If you find value in Daily Encounter we hope you will be comfortable in donating at least $26. That's only 50 cents a week for an entire year to send Daily Encounter to 410,000+ worldwide subscribers every weekday of the year— without charge.
|
| | You Can't Fly With a Broken Wing. One reader said, "This is the most helpful book I have ever read....
 On SALE for $10.99
How to Mend a Broken Heart. A retired veterinary surgeon, former lecturer at the Royal Veterinarian College of London and at Cambridge, wrote: "I have gone through two divorces and ... have just read your book, How to Mend a Broken Heart. It is the most helpful counseling I have ever read."
On SALE for $7.99 I Hate Witnessing, Pastor Ernie Cox of Ontario, Canada, said, "I've just finished reading I Hate Witnessing and have to say that it is the best thing I've ever read on commun-icating the gospel."
On SALE for $10.99
Passport for Heaven: Excellent for giving to family, friends and contacts. Available in packs of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, more.
To Purchase
| |  | | Share the gospel and Daily Encounter with friends and contacts by giving an attractive Business witness card ... available in packs of 50. Twelve different cards available. |
|
|
| | |
Daily Encounter by
Richard (Dick) Innes of ACTS International
Click HERE for ACTS-in-Action monthly report. Global Media Outreach:
Learn how to be a missionary right from your own home and have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner. Click HERE There is no charge.
Also please forward Daily Encounter to friends Click HERE
and then on the  button.
To receive the TEXT edition of Daily Encounter
without pictures rather than this HTML edition
with pictures: Click HERE.
See Weekend Encounter ... without charge
every weekend: humor, helps, inspiration. For
the current edition: Click HERE. Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Overcoming Addictive Behaviors
"When you ask [pray], you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures"1
A Daily Encounter reader writes: "I am writing because I need to confess some things I am struggling with. I have a drinking, smoking, and pornography problem and am irresponsible with spending. As a result I have lost my home. I don't want to do these things and repent over and over but keep doing them. I am so sick of this filth that's inside of me. I feel like I'm going down this shame spiral. I feel very frustrated, depressed and angry. I want to change in a hurry before something more drastic happens."
Dear Tim (name changed), thank you for sharing your struggles. This is the beginning point of recovery. Unfortunately, I can't offer you a quick fix as it takes commitment, time and hard work, as well as God's help, to overcome problems that have established themselves in our life over a period of years.
The next step in recovery is to learn how to pray the right prayer; that is to pray honestly with the right motive. For instance, it is imperative that you admit that you are an addict—addicted to drinking, smoking, pornography and over-spending. Realize that any habit that controls us is an addiction. When we want God to deliver us only from our addictive behaviors without admitting the real issue of being an addict and dealing with the cause or causes (often hidden) of the addictive behaviors that enslave us, we are praying the wrong prayer with the wrong motive.
True, while your addictive behaviors are problems that need to be confronted, they are not the main issue, but the symptoms of a deeper problem—the fruit of a deeper root. It's at that deeper root level that God wants to heal you. When we focus our prayers only on the symptoms, we tend to reinforce them, for what the mind dwells on, the body acts on.
From what you have shared about your family background, it is obvious that you are suffering a deep love-deprivation need that goes all the way back to your childhood. It is at this level where you need healing. Your addictive behaviors have been used as a defense against feeling this pain and as a means to medicate and deaden it.
You need help to stop acting out in addictive behaviors so you can feel your pain, face it, confront it, and resolve it. Start by praying the right prayer. Admit to God that you are an addict, that you are powerless to overcome your addictions in your own strength, and ask God to help you see the real cause of your problem, and to lead you to the help you need to overcome it.
Also, realize that you can't overcome your problem alone. You have already learned that this doesn't help. A recovery program such as an AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) group can help you to stop acting out in addictive behaviors. This will allow you to get in touch with and resolve the cause or causes of your addictive behaviors.
Chances are that you are going to need help from a capable counselor who can help you work through and resolve your childhood hurts and lack of meaningful love—which is undoubtedly at the root cause of your addiction. (See below for helpful information.)
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in all my praying, please help me to be honest with myself and with you, admit what I really am (an addict that needs help … or name whatever problem you are struggling with), and see the root cause of my addictive behaviors. And please lead me to the help I need to resolve and overcome my problem. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
Note: For help to locate a counselor/counseling in your area see "Suggested Resources for Counseling" at: http://www.actsweb.org/counseling_resources.php
1. James 4:3 (NIV).
<:))))><
NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click HERE.
Or if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, please click HERE to note this.
|
| |
| NOTE: Click HERE for ACTS Monthly Report.
| | Note re Comments: Please keep your comment from 10 to 12 lines max. Comment only on this day's Daily Encounter. Click only one time on the "Add Your Comment" button to send your message. Keep in mind that many responses are coming from people whose first language is not English. We reserve the right to delete unsuitable comments and unsuitably long comments.
|  | about today's Daily Encounter | |
How to Know God and be sure you're a real Christian without having to be religious: Click HERE.
Archives: For Daily and Weekend Encounter archives: Click HERE.
On the Lighter Side: Click HERE.
NOTE: You are receiving this recurring mailing because you subscribed on one of our web sites, or requested by email or letter to be subscribed, responded to an advertisement on ArcaMax.com to be subscribed, or confirmed your subscription after recording your response on one of our web sites.
Prayer Partners Needed: One of ACTS International's greatest needs is Prayer Partners to stand with us as we seek to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with millions of people around the world through E-mail and the Internet, and to bring people to Jesus. If you would like to join with us as an ACTS Prayer Partner, please Click HERE, and then click on the Subscribe to Prayer Encounter. Unless a special or urgent need arises, we send out only one prayer update report each month.
Prayer Requests: To submit a prayer request to David Clark Click HERE. (David is not on the ACTS staff but is offering this as a service to Daily Encounter readers.) If you are a prayer warrior and would like to pray with David for requests sent in, Click HERE to sign up. |
| Published by: ACTS International
Report problems to ACTS International
© Copyright 1990-2012 by ACTS International
P.O. Box 73545
San Clemente, California 92673
U.S.A. |  | 
Available:
CDs by Dick Innes: "Loving and Understand-ing People," "Healing Whole-ness and Happi-ness," "I Hate Witnessing," and "God's Formula for Success." Designed to inform and inspire and sprinkled with humor. On SALE at Store |
| 
You Are Invited
| Prayer Request
To send a prayer request: Click HERE |
| | Privacy Policy: We have a strict privacy policy in that your email address and any details you provide will never be shared with any other individual or organization. |
|
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment