CHOICE POINT:  Joshua 24: 15 “…. choose this day whom you will serve.”

• Break the cycle and step toward freedom. Galatians 5:1
• Break the cycle by hiding God’s word in your heart. Psalm 119: 9-11
• Break the cycle by avoiding the weapon of isolation. Hebrews 10: 22-25
• Break the cycle by maintain a broken and contrite spirit that trembles at His Word. Isaiah 66:2
• Break the cycle by loving God with every fiber of your being! Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Mark 12: 29 – 31

Modified from: “The Guideline, A Parent’s Guide to Addressing Pornography with Children”.  Printed by Fight The New Drug Inc. 2013. Pg. 21

Years ago, I designed and developed a medallion that became quite controversial. The coin was titled: Pro-Choice!  Just the mere words on a coin caused my fellow Christian brother and sisters to bristle and openly question my authenticity as a born-again Christian.  Due to the hijacking of the term pro-choice by the pro-abortion supporters, a Christian endeavoring to use the term pro-choice on a medallion was considered, by many, to be tantamount to going to the dark side!!

Now before you nod your head in agreement, let me offer a few words of explanation.  My intention behind creating such a medallion was to declare the Christian’s biblical worldview on being pro-choice.  I believe choice was motion when Joshua following his was move to remind the children of Israel: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

So, the back of the medallion was designed with Joshua 24:15 on one side and a “Y”.  The “Y” represented choice. Choose to go left or right because it’s your choice!  You see, the Enemy may whisper “he has a disease”, “every adult battle’s with sexual temptation”, “there is no way to be set free” etc.  It was my intention that we’ve carry the medallion in our pocket as a reminder of the truth: each day we have choices to make. The question of the day is “who will we choose to serve?”

The above diagram forms an important strategy to breaking the cycle of addiction.  Addictive behaviors are cyclic in nature.  They begin with the decision (James 1:114-15): “14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Full grown sin, stage 1(6-9) notes the initiation of the cycle of sexual immorality. Stage 2 (9-12) of the cycle is wrought with remorse, guilt, sense of failure and condemnation. Stage 3 (12-3)  is the time of fantasying. This is noted as a time of “entertaining triggers” i.e., loneliness, boredom, curiosity,  the idea of that next “hit”, the thought of that image or person seen in the store or on the street or even at church.  Stage 4 is that agonizing period of “white-knuckling”.  This is the time of attempting to convince oneself to fight, just say “no!” This is when prayers of demand are made to God (take this thought from me, take this urge from me, make this go way). All being done in our own effort and own strength.

Application: A born again Christian cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”  At every stage, I’ve inserted memory verses that all the Sword of The Spirit to fight the schemes of the devil. Hebrew 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.  We must let His Word do the heavy lifting!