Winning the Battle of Addictions

There is a constant struggle going on inside your mind. It’s a war between your old and new self. For people with a history of relapse, the old self often wins. Since the old self is not redeemed, it is still of the world and controlled by Satan. If Satan controls your mind, he becomes the filter by which all information is received. Even the Word of God gets interpreted incorrectly.

Since our minds lead our actions, the devil knows that if we think bad thoughts, we’ll act badly. Joyce Meyer wrote a book called Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind. In the first chapter, she explains that Satan is strategic and creates deliberates plans to defeat us.

Meyer brings this point home early in her book when she writes, “He (Satan) knows our insecurities, our weaknesses and our fears. He knows what bothers us most. He is willing to invest any amount of time it takes to defeat us. One of the devil’s strong points is patience.”

With such a patient devil, you must make up your mind to invest any amount of time it takes to defeat him! Even though you surrendered, Satan will wait for the right time to return as your master. He’ll wait until you’re tired, you’re showing signs of weakness, you’re having a moment of doubt, or someone at church offended you. He’ll wait years if he has to.

So far, you have let Satan win the battle of your mind. But if there is one concept you must believe, it’s that when you receive Jesus, you really are a new creation, and that all things really are brand new.

It’s time for you to embrace higher-level thinking so you can mature in Christ and live soberly. You can’t move forward if you’re looking back. You have to keep your eyes on tomorrow and trust that God is who He says He is.

Galatians 4:8-9 explains: “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” (NIV)

For information about The Solid Rock Road Christian recovery program and our recovery book titled Follow The Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery, check out our website at www.thesolidrockroad.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Christian Recovery: Put On the New You

Why would you want to live as your old self when you have a completely new identity in Christ? For Christians in recovery, the answer can be the difference between continual relapse and freedom for a lifetime.

The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:22,23: "put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

Paul was talking to Christians -- reminding them of their identity as sons of the king. We have to kill the sin nature at the cross of Jesus so that new life can emerge. When we say goodbye to who we were, we welcome the new us. That is what Christian living is all about. We become a new person that looks more like Christ, and that is in a continual progression of spiritual growth.

If you're hanging on all or parts of your old self, you can't be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Ask God to show you what you must let go of so you can enjoy the gift of true righteousness and holiness.

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Claim to be a Christian, Not an Addict

According to the Bible, we're new creations in God. That means we're changed, we're different, we're made new. This is an amazing reality, but one that many Christians in recovery seem to forget.

You can't claim you are an addict for the rest of your life if you claim you are a Christian. You must see yourself as transformed, and you must believe that the power of God and the blood of Jesus is enough for you to resist all temptation. When you continually claim your addiction, you are empowering your old self to rise up.

Your old self is the problem. You must walk in your new creation reality so that you can live as a victorious, addiction-free Christian forever. This is what the Bible says, and this is what the blood of Jesus has done for you.

Follow The Solid Rock Road ministry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroad, and look for our book to come out in January 2010 called "Follow the Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery."

Christian Recovery and the New Creation Reality

The secular recovery community believes that once an addict, always an addict. But this is not true for Christians who understand they are transformed into the likeness of Christ. Many scriptures support this concept, but especially 2 Corinthians 5:17 which states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Christians who struggle with addictions must accept this new creation reality for themselves. With a recovery ministry called the Solid Rock Road, we teach participants 10 Bible-based principles that give them the information and spiritual weapons they need to fight and win the battle for their souls once and for all.