Jesus, teach me that the thing about wrong, bad, and evil thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds is, what they do to me, my attitudes, and my behavior. Show me that when I sin, it doesn’t just damage me at the moment of the sin, I get changed in the way I think, feel, talk, and act. The sins I have allowed to come inside me can cause me to mistreat people, dislike them, lie to them, want revenge against them, and talk about them behind their back. These sins I have allowed to come inside me can cause me to lust after them, to lead THEM into sin, and to do things with them that hurts me and them. Help me understand what wrong, bad, and evil do to me once the deed has been committed. Show me that it isn’t just the deed itself; it is what happens to me once it gets inside me.

Jesus, show me that sin is like a cancer; one cell multiplies and grows; it starts replacing the healthy, normal cells. Show me it is like sin, it isn’t a cell that produces beneficial things for my body; it is selfish and self-centered. Its whole purpose is to use the food and energy resources of my body for reproducing itself. Show me that sin is just like that; it only has one purpose. It is devoted to taking me away from healthy relationships. It pushes me into selfish, self-centered activities that have to be repeated over and over again. It tries to dominate my feelings, thoughts, words, and deeds. It isn’t until it is repented of, renounced from my life, and released from my behavior that I get healed.

Jesus, teach me that wrong, bad, and evil are alive; they grow like weeds in my yard. Help me understand that weeds plant themselves; dandelions have little round balls of fuzzy seeds that get blown by the wind. Large quantities of these little airborne seeds flow from one plant and infect my and my neighbors’ yards. They don’t need to be hand planted like good plants. They will plant themselves and spread all over. This will keep happening until something is done that eliminates them. They must be actively resisted and removed. Help me see that this is what You are wanting to do in my life. Show me that one of the reasons You are taking me through these studies is so I can get the “weeds” removed from my life.

Jesus, use this dandelion illustration to help me understand sin. Show me that dandelions can be sprayed with certain poisons and they will kill them. Once a dandelion plant is killed, it can’t produce any more seeds; but, if it already has seeds produced, they must be captured and disposed of. Reveal to me that Your blood killed the deadly reproduction of the sins I committed. But, they still have the potential of doing damage in my life. Help me allow You to set me free from the damage they have already done to me. I have reacted to my life of sin and have put up barriers, walls, defenses, and attitudes that are trying to protect me. Empower me to not try to protect myself; help me give these protections up and allow You to heal me.

Jesus, I have habits, addictions, and a lifestyle that have developed from my life of sin. I have beliefs, philosophies, and principles I am living by that aren’t from Your Bible. They are governing, regulating, and manipulating my behavior. My thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds are being formulated from these things that are resident inside me. Teach me that for me to be set free from this developed lifestyle sin has formed in me, I need You to set me free. Give me habits, intense desires, and lifestyle patterns that are from You. Let them crowd out all the old habits, addictions, and lifestyle patterns.

Jesus, if I have dirty hands, I could try to rub all that dirt off; or, I could use soap and water. It is amazing how much better it is to wash things off than trying to just rub them off. Plus, soap deals with the unseen things such as viruses and bacteria. Help me always allow Your power to flow into my heart and life so You can do what I have never been able to do. Empower me to allow Your character to flow over all the things I have permitted to enter into my life. Empower me to let the fruit of the Spirit wash out all my habits, addictions, and lifestyle characteristics. Let these lifestyle characteristics flow in and through me: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Gal 5:22-23).

Jesus, my habits, addictions, and lifestyle characteristics are currently influencing my way of thinking. Let me allow Your way of thinking to force out all of the ways I USED to think. Let this be my way of thinking: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things (Phil 4:8). Since I can only think about one thing at a time, if I am thinking Your thoughts, then I can’t be thinking thoughts from my old way of thinking. Jesus, let Your power-attitudes of Galatians 5:22-23 and Your power-thoughts of Philippians 4:8 crowd out my old way of living life.

Jesus, teach me that once I am made pure, I am able to use those things You taught me in the Resistance Courses. You trained and empowered me to resist wrong, bad, and evil things. Plus, I will be able to add pure things into my life from those things You taught me in the Submission Courses. You taught and empowered me to submit to right, good, and righteousness. Show me that You use all these courses to help me get, keep, live, and mature in the Victorious Christian Life. Take me from where I am and make wonderful improvements through my relationship with You and my exposure to the Bible. Let purity help me with my relationship with myself, my friends, my business associates, my family, strangers, and with people I don’t like. Let the power of purity so enhance who I am that people will love being around me.