#themindchallenge

Intro:

Welcome to #themindchallenge! Over the next several weeks, we are going to acknowledge and deal with the issue of lust that takes place in our mind! This challenge will be hard. This challenge will be embarrassing. And, yes, we will fail sometimes. But the goal of this challenge is to get better! The goal of this challenge is to reduce the lustful thoughts we have throughout the day. The goal of this challenge is to glorify God by viewing His creation the way He does, and not viewing for our own sexual pleasures. Jesus makes it clear that it is wrong to lust after others. He even goes as far to call us an adulterer if we "look at a women with a lustful intent" (Matt. 5:28). Therefore, it is paramount that we deal with this lust issue. #themindchallenge is a way to deal with this very issue! Before we begin, here is some pertinent information regarding the challenge:

· Know that your strength comes from God.

· There are five phases of the challenge. Each phase is seven days long.

· Be honest with yourself! If you are going to take this challenge seriously, you need to take ownership for your actions.

· Although this challenge is targeted towards men, a person of any gender may participate in the challenge.

· The chance of you failing the challenge the first time is high. When you fall, get back up, and start again.

· The only time you may look at a person in a sexual way is if that person is your spouse. No exceptions!

· Lastly, you will want to have an accountability partner(s), someone you can trust. This can be a close friend, a relative, a spouse, or a mentor. It is a bonus if this person is of the opposite gender. You will update your accountability partner daily.

#themindchallenge PHASE ONE (Seven Days):

This week focuses on acknowledging the problem and bringing awareness to the amount of times we look at someone in a lustful way. You may find this shocking. This is okay because you are taking the first step in controlling your mind! For this week, follow the steps below:

1. Daily Prayer: Start and end each day talking to God. Ask Him for His strength as you attempt this challenge. Ask Him to reveal this sin to you and give you the power to overcome it.

2. Your Index Card: Keep a folded index card in your back pocket. For every time you look at someone in a lustful way, mark a tally. Even if it is a peak, mark a tally. If you look at their chest, mark a tally. If you look at their legs or rear end, mark a tally. If you look at their abdomen, mark a tally. If you see something on social media that causes you to lust after a person in a sexual way, mark a tally. No matter the age, mark a tally. No matter the gender, mark a tally. If you find yourself asking the question, “should I mark a tally,” MARK A TALLY. Do not lie, do not undersell. Mark a tally. Every time! You may be discrete with your index card. This is for you, not for show. If you are tech-savvy, there are many apps that will count tallies (the "counter" app works pretty well for me).

3. Daily Tally Number: At the end of each day, take note on how many tallies you marked. This number may surprise you!

4. Accountability Partner Report: At the end of each day, report to your accountability partner on how you did. DO NOT LIE. Be honest. They are here to help you, not judge you.

5. Bonus: As a bonus, try to actively reduce the amount of tallies each day. You will learn quickly of your triggers, and hopefully, you will start to put plans in place to either avert your eyes or to change your actions.

#themindchallenge PHASE TWO (Seven Days):

Now that you are aware of your adulterous actions, now its time to turn away from them. This week focuses on reducing the amount of times we look at a person in a lustful way.

1. Daily Prayer: Again, begin and end each day with prayer. Specifically ask God to reveal ways in how you can reduce your tallies.

2. Your Index Card: We continue with the folded index card this week. Again, mark a tally for every time you look at someone in a lustful way. EVERY TIME!

3. Daily Tally Number: This week you are actively taking steps to cut your daily tally number by half. So, if you had an average of 50 tallies per day, now you are aiming for 25. By this point, you should know your triggers. Do everything you can to avoid them. Train your eyes to look someone in the face. If you really are having trouble, try to determine the eye color of the person you are looking at. It is harder to look at someone in lustful way if you are trying to figure out if their eyes are brown or hazel.

4. Accountability Partner Report: Again, at the end of each day, report your progress to your accountability partner. Every day!

5. Bonus: If your daily tally number is under 12, you may skip to Phase Three.

#themindchallenge PHASE THREE (Seven Days):

This is the point when the challenge will become very difficult as the jump from Phase Two to Phase Three is a bit steeper. But you are ready for this! It is time to really take ownership for your actions and move towards a lust free life!

1. Daily Prayer: Begin and end your day with prayer. You will find that this will be the most important aspect of this challenge.

2. Additional Prayer: In addition to praying every day in the morning and at night, pray EVERY TIME mother nature calls. That is right! Every time you use the bathroom, ask the Lord for extra strength in defeating your mind. Satan will not like what you are doing, therefore he will go above and beyond to make sure you stumble. Do not let him win! Continually have God on your side!

