do u want perseverance? then pray for it, but remember it comes through suffering! (romans 5:3-5)
or do u want God's power? it is made perfect in weakness! (2 corinthians 12:9)
so ask God for His guidance and training (which will be tough), but do not loose heart, as God does not give us 'a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.' (2 timothy 1:7)
so train yourself, do physical and spiritual (agpeya, read Bible) exercise, and good deeds (look after your old neighbour etc) and above all, ask God to be your spiritual 'trainer' and submit to His training routine (hebrews 12:5-6). put on the armour of God (ephesians 6:10), which, i think is basically the good attitudes found all through ephesians.
Dear Mike, Your forthright attitude is very endearing. If you ask me, half the battle is won by bravely owning up to one’s shortcomings without cover-ups or getting defensive.
We all struggle with different issues. Just open up to God in prayer, realize that He knows our thoughts, words and deeds inside out. And He knows what’s best for us and will never let us bear what we cannot. Acknowledging this fact in our prayers and seek His mercy and guidance. Make a conscious effort to move away physically from the source of temptation. Think of ways to fill up your leisure moments creatively.
Solitude has its benefits but also makes people vulnerable to temptations. Your visiting this site often and discussing your struggles is itself a commendable effort.
geomike, first I want to assure you that God "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-5 so I'd say, you are God's target or you are (wanted)..... off course not the bad wanted... lol..
Trust me, I'm telling you, you can't be saved unless you take real steps by cutting yourself off any negative influnce on you such as friends, movies, internet, magazines.... whatever the source is...
Next, where does the sin take place? is it at home?? then do not stay at home unless for sleeping. burn yourself with exercise... volunteer in any activity even if you think it is silly... the aim is to be busy as much as you can and stay away from the influnce. (please take into consideration that I don't know your age.. this advise won't be good if you are too young and your parents won't allow going out) If it takes place at any place outside home, do not go there whatsoever......
If you already took these steps then you are left with memories of the past and this needs a lot and I say again a lot of work.... praying, fasting and humilating the body.... the more you humilate your body, the more you will become stronger.
The key to be stronger is never to give up. keep trying and never ever give up..... you will overcome this sin with the grace of our Lord. every time you try, God is watching from above and appreciating your hard work.... it is not done in vain..
enjoy this Christian song
for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:12-14
There is also a great deal of similarity between seeking to grow strong in our spirits and seeking to become fit, because we are not disembodied spirits, but spirits enfleshed. How we live affects our spirits, and teaches us lessons in spiritual growth.
If we wanted to represent our country in the Olympics we would not just turn up for the first race and expect to perform well. We would face this test after having prepared ourselves. Every day for months we would have set aside time for hard training and we would have persevered at the programme our coach provided for us even if we felt tired and were on the point of giving up. We would change our diet to get us into peak fitness. We would not be out and about until late at night drinking and hanging out. All of our energy would be directed towards being prepared for the qualifying races.
There would be lots of pain in the training schedule. We would find muscles aching that we didn't know we had. But by persevering we would grow strong and we would find the training easier, more enjoyable and productive. I say this to myself. If we do not have a clear goal then we easily abandon our efforts.
Heb 12:1-2 Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
This verse is useful. It reminds us that we must be patient, we must endure and we must have a joyful goal set before us.
May the Lord grant us the grace to run the race to the finish
God bless you and be with us all, my brother in Christ. I will be honest with you; I think that, in overcoming any sin of habit, there must be a few things that we as sinners have to realize. Firstly, it is often most difficult to step away from whatever the habit may be initially; if we are accustomed to doing the same action each day, we find ourselves lacking, so to speak. See how we are with food... see how fond we all are of eating on a regular basis and eating what it is that we like. Then, see how we are when a fast begins. My goodness, within the first few days, it seems as though we almost cannot live without having a snack before noon, or having lunch before 3. It takes time, does it not, for our bodies to accomodate to this change? But in time, it becomes under control, for a few reasons... one, we have God strengthening us in our fast; two, we truly desire to fast along with the Church; three, we have become so accustomed to fasting at this point in our lives that we feel almost a personal shame if we don't do it.
See, now, how we have cut a habit, which in itself is not inherently bad, and gained control of our bodies through God's grace. Now, see how we should be with something that we already recognize to be inherently "bad."
You can seek much advice and truly want to change, but what it comes down to is whether you truly want to change, if you pray for the change, and if you pray in times when you are confronted with the temptation. Yes, in the beginning, it will be much of a struggle. After some time, it won't even occur to you during any time of the day to want to do it; it won't be appealing. But, and this is where we truly need to watch, one day, we will be tested again, whether it is after a few days, weeks, or months. And on that day, I must be truly fervent in my prayer. It is all too easy to fall back into the habit.
Know that God loves you, He strengthens you in your struggle, but there will be times when you will not feel His strength. And knowing that what you are to do is wrong, you fall into temptation because you feel weak... but not only do you feel weak, you don't seek the Lord at that time. If you know it to be wrong, stop... pray. Pray a psalm. Pray two. Pray twelve. If you have time to commit the sin, you surely have time to pray.
