I just ordered the book.

What a great interview! I could really relate to Michael's ruminations, and I appreciate his approach to them. Gonna check out the book!

Thanku

I’ve been slowly going through Mike’s book after listening here. It’s been a really helpful and enlightening read. Mike packs a lot in anchored to Scripture and uses logic in a helpful way to break down the torment of scrupulosity. As someone who has struggled with this over many years I’m grateful for a Bible based and well written book that is so practical. I’ve not read many that I’d say are as helpful as this book is. Thank you Mike; and to Jaimie for bringing this across my path in the UK via the internet. 🙌🏻

@jaimieeckert

3 ай бұрын

Oh hey, Hugh!! So nice to hear from you again. I hope you and your cute little dog and your family are doing well! :)

@WagingWarAgainstOCD

3 ай бұрын

Thank you Hugh! That is so encouraging to hear!!!

This is soo good ....wow. 😢 I'm crying. Compulsions are hard and heavy.

Wow! This was so good. Thank you so much 😊

Just ordering thus book...love balanced approach.

Thank you

@WagingWarAgainstOCD

3 ай бұрын

I hope you enjoy it!

When you both were speaking about doing the hard things, what about restitution? What about righting wrongs?

@WagingWarAgainstOCD

3 ай бұрын

Hi @jenibo! Here is what I write about restitution in my book: As OCD sufferers, we must internalize this fundamental truth: We are no longer slaves to sin. We have been set free through the blood of Jesus. We must break free from the thought patterns that convince us that we still need to be punished daily for our sins and that we must “pay” for our wrongdoings. For many of us, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that our guilt and our compulsions are an outpouring of repentance. The problem is that this is not true repentance! For example, let’s assume a man regularly steals from a 7-Eleven store. Afterward, he would feel terribly guilty, so he would give some of what he stole to the poor to rid himself of the guilt. However, he never had the intention of not stealing again. He only gave to make himself feel better. So, he performed this ritual over and over again. That is the trap many of us fall into-the trap of restitution. We are not repenting when we do something out of a compulsive motive to ease an emotion (often guilt) or to pay a debt for what is owed due to a sin. This, by definition, is restitution. True repentance (metanoia in Greek) means a reversal of a decision.4 In other words, the man who stole from 7-Eleven would be repenting if he made a final decision to stop stealing from 7-Eleven. The act of giving to the poor to ease his own guilt and to somehow even the scales of his “right-doing” versus his wrongdoing would have nothing to do with true repentance. Repentance is a simple decision to not do something anymore. And unlike earthly authorities who require restitution for wrongs, God does not require any payment for our sins because Christ has paid it all!

@WagingWarAgainstOCD

3 ай бұрын

Hi. I tried to post this earlier but it looks like it didn't show up. Here is a snippet from my book that addresses this. As OCD sufferers, we must internalize this fundamental truth: We are no longer slaves to sin. We have been set free through the blood of Jesus. We must break free from the thought patterns that convince us that we still need to be punished daily for our sins and that we must “pay” for our wrongdoings. For many of us, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that our guilt and our compulsions are an outpouring of repentance. The problem is that this is not true repentance! For example, let’s assume a man regularly steals from a 7-Eleven store. Afterward, he would feel terribly guilty, so he would give some of what he stole to the poor to rid himself of the guilt. However, he never had the intention of not stealing again. He only gave to make himself feel better. So, he performed this ritual over and over again. That is the trap many of us fall into-the trap of restitution. We are not repenting when we do something out of a compulsive motive to ease an emotion (often guilt) or to pay a debt for what is owed due to a sin. This, by definition, is restitution. True repentance (metanoia in Greek) means a reversal of a decision.4 In other words, the man who stole from 7-Eleven would be repenting if he made a final decision to stop stealing from 7-Eleven. The act of giving to the poor to ease his own guilt and to somehow even the scales of his “right-doing” versus his wrongdoing would have nothing to do with true repentance. Repentance is a simple decision to not do something anymore. And unlike earthly authorities who require restitution for wrongs, God does not require any payment for our sins because Christ has paid it all!

My intrusive thoughts are connected to actions I have to do. If I don’t do these actions, I’m afraid bad things will happen. This is my OCD. This is superstitious which is sin. I hate it and waste time and energy. Someone please respond

@juliegraves6666

3 ай бұрын

Dealing with intrusive thoughts isn't fun. A few things helped me that my former ERP therapist told me. She said feelings aren't facts. I had bad thoughts when I was in the bathroom. My therapist suggested that when I had those thoughts that I say, "I'm a grown-up or adult. I'm in charge of my mind or brain. I say this with authority, "I tell you "No". My answer is "No". After I started doing this the thoughts went away. I'm a Christian and have dealt with symptoms of OCD since I was 14 years old, but the brunt of it started in 2003. I'm in my 50's now and it was in April 2024 when I 1st went to an ERP therapist. I saw an improvement not long after I started doing ERP therapy. I deal with different types of OCD including religious OCD. I believe ERP therapy is helpful, but declaring the word of God over your life along with prayer are helpful as well.

