1. True sexuality is intimate, directed only towards your spouse. Lust is impersonal, directed towards anyone or anything that titillates your greedy desire. 2. True sexuality cares for the satisfaction of your spouse. Lust cares only that you are satisfied. 3. True sexuality results in gratitude to God and earnest prayer for his blessing in your sexual union. Lust knows nothing of gratitude or prayer. 4. True sexuality requires sensitivity. Lust craves sensual desires. 5. True sexuality is motivated by personal inner beauty. Lust is motivated physical outward appearance. 6. True sexuality results in a deepening relational closeness. Lust results in increasing demands for self-fulfillment, with little regard for the well-being of the object of its desires. 7. True sexuality […]
Monthly Archives: April 2013
We humans are social creatures. Actually, we are driven to be social. In a different day the front porch or the street corner were places to socialize. With the age of electronic communication the front porch became virtual. For a while email was the social choice. But email was specific, you wrote to a particular person of group of persons. Email turned out to be not very social. Then, one bright young man figured how to create a virtual front porch. He called it Facebook. Now, you can say whatever is on your mind to everyone or to no one in particular. You just hang out on the virtual front porch. People can stop and listen or keep going. The […]
Jesus directed his followers to pursue him through the narrow gate. The narrow gate opens to a narrow road that leads to life. The narrow gate is not as appealing as the wide gate. The wide gate is the gate that accommodates the crowd. It is the one that offers enticement and intrigue. The wide gate boldly flies it banner – “You only go around once!” There are many objects worthy of your worship. Enjoy as many as you can. The narrow gate leads to truth. Instead of a multitude of things to worship, there is only one Who is worthy. Not surprisingly, few desire such a restriction. Worshiping one God to the exclusion of all others is too […]
There is no random with God. Sex was designed for husbands and wives. The sexual revolution actually began with the fall – man continues to fall for the same trap; we think there has to be a better way than God’s. One of the great lies of our time is that sex and marriage have nothing to do with each other. Lust is camouflaged as sexual attraction. Saying sex is restricted to marriage is outdated, archaic, and now constitutes hate speech. Don’t fall prey to the destructive urban legend that sex is not connected to marriage. God designed sexual relations to work in only one context – marriage. Don’t believe otherwise. Listen to Christ! “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that […]
Sometimes there are seasons of long days. Night after night going to sleep is not a relief but a quick entrance into another long day. Our bodies are weak and our hearts are overcome with struggles that break over us like unending waves. Yes, sometimes there are seasons of long days. In these times we long for another reality. And, in God’s mercy, such a reality exists. In an exhausted moment we glance towards heaven and cling to the great truth. God is there in that untainted place lit alone by his glory. In that same moment we know that earth has nothing worthy of our desire except for the God who is there. We are weak, […]
God Is God and there is none other! Which God did you worship today? The One spoken of in Isaiah or the one that you thought would do what you wanted? “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit[d] of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed […]
Satan has constructed a giant illusion. Even when caught in the awful web of sin, man will naturally choose to follow the deception rather than attempt to break free. In his world, pleasure promises freedom but leads to slavery, and hard work promises fulfillment but often leads only to hard times. This is not what people expect; it is not what the world promises. Yet these promises are part of the grand deception. To some, the world says that if you work hard you can have what you want in life. Satan delights when someone works hard to accomplish a goal, such as being a successful sports star, only to have it taken away by an […]
Self-control is the ability to say no to my wrong desires and yes to what God wants me to do. Encourage your child to pray this prayer for self-control: Father, please help me to say no to sin and yes to obedience and pleasing you. I really want to do whatever you want me to do, but it’s too hard by myself. I need your help all the time to say “yes” to you. Please help me. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Ruth Younts from Get Wisdom! Jesus taught his disciples how to pray the Lord’s prayer word for word. One way to teach your children to pray is to follow his example and teach them how […]
Gossip destroys individual families, close friendships, churches, and reputations. It ends careers and shatters lives. Tragically, it is one sin that is rarely confronted. In fact, gossip is encouraged because our flesh is intrigued by what we might hear. All that is needed to set gossip in motion is this enticing setup: “Did you hear about…” These words are an invitation to destruction. Don’t allow yourself to be part of an ugly communication chain. Perhaps this illustration will help makes things clearer: Someone comes to you and instead of saying “did you hear about…” he says, “let me tell you about the marriage I am helping to destroy”. Suddenly, the words don’t sound inviting anymore. You would […]
Our youth are falling prey to sexual sin and sensuality. However, the reason for these sins started much earlier in their life. Following is a lightly edited revison of a recent post on self-pity. Driven by self-pity, Amnon became a sexual predator. He was a disgusting, pathetic, miserable young man. He is someone you need to understand. The Holy Spirit has something for you to learn regarding Amnon. The core information about Amnon is written in 2 Samuel 13:2. All of the other events in this sad narrative flow from this one observation: “Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to […]