Sunday, August 17, 2014
And The #1 Reason Why Christians Don't Succeed In Staying Pure Before Marriage Is Because...
They don't want to.
It's as simple as that.
Staying pure so that you can experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" within a Christ-centered marriage requires discipline, hard work, and focus. It's very similar to studying the martial arts in that it's a LIFELONG process. Just like you have to practice DAILY to develop your ability to defend yourself from a physical attack, you also have to practice DAILY to develop your ability to defend your V-card and your marriage from attacks by forbidden sexual temptations. When many Christians realize the sacrifices that they will have to make to live a life of purity, they decide that it's more trouble than it's worth and they give up. Unfortunately, this leaves them completely defenseless when they are actually attacked. A martial artist who experiences an attack which they did not prepare for normally winds up seriously injured or dead. Likewise, a Christian who does not prepare for the violent attacks of forbidden desires will wind up with a sexuality that is either seriously injured or dead.
On top of that, many Christians know that forbidden sex is wrong, but want to experience it anyway because it seems fun. These are the Christians who claim that they can "play" without "going all the way." They are the spiritual equivalents of martial artists who know that they shouldn't hang out in bars/nightclubs or go out alone on car dates with strangers, but choose to do it anyway because it's fun. These Christians believe that, like their black belt counterparts, they can "handle it" if things get out of hand. Unfortunately, like the guy who winds up getting jumped by 20 bikers because he said the wrong thing about their leader's mother, or the girl who gets pinned to the backseat of her date's car because she got hammered with the wrong person, these Christians wind up in over their head. Sometimes, they escape with their V-cards intact and their future marriages unscathed. Most of the time, they don't.
In all likelihood, these Christians wanted to "fail" all along and deliberately stacked the deck against themselves so that they would have an excuse to sin. That way, they can enjoy the forbidden pleasure of their sin and deny responsibility for their actions by blaming the heartless, evil, conniving player/playeress who "seduced them" (and leave out the fact that they secretly desired that person all along). It's only when the consequences of their actions (like STDs and baby momma drama) come after them like a gang of biker thugs or a drunk date who's interested in nonconsensual love that these Christians express regret for what they did. And even then, those consequences aren't always enough to keep them from doing it again.
If you truly love Christ, you will obey His commandments about romance and sex and stay pure before, during, and after marriage. Like a wise martial artist, not only will you properly train to defend yourself from the forbidden temptations which want to kill you. You will also save yourself a lot of pain and suffering by avoiding dangerous situations to begin with. If you do these things, not only will you experience the power of human fusion by truly becoming one with your spouse. God will also allow you to lead others to saving faith in Jesus through the sacred starlight of your Christ-centered marriage.
John 14: 15 "If you love me, keep my commands." (NIV)
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Marital MMA: A Way Of Life
The most important thing to understand about Marital MMA is that it's not a destination. It's a way of life. Even if you and your spouse stay pure before marriage, the temptations to indulge in forbidden sex won't disappear. In fact, the temptations will actually get worse because Satan will do everything in his power to destroy your relationship. On top of that, your inner terrorist (a.k.a. your flesh) will continue its unholy jihad against you until the day you die, eager to seize control of your body, heart, mind and soul the instant that you take your eyes off Christ. This does not mean that you will lose your salvation, for it is not possible for a true believer to lose eternal life once they have received it from Christ. It does, however, mean that you are still capable of making decisions that not only destroy the earthly lives of you and your loved ones, but permanently damage your ability to lead others to Christ as well.
So even though you have been given many practical tips on how to stay pure so that you can experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" in marriage, remember this one crucial thing:
Total submission to CHRIST is infinitely more important than any technique, plan, or method that can be used to stay pure!!!!!!
So if you haven't already, come before Jesus. Take responsibility for your sinful nature and acknowledge that He is the only One who can save you. Accept His death on the cross and His resurrection for the payment of ALL of your sins and surrender your life to Him. Faith in Christ is the ONLY way to achieve true sexual purity, as well as the ONLY way to have eternal life in heaven and, after that, the New Jerusalem. Without Christ, not only will you be burned and tortured in the Lake of Fire for the rest of eternity. You will also spend your life with your heart, mind and soul in the jail of your earthly body with the "Big Bubba/Bertha" of your wicked desires and their prison gang of accompanying consequences.
If you are already a believer, don't withhold your sexuality and romantic relationships as a final stronghold of rebellion and control. If you do, then your sexuality and romantic relationships WILL be used against you and your ability to win people to Christ will be severely damaged, if not destroyed. If you are really stubborn, God, like a coach dealing with a disobedient football player, will bench you. This can take the form of being removed from the ministry, thrown out of the church, or, in extreme cases, "taking you out of the game" entirely by killing you and bringing you to heaven before you do any more damage to yourself, your peers, and His name. So if you haven't already, turn your sexuality and romantic relationships over to Christ. Then continue to nurture your relationship with Him as He does greater things in you and through you than you can possibly imagine!
