Devotionals
- February 4th, 2006
Jim Mance provided a devotional on LUST. There are many common excuses to lust and sexual sin. These
excuses are out of self-deception or the lies of the enemy himself.
It's biological, I can't help it. - God supplies you His grace and calls you to holiness. See 2Cor 12:7-9.
I'm not hurting anyone (impure thoughts) - You are hurting your relationship with God.
My wife doesn't meet my needs - Isn't there much more to marriage than sex? See 1Cor 7:5.
I've got to get it out of my system - we should submit our wills to
the way of God. See Proverbs 14:12 and Galatians 5:22-23.
I have a sinful nature - no temptation is so great that there is no
way out of it. See John 16:33, 1John 4:4, and 1Cor 10:13.
It's OK to be attracted to women - Yes, because God created women to
be attractive to man, but attraction is not lust. See Job 31:1,
Matthew 5:28.
It's just a picture (pornography) - it is not real, porn is more
addictive than some drugs, it damages your sense of reality. Psalm
101:2-4
I've messed up already, so I might as well do it again - even if a
candle is already lit and halfway melted, it is not too late to blow
it out before it sets the table on fire.
God will forgive me anyways - what an abuse of His grace! God
deserves your devotion and gratitude. See Romans 6:1-2.
We need to have a "battle plan" for moral purity. Dwight Clough has put together a plan which Jim shared with
us at the meeting. Included in this plan is using God to fight on your behalf, matching your desires with desires
God wants you to have, asking God to remove the temptations, claim your authority in Christ and put on the full
armor of God, take every evil desire to God, allowing God to satisfy your desires with good things, and most
importantly, find at least one other godly person who can pray with you and hold you accountable.