Link to Counseling Booklets Link to "Choosing a Counselor" copyright 2000-2008 |
Before you begin, it is important that you first read The Meaning of Life. It contains foundational information that will make this page more meaningful. It only takes a few addional minutes. When you have finish, return here and continue reading. |
Conquering virtually any problem starts with the setting of goals. In other words there must be progress toward a set objective before anything can be accomplished. The Christian life is "goal oriented." It is nothing less than a life-long race toward the objective of becoming more and more "like Christ." If Sin is allowed to dominate, progress will be impeded and growth toward maturity stunted. 1. Goals must be realistic. For example you may have a problem that you want to "get over once and for all!" That implies a quick victory that may lead to failure and discouragement when not achieved in that way. If one has an anger problem, for example, a more realistic goal would be to "not be so angry." The idea is to set goals that can be measured so the satisfaction of making progress can be experienced. Again, "not being so angry" can be measured if one has fewer angry outburst, is slower to anger or actively engages to diffuse potential flash points. As these realistic goals are achieved (or even not achieved), enough flexibility should be in place to change the goals to encourage progress. So in conjunction with this website, where one is working without personal supervision, be sure to set realistic goals. 2. Wrong Thinking. To meet your goals and to overcome your problem, the Christian must understand exactly what it means to be "in Christ," ... to be "a new creation in Christ." Wrong thinking focuses on the "old self" before the infusion of the life of Christ entered the equation. (Eph. 4:2) It tries to "doctor" the "old self" ignoring the fact that that the "old self" was "crucified with Christ" and should no longer dominate us. In fact it should be considered dead. It can't be rehabilitated. The good news is that many times the trial we are going through can be the vehicle to bring us into this new understanding of "who we are in Christ!" With that understanding comes the ability to live a victorious life and the power to rise above any and every obstacle. The Apostle Paul prayed, in Philippians Chapter one, that the Christians under his care would grow in discernment, understand their identity in Christ and thereby make better decisions. 3. The Ability To Change. Many people do not think they can experience a permanent change in their lives. So they learn to accomodate the sin that dominates them. But a Christian can change because of his/her union with Christ. With the life of Chirst now "in us" comes the power to change. Romans 6:6 makes it clear that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Galatians 5:16 and Romans 8:13 give the formula for success. These verses say, "If you walk by the Spirit you will no longer carry out the desiresof the flesh...if you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." 4. Effecting Change Starts With Right Thinking. The Christian must stop acting like who they use to be and start behaving like a member of God's own family. To put to death the "old self" one must be renewed in their mind. Thought processes must be changed. (Romans 12:2) Simply fill your mind with truth until you change from the inside out. Again, the goal is to assume your proper identity in Christ, and no longer permit sin to reign in you mortal body. Notice that this is not something God does without your participation, or in the form of some instant miracle. It's something you do! The ball is in your court. It's about you going on offense, you running the race, you fighting the fight - all Bible terms for living a successful Christian life. Start by meditating daily on precisely what it means to be "in Christ." Then, determine to live up to that. Though Christ is there to help and sustain you, there are no quick fixes. God has given each of us a race to run...a life to live. The second component of "right thinking" comes with controlling what's allowed into your mind. Go on defense. Instead of allowing wrong, self-defeating thoughts, assume control. II Cor. 10:5 says, "Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Occupy your mind with noble, productive thoughts. Paul puts it this way, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, think on these things." This is the primary reason for a daily time of Scripture reading, reflection and prayer. You may need to evaluate and revise your daily habits to effect this change. This is the water you can't run your race without. Putting It All Into Practice: The Bible tells us to "put on the new man." That simply means to assume your role....be who you now are! Again, This is not done in an instant via some miracle. If the Word tells you to "put on the new man," then it is obviously something you can most definitely do! Where once you took orders from your flesh or human nature, which demanded indulgences, gratification and what "felt good," you replace that with your new life in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is described as "walking in the spirit." The ticket to this victory is faith. We declare this terrible force within us (the flesh) dead by faith. We reject the willful defiance and rebellion against the authority and guidance of God that used to mark our lives. Then, by faith, we assume our rightful position as a child of God and live up to our role as a royal personage. Again, we are not inactive in the process. It's not something that's "done to us." We choose to "put on the new "us" and make decisions consistent with our new life. These decisions reflect God's authority over us replacing the "self"control that once ruled our lives. Many no doubt think that to they have