xavier55
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Overcoming Sexual Temptations: Bible Study
- Thread starter xavier55
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RiverTigress
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Some things I've found helpful from past experience:
First, lots of Bible reading helps, even if you feel at first you're just drudging through it and not retaining any of it. The more scripture you take in the more the Holy Spirit has to work with to bring to mind to you when you need help. You don't have to have a focused plan or just read on certain topics, just graze on whatever you can and whatever it happens to be God can make work for you.
Second, be actively mentally engaged with some things. The increasing automation of modern society is leaving too much time for the mind to just idle while doing stuff, and an idle mind doesn't really idle. If it doesn't have anything more pressing to think about it will default to analyzing unmet needs and how to go about getting those needs met, so give it more things to think about to lessen its chances of going there.
Third, be physically engaged with some things, too. Being really tired out by evening time will help a lot. Giving up caffeine or other substances that artificially boost alertness and energy levels can also help, too.
Fourth, make a new habit of waking up earlier than you want to and doing something immediately that directs your mind toward God first thing in the morning. This will help minimize the toll the dream world can take. I haven't ever experienced a place where you can control the contents of your dreams, but doing this can get them washed out of your system as soon as possible to not let them affect so much the rest of the day.
Lastly, try to have as much of a sense of humor as you can about things. Sometimes these issues will manifest themselves in really weird ways, and even if you get yours under control, someone else can and probably at some point will come along and completely blindside you with theirs. Being able to laugh something off and let it go is far better than dwelling on it and feeling like you personally failed God in some horrible way over it. I don't mean not to feel bad and repent about it if you actually do sin, but you don't need to beat yourself up over just being tempted in the first place. Being single and trying to stay holy in spirit as well as in action in this world is like being a starving person taken to an all-you-can-eat buffet where the waitresses keep bringing you wonderful looking plates you're instructed to keep sending back untouched. God knows it's hard and He'll still be there for you whether you succeed or fail.
First, lots of Bible reading helps, even if you feel at first you're just drudging through it and not retaining any of it. The more scripture you take in the more the Holy Spirit has to work with to bring to mind to you when you need help. You don't have to have a focused plan or just read on certain topics, just graze on whatever you can and whatever it happens to be God can make work for you.
Second, be actively mentally engaged with some things. The increasing automation of modern society is leaving too much time for the mind to just idle while doing stuff, and an idle mind doesn't really idle. If it doesn't have anything more pressing to think about it will default to analyzing unmet needs and how to go about getting those needs met, so give it more things to think about to lessen its chances of going there.
Third, be physically engaged with some things, too. Being really tired out by evening time will help a lot. Giving up caffeine or other substances that artificially boost alertness and energy levels can also help, too.
Fourth, make a new habit of waking up earlier than you want to and doing something immediately that directs your mind toward God first thing in the morning. This will help minimize the toll the dream world can take. I haven't ever experienced a place where you can control the contents of your dreams, but doing this can get them washed out of your system as soon as possible to not let them affect so much the rest of the day.
Lastly, try to have as much of a sense of humor as you can about things. Sometimes these issues will manifest themselves in really weird ways, and even if you get yours under control, someone else can and probably at some point will come along and completely blindside you with theirs. Being able to laugh something off and let it go is far better than dwelling on it and feeling like you personally failed God in some horrible way over it. I don't mean not to feel bad and repent about it if you actually do sin, but you don't need to beat yourself up over just being tempted in the first place. Being single and trying to stay holy in spirit as well as in action in this world is like being a starving person taken to an all-you-can-eat buffet where the waitresses keep bringing you wonderful looking plates you're instructed to keep sending back untouched. God knows it's hard and He'll still be there for you whether you succeed or fail.
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