Last week, we explored the surprising reality that although it seems like we have no control over the things preventing us from making the changes necessary to overcome our addictions, it’s actually more often the case that the crises themselves are a part of whatever addiction we’re wrestling. I remember a time early in my recovery from pornography addiction when I had promised to housesit for a...
Using Chaos to Stay Stuck
Do you have a habit or addiction you’ve been trying unsuccessfully to break? If so, you might unwittingly be using chaos to keep yourself stuck. Anytime we’re working to grow, we’re going to face resistance. Change, even good change, can be scary. The flesh, or the “old man,” offers a way out: chaos. If life gets too chaotic—if crisis comes, if the bottom falls out, if I get slammed with...
Stop Agreeing with the Devil
If the devil walked up to you this morning with a contract in his hand and asked you to sign it, would you? I’m guessing you wouldn’t. You might not even read it. Even so, despite what you say, many of us actually do sign our names to binding agreements he writes for us all the time. The enemy is too cunning to come at you the way I’ve described above. Instead, he looks for opportunities to...
Your Body: Where Heaven and Earth Kiss
I wrote a blog for men recently in which I said men’s bodies were designed with a purpose: to love God and love others. I wrote because despite how natural and normal sexual temptations may feel, it’s essential that we (men and women alike) know that our bodies were designed for love, not for sexual sin. A few days later, I read a post by a friend of mine, Mark Stephenson, a pastor at Horizon...
Resisting Temptation (That Space Between Two Dinners)
I have a problem of using food to try to settle myself down at the end of a day. I’ve known this about myself for years but haven’t done much about it. In my life, it’s been one of those sins Paul writes to Timothy about, the kind that isn’t outwardly obvious on the face of my life, but that follows behind to judgment (see 1 Timothy 5:24). Recently, God spoke to me about this: “You don’t need two...
Shall We Choose Holiness or Love?
What comes to mind when you think about holiness? What about a holy person? What does a holy person do or say? What comes to mind when you think of love or a loving person? What does he or she do or say? I ask because it seems to me we are living in an age when people’s perception of God’s holiness is growing increasingly distant from their perception of God’s love, and vice versa. Some churches...