"I need to build the discipline, confidence, and faith and I'm struggling here. I believe in the end of days and I really don't want to be the lukewarm believer or the person with not enough oil when Jesus returns. I appreciate any help, God bless."
Thanks for sharing, Matthew & asking for help. When we get honest with God, ourselves & other praying Christians, we can make dramatic changes to bring about fruit in keeping with repentance. We all have the same amount of time & most of us have the ability to make choices.
John 3:19-21 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light & does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”
James gives you the solution to your problems on sin & prayer.
What causes conflicts & quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
2You crave what you do not have...You quarrel & fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an ENEMY of God. Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? But He gives us MORE GRACE.
This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil & he WILL FLEE from you. Draw near to God--He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners & purify your hearts, you DOUBLE-MINDED.
9Grieve, mourn & weep. Turn your laughter to mourning & your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord & HE WILL EXALT YOU.
The more we commit sin without dealing with it, the harder our heart becomes to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We grieve & quench His inner promptings. Jesus said he who practices sinning becomes a slave to it, entangling us. It is time to get free by relying on God's powerful grace.
Repent & confess your sins. God is faithful & just to forgive your sins & cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Bear fruit with your repentance by changing your lifestyle. You ARE a man of faith, though it may be weak. Now is the time to exercise your faith like you exercise in your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Guilt is eating you up. Go to God immediately & confess your wrongs before Him & ask Him to cleanse you. He has promised He will. Let His forgiveness & freedom wash over you like a refreshing shower, to renew you.
You have ALREADY learned discipline in your martial arts, so you are stronger than you imagine. You also need to have a prayer partner & someone to hold you accountable & you hold him accountable. This is essential to practicing honesty & turning away from sin & turning to Christ's power & grace.
I Corinthians 6:18 FLEE fornication. Every sin that a man does is outside the body; but he that commits
fornication sins against his own body.
Flee anyway you can from continuing to fornicate with your girlfriend. If she lives with you or you with her, move out. Flee the immediate temptation. Honestly tell her this can no longer go on. She will respect you more by showing leadership. Talk this through & don't compromise.
Romans 14:13,14 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ & make NO PROVISION FOR the flesh, to gratify its desires.
How do you stop the inappropriate content input? Make no PROVISION for the flesh, to gratify it by cutting off the source of the inappropriate content. If it is TV, then remove the channels from your service that are inappropriate contentographic. If it is on the internet or phone, put a purity block program on them, so that if you try to access them in moments of weakness, it blocks them. It helps as you get stronger in your resistance to sin.
Your life is also a stressful life due to the amount you are doing. Here is a principle I have sought to live by in my life.
"If you output exceeds your intake, your upkeep will be your downfall."
Seek tomorrow to establish a minimum of 5 minutes with the Lord before starting a day. Use the acronym: ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication & service)
The Bible, the Word of God will keep you from sinning or sinning will keep you from the Word of God.
Psalm 119:9-11 How can a young man keep his way pure. By guarding it according to Your Word. With my WHOLE heart I have sought You. Let me not WANDER from Your commandments. I have hidden Your Word within my heart, so that I might not sin against You.
Memorize verses in the Bible to take with you wherever you go. Meditate on them. Pray them back to God. Claim them!
I Corinthians 10:13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand (endure). When you are tempted, he will show you a way out (way of escape) so that you can endure & stand up against it.
I memorized this verse & one more to help me in turning from temptation & finding God's escape route. It is always there if I want it & choose to use it.
Here is another passage that also helped me in Psalm 119 also, verses 58-60:
I have sought Your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. I have considered my ways (life direction) & have turned my steps back to keeping your statutes. I hurried without hesitating (delaying) to keep Your commandments.
I am praying for you. If anything I have shared helps, then praise the Lord. But get right with God & your girlfriend & listen to Him & others that can hold you accountable. You will never regret it! God's mercy & peace be with you as you walk in the light of His grace.
