Friday, June 26, 2015

INDICATORS OF WICKED LIVING (PART 10)



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree.”

Isaiah 57:5a

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Advertisements on television laden with sexual innuendo or blatant referral to sexual behavior.

Magazines (and even newspapers overseas) containing pictures of naked or near naked women in sexually provocative poses.

Movies that glorify sexual immorality such as Magic Mike or 50 Shades of Grey.

Pornography everywhere you look on the Internet.

Have we become a people driven by lust?

In many cases, I think the answer is “yes”.  For if we weren’t, there would be more of an outcry to eliminate it from our society.

I’m not saying sex is bad in all forms. God created a man and woman to consummate their love for one another through sexual relations and even replenish His creation through it. It was meant to be special and sacred.

But the world has its own definition of sex and it’s basically this:

Anything goes.

If it feels good to you, the world would say go for it. Hook up and have sex with anyone you like. Instead of sex being reserved as the defining seal in a marital relationship between a man and woman, instead it has become a veritable free for all and every person has become sexualized as a result.

It’s true and you know it. We fully represent the words that defined the Israelites in the time of Isaiah as they had obviously given into sexual tempting as well. Look at these words which sound off on today’s indicator of wicked living:

“You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree.” Isaiah 57:5a

Burning with lust. It’s an accurate depiction of the pervasive attitude in our society today. We can’t get enough sex, whether it’s looking at it, watching it, or doing it. In fact, we’re so obsessed with it that we’ve lost all respect for whether a person really wants to be a sexual partner or not. Sexual assault statistics are through the roof today as people are being violated all over the place. Saying “no” to a person burning with lust has no impact on their decision to have sex with you. You can either give it up willingly or it will be taken by force.

You know this is happening. Maybe it’s happened to you or someone you know.

Friends, it’s time we got a grip on ourselves and viewed sex as God intended it to be. In order to do so, we have to resist and reject any feelings of lust that begin to come upon us. We can control what we watch, we can control what we see, and we can control what we hear. Tune out and turn off lust-filled stimuli and you will be taking the first big steps toward ensuring this indicator of wicked living isn’t plaguing you.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

No comments: