My question is I’m a smoker & can’t seem to quit..I’ve prayed that HE”LL take the addiction away & I pray for HIM to give me strength to do it.But I still smoke…I don’t want to because I know my body is a temple & the HOLY SPIRIIT dwells in me.I’m truly upset about this because I know I’m grieving HIM.And I don’t want to be smoking & miss the Rapture because I know it can happen at any moment.I want to please my LORD in all things…Please help with any advise & Please pray for me.I pray to be close to my FATHER & my LORD JESUS & I know smoking is hindering this.Thank you for your time & will looking for your answer.

A. First and foremost, understand that while smoking is a nasty habit that is detrimental to your health, it will not keep you out of the Rapture if you’re a born again believer. You’re saved because you believe Jesus has paid the full price for all the sins of your life, and that qualifies you for the Rapture.

Second, He is waiting to help you quit, and will do so as soon as you’re willing.  I believe the best way to quit is one smoke at a time. Stop trying to say no to all the cigarettes in your future, and just say no to the next one. For most people smoking is more habit than addiction.  You formed the habit by deciding to smoke whenever you get the urge.  You can quit by forming the habit of saying no whenever you get the urge.  Some do this by substituting other things, and some do it by just saying no.  Do whatever suits you best, but do it one urge at a time.  As your string of no’s gets longer your urges will become less powerful until they go away altogether.  James4:7says,”Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” You can stop smoking the same way.

How the Lord helps is by giving you the faith to say that first no, and by increasing your faith with each successive one.  So before you begin, ask for the faith to say no.  You know it’s His will for you to do this. He’s just waiting for you to take the first step.

If you slip and resist can’t a particular urge, just ask Him to increase your faith to say no to the next one, and begin again. Pretty soon you’ll be saying no to all of them.

Many people, including myself, have quit just this way.  I know you can do it too.

For more help on breaking bad habits, read The Law Of Displacement

Lately it seems like thoughts pop into my head of an evil nature, like making a childish excuse or telling a lie over some small matter such as why I am late. I immediately recognize this as an evil thought and denounce it. It has been years since I felt I needed to make excuses when I am at fault. Dealing with such a situation honestly and asking for forgiveness has proved to be a blessing. I am disturbed and wondering why this is suddenly an issue with me.

A. Satan can plant thoughts in our minds as a form of attack, trying to make us sin. They can be anything from the normal things like anger, lust, envy, etc. to thoughts of a more sinister nature. These thoughts don’t become sin unless we accept them and begin to consider them. This is why Paul taught us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:3-5)

Q. I struggle with a particular sin that seems to have a stronghold on me. I commit this particular sin because I like it. I know it is wrong but I do it anyway… because I like it.  After I commit this sin I feel guilty and remorseful. I repent and ask God to forgive me only to go right back and do it again. It’s as if there are two of me warring against each other. It has become a vicious cycle.

How does one stop doing something that is wrong when, if we are honest with ourselves, we like it. I like to use the analogy of pizza because I love pizza. If pizza became a sin tomorrow I would have trouble because I like it…a lot. So then, it seems to me that until I stop liking some thing I wont stop doing it. If so , then how do you stop liking something that you truly like…do you see the frustration that I’m experiencing.

Another way to look at it might be that we will always like sin and it will always be a struggle. When Jesus said we have to pick up our cross and deny ourselves daily does this mean the denial of the pleasures of sin. I just want to stop doing certain things. As Christian I feel like such a hypocrite. Sometimes it seems like I’m fighting a losing battle. I’m so frustrated!

A. First of all, stop beating yourself up. We all sin, and we all commit the same sins over and over. Even the mighty Paul had this problem. “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19)

The only hypocrites among us are those who deny they have problems similar to yours. For some it’s over eating, or drinking too much. Others can’t control their tempers, or their lusts, or their envy, or their pride. Still others have idols they can’t lay down, like their possessions, their bank accounts, or their leisure activities. If sin wasn’t pleasurable we’d have no trouble denying it. You make it sound like yours might be less socially acceptable than some others, but that’s just man’s opinion. In God’s view all sins are unacceptable.