John 11: 25-26a "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die..." (NIV)
So even though you have been given many practical tips on how to stay pure so that you can experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" in marriage, remember this one crucial thing:
Total submission to CHRIST is infinitely more important than any technique, plan, or method that can be used to stay pure!!!!!!
So if you haven't already, come before Jesus. Take responsibility for your sinful nature and acknowledge that He is the only One who can save you. Accept His death on the cross and His resurrection for the payment of ALL of your sins and surrender your life to Him. Faith in Christ is the ONLY way to achieve true sexual purity, as well as the ONLY way to have eternal life in heaven and, after that, the New Jerusalem. Without Christ, not only will you be burned and tortured in the Lake of Fire for the rest of eternity. You will also spend your life with your heart, mind and soul in the jail of your earthly body with the "Big Bubba/Bertha" of your wicked desires and their prison gang of accompanying consequences.
If you are already a believer, don't withhold your sexuality and romantic relationships as a final stronghold of rebellion and control. If you do, then your sexuality and romantic relationships WILL be used against you and your ability to win people to Christ will be severely damaged, if not destroyed. If you are really stubborn, God, like a coach dealing with a disobedient football player, will bench you. This can take the form of being removed from the ministry, thrown out of the church, or, in extreme cases, "taking you out of the game" entirely by killing you and bringing you to heaven before you do any more damage to yourself, your peers, and His name. So if you haven't already, turn your sexuality and romantic relationships over to Christ. Then continue to nurture your relationship with Him as He does greater things in you and through you than you can possibly imagine!
John 11: 25-26a "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die..." (NIV)
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Jesus Christ: The Only One Who Can Execute Your Inner Terrorist
So how do you overcome the evil desires of your own heart so that you can experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" within a Christ-centered marriage? I have some bad news: You can't.
If you try to defeat your cravings for forbidden sex on your own, your "inner terrorist" (which God's Word calls your flesh) will, like a giant shark, swallow you whole. This is why so many people at church (some of whom are actually saved), not only lose their V-card before marriage, but also fall into all sorts of perverse and addictive behaviors even after they are married. They think that if they memorize enough verses, pray hard enough, get enough counseling for past wounds, and do enough good things at church that God will flip the "off-switch" on their Love Bratwurst/Vajayjay and that they will never, ever lust again. Unfortunately, God doesn't do things that way for one simple reason:
GOD WANTS YOUR HEART, NOT "STRAIGHT A'S" ON YOUR CHURCH MEMBER REPORT CARD!!!!!
Here are the problems with doing each of these activities without giving our hearts to Christ:
1) Memorizing Bible verses: Without giving our hearts to God, this is really just leisure reading to pass the time. It can become as pointless as reading a book on nutrition when you are never going to give up burgers, pizza and ice cream or reading a magazine on self-defense when you will never set foot inside of a dojo.
2) Praying hard enough: Without giving our hearts to God, this is basically the equivalent of asking Mom and Dad to bail us out when we get ourselves into trouble. If we have no intention of giving up our sin and just want a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card, God will eventually stop bailing us out. He won't hesitate to leave us in a prison cell with the "Big Bubba/Bertha" of our consequences if that's what it takes for us to finally learn our lesson.
3) Getting counseling for past wounds: Without giving our hearts to God, this can rapidly degenerate into blaming others for our sinful behavior. The wicked deeds of others can exacerbate our forbidden desires and make us more creative in the way that we go about fulfilling them, but they don't cause them. For example, a babysitter may have molested you when you were six years old, but they didn't force you to knock up your girlfriend, refuse to pay child support, and leave her and your kid to fend for themselves when you were 25. Likewise, you may have been date-raped when you were 15. However, your attacker didn't make you commit adultery with your best friend's 19-year-old son and hire a crooked attorney to take all of your husband's worldly possessions in divorce court when you were 45. Getting counseling and legal help for what others did to us can accelerate the healing process. Using their sins as justification for our own wicked actions will only keep us from dealing with the root cause of our sexual desires (our heart) and lead us to self-destruction.
4) Doing good things at church: Without giving our hearts to God, church service is just a thinly veiled attempt to make ourselves look good in front of others. It has the same root as forbidden sexual desires: pride. Not only can it lead to us justifying sexual indiscretions "on the sly" (i.e. I do so many good things at church that I deserve to "indulge" once in a while). It can also lead to God exposing us by allowing a skilled player/playeress to call our bluff, turn us out like a college freshman, and make us look stupid in front of our church community.
In other words, when we try to overcome our inner terrorist with those activities, we are fighting a brain tumor with Excedrin. Sure, some of the pain might go away, but we will still die! So here is the key to defeating your inner terrorist:
YOU HAVE TO ALLOW CHRIST TO KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL YOU!
At the end of the day, Christ is the only one who can defeat your inner terrorist. However, since He is a gentleman, He won't do it unless you let Him. So here is how you let Christ give your forbidden desires the death penalty:
1) Take responsibility for your sin and turn your entire life over to Christ as your personal savior.
