Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Porn Addiction Counsel From Grace of God

Matthew 5:28 states "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (KJV)

The topic of pornography addiction is a really sensitive topic for me. I surely condemn all participations of it that I ever stumbled across. It's still bad enough that I messed myself up in it for awhile. There's really no excuse for the things I've done, and it's not very easy for me to write up on this. It brings me great regret to think that of all the people in the world, I have to be one of those Joes who get locked up in the fleshly mindset and ignore God's request to keep the heart clean. It's like battling with an off and on drug addiction and pride of being able to be stupid. Now that I've identified the problem and state God is larger than life, it's time to make prescription for myself and others if they want to follow:

1) It's just time to deal with the fact that some guys belong to a crowd of having hyper sex drives. Patience is a long tested virtue that will work on self and allow God to prepare the right companion for fulfillment.

2) The hormones will come and go. It's really rough when you want to blame someone, especially if you are fighting to stay single, when you get attracted to her. I really thank the Lord for giving me a mourning heart, whenever I was tempted to do something evil for sexual selfishness.

3) Learn to calm down and let it go quietly. The Bible instructs the man to love himself and not be in animosity with any imbalances. This is so that the man will also learn to lead his future wife, who tends to be a lot more sensitive!

4) Educate yourself more about Scriptures. I've found submitting to Scriptures and listening to the Word of God taught by bold pastors has made me discern things about myself a whole lot better!

5) Pray about it. I think a wonderful benefit to praying to God as ourselves is that it can keep us from gossiping. I'm able to transfer all my thoughts that I would normally be tempted to gossip to Jesus and not let it out with others. This is an extreme benefit in that I'm able to know that those gossip leaders have false powers that lead to nowhere in life and only inspire misery.

6) Make friends with some role model sisters in Christ. When I've fallen in darkness, what makes my heart break a lot is to think about those wonderful sisters. It's like I'm doing them a disservice. Last thing God needs is another lying scumbag taking advantage of people for personal use.

7) Get to know yourself. It's so important to be able to keep track of feelings, state of minds, and hormonal elevations. Every success in spiritual battles comes from relying on the Spirit of God. Being able to monitor ourselves and remembering to observe God's Word is a picture perfect model of a soldier of Christ.

8) Most important of all, be honest with self and God! Don't make reasonable justifications for the cycle of addiction that you are stuck on. This is totally a downfall. I'm sure the devil likes to mess with our heads and make us feel bad, as to give us reason to ignore the entire situation.

9) Take the leap of faith into the unknown. It's going to be difficult leaving behind the current life and maybe painful at first, but it has to be done if it's hindering with your life. If what you desire doesn't come to pass, why not let the addiction go? Let go of the security blanket. Repent and allow yourself to become a fully transformed creature in the eyes of God.

I write this in hopes to rescue that one person who needs it the most and happened to stumble on this page. Perhaps you will be used by God and become highly reputed by others as God's kingdom is established.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Staying Healthy According to Scriptures

The Bible expects every believer to honor their bodies with God. (1 Cor 6:20) I've noticed that a possibly common issue that pops out of the minds of brethren is to do good things to our bodies. Reasonably, we could conclude that God really loves us so much that He would like for us to be always healthy. I don't think this is always the case though and can really throw a lot of people off. For example, why do we have viruses and bacteria that makes our loved ones sick? The interpretation should instead be to follow God's standard because believers have been bought with the blood of Christ. The Bible sees our bodies as temples, and we should abide by the Word of God. I see it as putting our mind on heaven. Just think of it, how would people react once they are exposed of their foolish desires and how selfish it was? A friend of mine wants to be a fitness model to get all the girls. His dad, having been in the business, keeps advising his son to give it up out of concern for being bottled up in empty relationships- money is also a major factor that motivates a lot of intelligent people.

Being sick could also serve as a purpose of reminding us of how the world is filled with pain and until the coming of Jesus, we will be struggling under our sins. I myself have been enjoying communicating through writing and personally preaching to myself. Even with this benefit I have obtainable, I still struggle with the fact of how I wish I was taller, had more muscles, and more hair! I feel a little locked up because I can't find this absolutely satisfying reason in the Bible to exercise and put on Rogaine for gaining some benefits. The Bible definitely has its mind on Christ and won't be appeasing to any reader's selfish desires.

