Read Romans 7:14-25
Paul wrote, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing.”
- Romans 7:19 (NIV)
I was alone in a foreign country, on an overnight stopover after a busy three weeks of preaching and teaching, and I had once again watched TV pornography. No one will know, I’d rationalized; but when I returned home, I felt ashamed and told my wife. I had degraded the holiness of our sexual intimacy, objectified women, and disrupted trust in my marriage.
My outer life reflected my desire to serve Jesus. But my inner life focused on me and on what I wanted; and I indulged my sinful nature. I experienced an inner conflict. “The evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing,” wrote the apostle Paul. He understood my struggle.
I know that many people wrestle with the temptation of pornography. Dealing with temptation is a constant effort to check our natural desires, to maintain closeness to the Lord, and to be trustworthy in our relationships. In my case, I felt so much shame that I joined a Christian group for men with similar struggles.
Through accountability and prayer, my outer actions gradually began to conform to my inner hopes and intentions. Slowly, the Lord enabled me to overcome my sinful desires. Like Paul, we all participate in a battle between our fleshly desires and our intentions to be spiritual. God through Jesus Christ rescued Paul. Christ rescued me and will do the same for all of us.
Thought for the Day:
Christ can work through our fellow Christians to rescue us.
Prayer: Dear God, lead us to Christian friends with whom we can talk about our most difficult struggles. Amen.
Prayer Focus: FOR DAILY PERSONAL HOLINESS
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Paul wrote, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing.”
I was alone in a foreign country, on an overnight stopover after a busy three weeks of preaching and teaching, and I had once again watched TV pornography. No one will know, I’d rationalized; but when I returned home, I felt ashamed and told my wife. I had degraded the holiness of our sexual intimacy, objectified women, and disrupted trust in my marriage.
My outer life reflected my desire to serve Jesus. But my inner life focused on me and on what I wanted; and I indulged my sinful nature. I experienced an inner conflict. “The evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing,” wrote the apostle Paul. He understood my struggle.
I know that many people wrestle with the temptation of pornography. Dealing with temptation is a constant effort to check our natural desires, to maintain closeness to the Lord, and to be trustworthy in our relationships. In my case, I felt so much shame that I joined a Christian group for men with similar struggles.
Through accountability and prayer, my outer actions gradually began to conform to my inner hopes and intentions. Slowly, the Lord enabled me to overcome my sinful desires. Like Paul, we all participate in a battle between our fleshly desires and our intentions to be spiritual. God through Jesus Christ rescued Paul. Christ rescued me and will do the same for all of us.
Thought for the Day:
Christ can work through our fellow Christians to rescue us.
Prayer: Dear God, lead us to Christian friends with whom we can talk about our most difficult struggles. Amen.
Prayer Focus: FOR DAILY PERSONAL HOLINESS
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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