@juliegraves6666

3 ай бұрын

God knows our hearts. We must ask God to forgive us of negative thoughts and trust God to do it. It's not easy, but with God all things are possible. The devil is a liar and he wants us to think that God won't forgive us. If you are a Christian you have faith in God. You only need the faith of a mustard seed to speak the word of God and see him move on your behalf. We must pray and ask God to deliver us from the sin in our life. It's easier for me to believe for God to move for someone else than myself. If we he have faith we believe for something before it comes to pass. We must choose to move past our feelings even if it means we walk forward with anxiety. An old lady once told me, "If you trust you don't worry.If you worry, you don't trust. " God loves us and gives the opportunity to ask for forgiveness as many times as we need to. I hope this helps you.

@nattytwe

3 ай бұрын

@@juliegraves6666 thank you. I just have to say this … mine started as a little girl, I thought I was crazy and had mental problems. I hid it from the world. Only when I was in my mid 40s I was born again, received Jesus as my Lord and savior then shortly after cried to God about this thing I had- what’s it called, I had had it. A few days later, I found out it was OCD and what that was about and I am not the only one. You see, I had always thought OCD was a person that organized their closet, made sure their hands were clean.

@nattytwe

3 ай бұрын

@@juliegraves6666 yes, I am a Christian and cry and plead to God about this. Sometimes I think it’s my thorn. Sometimes I think it’s just sin. I repent over and over, I cry because it is fear, anxiety, idolatry and covetness, and lack of self control. I know what I need to do it’s just difficult to apply. Perhaps, it is a form of suffering so that I realize how much I need God. I have many go to passages, one is Psalm 3. I also do what is called replacement thoughts- which also drive me nuts. I also say ‘NO’ to thoughts and say ‘get behind me Satan’. I also think it is my flesh and not always the enemy. Anyway…there is so much I can say. I ask for prayers please. My name is Natalie Hardt, God bless

@juliegraves6666

3 ай бұрын

@@nattytwe I'm sorry about what you are going through. I'm still working on making major changes in my life. Don't be so hard on yourself. Remember to practice self compassion. You are special. God has great plans for your life. See Jeremiah 29:11. Remember Psalm 103:12. God keeps reminding me that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:1). He tells us in Lamentations 3:23 that his mercies are new every morning. I have learned and God has reminded me that there is power in praise. God taught me several years ago that when we praise him it will cause the enemy to leave us alone. The word of God says He inhabits the praises of his people. God taught me how to come out of depression. We do that by thanking God for whst we've already prayed for. Then we spend time in praise and worship. Also, praying in the Holy Spirit helps. As I tell you this God is reminding me that I need to praise him more. We need to focus on God and his promises more than our circumstances. It's easier said than done. Sometimes we just need to spend time in praise and worship. God wants us to rest in Him. See Matthew 11:28-30. see also Isaiah 1:18. I will pray for you that God will give you peace beyond all understanding and strengthen you in your innermost being. Isaiah 26:3 says You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you. Reading scriptures out loud has helped me. Be encouraged God sees you and he knows your heart. Jesus is interceding for us (see Romans 8:34). Have a blessed day! If you want you can email me at jules90rosas@gmail.com.

I thought I wasn't saved bc psalm 37 says the wicked borrow and not repay bc I have debt a wasn't paying so I thought I was going to hell

Hey! I know you have a lot of work, but can you please help me? At least pray for me? I know you cant see the sorrow and urgency in my message but please help me… I am literally at the edge of God leaving me because of my backsliding and Im not saying that out of my OCD, I actually have backslided, but because of my OCD I dont pray, then that leads me into more sin. I have religious OCD and for me it expresses in prayer, reading the Bible and other things. For example my prayers take so long( like I have to get it right or have I prayed enough and I repeat things in my prayer). Because of that I avoid praying which feeds my OCD, Recently I have backslided so much and I cant even pray for forgiveness because it will take so long and I fear OCD. In my heart I repent, but I cant confess sin to God because then my prayer would take so long. Can I just say im sorry for my sins and not name them all? I just want to return to The Lord, but I fear OCD. Will God save me? How can I return unto The Lord? For me serving God just feels scary, like praying. The thing that makes it scary is OCD. For example waking up in the morning and praying is scary because I would just pray and not finish, i dont know what to pray. Please reply…🙏

@WagingWarAgainstOCD

3 ай бұрын

Hi! I don't want to seem like I am pushing my book - but chapter 9 is all about grace and I think that is what you need based on what you have described. Everything you are describing is fear based on a God who is harsh, and just waiting for you to slip up so He can punish you to the greatest extent of the law. . I think it will help. The short answer is yes, you can say sorry for your sins and not name them all. In this case, naming your sins has become a work. (2 Corinthians 3:5-6: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.) God looks at the heart, not our works. Our relationship with Him is based on HIS grace. OCD is sooooo good at making our relationship with God about OUR performance and not about HIS grace towards us. This is where grace if so powerful - b/c when we truly understand grace - even just a little bit - we start to see that freedom is found in having our eyes on Him and not our abilities.

@jaimieeckert

3 ай бұрын

I agree with Mike's comment to you. Check out his book. There's way more "help" in there than anyone can provide in a short YT comment. May God bless and encourage you. His grace is greater than any of us can imagine!

@Hdhskayxucbs

3 ай бұрын

@@jaimieeckertthank you for helping me! God bless you!

@Hdhskayxucbs

3 ай бұрын

@@WagingWarAgainstOCDthank you for helping me! God bless you !!