Many people don’t realize how devastating pornography is to those who view it. Just as the devil intended, it causes untold damage to a person—spirit, soul and body. That’s to say nothing of the hurt it causes the loved ones of those who view it. It can lead to divorce, mental problems and even physical issues.
The devil has tried to convince people that pornography is just “harmless fun.” It can be difficult to talk about, but here is what pornography really is:
Trying to control the flesh is not something you were meant to do on your own. The Apostle Paul wrote of his frustrations: “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (Romans 7:22-23). Be assured Jesus understands the pressures that you are faced with, and He desires to help you. Hebrews 4:15 says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”
No. As important as water baptism is, we know from multiple scriptures that it’s not what saves a person. What does save a person is the new birth resulting from faith in the shed blood of Jesus, confession of Him as Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:22; Revelation 1:5; Romans 10:9-10).
Some have thought Acts 2:38 tied water baptism to salvation. It says, “You must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The family that lives out their faith together sees victory together! Even if you weren’t raised in an atmosphere of faith, you can create one for your children, your grandchildren and your entire family when you set out to create an atmosphere that puts God first place and pursues Him every day in every way.
Create your own legacy of faith, and make faith a family affair with these four fun and easy tips!
How much love do you have for sinners?
That may sound like a strange question, but it’s one I want you to think about today. All too often, once we get saved and get our lives cleaned up a little bit, we lose our compassion for those who are still lost. We look at the drunk stumbling down the street or the guy at the office who lies to the boss and tells dirty jokes and turn up our spiritual noses.
Some people have the mistaken idea that when the direction of the Holy Spirit comes to them, they can just ignore it for a while if they want to and then obey Him later in their own good time. They think to themselves, I know what I'm doing is wrong. I know my lifestyle isn't right, but I'm just going to do it a while longer. Then I'll get things straightened out with the Lord.
Prove yourself. In today's world, that's what you constantly feel you have to do, right? On the job, among friends, even at home you're always working to win the approval you need. Working to convince those around you that you deserve the salary, the friendship and even the love they give you.
Is there any escape?
You better believe there is! It's called grace. Unearned and undeserved favor and acceptance. And there's only one place you can find it—in the heart of God Himself.
Considering how much the devil hates people and how dead set he is on destroying them, it's no wonder we see so much tragedy and disaster in the world. In fact, it's amazing that we don't see more!
I asked the Lord about that one time and He told me it takes the realm of darkness a long time to set up major disasters. Take the aviation industry, for example. It's highly regulated and works hard at policing itself because safety is its product. You take a highly regulated system like that and the devil has to work terribly hard to cause disasters.
Are you destined for greatness in the kingdom of God?
Ask most believers that question and they'll humbly assure you they're not. "You know we can't all be golden vessels" they'll say. "Like the Bible says, some of us are just called to be little clay pots."
Praise God, the Bible doesn't say any such thing!