The Fathers of the Church say that the energies that we dedicate into fulfilling our passions are the same energies that may lead us to God, if we use them the right way. It is this warped lust that must be transformed back into love, love for God and love for His creation. Whenever you remember to pray, pray. If you are driving, listening to the radio, and you suddenly remember mid-song to pray, turn off the radio and pray.
Seek God, geomike. All things are possible through Christ who strengthens us, no? But I must seek these things. If those who are much further than me in the struggle towards obtaining their salvation fall into these sins when they rely on themselves, how much more will I be likely to fall if I rely on myself, being ill-equipped as I truly take the first steps in practicing my Christianity.
As for your question of humiliating the body... is this not what the fast is? We are now just at the end of the Apostle's fast, but my mind and my spirit must constantly be fasting. The fruits you labor for should not go to spoil simply because the fast ends. Today, you must make the decision to stop. Do not be discouraged if you fall again, but get up, know your weakness and learn from what it is that was around you that influenced your fall. Do not count your days that you have completed in success as accomplishments; the devil plays easily with our pride and we end up in the same sin again. Take it one day at a time. Don't plan to be free of the sin for a 3 days, a week, or a month. Plan for one day, and that day is today.
In the end, know that self-control comes from God's grace, a strong will, practice, and a realization that I am weak when I stand alone, but I am strong when Christ stands with me.
Pray for us all, geomike, as we all either are currently or have in the past struggled with some form of sinful habit.
I tried to search the internet for this question to be accurate but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach any good source. (I hope others would share in answering this question as well)
As far as I know, and I believe I know little, humiliating the body can be done through different ways. One way is fasting and not giving the body its desires whenever it wants. This does not include fasting from food only, but any luxurious thing as well. By luxurious thing, I mean if we omitted this thing from our lives we will not really have any negative effect on our living.
Another way is prostration “metanias.” It should be done regularly with total submission of the mind and the heart. Kneeling in front of the King of Kings has amazing outcomes on oneself, because it stops the works of the devil. It’s also done with the guideness of our FOC.
Other ways can be done out of our personal choice, each according to his/her ability like sleeping on the floor for a couple of days, or like volunteering to wash cars, carrying the grocery for old people, or even cleaning the whole house. (this depends on where do you live and what you can do)
In general humiliating the body is not punishing the body, but rather controlling the works of satan in our lives.
Comments
(romans 5:3-5)
or do u want God's power? it is made perfect in weakness!
(2 corinthians 12:9)
so ask God for His guidance and training (which will be tough), but do not loose heart, as God does not give us 'a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.' (2 timothy 1:7)
so train yourself, do physical and spiritual (agpeya, read Bible) exercise, and good deeds (look after your old neighbour etc) and above all, ask God to be your spiritual 'trainer' and submit to His training routine (hebrews 12:5-6).
put on the armour of God (ephesians 6:10), which, i think is basically the good attitudes found all through ephesians.
may God guide and protect you
Your forthright attitude is very endearing. If you ask me, half the battle is won by bravely owning up to one’s shortcomings without cover-ups or getting defensive.
We all struggle with different issues. Just open up to God in prayer, realize that He knows our thoughts, words and deeds inside out. And He knows what’s best for us and will never let us bear what we cannot. Acknowledging this fact in our prayers and seek His mercy and guidance. Make a conscious effort to move away physically from the source of temptation. Think of ways to fill up your leisure moments creatively.
Solitude has its benefits but also makes people vulnerable to temptations. Your visiting this site often and discussing your struggles is itself a commendable effort.
God bless you,
R
so I'd say, you are God's target or you are (wanted)..... off course not the bad wanted... lol..
Trust me, I'm telling you, you can't be saved unless you take real steps by cutting yourself off any negative influnce on you such as friends, movies, internet, magazines.... whatever the source is...
Next, where does the sin take place? is it at home?? then do not stay at home unless for sleeping. burn yourself with exercise... volunteer in any activity even if you think it is silly... the aim is to be busy as much as you can and stay away from the influnce. (please take into consideration that I don't know your age.. this advise won't be good if you are too young and your parents won't allow going out)
If it takes place at any place outside home, do not go there whatsoever......
If you already took these steps then you are left with memories of the past and this needs a lot and I say again a lot of work.... praying, fasting and humilating the body.... the more you humilate your body, the more you will become stronger.
The key to be stronger is never to give up. keep trying and never ever give up..... you will overcome this sin with the grace of our Lord. every time you try, God is watching from above and appreciating your hard work.... it is not done in vain..
enjoy this Christian song
for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Romans 10:12-14
There is also a great deal of similarity between seeking to grow strong in our spirits and seeking to become fit, because we are not disembodied spirits, but spirits enfleshed. How we live affects our spirits, and teaches us lessons in spiritual growth.
