We choose our response--rock or sponge? Resist or receive?

Sin wants you, but you must rule over it.

Trust God on this one—the short-term pleasure isn't worth the long-term consequences. If you find yourself in a tempting situation, take Paul's advice: run!

Girl, you're going to be all right. You haven't forgotten the essentials. You know about defending yourself. All you have to do now is remember … sometimes you have to defend yourself from yourself.

Even Christ Himself turned His back on Satan. Wouldn't He turn His back on me? I could feel the evilness flowing through my body and waiting, pent up, to rush off my tongue if I tried to open my mouth. I clamped my teeth shut, I'd hold it in. If it escaped, wouldn't it flood the world and all the innocent people?

If we abdicate responsibility for our choices, we may become angry, sometimes full of rage at others for running our lives, for telling us what to do. We need to take responsibility. We need to trust ourselves.

I do not deserve and will not tolerate abuse or constant mistreatment.

That's the thing with addicts. We don't intend to drink or use drugs. Usually the times we most shouldn't drink or use is when we end up drinking and using the most. Loss of control is the identifying stamp and seal of addiction. We lose control of when we use, what we use, how much we use, and what we do when we're drunk or stoned.

Then let's use this incredible tool God has given us to assess the risks that we face every day. We have the means to analyze risks and decide which are worth taking and which should be avoided. Do you have a brain? Then use it. That's the secret. That's my simple but powerful prescription for life, love, and success in a dangerous world.

When you are trying to discern whether God or Satan is the author of a hardship, one of your best clues is whether sin is involved. God never entices us to sin, nor does he employ sin or perversion as a means of molding us into the image of Christ. Impossible!

How encouraging to remember that the Spirit of God is more powerful than the spirit of wickedness! As 1 John 4:4 reminds us, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Jesus told him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.'" Matthew 4:10