book to everyone, but the only pressure you need in life is being you, not the image of you that your spiritual publicist is looking for (ended with a preposition, my bad).<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
Confess your sins and weakness to God\u2026
\nHe who conceals his sins does not prosper,
\nbut whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Pr 28:13). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/em>By the way, once God has forgiven you, let it go. We often slip back into sin because we feel guilty and defeated about something Christ has already died for and God has forgotten. If you’re forgiven, live forgiven.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Accountability:<\/strong><\/div>\nDon\u2019t plan on taking this trip alone. Carefully select a small group of two or three (including you) who can talk, pray and hold each other accountable.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/p>\nAs iron sharpens iron,
\nso one man sharpens another.
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Pr 27:17). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\nPlans fail for lack of counsel,
\nbut with many advisers they succeed.
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Pr 15:22). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a few guidelines for picking your crew:<\/p>\n
\n- No hyper-spiritual people. They are far too holy for us<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t be intimidated by those farther along in their faith<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t underestimate those newer in the faith<\/li>\n
- Find those you can trust. You will be taking a risk, but don\u2019t take stupid risks (ie. Well, they gossip about everyone else they know, but I am sure I can trust them about my life<\/em>\u2026 not smart my friend. Drop them like Wall Street stocks.)<\/li>\n
- Get people you like. If they are Godly, trustworthy and yet annoying, you are setting yourself up to fail.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Common Sense:<\/strong><\/div>\nDon\u2019t put yourself in positions to fail\u2026 SABOTAGE! If you are trying to stave off an affair, don\u2019t hang out with a temptress, and don\u2019t rationalize it.<\/strong><\/div>\nIf the situation has the potential for going bad, it probably will. Run Forest Run.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/p>\nNo temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (1 Co 10:13). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This verse says that God won\u2019t put you in a place that you can\u2019t handle. But, it is not protection against you running headlong into the danger zone.
\nWhen my kids were little I put those little plastic plugs in all the electrical outlets. But, that did not stop them from prying out the plugs and sticking a fork in there.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a rule of thumb\u2026 don\u2019t be stupid.<\/p>\n
Celebrate Progress:<\/strong><\/div>\nFinally, understand that we don\u2019t win wars overnight. We have to take a hill, fight in the valley and battle for every inch. So, celebrate small victories and honestly evaluate setbacks.<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
Know that God has you on schedule for progress and that means every step forward is a success.<\/p>\n
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed\u2014not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence\u2014continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Php 2:12-13). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
There you have it. A few first steps.<\/p>\n
Let me encourage all readers to add anything that they have found helpful in their personal struggles.<\/p>\n
Between now and then, I\u2019ll see you on the battlefield!<\/p>\n
Gameface! Gameface\u2026. FREEEEEEEEDDDOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!<\/p>\n
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
\nThe Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (1 Jn 1:8-10). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back to some serious Q & A. Now that Easter is behind us, this pastor can get back to normal life and start pursuing his real calling\u2026 blogging. Just kidding, but it is fun. I\u2019ve had quite a few emails and the questions are starting to mount up, so, I have developed a strategy. Real-life issue questions with heart-wrenching, life-altering consequences get answered first. (ie. Andy, is sacrificing a cat to Satan really all that bad?… guess it depends on what you think of cats\u2026 just kidding). Theology junk for fellow spiritual nerds (NERDS UNITE!) get answered later (Andy, when Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost, what was Greek root word for \u2018seek\u2019?… seriously\u2026 too much time on your hands\u2026 get a job, or at least an XBOX). So, here is a great question posed via email: What advice would you have for a Christian guy who is really struggling with some certain sins they can never seem to overcome? I try so hard, and continually ask God for help, yet I always fall to the same temptations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crosseyedlife.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.quickblogcast.com\/104600-97408\/backtothefuture.jpg\")
te you can do two things: 1) get in touch with a ‘real’ generation by going back to the future, and 2) get cultured with this link: