November 13, 2013

Six Things Pornography Users Do Not Want

XXX key

Pornography is a huge problem in our society. Many Christians have even fallen prey to it despite Jesus’ plain warning:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:27-29).

Many believe pornography is harmless (or they simply refuse to admit to understanding how destructive it is). But Jesus said that lusting after someone is so destructive that one ought to be willing to go to extreme measures to remove the opportunity to lust. This is the primary problem with pornography – lust.

However, one can be guilty of lust without ever viewing pornography. While it is true that sin is committed anytime one lusts after someone, pornography is particularly dangerous. There are reasons why people choose to feed their lust in this way. It is because there are certain things that pornography users do not want. We will notice six of these in this article.
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July 30, 2013

The Separation of Church and State

Church and American Flag

There is an ongoing debate in our society about the “separation of church and state.” Though the phrase is not used in any of this country’s founding documents, many understand it to be a fundamental principle upon which this nation was built. However, the debate springs from the differences people have in interpreting this phrase. As Christians, our concern should not be which position is the “conservative” or “liberal” position. Our concern should be what the Scriptures teach. So in this article, we will examine what the word of God says on this topic.
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February 7, 2013

Seek First His Kingdom

Matthew 6:33

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against one dividing his allegiance to God. He said that an attempt to do this could not possibly be done with the Lord’s approval.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24).

Jesus specifically mentioned wealth here as an object that would distract one from wholeheartedly serving God. But this principle is not limited to wealth. His point was that we must not allow anything to distract or hinder us from our service to God.
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February 4, 2013

The Appreciation of Wisdom: Contrast Between the Righteous and the Wicked — Spiritual Consequences

Notes on Proverbs

While much of Proverbs deals with matters that pertain to activities of this life and our physical well-being, there are also instructions and principles that extend to our spiritual activities and well-being. We will consider these passages here.
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January 31, 2013

The Appreciation of Wisdom: Contrast Between the Righteous and the Wicked — Physical Consequences

Notes on Proverbs

To further emphasize the need for us to appreciate wisdom, we will turn our attention now to various passages in the book of Proverbs that highlight the contrast between the righteous and the wicked. We can divide these into two categories: physical consequences and spiritual consequences. As we consider the following passages, there will be a few that may have application to both physical and spiritual consequences, but for our study they will be placed in one category or the other.
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December 16, 2012

“The New Self, Which is in the Likeness of God” (12/16)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ephesians 1-6.

In the beginning, man was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This did not mean that man’s physical appearance was like that of God. “God is spirit” (John 4:24) and does not have a flesh and blood body like we do. Man was made in God’s image in the sense that he had a spirit that would live on after his physical body went to the grave. In this way, man was distinguished from the animals (Ecclesiastes 3:21).

However, there is another sense in which man can be in the likeness of God. Christians are not just to be distinguished from the animals, as all men are, but are to be different from the world. Notice what Paul told the brethren in Ephesus:

“That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God and has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

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August 30, 2012

“By Their Own Righteousness They Could Only Deliver Themselves” (8/30)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ezekiel 13-15.

“‘Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,’ declares the Lord God.

“‘If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts, though these three men were in its midst, as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the country would be desolate’” (Ezekiel 14:13-16).

The three individuals mentioned – Noah, Daniel, and Job – were known for their trust in God and their obedience to Him. Each one was delivered from some great ordeal: Noah from the flood, Daniel from the lion’s den, and Job from his severe hardship and loss.
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