Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy

Author:Leslie Ludy [Ludy, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56189-3
Publisher: Crown Religion/Business/Forum
Published: 2007-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

PRACTICAL STEPS FOR RESISTING TEMPTATION

You are thinking that controlling your imagination does not depend on yourself… but it depends very much on yourself! When you cut off all the restless and unprofitable thoughts that you can control, you will greatly reduce all those thoughts which are involuntary. God will guard your imagination if you do your part in not encouraging your wayward thoughts.

FRANÇOIS FENELON

For many forms of temptation, fleeing is a physical'act—like an alcoholic choosing to walk past a bar without pausing, or a young man choosing to immediately look away when a Victorias Secret billboard suddenly screams for his attention. It's important to learn to recognize those forms of temptation in your own life and be ready to physically walk away, turn away, or look away when that moment of decision comes. But quite often, fleeing from temptation is not a physical act but a mental one. Think back to Clare's story. From the moment in the movie theater to her midnight musings, most of the temptation she faced took place inside her own mind.

Many of us struggle with constant thoughts of worthlessness, discontentment, resentment, or fear. Those kinds of thoughts are another form of temptation—the temptation to believe lies about ourselves, others, or our Prince. Martin Luther once wrote, “You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” We may not be able to keep the thoughts from entering our minds, but we can keep them from staying'm our minds— by kicking them out the moment they arrive! Giving in to those thoughts and allowing them to linger in our heads allows them to take root inside our hearts and begin to control our lives. Remember that protecting our inner sanctuary is not just a defensive action; it requires playing offense as well. And one of the best offensive moves we can make is to set up a guard station at the entrance of our minds. Instead of passively allowing any and all random thoughts to saunter right on in and hang out for as long as they want, we must actively begin chasing away any thought that is not a reflection of our Prince, Jesus Christ.

Often an un-Christlike thought—whether it is a self-loathing thought of worthlessness, a burning hatred toward someone else, a paralyzing fear of the future, or a gnawing desire to experiment with sin—will be quite persistent in its attempt to occupy our minds. The moment we kick it out, it will be back at the door of our minds, pounding furiously, demanding that we let it come in and stay awhile. That's when it's time to pull out the really big guns!

BlG GUN #1: Truth Serum. Lies are destroyed by truth. When we are tempted to start believing lies about ourselves, others, or our Prince, it's time to fill our minds with so much truth that the lies will have no desire to come in and make themselves at home—in fact,

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