2) Take responsibility for your sin and turn your entire life over to Christ as your personal savior.
3) If you are already saved, turn your sexuality completely over to Christ. Many Christians (King David being the greatest example), allow Jesus to be the Lord of every area of their life except for their sexuality. When they do this, they provide an "Achilles' Heel" for Satan, the world, their peers, or players/playeresses to shoot arrows at until one hits the mark and their Christian witness dies like the ancient Greek hero. If you give this area of your life over to Christ, He will shield you from these arrows so that you can serve Him effectively.
4) In case I wasn't clear the first two times, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SIN AND TURN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE OVER TO CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR!!!! Nothing else will work if you don't do this, and I mean NOTHING!
Matthew 19:26 "Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (NIV)
If you try to defeat your cravings for forbidden sex on your own, your "inner terrorist" (which God's Word calls your flesh) will, like a giant shark, swallow you whole. This is why so many people at church (some of whom are actually saved), not only lose their V-card before marriage, but also fall into all sorts of perverse and addictive behaviors even after they are married. They think that if they memorize enough verses, pray hard enough, get enough counseling for past wounds, and do enough good things at church that God will flip the "off-switch" on their Love Bratwurst/Vajayjay and that they will never, ever lust again. Unfortunately, God doesn't do things that way for one simple reason:
GOD WANTS YOUR HEART, NOT "STRAIGHT A'S" ON YOUR CHURCH MEMBER REPORT CARD!!!!!
Here are the problems with doing each of these activities without giving our hearts to Christ:
1) Memorizing Bible verses: Without giving our hearts to God, this is really just leisure reading to pass the time. It can become as pointless as reading a book on nutrition when you are never going to give up burgers, pizza and ice cream or reading a magazine on self-defense when you will never set foot inside of a dojo.
2) Praying hard enough: Without giving our hearts to God, this is basically the equivalent of asking Mom and Dad to bail us out when we get ourselves into trouble. If we have no intention of giving up our sin and just want a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card, God will eventually stop bailing us out. He won't hesitate to leave us in a prison cell with the "Big Bubba/Bertha" of our consequences if that's what it takes for us to finally learn our lesson.
3) Getting counseling for past wounds: Without giving our hearts to God, this can rapidly degenerate into blaming others for our sinful behavior. The wicked deeds of others can exacerbate our forbidden desires and make us more creative in the way that we go about fulfilling them, but they don't cause them. For example, a babysitter may have molested you when you were six years old, but they didn't force you to knock up your girlfriend, refuse to pay child support, and leave her and your kid to fend for themselves when you were 25. Likewise, you may have been date-raped when you were 15. However, your attacker didn't make you commit adultery with your best friend's 19-year-old son and hire a crooked attorney to take all of your husband's worldly possessions in divorce court when you were 45. Getting counseling and legal help for what others did to us can accelerate the healing process. Using their sins as justification for our own wicked actions will only keep us from dealing with the root cause of our sexual desires (our heart) and lead us to self-destruction.
4) Doing good things at church: Without giving our hearts to God, church service is just a thinly veiled attempt to make ourselves look good in front of others. It has the same root as forbidden sexual desires: pride. Not only can it lead to us justifying sexual indiscretions "on the sly" (i.e. I do so many good things at church that I deserve to "indulge" once in a while). It can also lead to God exposing us by allowing a skilled player/playeress to call our bluff, turn us out like a college freshman, and make us look stupid in front of our church community.
In other words, when we try to overcome our inner terrorist with those activities, we are fighting a brain tumor with Excedrin. Sure, some of the pain might go away, but we will still die! So here is the key to defeating your inner terrorist:
YOU HAVE TO ALLOW CHRIST TO KILL THEM BEFORE THEY KILL YOU!
At the end of the day, Christ is the only one who can defeat your inner terrorist. However, since He is a gentleman, He won't do it unless you let Him. So here is how you let Christ give your forbidden desires the death penalty:
1) Take responsibility for your sin and turn your entire life over to Christ as your personal savior.
2) Take responsibility for your sin and turn your entire life over to Christ as your personal savior.
3) If you are already saved, turn your sexuality completely over to Christ. Many Christians (King David being the greatest example), allow Jesus to be the Lord of every area of their life except for their sexuality. When they do this, they provide an "Achilles' Heel" for Satan, the world, their peers, or players/playeresses to shoot arrows at until one hits the mark and their Christian witness dies like the ancient Greek hero. If you give this area of your life over to Christ, He will shield you from these arrows so that you can serve Him effectively.
4) In case I wasn't clear the first two times, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SIN AND TURN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE OVER TO CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR!!!! Nothing else will work if you don't do this, and I mean NOTHING!
Matthew 19:26 "Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (NIV)
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The Terrorist Within: Your Marital MMA Division's Undisputed Champion
Imagine that you have been sentenced to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell with a terrorist who has declared jihad against you. Imagine that this terrorist is not only an expert in torturing your body, but that they also know the most intimate details of your heart, mind and soul and will use them against you. Worst of all, this terrorist is willing die in the process of bringing you to hell with them.
