May I remind you of four of the more powerful perils that can level even the mightiest? They are fortune, fame, power, and pleasure. Each works overtime to win a hearing, to gain a foothold, to woo us in. Whether subliminal, subtle, strong, or supreme, these messages search for chinks in our armor as they appeal to our natural appetites.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Sin
For Personal Integrity
From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought [David] To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands. (Psalm 78:71–72) Father, personal purity is never automatic or easily produced. Integrity doesn’t flow from our flesh naturally or freely.
Read MoreFor Victory over Temptation
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13) Thank You, Father, for Your penetrating truth preserved through the centuries.
Read MoreFor Relief from Shame
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.
Read MoreThe Origin of Self
TO FULLY UNDERSTAND the battle against “self” we must go back, way back, to that ancient scene pictured for us in the second and third chapters of Genesis: the Garden of Eden. What a splendid setting! Beautiful beyond description, a perfect, pollution-free atmosphere, luxurious foliage, fragrant flowers, crystal-clear water—that Garden would make Tahiti look like a pigsty by comparison.
Read MoreA Cycle of Sin
THE BIRTH of a newborn is a momentary event, taking place in a matter of hours, but at that moment, life has only just begun. Growth and maturity occur steadily and gradually as a child develops from infancy to young adulthood.
Read MoreThe Poison of Impurity
WHEN GOD paid His visit to Sodom and Gomorrah, these twin cities controlled a lush, fertile valley through which ran the Jordan River.
Read MoreA Phony Prophet
This was no time for Paul to be tolerant or passive. We live in a culture that virtually deifies tolerance. One lady recently said to me with a broad grin, “I love everybody; I even love the devil.” I call that “tolerance gone to seed.”
Read MoreIt’s Not About You!
I need to underscore a foundational fact: God’s goal is not to make sure you’re happy. No matter how hard it is for you to believe this, it’s time to do so. Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free.
Read MoreLifesaving Strategies for Resisting Depravity’s Undertow
It’s impossible to exaggerate our world’s moral erosion. Culture has reached an all-time low. Our cities have laws that forbid open sewers and unsafe cesspools, but we lack laws that forbid obscenity and pornography. Unrestrained, immorality parades through every public square in a brazen display of depravity akin to Sodom’s. The sordid account of Sodomite […]
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