1 A mostly finished novel I was writing about Nikola Tesla for several years. 70,000+ words deleted from my hard drive forever. Also, He wanted me to delete another book I was working on about how to compose music based on astrology, something I had also been working on for years. My dreams and aspirations to be an author died with those books but those skills are there if He should ever call me to use them.
2 Stop smoking pot. I was in denial about having a problem with this but I was so obsessed with getting high that it caused serious problems in every area of my life. Looking back I see now that even breathing smoke into your lungs as a recreational pastime is not what Yahweh designed these bodies for. I had a hard time giving it up on my own but when I asked Christ to help me He swooped in and made it a non-issue.
3 Christmas, Easter and Halloween (which used to be my favorite holiday). I never really cared much for Christmas mostly because of the media hype, the ringing bells in your face at grocery stores, the fake holiday cheer, and most importantly the materialistic consumerism. But it was hard for me to stop celebrating this pagan-inspired holiday because of family. Last year God told me more than 6 months prior that it would be my mom's last Christmas. There was no reason in particular I would have guessed this on my own, especially since He told me the exact time she would pass. And she did pass exactly when He told me she would. That's a whole testimony in-and-of itself though. Needless to say I felt guilty and sad that I couldn't share in the holiday season with my mother but it was His will and I had to stick to it if i wanted to please Him.
4 Debts. He made it clear I was to get out of debt. I paid off my credit cards quickly. This command tied into the next one...
5 I was making double payments for a year-and-a-half on a brand new car I bought in Colorado, a 2013 Honda Civic, in order to get my principle down so as to not pay as much interest on the life of my loan. This was not good enough for Yahweh because I bought the car out of my own volition against His will for me. There is a whole story behind this command including sings and wonders but suffice to say I bought the car out of rebellion, not fully comprehending at the time that was what I was doing. He wanted me to repent of that deed. So I did, with great hesitation at first, but after several undeniable confirmations I took the leap of faith. I rode my bike to work for months and took the bus to see my mom. I always hated riding the bus but this time I found comfort knowing I had done the will of the Lord and was happy with His provision. After my mom passed He gave me her car - an older and more humble 2010 Toyota Yaris (that still smells a bit like cigarettes - yuck) but one that fit my needs just right.
6 My hair. I had to cut it because it was quite long. It had been long most of my life and at one point I could pull my curls down to my waist. My mom kept my hair long as a child because she loved my strawberry blonde curls and when I got into middle school I became a rock musician so I let it grow and grow and grow. But the Bible does say it is a disgrace for men to have long hair. After learning the significance of headcoverings I felt convicted to make the cut.
7 STOP MAKING MUSIC. This was perhaps the biggest request of all. I didn't think I could survive without making music but He showed me that the fruits of the Spirit are plenty to obtain fulfillment and happiness. After I willingly committed myself to this test for months He gave me permission to make music solely based on Scripture (at first vocals only but then acoustic guitar too). I even had opportunities in the church I was attending to join two bands but I just didn't feel led by the Spirit in those endeavors. To this day I have not been led to record much of the music He's given me or to seek to promote it or share it widely. I'm still waiting for His word on what He wants of me musically.
8 Illegally downloaded music, movies and software. I literally had HUNDREDS of gigabytes of digital goods that I downloaded for free over the years. If I were caught with all I had I would have spent a lot of time in jail. I seriously had probably tens of thousands of dollars in free stuff I stole (yes, it is stealing). All of it had to be deleted. I started completely over with my music collection, wiped my computer clean and started actually buying my own movies to watch and software to use. And what a blessing because many of the movies and music I was listening to were steeped in wickedness and deceptions of the devil.
9 Sexual immorality and porn. I won't go into detail here but suffice to say I had a problem with it on multiple levels and had to stop all activity in that area. I thought about excluding this topic from this post for my own reputation but this is a subject so talked about in The Bible that if I left it out I would be doing my testimony a great injustice. Our society is so programmed and indoctrinated with sexually suggestive influences that it is difficult for people to resist those base urges without Christ's help. Even Disney movies are just swimming with sexual immorality. Youtube this sometime. You will be shocked at what you find if you have never heard of what they are indoctrinating your children with.
10 My friends. Many of my old friends are not only unbelievers but openly reject Christianity to the point of rebelling against God. I realized that there was no reason to continue fellowship with them since there was such a massive rift between us and there was no leading by the Spirit to attempt to reconcile our differences. So I had to tell them the hard truth about what I thought of their ways and let the chips fall where they did. Some of them I am still friends with on FB but I don't feel very compelled to seek fellowship with them. Does this hurt? Yes. They were friends from the time I was a teenager. But it had to be so.
11 To not be tied down to contracts, including leases, which led to me not being able to find a place to rent, which led to me living out of a small, rat-infested industrial office room for a year-and-a-half, "showering" out of an industrial sink in a shared bathroom and cooking on a hotplate (I joined a gym after a while to be able to take a real shower). Some may think this sounds stupid and strange but it was exactly what I needed to begin my journey of studying The Bible and praying daily, which is all I did for over a year. It humbled me and helped set me up to seek the truth without so many distractions in life that I couldn't focus and absorb all He was leading me to. I got to spend probably close to a thousand hours of study in the Word in a very short period of time. That year I grew spiritually more than I have in all the years of my life combined. I am thankful for that leading and provision. Sometimes the Lord will ask you to be happy with a tuna sandwich rather than a steak dinner. In the end it was the Bread of Life that was (and is still) the most important food to seek. Today, I still follow the Spirit where He leads which means not tying myself down to long-term worldly agreements, which often times are a hindrance to His calling.
12 My job. I was working for people who were into New Age practices and Scientology. Interestingly enough they sold mostly sandals which made me think of this verse: He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to loosen. - John 1:27. While working there I was baptized by the Spirit and came to know that this job would not last much longer, but I needed to bear with the Spirit to learn some important lessons there: that God put me there so I would learn to honor the authority that He put over me. Believe me that was not so easy for many reasons. But I did and eventually He performed signs and wonders to show me He wanted me to move on.
13 Possessions. I was convicted that if I am going to be following the Spirit and focusing on making the Gospel the center of my life that I should not amass a bunch of possessions. I should not seek to be too comfortable but rather be practical and realistic in the knowledge that I may be called at any time to pick up and go.