Well, the bad news is that this has already happened. Your jail cell is your earthly body and the terrorist is YOU!!!!!
Congratulations. You've just met the undisputed champion of your Marital MMA division.
The truth is that ALL OF US ARE BORN EVIL. As soon as we leave our mother's womb, we embark on a lifelong, unholy jihad against God, waging a proxy war against Him by sinning in every way that we can. We are essentially committing martyrdom in the name of the "god" who we really worship: self. The root of all sin, including sexual sin, is self-worship, which is more commonly known as pride. When we sin sexually, we do to things:
1) We usurp God's rightful position as the Lord of our lives by replacing His Will for us with our own desires.
2) We seduce members of the opposite (or in some cases, the same) gender into committing idolatry by convincing them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to us instead of Christ.
Because sexual sin is so destructive to the perpetrator and everyone around them, the person who uses these kind of acts as their method of rebellion has become the spiritual version of a suicide bomber. In particular, when people infiltrate churches to desecrate Christians in the name of sexual conquest, they are, figuratively speaking, putting on a backpack full of explosives and running into a marketplace full of God's children.
The bad news is that we are so brainwashed by our sin that it is impossible for us to stop our "War On Holiness" on our own. No matter how hard we try to resist our "inner terrorist" (which the Bible calls our flesh), he/she will suck us back into unholy jihad and we will eventually wind up burning in The Lake of Fire forever. The good news is that, if we turn ourselves in to Christ, plead guilty to our wickedness, and accept His death and resurrection on the cross as payment for our sins, He will cancel our eternal life sentence in the Lake of Fire. Not only that, but He will also give us eternal life in paradise and allow us to serve in His army of righteousness through living and preaching the gospel.
Unfortunately, even though our inner terrorist is mortally wounded when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, he/she doesn't die right away. In fact, he/she will be especially lethal because they know that they are dying and have nothing to lose. Before the Holy Spirit finishes them off (which doesn't happen until after you die), your inner terrorist will declare you a traitorous infidel and put a death warrant out on you. One major way that your inner terrorist will try to slay you is by using your own sexual desires to lure you into behaviors that will either kill your physical body or murder your witness for Christ. These behaviors include but are not limited to:
1) Hardcore pornography or "Romantic e-books" (a.k.a. hardcore porn for ladies)
2) Sexual promiscuity before/after marriage
3) Infidelity during marriage
4) "Spanking the Monkey"
5) "Girls Night In" (a.k.a. the feminine version of "Spanking the Monkey")
6) Erotic daydreaming (a.k.a. lusting after friends, coworkers, classmates, celebrities, etc.)
7) In extreme cases, criminal acts such as sexual assault (at this point, it really isn't about sex anymore, but we'll get more into that later)
So how can you "put to death the desires of the flesh" and defeat your inner terrorist once and for all? Read next week's post to find out.
Mark 7:21-23, "For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (NIV)
Well, the bad news is that this has already happened. Your jail cell is your earthly body and the terrorist is YOU!!!!!
Congratulations. You've just met the undisputed champion of your Marital MMA division.
The truth is that ALL OF US ARE BORN EVIL. As soon as we leave our mother's womb, we embark on a lifelong, unholy jihad against God, waging a proxy war against Him by sinning in every way that we can. We are essentially committing martyrdom in the name of the "god" who we really worship: self. The root of all sin, including sexual sin, is self-worship, which is more commonly known as pride. When we sin sexually, we do to things:
1) We usurp God's rightful position as the Lord of our lives by replacing His Will for us with our own desires.
2) We seduce members of the opposite (or in some cases, the same) gender into committing idolatry by convincing them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to us instead of Christ.
Because sexual sin is so destructive to the perpetrator and everyone around them, the person who uses these kind of acts as their method of rebellion has become the spiritual version of a suicide bomber. In particular, when people infiltrate churches to desecrate Christians in the name of sexual conquest, they are, figuratively speaking, putting on a backpack full of explosives and running into a marketplace full of God's children.
The bad news is that we are so brainwashed by our sin that it is impossible for us to stop our "War On Holiness" on our own. No matter how hard we try to resist our "inner terrorist" (which the Bible calls our flesh), he/she will suck us back into unholy jihad and we will eventually wind up burning in The Lake of Fire forever. The good news is that, if we turn ourselves in to Christ, plead guilty to our wickedness, and accept His death and resurrection on the cross as payment for our sins, He will cancel our eternal life sentence in the Lake of Fire. Not only that, but He will also give us eternal life in paradise and allow us to serve in His army of righteousness through living and preaching the gospel.
