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Surf Your Values
In his excellent book
Future Grace
,45John Piper, pastor for preach
ing at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, addresses our need
to battle sin by believing God’s promises, which offer so much more
pleasure and happiness to our lives than the sin we commit. Since
we sin because of the pleasure that the action offers us, the key to
destroying sin’s power is to have “faith in future grace.”His ministry
website, which is named “Desiring God,” contains this sample:
What is future grace? It is all that God promises to be for us from
this second on. Saving faith means being confident and satisfied in
this ever-arriving future grace. This is why saving faith is also sancti
fying faith. The power of sin’s promise is broken by the power of a
superior satisfaction; namely, faith in future grace.46
One practical strategy for battling lust that Piper uses in everyday
life is called “ANTHEM.” Here is what each letter stands for:
A Avoid the external allurements if possible.
N Say No within five seconds of the internal feeling of
temptation.
T Turn the m ind forcefully in ano ther direction to ano ther
image and truth.
H Hold this image and tru th firmly in your mind until it pushes
the other out.
E Enjoy a superior satisfaction.
M Move into a useful activity from idleness or other vulnerable
behaviors.47
2. Stay Away from the “Virtual Cliffs” in Cyberspace
Boundaries—everyone has them. Starting from our earliest days
when parents and teachers protected us with rules like “Don’t leave
the playground” or “Stay away from the busy street,”we’ve all had
our limits—and desires to test those limits. Progressing through
middle and high school, peer pressure brought more temptations
to go in a different direction and test parental boundaries. Even
as adults, we’re still tempted to exceed speed limits or cut other
corners in life to give us an advantage.
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