The guilt you obviously feel is the devil trying to steal your joy. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the best way to get rid of a recurring sin is to stop giving it so much importance. The devil exploits the importance we give to our sins by heaping on extra guilt for committing them, which actually has the effect of making a repeat offense more likely. Pretty soon we feel so bad that we’re hiding from God, like Adam in the garden, and that’s just what the devil wants.

When you sin, confess and receive your forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) For God, that’s the end of it and He forgets it ever happened. You do the same. Repeat the verse from James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Guilt does not come from God. You resist the devil by seeing the guilt for what it is, his effort to drive a wedge between you and God, and rejecting it.

Pretty soon you’ll find you’re not doing it as much anymore and you’ll have deprived the devil of one more weak spot to probe. Stay focused on James 4:7, keep your guard up, and when you stumble forgive and forget, just like God does. Eventually you’ll achieve the victory you desire.

The most important thing for all of us to remember is that this life isn’t about pleasing ourselves. It’s about thanking God for saving us. We do it by adopting behavior that pleases Him.

Q. I am a believer in Christ and that He was raised from the dead for my sins. However, I still sin, even blaspheme God’s name sometimes when I get frustrated from a long day of work, responsibility,etc. I know that I can’t lose my salvation, but how could a believer do things such as this and how can I stop? I get so mad at myself when I do this, but I still do it.

A. Stop beating yourself up. We all sin, and we all commit the same sins over and over. Even the mighty Paul had this problem. “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19)

The guilt you obviously feel is the devil trying to steal your joy. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the best way to get rid of a recurring sin is to stop giving it so much importance. The devil exploits this by heaping on guilt, which actually has the effect of making a repeat offense more likely.

When you sin, confess and receive your forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) For God, that’s the end of it and He forgets it ever happened. You do the same. Repeat the verse from James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Guilt does not come from God. You resist the devil by seeing the guilt for what it is, his effort to drive a wedge between you and God, and rejecting it.

Pretty soon you’ll find you’re not doing it anymore and you’ll have deprived the devil of one more weak spot to probe.

Q. Is Hypnosis right or wrong for a Christian to do, according to Scripture? “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” 2 Tim 1:7

A. I assume you’re speaking of allowing someone to hypnotize you for entertainment purposes. While hypnosis is not specifically forbidden, it does involve yielding control of one’s mind to another. As believers, we’re to entrust our minds only to God. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)

Because of our sin nature, any time we release control of our minds, whether through stimulants, intoxicants, or other external sources, we’re at risk. The enemy waits for these opportunities to influence us toward behavior that can be disappointing, embarrassing or even offensive to the Lord, as well as potentially harmful to us.

Q. If one has professed of being born again but in time has gone back to the ways of the world (one’s sinful deeds), continues on in such behavior even when one knows that it is wrong, never asks forgiveness and then passes away before repenting. Where would one go?

Will the person be accepted in the Kingdom of GOD, but have a minor task in GOD’s Kingdom?

Or will the person be identified as one who never really accepted CHRIST as ones’ Personal SAVIOR and thus be delegated one’s portion with the wicked?

There are scriptures which do mention about the talents and all, it says that the one who hid the talent and returned it to the Master was thrown into total darkness, where there will weeping and gnashing of teeth. Does this verse say where one who accepted CHRIST may go, if ever one will turn one’s back on the Saving Grace of our LORD?

I hope I made sense in my question and hope by GOD’s favor you will be able to enlighten me.

A. Ephesians 1:13-14 is the clearest of many verses that will answer your question. It goes like this.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

At the first moment of belief, you were saved. Before you had done anything good to deserve it or anything bad to lose it, the Holy Spirit was sealed within you as a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance. Being sincere in your belief, you met the single requirement for salvation. It’s not behavior, only belief.(John 6:28-29)

Sinning and failing to confess won’t cost you your salvation, but it will cause you to live a defeated spiritual life here on Earth. And while you’ll still be a child of God’s you won’t have any kind of relationship with Him. You’ll miss out on tons of blessings here on Earth and a few crowns when you get to heaven. However you won’t be relegated to some kind of 2nd or 3rd class salvation. We all get the same, because our salvation isn’t based on behavior, it’s based on belief.(1 Cor 3:10-15)

And while it’s true that behavior such as you described may be a sign the the person was never saved in the first place, that isn’t ours to judge. It’s between the person and the Lord.(1 Cor. 4:5)