Hey everyone,
Richard Woo here. I'm encouraging all of you to take a part of your valuable time to check out some Youtube videos on the topic of Lust. Both Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort articulated well about this sensitive and uncomfortable subject in a three part video series. I watched it and was encouraged to get a chance to see all three videos. I was fascinated to see it. You don't have to take my word for it, just watch it and see it for yourself. After you finish watching it, feel free and post some comments about it. Thanks and God Bless.
Here are the links:
The Way Of The Master : Lust (Part 1 of 3):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl7qV-pQInA&mode=related&search=
The Way Of The Master : Lust (Part 2 of 3):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bJ3ybG4q1Q&mode=related&search=
The Way Of The Master : Lust (Part 3 of 3):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLRlQQDjz5c&mode=related&search=
Abonohu te:
Posto komente (Atom)
18 komente:
I forgot to mention in my original post that it is to everyones benefit (including mine) that we turn away our sin to Jesus Christ since it is he who can renew our desire away from sin (whether it be lust or an addiction of anything sexual in nature).
I lusted many times and in my own admission makes me an adulterer in heart and I felt that I dishonored God when I acted wrongly with my lust. Anyways, I hope the videos helped you to better understand the Biblical approach to lust. It has helped me understand clearly as well.
Opps...I forgot to mention again in my original post that the links are not clickable (if that's even in any sense of a word), if you want to watch the youtube videos, you have to copy the (links) urls, paste it onto an url address box, and then press enter. Its self-explainatory. You should be able to see it there. Enjoy the videos and I'm looking forward into hearing and reading your inputs soon.
Oceanpastry -
Thanks a bunch, man. I watched the whole episode, and it rocked. I love their honesty and justice, yet at the same time they are understanding.
I think theekevy has a sweet website about the proper place of sex, but I can't remember the link.
theekevy: help?
I'm glad that you enjoyed watching it. I agree with you, they rocked and I also watched the whole episode.
I did watched their other series on other topics such as Satanism, Atheism, Gambling, Evolution, Witnessing/evangelizing, and Homosexuality. Each topic that they covered was very well articulated and well done. I personally recommend watching every single one of them, even though its a bit too long to watch it.
My question to everyone reading this is: Can it be possible to live a lust-free environment (especially at home) and still live Godly lives? The question may come up as being too simplistic at best but I can be the first to admit that living a Christian life with the advent of lust has been difficult for me. Especially at my young age.
There is a big difference between being tempted to lust and the actual act of lust. For example, Jesus hung around sinners, and among those sinners would have been prostitutes. Did he sin? I would have to answer no. Was he tempted? Since he was a man I would have to say yes.
Lust is nothing new. It is just another way sin is manifested in the world. We won't stop sinning until kingdom come, so cheer up, we all have another 50 or so years left of sinning. Yet, isn't it amazing just how saved we are? Every single moment of life, the gospel is in action. We are always reconciled to God, we always have the Spirit, and Jesus is not going to change his travel plans of coming back to earth.
A lust-free environment? Doubt it. Temptation will always be there, but it is how we react that keeps the temptation from leading us to sin. Romans 6 offers a lot in this area.
You're right, theekevy. :) I do agree with you that Jesus did hung around with sinners (which would include tax collectors and even prostitutes.) Jesus did not sin and never sinned in his life since he's the Son of God sent by the Father to redeem us from sin. The saying "Love the Sinner but the hate the Sin" pontificated what Jesus' message is all about (Romans 12:9).
I am a sinner that already got a redeemer who washes away my sin and I have to recognize that I have many years to live (I hope) since I'm now 23 years old. I have a lot of room to grow and a lot of time to reflect my sin-nature.
In the video, Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort both said that there is a big difference between looking and lusting. I can pretty much look at an attractive woman (at around my age) and say that she's beautiful but to lust after her by looking at her with self-gratification is a "sin". It violates one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not commit adultery". (7th. Commandment -- see either Exodus or Deuteronomy)
Every single believer or even a non-believer commits this very sinful act. We violate this very commandment by lusting in our own heart.
Lusting devalues relationships and cheapens the real purpose of our relationship with God.
I often asked myself, what purpose do I gain if I lust in my own flesh by looking at pornography in my own personal computer for hours or by looking at scandalous dressed girls in the streets of Huntington Beach, CA.
The Bible talks about how our eyes is the window of our soul and how our very own eyes can easily be deceived and can be easily get tempted from the enemy. Personally, if I have a choice, I would rather puck out my eyes and enter into the kingdom of heaven than to enter into the Lake of Fire for the rest of my life.
I will be damned if I do stumble upon my brothers and sisters in Christ through my lustful intentions and my selfish desires.