Unfortunately, even though our inner terrorist is mortally wounded when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, he/she doesn't die right away. In fact, he/she will be especially lethal because they know that they are dying and have nothing to lose. Before the Holy Spirit finishes them off (which doesn't happen until after you die), your inner terrorist will declare you a traitorous infidel and put a death warrant out on you. One major way that your inner terrorist will try to slay you is by using your own sexual desires to lure you into behaviors that will either kill your physical body or murder your witness for Christ. These behaviors include but are not limited to:
1) Hardcore pornography or "Romantic e-books" (a.k.a. hardcore porn for ladies)
2) Sexual promiscuity before/after marriage
3) Infidelity during marriage
4) "Spanking the Monkey"
5) "Girls Night In" (a.k.a. the feminine version of "Spanking the Monkey")
6) Erotic daydreaming (a.k.a. lusting after friends, coworkers, classmates, celebrities, etc.)
7) In extreme cases, criminal acts such as sexual assault (at this point, it really isn't about sex anymore, but we'll get more into that later)
So how can you "put to death the desires of the flesh" and defeat your inner terrorist once and for all? Read next week's post to find out.
Mark 7:21-23, "For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (NIV)
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Satan And His Demons : The Top Contenders In the "UFC" of Marital MMA
For professional MMA fighters, getting signed to the UFC is a chance to prove once and for all that they are the best in the world. Unfortunately, the UFC is also the stomping grounds of the most dangerous men and women on the planet. These apex predators take pleasure in crushing multi-time national/world champions and Olympic medalists before sending them crying to their mama. As you continue to win battles for sexual purity and start leading people to Christ, God will decide that you are ready for the "UFC-level" competition of Marital MMA and test you against the apex predators of sexual temptation: Satan and his demons.
Long story short, Satan and his demons are fallen angels who were thrown out of heaven after a failed coup de'tat against God. Currently, they are still waging a "proxy war" against God through bringing as many humans to hell with them as they can. One of their key weapons of mass destruction is sexual sin because:
1) Sexual sin, when allowed to run its full course, perverts the body, mind, heart and soul of the unbeliever to the point that they will eventually have no desire to be reconciled with Christ. They will basically drive around the cross as they gleefully take the highway to hell.
This does not mean that Christ can't redeem those who have sinned sexually. Christ's death on the cross paid the penalty for ALL sin, which includes the most unimaginably evil (and criminal) sexual perversions. Many people do become new, holy creations in Jesus through crying out to Him from their prison cell. However, if someone constantly refuses to repent, Christ will let their sin run its course, which means that they will eventually wind up in the Lake of Fire for rejecting Him.
2) Sexual sin castrates and sterilizes Christian men and women so that they can't effectively spread the gospel. Nobody wants to hear about Christ's righteousness from pastors who bend female church members over their desk during "counseling sessions" or Sunday School teachers who give carnal "one-on-one tutoring" to their boyfriends in the church bathroom. Doing that and expecting to lead people to Christ is like expecting people to hire you as a personal trainer when you spend all day on your couch watching Netflix, eating burgers, and drinking milkshakes.
Oh, and while we're at it, "getting to know yourself" while watching porn/reading literotica for hours every night is NOT a healthy outlet for sexual expression! Doing that and trying to lead people to Christ is like trying to lead an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when you are RIP-ROARING DRUNK!
So how do you keep Satan and his demons from swindling you out of your V-card and laying the smackdown on your plan to experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" in a Christ-centered marriage?
1) Commit your entire life and spiritual wars to Christ. At the end of the day, that's the only thing that will allow you to overcome and defeat the demonic kingdom.
2) COMMIT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND SPIRITUAL WARS TO CHRIST!!! You are really overmatched here!
2) Stay in fellowship with devout Christian brothers and sisters and pray over each other. And by pray, I mean real prayers, not just "Little Johnny has the flu" kind of requests. If things get really bad, ask for prayer to bind the powers of Satan/cast demonic presences out of your life.
3) Put on the armor of God before you go into battle (see the passage at the end of the post). Remember, these creatures once tried to overthrow God Himself. When you fight them, you better be prepared!
4) Don't swim in the shark tank! Stay away from magic, ouija boards, seances, investigations into "paranormal" activity, fortune tellers, covens, and other activities, people and places which attract demons like blood attracts Great Whites!
5) If God has called you to preach the gospel to people who are enslaved to occult and demonic practices, don't do it alone. Make sure that you witness to them and get to know them with fellow believers in a safe godly environment such as a Christian concert or youth rally. Neutral settings such as a restaurant or bowling alley are also fine.
6) Destroy anything in your life that Satan and his demons can use against you (i.e. twisted and corrupt music, video games, films, e-books, etc). Like professional fighters, these creatures will spend hours or longer "watching tape" on you to figure out your strengths and weaknesses so that they can get you to fall.
For example, if you constantly watch movies in which a guy is seduced by his friend's older sister, one day, demons may arrange it so that you have a bromance with a dude who's mature, sophisticated, and smoking hot older sister wants you for DINNER! If you are a girl who reads e-books about being swept off your feet (and into bed) by a cowboy, don't be surprised if your neighbor's rugged (and totally ripped) cowboy cousin stays with them over the summer and offers you to teach you how to properly "ride a stallion."
