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A Prayer for Sex Addicts

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts;but the one who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:16,17

This month’s article is pulled from the archives, first appearing in August 2017. Today, with self-isolating still a very real part of our lives worldwide, we havesuch a possibility for much idle time. For those who battle with sexual sin, idle time is our enemy. I pulled this article to take a fresh look at its prayer, and with a fresh title. Oh God, I thank You that You love me, even when I choose my will over what I know is Your will. I thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus, offering salvation to a fallen world. I thank You that You’ve said in Your word that nothing created can separate me from Your love. I thank You that You know my heart and my thoughts, and You still love me. I thank You that You desire for me to surrender the wickedness that is in me, that I might live as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I thank You that Your Spirit is ever with me and in me and that I am never out of Your presence.

I praise You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I praise You for Your wonderful works, and that You have ordered and numbered my days to serve You. I praise You as God, Father, King, Creator, Savior, Redeemer, Holy Ghost, and Deliverer.

God, You know my heart is to please You with my life. You know my desire is to show my love for You by being obedient to Your word, which tells me to flee sexual immorality. In this, I have sinned repeatedly against You and Your will for me. I have chosen my own way over Your known path for me. I understand You have chosen that path out of Your love for me, yet I have rejected and strayed from Your way time and time again. Please forgive my pride and arrogance, thinking my way will bring me something better than You. Please forgive me for giving in to the lust of the flesh, rather than dying daily to my flesh, as You tell me to make no provision for it in regard to its lusts. Please forgive me for ignoring the way out of these temptations that You provide in every situation. Please forgive me for not utilizing the tools You have provided me for escaping those temptations. I repent of my sins and I pray that my repentance will be true and genuine, and that I will see repentance as a way of life, not as a destination.

Father, I ask that You help me in surrendering my will to Yours. Please help me see that

May 4th, 2020|Categories: Blogs, Home page|0 Comments

Living As a Christian in the Coronavirus Culture

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Psalm 118:8,9 By now, we are all getting used to the new jargon, a new normal way of life. Covid-19, social distancing, hoarding, self-isolation, pandemic, PUI as a person under investigation, quarantine; these are all terms being batted around by the government, medical community and society just within the last couple of months and have become quite commonplace in our daily conversations. A situation we all hope and pray is a temporary one, and the shorter the better.

Daily news conferences held by our president, governors and mayors all reflect the seriousness of this disease’s spreading; and how important it is for each citizen young and old to use wisdom in our socialization and in our hygiene. Hotlines have even been set up so that if we see someone who is not following the guidelines as we see fit, we can call in and report the individual(s)to the authorities.

There are also those who espouse theories about what they believe the government is trying to do to our society in setting up these restrictions. Some of them are tied to the establishment of Martial law. Other theories are tied to the Biblical end time matters like the mark of the beast, one world government,and the antichrist.

Regardless of what the culture may or may not do and say, as Christ followers our directives from the Scriptures are clear. We are to pray for our government leaders according to 1 Timothy 2:1,2in an attitude of submission, as all authority is placed there by God and established by Him per Romans 13:1.And we are to do so without complaining. At the same time, our trust is not in those He has placed in authority, but in the Lord Himself who rules over each of those He has placed.He is our source, He is our Redeemer, He is our Protector, He is our shield, He is our fortress, He is our Deliverer, He is our salvation.

Many are out of work with no savings or income during this time, or are working and have childcare issues because of daycare shut downs. These situations give us an important opportunity to trust the Lord for His provision, and to care for one another both practically and financially.While the government may step in to aid, it must be the Lord on whom we depend.

It is the Body of Christ, the Lord’s representation on earth,who should be leading the way and setting the example for the culture in helping all people get through these challenging days.What can you do to serve? It’s time to get creative with the Holy Spirit’s help. What are you doing to serve within the confines of societal restrictions?Ask God; He will show you.

May Father’s will be done. May His blessings flow to all, and may all who have yet to encounter the Savior Jesus Christ be brought to

May 4th, 2020|Categories: Blogs, Home page|0 Comments

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room – December 2019

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness, from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6,7

Ten years ago, December 2009, I first wrote this month’s newsletter article. It is just as relevant and true today, as it was then.

Joy to the world.

The Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

During the Advent season when Christians look forward to the celebration of the birth of the Christ-child, we are invited to reflect on this wonderful gift Father has extended to us: Jesus, the only begotten Son, the Word made flesh, the babe in the manger. But if this image of the Christ is the only one we reflect on, we are short changing ourselves by not considering Him in His fullness. We must be able to encounter Him during this celebration time as Lord and King, the Prince of Peace. In Isaiah’s prophecy above, he foretells the coming of the Christ in His governmental role, and in His power.

The composer of “Joy to the World” seems to capture the need to remind the earth to receive her coming King. And then, also emphasizes the responsibility of every individual to prepare his/her own heart to receive our King. As I work on this in my own life, I must resist the temptation to compartmentalize this receiving of my King into my life. I readily welcome Him as King into certain areas, but even after almost 40 years of yielding to His will and ways, I have to confess that there are still rooms in my heart where I am not ready completely and forever to relinquish my position on the throne.

Even now, as I am writing this Newsletter, the Holy Spirit is reminding me through situations with ones whom Father has put me in relationship, I need to make room for Jesus on a throne on which He’s not currently sitting. That doesn’t mean I need to scoot over for us both to enjoy the comfort of the throne. I need to step down, relinquish my “rights” to be on that seat, finding my place of service to Him in those situations, and be faithful and obedient to His wishes, even though my flesh wants to vie for position. In the recovery workbook that I’ve used for about 10 years now, at the end of each lesson there is an affirmation to repeat 5 times. The appropriate one here is, “I am not God; God is God.” “I am not