Certainly it is not in God's interest that we continue in many of these ways, even if we believe these actions affect no-one else
Smoking, drinking and eating are NOT sin, we say, although we do know that God would desire better of us.
I say STRONG WILL because we know from experience that the " will to quit " that we have now, is NOT sufficient to sustain our desire to do so....in other words, as much as we are ' wanting ' to , on our own we are unable to. If this were not so...success in quitting would prevail, and it doesn't
Peer groups, like AA and WeightWatchers, etc do offer some ' support ' and understanding of cause and effect.........but the ' motivation ' is not continuous, therefore the programs are not the BEST solution
Just because we know better, just because family, friends or others have encouraged us, harrassed us, or deserted us....
Just because we desire to quit, really desire to quit, even pray to God, we have not had sufficient will , a STRONG WILL, so we have not succeeeded in controlling our actions
Sin is as much the thought as it is the action.......Mat 5:28 Lust is a desire that began with a a thought ...if the thought was controlled, the sin ( lust) would not have occurred
The Laws of Moses, that is the Ten Commandments,..as well as further commands of God, are well defined by word and example throughout the Bible...They are there to provide an idea of what displeases God *
But now, since the coming of Jesus, we know it's not so much the action of committing the sin that displeases God, but the rejection of Him which is shown by that willful action
Jesus continued teaching this, emphasising " Loving God..and all others " is by command * , that our obedience is expected,
and our committment and response is what pleases Him when they are a result of love, not fear
Jesus simply said, " If you love me, you will obey me "
Therefore , if God sees your obedience, He will feel your love................and rescue you Ps 91:14
Certainly there are many ways to please or displease God, the Bible is full of examples...and it is in this, our intention to please God, that we can find the STRONG WILL to do whatever we believe is right, including increasing our self control over smoking, drinking, and other excesses.
By understanding the Apostle Paul, that we can do all things through Jesus Christ,Phil 4:13 Who strengthens us, and that all things are possible with God, we have the strength for a STRONG WILL and SELF CONTROL,
Joshua, John the Baptist, and the Centurion, all had self control and STRONG WILLS...and obeyed, doing whatever was expected of them.......and of course there were others as well
By first developing, and practicing, a focus on Jesus, you also will find that the best motivation to do anything, is deciding to please God, rather than peers, friends, family, or yourself....and He will provide the strength for the duration of your ' focus ' so that He gets the Glory, and YOU get the benefits of the success
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