In particular, remove any addictive behaviors that you have because they will provide a spiritual highway for the forces of hell to send their troops into your life.
7) Fight with the sword which makes the Jedi lightsaber look like a wet noodle : the Bible! The best part about the Bible is that, WHEN USED PROPERLY, there's nothing that can counter it. In fact, Jesus used the holy scriptures to defeat Satan when he tried to tempt Him in the desert. Likewise, we must use the holy scriptures to crush Satan and his demons and send them crying back to hell.
Ephesians 6: 10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (NIV)
Long story short, Satan and his demons are fallen angels who were thrown out of heaven after a failed coup de'tat against God. Currently, they are still waging a "proxy war" against God through bringing as many humans to hell with them as they can. One of their key weapons of mass destruction is sexual sin because:
1) Sexual sin, when allowed to run its full course, perverts the body, mind, heart and soul of the unbeliever to the point that they will eventually have no desire to be reconciled with Christ. They will basically drive around the cross as they gleefully take the highway to hell.
This does not mean that Christ can't redeem those who have sinned sexually. Christ's death on the cross paid the penalty for ALL sin, which includes the most unimaginably evil (and criminal) sexual perversions. Many people do become new, holy creations in Jesus through crying out to Him from their prison cell. However, if someone constantly refuses to repent, Christ will let their sin run its course, which means that they will eventually wind up in the Lake of Fire for rejecting Him.
2) Sexual sin castrates and sterilizes Christian men and women so that they can't effectively spread the gospel. Nobody wants to hear about Christ's righteousness from pastors who bend female church members over their desk during "counseling sessions" or Sunday School teachers who give carnal "one-on-one tutoring" to their boyfriends in the church bathroom. Doing that and expecting to lead people to Christ is like expecting people to hire you as a personal trainer when you spend all day on your couch watching Netflix, eating burgers, and drinking milkshakes.
Oh, and while we're at it, "getting to know yourself" while watching porn/reading literotica for hours every night is NOT a healthy outlet for sexual expression! Doing that and trying to lead people to Christ is like trying to lead an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when you are RIP-ROARING DRUNK!
So how do you keep Satan and his demons from swindling you out of your V-card and laying the smackdown on your plan to experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" in a Christ-centered marriage?
1) Commit your entire life and spiritual wars to Christ. At the end of the day, that's the only thing that will allow you to overcome and defeat the demonic kingdom.
2) COMMIT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND SPIRITUAL WARS TO CHRIST!!! You are really overmatched here!
2) Stay in fellowship with devout Christian brothers and sisters and pray over each other. And by pray, I mean real prayers, not just "Little Johnny has the flu" kind of requests. If things get really bad, ask for prayer to bind the powers of Satan/cast demonic presences out of your life.
3) Put on the armor of God before you go into battle (see the passage at the end of the post). Remember, these creatures once tried to overthrow God Himself. When you fight them, you better be prepared!
4) Don't swim in the shark tank! Stay away from magic, ouija boards, seances, investigations into "paranormal" activity, fortune tellers, covens, and other activities, people and places which attract demons like blood attracts Great Whites!
5) If God has called you to preach the gospel to people who are enslaved to occult and demonic practices, don't do it alone. Make sure that you witness to them and get to know them with fellow believers in a safe godly environment such as a Christian concert or youth rally. Neutral settings such as a restaurant or bowling alley are also fine.
6) Destroy anything in your life that Satan and his demons can use against you (i.e. twisted and corrupt music, video games, films, e-books, etc). Like professional fighters, these creatures will spend hours or longer "watching tape" on you to figure out your strengths and weaknesses so that they can get you to fall.
For example, if you constantly watch movies in which a guy is seduced by his friend's older sister, one day, demons may arrange it so that you have a bromance with a dude who's mature, sophisticated, and smoking hot older sister wants you for DINNER! If you are a girl who reads e-books about being swept off your feet (and into bed) by a cowboy, don't be surprised if your neighbor's rugged (and totally ripped) cowboy cousin stays with them over the summer and offers you to teach you how to properly "ride a stallion."
In particular, remove any addictive behaviors that you have because they will provide a spiritual highway for the forces of hell to send their troops into your life.
7) Fight with the sword which makes the Jedi lightsaber look like a wet noodle : the Bible! The best part about the Bible is that, WHEN USED PROPERLY, there's nothing that can counter it. In fact, Jesus used the holy scriptures to defeat Satan when he tried to tempt Him in the desert. Likewise, we must use the holy scriptures to crush Satan and his demons and send them crying back to hell.