to change the way they act to change who they are. In truth, if you know who you are in Christ, you will change the way you act. It's all about coming to terms with our "new" selves. Because we are now in Christ, we are different..no longer a passive player, unable to resist the temptations of the flesh. By faith we consider the desires of the flesh dead (simply out of the question) for a member of God's own family. Ray Stedman in his book, From Guilt to Glory puts it this way, "We think that we have to change the way we act in order to be different; God says, No, I have made you different, and when you believe it you will automatically change the way you act." SUMMARY A victorious life that has us conforming to the image of Christ...becoming more and more like Him, starts with the renewing of our mind. When we grasp our new identity we will begin to act as royal personages and not as those in bondage to the desires and lust of the flesh. This will lead to decisions based on who you are now...not who you once were. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that the old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin (flesh) might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." Right thinking about that will make you act accordingly. That brings us back to goal setting. The Christian life is like a marathon race. Run the race one day at a time. Be patient with yourself and the process. If you make a mistake, fall down or run into a ditch, ask forgiviness (1 John 1:9) pick yourself up and continue to run. Don't beat yourself up. That will paralyze your effort and stop your progress. A crown awaits at the finish line. Don't conform to this world and it's standards. Live like who you are....a child of God. I have taken time to steer you away from a quick fix and toward your responsiblity to run your own race .... to overcome your own problems as outlined by Scripture. With this said, you need to know that as a believer the Spirit of God is with you (even in you) to enable, help and comfort you every step of the way. There is also an an important source of outside help as well. Christians are told to bear one another's burdens. This is done in the context of a local church or assembly of believers who will love, pray and support you as you run your race for Christ. So your are not alone as you work to overcome the "weight or sin that is besetting you." You are not alone as you run your race. Don't fail to include a local church as your support group. Finally, remember, that God chose you for the race. Our entry fee was paid in blood by His own Son. His given his all for us to finish. There is a crown waiting.The Bible even says that a "cloud of heavenly witnesses" are in the grandstands watching us run, cheering us on. Run because you love Him! |
Beating the sin that dominates your life by Duron Davis |
Conquering virtually any problem starts with the setting of goals. In other words there must be progress toward a set objective before anything can be accomplished. The Christian life is "goal oriented." It is nothing less than a life-long race toward the objective of becoming more and more "like Christ." If Sin is allowed to dominate, progress will be impeded and growth toward maturity stunted. 1. Goals must be realistic. For example you may have a problem that you want to "get over once and for all!" That implies a quick victory that may lead to failure and discouragement when not achieved in that way. If one has an anger problem, for example, a more realistic goal would be to "not be so angry." The idea is to set goals that can be measured so the satisfaction of making progress can be experienced. Again, "not being so angry" can be measured if one has fewer angry outburst, is slower to anger or actively engages to diffuse potential flash points. As these realistic goals are achieved (or even not achieved), enough flexibility should be in place to change the goals to encourage progress. So in conjunction with this website, where one is working without personal supervision, be sure to set realistic goals. 2. Wrong Thinking. To meet your goals and to overcome your problem, the Christian must understand exactly what it means to be "in Christ," ... to be "a new creation in Christ." Wrong thinking focuses on the "old self" before the infusion of the life of Christ entered the equation. (Eph. 4:2) It tries to "doctor" the "old self" ignoring the fact that that the "old self" was "crucified with Christ" and should no longer dominate us. In fact it should be considered dead. It can't be rehabilitated. The good news is that many times the trial we are going through can be the vehicle to bring us into this new understanding of "who we are in Christ!" With that understanding comes the ability to live a victorious life and the power to rise above any and every obstacle. The Apostle Paul prayed, in Philippians Chapter one, that the Christians under his care would grow in discernment, understand their identity in Christ and thereby make better decisions. 3. The Ability To Change. Many people do not think they can experience a permanent change in their lives. So they learn to accomodate the sin that dominates them. But a Christian can change because of his/her union with Christ. With the life of Chirst now "in us" comes the power to change. Romans 6:6 makes it clear that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Galatians 5:16 and Romans 8:13 give the formula for success. These verses say, "If you walk by the Spirit you will no longer carry out the desiresof the flesh...if you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." 