God states that we were all made in the likeness of Him and in Psalm 139:14, we were naturally born with beauty. Being a young guy still, I can still obtain these physical benefits to increase my confidence in myself. The question that's been a little headache is if I obtain big muscles, for instance, will I turn into an arrogant and conceited person? First off, the heart has to be right with God. Secondly, we should be doing all we can to serve under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This means being active in Bible study and obtaining wise teaching from anointed individuals. We must be doers of the Word, not just bench-warmers! (James 1:22)

A suggestion I have received from google searching is that if too much Bible study makes you backslide then get a hobby! We each have a certain threshold of faith, and God molds us individually with different trials. We all belong to the same body, even though we are different parts, we are all spiritually equal. Surely, one could do more but it's not by works we are saved! (Ephesians 2:8-9) It is a true blessing to walk with the Lord, and we should invest some time to increase our faith in Jesus. As one gets closer to the full counsel of God, he or she becomes more like Jesus in the Spirit! It is a satisfying journey to serve the Lord and to cast my eyes primarily on Him. Too often, I have been seeking for the approval of others and as a result, brought down. Anyone who has been away from fellowship could detail how Jesus is portrayed as peaceful man by turning the other cheek! John 5:22 states Jesus is the judge in heaven. We should keep in mind many do feel hell should be a logical place. I know this may be a little hard, but we should pray for those who wrong us to have a relationship with Jesus. Pastor Bob Coy of Calvary Fort Lauderdale said "Hell is a logical place." Raul Reece of Calvary Diamond Bar said it's a place of grinding of teeth (imagine slowly and painfully losing an inch off your vertical teeth length) and burning - so painful that only demons deserve to live there. Oh yeah, God totally deserves to be revered. Evaded the topic a little to discuss about God's undivided attention, but getting back!

My take about exercising or improving our appearances is fine, as long as it does not contradict the Bible. I think whatever could be done naturally without harming ourselves fits God's boundaries. Proverbs 16:24 describes the Word of God, "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." Jesus gave permission in the gospels to visit the doctor if we get sick. (Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31). 3 John 2 states that John wishes the elders to be in good health and to prosper in all things. Isaiah 6:10 and Proverbs 3:8 imply being lazy is a sin and producing fruitful labor in body comes after a literally physical transformation in the individual's actions that comes from the heart's attitude, which gives a definition of repentance. Keep in mind, the Biblical context shows that the men of Israel were called by God to train themselves to defend their nation during the times of war.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Spirit Filled Life

God's Word never comes back with void. I know how many of us hopeful evangelicals wish how we could be so on fire for God. It's really important that believers spend at least a little time studying the Bible and praying. It's amazing how we could gain better understanding by the little we give to God. Hebrews 4:12 says that the "word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword."

It's true that a lot of Christians can cut themselves short from reading the Bible daily. I myself have this issue. Addressing this starvation of receiving God's daily bread, I believe that we just need to discipline our walk. By being more determined on what we state as "Yes" and "No" and then sticking to it with an undivided heart. It's by our faith that we are able to discern each other's principles. Ephesians 6:12 states, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Brain fry

Wow, I put too much thought on a little thing. I think my life is characterized with no structure whatsoever at the moment. Putting the focus all on myself makes me realize that I am very limited with skills. I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last few years, and there's just like nothing that can dissaude me about how Jesus came to save man from his own sins (John 3:16). The hard part about it is that it's been really a struggle to share it boldly with others.

I have a lot that I wish to mourn about. Jesus states "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." No matter how much I give to be like Jesus, I can't stop the habit of being a sinner. The Holy Spirit definitely works to convict believers into being righteous people. My emotions have been a large part of my life and have always brought me down by relying solely on them. The Bible says we shouldn't use our feelings to judge ourselves or others.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Manager's Grasshopper

Boy, look on the bright side. Some people seem like they have what it takes and then just blow it. I feel like that type of person is me. I remember faking like I was a smart student, by always being quiet and putting my head down to sleep. I would smile at the teacher- try that for a change.

I realize that I just don't want to disappoint myself and still have nerves popping all over the place. I am still young and probably because of these nerves blowing up on me every once in awhile- it's probably going to have to be my lack of concentration. I think when I don't give it all or have a fixated thought on a performance that already passed like ten minutes ago, I totally meltdown when people need to rely on me.

God's pretty amazing with my ability to communicate to others. I don't think I'm always the center of everyone's life. There are others who like to generate their talk by sharing with others. I think my honesty has gotten to a point where I can literally state my negatives because I know that the inevitable is going to happen. For me, being a Bible believer fills me with credibility that a new day is coming where the world will be at perfect peace and harmony with our Creator.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Fast Start

Stuff is happening to me and things are very dear.
God's ways are not intrusive and help constructively.
Humbleness to develop and being stuffed with inventive gravel.
Frustrations can come from recovering and then it goes reappearing.

What's the limit to our creative expressions with the Spirit's impressions?
Need to read in the morning the Bible and become again stable.