...self-control campaign...

So, for some time now (and some time into the future) I have decided to work on my self-control. Now, some would ask what about self are you controlling? Well, im glad you asked, lol! In the past few weeks a spirit that was put to rest a while ago in my life, tried to resurrect its ugly head in my life, and I had to cast it down. The spirit of peversion and lust tried to uproot itself in my life. Knowing the authority I have, I casted it down and prayed to set things straight. I decided then that I needed to start a self-control campaign for myself.

In my decision to do so, i realized that this spirit didn't just come up from nothing, but it was trigered by something. So I sat back and I thought.."what is it that is in my life that is allowing this spirit to creep back in?"

Well, I went over my daily routine and found a couple ways in which the enemy tried to creep in.

Firstly, i love hulu.com! lol! That is like the only thing I do during my breaks while snacking. I watch the tv shows that I missed and cruise the past shows that I have not seen before. But there were some shows that God convicted me on. Now these shows didn't have nudity or much bad language, however some episodes I saw had mentions of sexual acts, therefore quietly entering my mind and making room there.

Secondly, Ash and I like seeing movies. We make it our business not to see movies that are unGodly, or movies that are demonic or have demonic relevance. We pick our movies carefully. With our strict criteria we dont have much to choose from. As a matter of fact, we only see 'love' movies or as I call them 'chic flicks' lol! However, even with those movies...there were certain love scenes and mentions of sexual acts that a christian should not partake in. Geez!

Thirdly, I work in an office with 2 men and a woman. I love my co-workers. They literally help me through the day. They know my faith, and I have even invited them to my christian events. As a matter of fact they do come. However, they are not saved yet, and sometimes there conversation can be raunchy. Not too much. They do respect me and keep things low, but I can still hear them, and those words become thoughts in my mind.

All these things partnered together, can make for a creeping in (unaware) of the spirit of perversion in the mind. So....

Here I am...free from those thoughts and desires...because I know the freedom of Christ, and the authority I have in me from salvation and having the light of Christ within my life. However, I do not trust my flesh. As a matter of fact, my spirit man fights against it daily. So, with this self-control campaign I'm on, I am monitoring all I watch and listen to. My association and my conversation around me. Daily, I will mortify this flesh, in order to deter (not stop) the enemy's plans to destroy me. Believe me, the enemy would love it best to kill me, however even when stopped for this season, I know he will be back. So I keep my defences up and strong. I'll be stronger when he gets back.

Even with this self-control campaign, I am controlling other areas of my life.

1)My Finances- Monitoring my spending, creating a budget. Buying only things that I need, and not want. Saving properly. Continuing to tithe and sew into the local ministries. Giving abundantly and cheerfully.

2)My Idol Time- Controlling my down time. Binding up procrastination and slowfullness. Making every moment count. Eliminating time not doing anything.

3)My Prayer Time and Worship- Usually I pray in the morning and do my daily devotions in the evening. But my days are longer now a days, and it makes me tired to stay up and worship. I don't want to short change my Lord, so I decided to do the my prayer time and worship at the same time. That means waking up early and sacrificing my being comforatble for the worship of the Lord

Controlling my flesh, will allow me to control other areas of my life, therefore allowing me to be a better Christian. Doing this will allow me to prosper. As a matter of fact God said in His word that He wants us to prosper (3 John 1:2)...SO LIVE THE LIFE GOD WANTS YOU TO LIVE. Live Free and control your flesh. Mortify your flesh...DAILY! (Romans 8:13)

Remember Jesus Loves You!...and nothing can take that away!

=DG