If we wanted to represent our country in the Olympics we would not just turn up for the first race and expect to perform well. We would face this test after having prepared ourselves. Every day for months we would have set aside time for hard training and we would have persevered at the programme our coach provided for us even if we felt tired and were on the point of giving up. We would change our diet to get us into peak fitness. We would not be out and about until late at night drinking and hanging out. All of our energy would be directed towards being prepared for the qualifying races.
There would be lots of pain in the training schedule. We would find muscles aching that we didn't know we had. But by persevering we would grow strong and we would find the training easier, more enjoyable and productive. I say this to myself. If we do not have a clear goal then we easily abandon our efforts.
Heb 12:1-2 Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
This verse is useful. It reminds us that we must be patient, we must endure and we must have a joyful goal set before us.
May the Lord grant us the grace to run the race to the finish
Father Peter
I have tried all you said, but i have no self-control whatsoever. I wanted to know, How do you "HUMILIATE" the body??
God bless you and be with us all, my brother in Christ. I will be honest with you; I think that, in overcoming any sin of habit, there must be a few things that we as sinners have to realize. Firstly, it is often most difficult to step away from whatever the habit may be initially; if we are accustomed to doing the same action each day, we find ourselves lacking, so to speak. See how we are with food... see how fond we all are of eating on a regular basis and eating what it is that we like. Then, see how we are when a fast begins. My goodness, within the first few days, it seems as though we almost cannot live without having a snack before noon, or having lunch before 3. It takes time, does it not, for our bodies to accomodate to this change? But in time, it becomes under control, for a few reasons... one, we have God strengthening us in our fast; two, we truly desire to fast along with the Church; three, we have become so accustomed to fasting at this point in our lives that we feel almost a personal shame if we don't do it.
See, now, how we have cut a habit, which in itself is not inherently bad, and gained control of our bodies through God's grace. Now, see how we should be with something that we already recognize to be inherently "bad."
You can seek much advice and truly want to change, but what it comes down to is whether you truly want to change, if you pray for the change, and if you pray in times when you are confronted with the temptation. Yes, in the beginning, it will be much of a struggle. After some time, it won't even occur to you during any time of the day to want to do it; it won't be appealing. But, and this is where we truly need to watch, one day, we will be tested again, whether it is after a few days, weeks, or months. And on that day, I must be truly fervent in my prayer. It is all too easy to fall back into the habit.
Know that God loves you, He strengthens you in your struggle, but there will be times when you will not feel His strength. And knowing that what you are to do is wrong, you fall into temptation because you feel weak... but not only do you feel weak, you don't seek the Lord at that time. If you know it to be wrong, stop... pray. Pray a psalm. Pray two. Pray twelve. If you have time to commit the sin, you surely have time to pray.
The Fathers of the Church say that the energies that we dedicate into fulfilling our passions are the same energies that may lead us to God, if we use them the right way. It is this warped lust that must be transformed back into love, love for God and love for His creation. Whenever you remember to pray, pray. If you are driving, listening to the radio, and you suddenly remember mid-song to pray, turn off the radio and pray.
Seek God, geomike. All things are possible through Christ who strengthens us, no? But I must seek these things. If those who are much further than me in the struggle towards obtaining their salvation fall into these sins when they rely on themselves, how much more will I be likely to fall if I rely on myself, being ill-equipped as I truly take the first steps in practicing my Christianity.
As for your question of humiliating the body... is this not what the fast is? We are now just at the end of the Apostle's fast, but my mind and my spirit must constantly be fasting. The fruits you labor for should not go to spoil simply because the fast ends. Today, you must make the decision to stop. Do not be discouraged if you fall again, but get up, know your weakness and learn from what it is that was around you that influenced your fall. Do not count your days that you have completed in success as accomplishments; the devil plays easily with our pride and we end up in the same sin again. Take it one day at a time. Don't plan to be free of the sin for a 3 days, a week, or a month. Plan for one day, and that day is today.
In the end, know that self-control comes from God's grace, a strong will, practice, and a realization that I am weak when I stand alone, but I am strong when Christ stands with me.
Pray for us all, geomike, as we all either are currently or have in the past struggled with some form of sinful habit.
Pray for us as we pray for you,
childoforthodoxy
I tried to search the internet for this question to be accurate but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach any good source. (I hope others would share in answering this question as well)
As far as I know, and I believe I know little, humiliating the body can be done through different ways. One way is fasting and not giving the body its desires whenever it wants. This does not include fasting from food only, but any luxurious thing as well. By luxurious thing, I mean if we omitted this thing from our lives we will not really have any negative effect on our living.
Another way is prostration “metanias.” It should be done regularly with total submission of the mind and the heart. Kneeling in front of the King of Kings has amazing outcomes on oneself, because it stops the works of the devil. It’s also done with the guideness of our FOC.
Other ways can be done out of our personal choice, each according to his/her ability like sleeping on the floor for a couple of days, or like volunteering to wash cars, carrying the grocery for old people, or even cleaning the whole house. (this depends on where do you live and what you can do)
In general humiliating the body is not punishing the body, but rather controlling the works of satan in our lives.
God Bless all you