Ephesians 6: 10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (NIV)
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Secure Your Borders: Only Allow Sexually Pure Influences Into Your Mind
The good news is that if you avoid players/playeresses and stay in peer groups who are dedicated to Christ's standard of purity, you are well on the way to experiencing "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" within marriage. The bad news is that horndogs, nymphos, and perverted friends are amateur-level fighters. After you get some wins in the cage, God will test you against the pros: the world (which would be like Bellator-level competition), the demonic kingdom (which would be like UFC-level competition), and worst of all, your archnemesis (who is your reigning undisputed divisional champion. Hint: they aren't Satan). But the best news is that if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, He will give you the heart, training and skills necessary to become a Marital MMA champion with your spouse. That being said, you still need to know what you are up against, so here is an overview of the professional "B-league" of sexual temptation: the world.
No matter where you live, forbidden sexual influences will try to gain illegal entry into the "nation" of your mind to wreak havoc. The most common entry point they will use is the internet, where deranged people will even upload porn to Youtube and "romantic e-books" (a.k.a. porn for women) on Amazon. Other access points forbidden sexual influences will use to gain entry include television, music, books, and video games. There's no way to escape this. I once lived on an extremely conservative island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and within a few weeks of my arrival, they got high-speed internet. So in order to keep forbidden sexual thoughts from "illegally immigrating" into your brain, you must set up a Christ-centered border patrol. To do this, you must:
1) Submit your entire life to Christ, in particular your mind. The other measures that you use will only work if you take this important first step.
2) Secure your borders. Put accountability software and filters on your smartphone, computer, tablet, and television. If you already have a severe addiction, get rid of these devices until you have been sober for at least six months. You can talk just as easily on a flip phone as you can on an Iphone (although texting will be a pain in the rear).
When you go out to movies, concerts, etc. don't watch or listen to anything you wouldn't want your future son or daughter to be exposed to. If anything causes you to sin, regardless of how harmless it seems, DEPORT IT!
Don't, however, go overboard and become legalistic (i.e. telling someone else how badly they will burn in hell for reading "Harry Potter" on their Kindle). Remember, your goal is to lead people to Christ, not to declare "church jihad" on everybody who doesn't follow your personal traditions (which may not necessarily be biblical).
3) Encourage "legal immigration" into your mind by flooding it with music, movies, books, etc. which are consistent with Christ's standard of holiness. And remember, holiness is NOT a synonym for "totally lame"! Search until you find godly entertainment which is also ENJOYABLE!
4) If you have the talent, create God-honoring music, Youtube shows, novels, and other holy media to lead others to Christ. If you don't have the talent, provide encouragement to those that do through buying their MP3s, e-books, etc.
5) Use the Bible as your standard for what you should watch and listen to. Our own personal convictions are too easily twisted by influences such as how hot the actress/actor is or how funny the viral video is. So stick to the only unchangeable standard that we have: God's Word. Oh, and don't use one of the politically correct, self-help ones which are coming out now (which I have nicknamed the New Bullcrap Translations). Make sure that you have a legit translation (such as the New International Version, King James Version, or New American Standard Version).
Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (NIV)
No matter where you live, forbidden sexual influences will try to gain illegal entry into the "nation" of your mind to wreak havoc. The most common entry point they will use is the internet, where deranged people will even upload porn to Youtube and "romantic e-books" (a.k.a. porn for women) on Amazon. Other access points forbidden sexual influences will use to gain entry include television, music, books, and video games. There's no way to escape this. I once lived on an extremely conservative island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and within a few weeks of my arrival, they got high-speed internet. So in order to keep forbidden sexual thoughts from "illegally immigrating" into your brain, you must set up a Christ-centered border patrol. To do this, you must:
1) Submit your entire life to Christ, in particular your mind. The other measures that you use will only work if you take this important first step.
2) Secure your borders. Put accountability software and filters on your smartphone, computer, tablet, and television. If you already have a severe addiction, get rid of these devices until you have been sober for at least six months. You can talk just as easily on a flip phone as you can on an Iphone (although texting will be a pain in the rear).
When you go out to movies, concerts, etc. don't watch or listen to anything you wouldn't want your future son or daughter to be exposed to. If anything causes you to sin, regardless of how harmless it seems, DEPORT IT!
Don't, however, go overboard and become legalistic (i.e. telling someone else how badly they will burn in hell for reading "Harry Potter" on their Kindle). Remember, your goal is to lead people to Christ, not to declare "church jihad" on everybody who doesn't follow your personal traditions (which may not necessarily be biblical).
3) Encourage "legal immigration" into your mind by flooding it with music, movies, books, etc. which are consistent with Christ's standard of holiness. And remember, holiness is NOT a synonym for "totally lame"! Search until you find godly entertainment which is also ENJOYABLE!
4) If you have the talent, create God-honoring music, Youtube shows, novels, and other holy media to lead others to Christ. If you don't have the talent, provide encouragement to those that do through buying their MP3s, e-books, etc.
5) Use the Bible as your standard for what you should watch and listen to. Our own personal convictions are too easily twisted by influences such as how hot the actress/actor is or how funny the viral video is. So stick to the only unchangeable standard that we have: God's Word. Oh, and don't use one of the politically correct, self-help ones which are coming out now (which I have nicknamed the New Bullcrap Translations). Make sure that you have a legit translation (such as the New International Version, King James Version, or New American Standard Version).
Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (NIV)
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Romantic Independence Day: Protecting Your Sexual Liberty From Imperial Perverted Peers
Peer groups are like mini-nations. They can either be valiant allies who help you protect your romantic independence and sexual liberty within marriage, or they can exploit you as their own private, carnal colony. For that reason, you must do whatever you can to ensure that you don't enter into a "social alliance" with Imperial perverted peers.
Many peer groups, both inside and outside of the church, are gangs of social "Royalists" who are fiercely loyal to the World's Crown of Forbidden Sex. They will do whatever they can to bring you back under the yoke of perverted tyranny, such as inviting you to keggers, nightclubs, frat parties and other shark tanks where they eat virgins for dinner. They will also introduce you to their "friends", who are people that make mafia wise guys look like morally upright citizens. Even worse, all of us who actually want to stay pure will eventually get at least one traitorous "friend" who, depending on their gender, wants to invade or annex us in an intimate manner. This social "Benedict Arnold" (or female equivalent) can also be a classmate, coworker or a member of our church. When they are related to one of our true friends (i.e., a flirty, smoking hot sister or sophisticated, totally ripped brother), things can get really awkward, really quickly. Not to mention that the situation will result in serious drama (and violence) if you give in to temptation and your friend finds out. So here are some tips to keep your peers from using the natural resources of your body to satisfy their desire for conquest.
1) Give all of your social relationships over to Christ. George Washington's faith in Christ is what enabled him to lead the United States to independence and it is also how you will protect your romantic independence and sexual liberty from Imperial perverted peers.
2) Make sure that the members of your inner circle, like most of America's founding fathers, have fully committed their lives to Christ. Going to church once a week doesn't count: they actually have to live out God's love and truth in their daily lives. In other words, when creating the social equivalent of "One Nation, Under God" so that you all can help each other stand for purity, don't pick "Royalists" who are screwing their boyfriends/girlfriends to be your fellow "Founding Fathers"!
3) Set clear boundaries with opposite gender friends, especially if you are married. Otherwise, your alliance with these friends can quickly deteriorate into a physical (and sweaty) annexation/invasion at their house, a hotel room, or an office at work/church, This will either lead to the overthrow of your Christ-governed relationship with your spouse or plant the seed for a "Civil War" in your future marriage if you're still single.
5) Remember the true meaning of sexual liberty and romantic independence. Seeking these virtues does not mean that you can do whatever you want. That's not freedom: that's anarchy. True sexual liberty and romantic independence allow you to exercise your God-given rights to enjoy your spouse RESPONSIBLY and OFTEN within a CHRIST-CENTERED MARRIAGE.
Psalm 1:1-6, "Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Many peer groups, both inside and outside of the church, are gangs of social "Royalists" who are fiercely loyal to the World's Crown of Forbidden Sex. They will do whatever they can to bring you back under the yoke of perverted tyranny, such as inviting you to keggers, nightclubs, frat parties and other shark tanks where they eat virgins for dinner. They will also introduce you to their "friends", who are people that make mafia wise guys look like morally upright citizens. Even worse, all of us who actually want to stay pure will eventually get at least one traitorous "friend" who, depending on their gender, wants to invade or annex us in an intimate manner. This social "Benedict Arnold" (or female equivalent) can also be a classmate, coworker or a member of our church. When they are related to one of our true friends (i.e., a flirty, smoking hot sister or sophisticated, totally ripped brother), things can get really awkward, really quickly. Not to mention that the situation will result in serious drama (and violence) if you give in to temptation and your friend finds out. So here are some tips to keep your peers from using the natural resources of your body to satisfy their desire for conquest.
1) Give all of your social relationships over to Christ. George Washington's faith in Christ is what enabled him to lead the United States to independence and it is also how you will protect your romantic independence and sexual liberty from Imperial perverted peers.
2) Make sure that the members of your inner circle, like most of America's founding fathers, have fully committed their lives to Christ. Going to church once a week doesn't count: they actually have to live out God's love and truth in their daily lives. In other words, when creating the social equivalent of "One Nation, Under God" so that you all can help each other stand for purity, don't pick "Royalists" who are screwing their boyfriends/girlfriends to be your fellow "Founding Fathers"!
3) Set clear boundaries with opposite gender friends, especially if you are married. Otherwise, your alliance with these friends can quickly deteriorate into a physical (and sweaty) annexation/invasion at their house, a hotel room, or an office at work/church, This will either lead to the overthrow of your Christ-governed relationship with your spouse or plant the seed for a "Civil War" in your future marriage if you're still single.
5) Remember the true meaning of sexual liberty and romantic independence. Seeking these virtues does not mean that you can do whatever you want. That's not freedom: that's anarchy. True sexual liberty and romantic independence allow you to exercise your God-given rights to enjoy your spouse RESPONSIBLY and OFTEN within a CHRIST-CENTERED MARRIAGE.
Psalm 1:1-6, "Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction." (NIV)
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction." (NIV)
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