I am a chocoholic. I know it, my friends know it, now YOU know it--and Choco Anonymous should be very happy with my complete confession. I've taken the first step on the road to recovery! OK, if you REALLY know me, you know I don't give up my chocolate THAT easy--and that somewhere, amidst the drippings and delight of my hilarious habit, there would be a devotional. There is!
Blame it on three friends, who last week sent me three chocolate links...one link daring to tell me how to stop my cravings, and another link delighting to say it was good medicine for my health! The third friend just decided to send me the BROWNIE link--what a friend!
Now let's get real about my chocolate habit....and let's chart the progression!
I LIKE IT! - Just a thought-nudger, 'cause a friend, a TV commercial, a magazine ad or whatever brought it to my attention. Piece of cake (chocolate!). I can shrug it off and move on....or can I?
I LOVE IT! - Now it's a heart-grabber, 'cause I've chosen to entertain it. It becomes an obsession. All I can think about is that Baskin Robbin's chocolate almond ice cream, double dip, in a waffle cone. I can almost taste it...that idea has now gone down to my heart. It's starting to take over my LIFE!
I LICK IT! - Now it's a tummy-taker, 'cause I've given in! I've satisfied my desire; I've indulged--and OH, it tastes wonderful. I should do this EVERY day--it's good for my health!
I LOATHE IT! - it's become a toe-stomper, 'cause I'd like to STOMP on that cone! I've gone and done it again...I've yielded to temptation. I hate myself for having given in! I'm a failure...I've blown it! I am a helpless chocoholic...and I WILL resolve to do better next time...
Next time? I forgive myself, forget the lesson, "fudge" on the promise...find my way to Baskin Robbin's--or the freezer, and do it all over again.....
Isn't that just like sin? Think about it, pray about it--and have a good day!
"Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7)."
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man; but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:15)."
"...Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would...And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:17, 24, 25)."
Lord, chocolate's not the problem--sin is. I know I cannot keep thoughts from entering my mind; I CAN choose to entertain them NOT...You know the weakness, the habit, the sin I fight constantly in my life. Forgive me, and help me, by your Holy Spirit, to resist the temptation, to flee from the premises, to put on the Armor of God and to walk in Your Spirit each day, In Jesus' Name, Amen."
All Scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Copyright 2004 by Peggie C. Bohanon, Springfield, Mo. Used by permission.
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