4. Effecting Change Starts With Right Thinking. The Christian must stop acting like who they use to be and start behaving like a member of God's own family. To put to death the "old self" one must be renewed in their mind. Thought processes must be changed. (Romans 12:2) Simply fill your mind with truth until you change from the inside out. Again, the goal is to assume your proper identity in Christ, and no longer permit sin to reign in you mortal body. Notice that this is not something God does without your participation, or in the form of some instant miracle. It's something you do! The ball is in your court. It's about you going on offense, you running the race, you fighting the fight - all Bible terms for living a successful Christian life. Start by meditating daily on precisely what it means to be "in Christ." Then, determine to live up to that. Though Christ is there to help and sustain you, there are no quick fixes. God has given each of us a race to run...a life to live. The second component of "right thinking" comes with controlling what's allowed into your mind. Go on defense. Instead of allowing wrong, self-defeating thoughts, assume control. II Cor. 10:5 says, "Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Occupy your mind with noble, productive thoughts. Paul puts it this way, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, think on these things." This is the primary reason for a daily time of Scripture reading, reflection and prayer. You may need to evaluate and revise your daily habits to effect this change. This is the water you can't run your race without. Putting It All Into Practice: The Bible tells us to "put on the new man." That simply means to assume your role....be who you now are! Again, This is not done in an instant via some miracle. If the Word tells you to "put on the new man," then it is obviously something you can most definitely do! Where once you took orders from your flesh or human nature, which demanded indulgences, gratification and what "felt good," you replace that with your new life in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is described as "walking in the spirit." The ticket to this victory is faith. We declare this terrible force within us (the flesh) dead by faith. We reject the willful defiance and rebellion against the authority and guidance of God that used to mark our lives. Then, by faith, we assume our rightful position as a child of God and live up to our role as a royal personage. Again, we are not inactive in the process. It's not something that's "done to us." We choose to "put on the new "us" and make decisions consistent with our new life. These decisions reflect God's authority over us replacing the "self"control that once ruled our lives. Many no doubt think that to they have to change the way they act to change who they are. In truth, if you know who you are in Christ, you will change the way you act. It's all about coming to terms with our "new" selves. Because we are now in Christ, we are different..no longer a passive player, unable to resist the temptations of the flesh. By faith we consider the desires of the flesh dead (simply out of the question) for a member of God's own family. Ray Stedman in his book, From Guilt to Glory puts it this way, "We think that we have to change the way we act in order to be different; God says, No, I have made you different, and when you believe it you will automatically change the way you act." SUMMARY A victorious life that has us conforming to the image of Christ...becoming more and more like Him, starts with the renewing of our mind. When we grasp our new identity we will begin to act as royal personages and not as those in bondage to the desires and lust of the flesh. This will lead to decisions based on who you are now...not who you once were. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that the old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin (flesh) might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." Right thinking about that will make you act accordingly. That brings us back to goal setting. The Christian life is like a marathon race. Run the race one day at a time. Be patient with yourself and the process. If you make a mistake, fall down or run into a ditch, ask forgiviness (1 John 1:9) pick yourself up and continue to run. Don't beat yourself up. That will paralyze your effort and stop your progress. A crown awaits at the finish line. Don't conform to this world and it's standards. Live like who you are....a child of God. I have taken time to steer you away from a quick fix and toward your responsiblity to run your own race .... to overcome your own problems as outlined by Scripture. With this said, you need to know that as a believer the Spirit of God is with you (even in you) to enable, help and comfort you every step of the way. There is also an an important source of outside help as well. Christians are told to bear one another's burdens. This is done in the context of a local church or assembly of believers who will love, pray and support you as you run your race for Christ. So your are not alone as you work to overcome the "weight or sin that is besetting you." You are not alone as you run your race. Don't fail to include a local church as your support group. Finally, remember, that God chose you for the race. Our entry fee was paid in blood by His own Son. His given his all for us to finish. There is a crown waiting.The Bible even says that a "cloud of heavenly witnesses" are in the grandstands watching us run, cheering us on. Run because you love Him! |
Before you begin, it is important that you first read The Meaning of Life. It contains foundational information that will make this page more meaningful. It only takes a few addional minutes. When you have finish, return here and continue reading. |
This material represents our best effort to be helpful within the constraints of this format. Other information and counseling should be considered before decisions are made. |
Link to Counseling Booklets Link to "Choosing a Counselor" copyright 2000-2008 |
THE COUNSELING CENTER - WHITE, GEORGIA 30184 |
