Overcoming Evil: Christian Recovery

We are born with a sin nature, but having been born again, we have been gifted with the Holy Spirit. Jesus referred to the Spirit of God as the power by which He cast out demons. And we know that Jesus dealt with evil because of the 40 days he spent in the desert being tested by Satan. And of course, the devil and his demons were at work during the entire three-year ministry of Jesus. Their efforts failed, so we can use Jesus as our example of how to overcome evil.  

If Jesus had to deal with evil, it makes sense that we do too. The difference is that we often let our sinful nature control our lives while Jesus prayed to His Father in Heaven and was led by the Holy Spirit.

But you can be more like Jesus if you continually eliminate your sinful nature from your thoughts, actions and decision making. To do that, you must refuse to allow your emotions and incorrect thoughts to dictate your behavior. If what you feel isn’t in line with the Word of God, you have to forego your emotions and instead, do what’s right.

The following are 3 ways that you can overcome evil and act more like Jesus:

1.     Read your Bible:  The words written in the Bible are necessary for your transformation. You must understand the promises, purposes and plans of God so that you can discover your destiny.

2.     Hang around strong Christians:  Many times our familiar circle of friends have the same old thought processes that God wants us to change. Therefore, it is wise to connect with faith-filled Christians who can help you think more like Jesus. Later, you can reconnect with your old friends so you can share what you have learned.

3.     Go to church:  Many people falsely believe they don’t need to go to church to be a Christian, but the Bible says differently. And if we look at Jesus as the model, he held church services constantly. The Gospels are filled with red letters, which are the words of Jesus as he preached and taught his followers. Surely, you can devote one or two hours of your day to listen to a sermon and connect with other Christians.

Of course, there are many other important aspects of your Christianity that should not be overlooked when trying to overcome evil. My book “Follow The Solid Rock Road:Pathway to Recovery” provides great insight into the promises, purposes and plans of God. Plus it shows you how to continually win the spiritual battle for your soul.

Christian Recovery and the Word of God

While God is love, the Bible describes the Word of God as a sword, a hammer, and a fire. It cuts, it clobbers, and burns. That’s not exactly gentle, but that’s often what it takes to destroy the lies and tricks of the devil.

We take the Bible very personally, believing that every word was written for us. When we pray, we don’t doubt that God is listening intently, ready to respond with an exhortation, a sign, scripture, symbol, word of truth, or some form of imagery. And some of our favorite moments are when we’re contemplating something we’ve seen or heard from God or about God, getting insight into our lives, and getting inspiration for others.

You know you should read the Bible, think about what it says, and pray to God. But what you may not understand is that all three of these actions must be performed to stay fully connected with God, who is your source of life and energy.

This connection allows truth to penetrate your soul and your spirit to rise above your sin nature. When you disconnect from God, you are in human default mode. This means that you are being directed by your inner voice, which has gotten you into trouble your whole life.

Your inner voice wants to protect your sin nature and 
will war against the truth of God. 

We don’t have to remind you what your sin nature looks like. But what about that inner voice of yours that keeps reciting old news, has a tendency to obsess over negative events in your life, and loves to send you places well off God’s beaten path? What does it tell you and how does that voice affect your relationship with God, yourself, and others?

We have to fight against the voice of Satan who wants to minimize our ministry. It says a lot of things that are hurtful and make us doubt, fear, and become frustrated. But we have learned to silence those voices and listen intently to the voice of God. You can do the same, though it does take some practice.

(Excerpt from our Christian recovery book titled “Follow The Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery on Amazon.com.)

You can learn more at www.thesolidrockroad.com