3. Your Index Card: We are keeping up with the index cards this week, but now, things are about to get real! At this point, it is ideal that you have a daily tally average of 12 or lower. If you have not achieved this yet, go back to Phase Two and spend more time in prayer. Talk to your accountability partner each day and develop a plan in how you can reduce your daily tally number. If you have achieved this, you will continue to document every time you look at someone in a lustful way. But, instead of using tallies, you are now writing the initials of the person you have violated with your mind. You will find that, in most cases, this is someone you know. Write their initials down on your index card. If it is someone you do not know, write down a phrase that will help you remember that person such as, “The women in subway” or “the person walking down the street.” You will hate doing this because it will expose you for who you are, an adulterer. But you can defeat this!

4. Social Media Purge: It is now time to tackle the social media problem. You have probably noticed that it can be VERY easy to lust after someone over a screen. After all, they cannot catch you staring at them. This ends now! For every time you lust after someone over Facebook, Instagram (this one will be the hardest), twitter, etc., unfollow them. YES, UNFOLLOW THEM! If you see a bikini picture, unfollow them. If you see a bunch of people in swim wear near the ocean, unfollow them! If you see a full body view from the side (often taken in a bathroom), unfollow them! It does not matter why they posted it, if it causes you to stumble (and as a result you write their initials on your index card), unfollow them. If you find yourself asking the question “should I unfollow them,” UNFOLLOW THEM! Do it! You know who these people are. If you know that a person will be a problem, unfollow them. Do whatever it takes. Unfollowing, deleting, or even blocking a person may and will be necessary. You can not control what they post, but you can control what you see. Unfollow them!

5. Accountability Partner Report: Report your daily progress to your accountability partner. Talk about the triggers you have noticed. Mention how you did on social media that day.

6. Renewing Your Mind: At the end of each day, look over your index card. Take some time and pray for each person who is represented by their initials. Ask God for forgiveness for each person. Take time to pray for each person. Ask for God to work in their lives. Ask God to help you look at them the way He looks at them. This may be embarrassing. But here is the thing, God already knows. It is time for you to take ownership.

7. Transforming Your Mind: If you find that you are writing a person’s initial often, take time to get to know them. Ask them about their lives. Try to uncover their mind, their interests, and their heart rather than trying to uncover their clothes in your mind. Make active steps to get to know them as a person. See them as a person, and not as an object.

#themindchallenge: PHASE FOUR (Seven Days)

By this point, you have made significant progress in gaining control over your mind. Hopefully, you have begun to lust after people less and less each day.

1. Daily Prayer: Begin and end each day with prayer. Ask God to continually give you strength to have control over your mind.

2. Additional Prayer: Continue to pray throughout the day. This is a minute by minute battle. Satan is always working against you. Therefore, it is important that you actively fight back.

3. Daily Tally Number: You do not need to carry an index card this week. However, you are continuing to be very aware of how many times you look at someone in a lustful way. Hopefully by this point, this number is at a bare minimum, but you will still slip up. When you do, immediately ask God for forgiveness. Actively direct your mind to something else. If you know the person, ask them about their day or how their life is doing. If you do not know the person, focus on something else (like your task at hand, sports, YouTube series, anything other than sexualizing that person’s body)

4. Social Media Purge: Continue to purge your social media. This will only help! Summertime is the worst! Know that it will be harder during this season but continue to remain guarded.

5. Accountability Partner Report: Continue to keep your accountability partner in the loop. Lust is a daily issue, and it will continue to be until we die. Repeatedly ask for prayer and keep talking about this. The more you are aware of this area of your life, the greater chance of controlling your mind.

6. Renewing Your Mind: At the end of the day, recall the amount of times that you stumbled. Ask God for forgiveness and pray for that person.

7. Transforming Your Mind: As a bonus: If you realize that you continue to struggle with lusting after a person, bring it to their attention and ask for forgiveness. This may be the hardest thing you have ever done, but you have sinned against God, and you have sinned against them. Asking them for forgiveness might give you another tool to gain control over your mind.

#themindchallenge: PHASE FIVE

1. Striving for Excellence: When you have completed Phase Four of the challenge, go back to Phase One. Do this with the intent of improving. This is striving for excellence. This is doing everything you can do to reduce the amount of times you lust after someone throughout the day. If you get down to one tally per day, start totaling tallies from the whole week. With each passing week, attempt to reduce your weekly tally number. You can do this! You can gain control over your mind! As children of God, let us do this TOGETHER!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27 (ESV)

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philipains 4:13

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." Pslam 28:

As with all my blogs, this is solely my opinion. I do not want to pretend to have the absolute “right answer.” I am speaking to myself as much as I am speaking to others. It is okay to disagree with me, and I welcome discourse. My only request is that every word of each blog is weighed heavily and considered before agreeing or disagreeing with the points presented in each entry. Please keep in mind that I am a Christian, so my beliefs and opinions will be influenced by my faith. I will upload blogs every Friday. If you would like to suggest a topic for me to cover, you can do so via Facebook or twitter. You can follow me on twitter @mjeromebell #themiddlegroundblog

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