Eric Roderiques - Stop Resisting Your Sins!: Biblical Answers for Transforming Bad Habits, Negative Thoughts, Anger, and Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

What People Are Saying About

Stop Resisting Your Sins!

There is perhaps no better way to serve your own mental health and well-being than by total surrender to love and service on a daily basis. In his book, Eric Roderiques marvelously shows us how this is possible by invoking the intention and visualization of love that is inherent in pr ayer.

Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi,

Author, The Healing Self,

Professor of Neurology,

Harvard Medical School

The books clear, encouraging language is certain to help. An intriguing recasting of prayer in the psychotherapy a rena.

- Kirkus Rev iews

ResistingSins .com

Stop
Resisting
Your
Sins!

Biblical Answers for Transforming Bad
Habits, Negative Thoughts, Anger, and
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Eric Roderiques

Copyright 2018 Eric Roderiques.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

The information, ideas, and suggestions in this book are not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Before following any suggestions contained in this book, you should consult your personal physician or mental health professional. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising as a consequence of your use or application of any information or suggestions in this book.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 (866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

Additional internal art design by Meghan Jackson.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1445-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1446-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1444-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018900492

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/16/2019

Contents

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Living Bible copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version. Release 2.0, Build 2015.02.09. Copyright 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

For my wife

Do not conform to the pattern of this w orld,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Acknowledgments

I would like to recognize several people for their encouragement, and for assisting me in writing this book. I wish to thank Jeffery M. Schwartz, M.D., for reviewing and editing the section on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Additionally, I would like to thank William Thomas, M.F.T., for lending me his expertise during the evaluation of my original manuscript. I also would like to thank Daniel E. Jones, Ph.D., a long-time advisor and friend, for offering his fresh and valuable perspectives on this work and for urging me to simply: Get it done. Thanks also to all my manuscript field testers. Some of these individuals are actively engaged in the struggle to overcome bad habits. I hope all of them will enjoy greater health, happiness, and success in the future. I appreciate their time, informed input, and encouragement on this project. Furthermore, I would like to thank my wife for her ongoing support for what must seem like an authors quixotic adventure. Lastly, I wish to gratefully acknowledge the gift afforded to me by my brilliant and mysterious mentor, the Couns elor .

This book is a gift. I am more of a spokesperson, and not so much an author. Let me warn you, from the beginning, that the ideas presented herein might seem too good to be true for some people. Please do not shoot the messenger as you read this account of my real-life experiences. This is my personal story. It really happened. Moreover, I believe this book has the potential to help a vast audience; this is why I am offering such a detailed account of what I have learned. I hope this work will be useful to you, the reader, or to someone you know who is hurting in their emotions and can benefit from the lessons that follow.

I am a child abuse survivor. As a youngster growing up, I lived through a series of painful life experiences that involved physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse. Most of these life events took place when I was between the ages of five and twelve years old. For the next forty years, I carried psychological and emotional scars to include low self-esteem, as well as built-up anger and resentment. Additionally, I developed an assortment of bad habits, all of which were linked to those difficult early years of my life. I had never sought professional help to address my past experiences until I reached the age of fifty. At that time, a friend told me about an amazing Christian therapist whom he described as both affable and knowledgeable. I soon scheduled an appointment to meet a man whom I will call the Couns elor .

A distinguished older gentleman in his seventies, the Counselor worked as a licensed marriage and family therapist with offices in California. He ran a comfortable practice out of a professional building located in an upscale suburb of a major city. When I first met my new therapist, I noted his casual demeanor. The Counselor was a tall, soft-spoken, thin man. He wore casual, open-collared shirts and sweaters that helped give our interactions a feeling of informality. His office, where all our conversations took place, was neatly appointed with an overstuffed couch, a pair of comfortable chairs, and a small wooden office desk in the corner. There were tasteful and attractive knick-knacks and decorative items strewn throughout the room, all of which served to give the space a homey and comfortable feel. The exterior windows of the office were over-sized and allowed for an abundance of natural light and unobstructed views of the neatly landscaped grounds that surrounded the professional building. It was not long until I started to feel at ease in such a relaxing and peaceful environment. I later began to look forward to my counseling sessions, as the Counselors office came to symbolize for me a welcome respite from the hectic challenges of the outside world.