I will be damned if I don't put myself accountable before God for my sinful actions since I do believe that God forgives those who ask of him. I will be damned if I knew of a faithful brother in Christ who is constantly struggling with lust and I do absolutely nothing about it. This brings a big disservice for me and for that person struggling with lust. If I were me, I would do something about it and the term for this course of action is called accountability.
Its a common misconception and a lie that God forgives everybody. If a non-believer wants this gift, then they must first receive the savior and then sincerely ask for forgiveness and repent of their sins. Now, that's the darn truth.
I cannot tell you how many times that I failed myself because of this sin. I am not proud of it at all. There were many times where I often wonder how many people did I turned away from Christ because of my lustful behavior or my personal actions. Or to the many believers that looks up to me as a faithful servant of Christ and then realizing that I'm nothing but a big hypocrite because of my fleshly desires to seek lust over purity. This can be posed as a serious problem since it destroys myself as a shining example to others, of living a pure and uncompromising heart.
Now, I know that some of you are probably thinking I'm writing way too much on this message board and devoting way too much time.
Friends, I deeply care about this contentious and serious issue of lust since many if not all of my friends who are believers in Christ are failing to guard themselves from the over-sexualized, post-modernist view of America's demoralizing society and lost youth. Thanks for reading.
-- Richard Phillip Woo (a.k.a. Seabiscuit)
P.S. I am having a very difficult time sleeping right now since I'm thinking too much about this. Forgive me.
On a Personal Note (which has nothing to do with my previous very very long post): A non-Christian or even a believer might be asking me: "Richard, What do you know about this stuff, anyways?...and why don't you say it like this in person?".
Well, to answer it politely, lets just say that I'm a quiet guy who don't say as much in the public eye. I can be outspoken if I really wanted to but I'm usually known to be quiet (Man, I hope I'm wrong about myself) since I'm mostly soft-spoken and "sometimes" [with an big emphasis] tend to have problems communicating myself to others (maybe it could been due to my recent hearing problem or maybe it could been years worth of physical and mental abuse from others in high school, who knows? and who cares?) but at least I can express myself eloquently in writing. I'm a still a God-fearing believer who loves Christ ever since I was a naive self-centered 14 year old back in late 1998.
I don't care what people think of me. I trust Jesus Christ and I believe that he has delivered me from all of this and I'm glad that God gave me a meaningful purpose in my life. I thank God for the group of friends that I gained from small group to whom I can interact and grow in my walk. Peace!
First of all, I don't think you will "be damned" by anything, so relax. It is good to hear that you feel some weight of your sin (I am afraid for others like myself who do not grasp the impact of their sin).
I might as well get in on posting good links:
http://www.greentreewebster.org/Articles/All%20of%20Life%20is%20Repentance.pdf
theekevy, Don't worry. I'm relaxed.:) I was just being a little bit too passionate about it. That's all. The link does not work since it didn't have the complete link.
I realized that using the King James Version's moniker of the word "damned" may be a little too harsh of a language to use in today's standard or too colorful to use it in a speech or in writing.
Sorry about that. I felt compelled to use it since I can't find words that matched with it.
I noticed that my postings are a bit too long but that's why I would rather have it in a blog then wasting time saying it in person. I'm not that well articulate when I speak. I figured that its too much energy and too much effort/time for me to speak this way. If you know what I mean. It would be too much of a distraction if I were to say it in a small group.
If you want to you can start a side discussion blog so that we can keep this blog for discussion specifically tied to the Bible study. Good to hear from you. And the link actually does work, promise.
Perhaps, it was something that I already suggested many weeks ago. I kinda of proposed it when we first utilized the blog. But alright then.
I tried to copy, paste, and press enter to get into this link that you gave me and it still won't let me in.
On a side note here: Not to demean this blog or anything but wouldn't this topic of lust be appropriate to discuss about it since it became apparent to me that everyone (including myself) in the small group are having this problem of lust and it does have a valid and significant legitimacy in the blog.
I understand 100% that this blog is meant to be used as a study process and an discussion area in our weekly Bible studies. I'm not discounting anything or leading this blog into an tangent.
I posted this blog (which I know that may not be related to our Bible study)just for all of us to get ourselves thinking about lust (that's all). I felt convicted to post it not because I have to. I hope you are understanding where I am coming from in all of this.
Of course I understand where you're coming from. I'd be a fool and be doing us all a great disservice if I tried to squelch discussions about issues we all deal with (even sin, of all things!). But this blog was created to fit within a specific "realm of discussion," and a different blog (which I will work on putting together) would be more suited for this type of content.
Hey, Wavebagel -
Just wanted to let you know I've really enjoyed this discussion, even if it's not exactly what this particular blog is about. I really appreciate and admire your passion and your effort to help us in this area.
I think lust is something only conquered through help; it's like alcoholism in that it's an escapist drug of sorts, and likewise sin. Oh, but the Lord can and does save us from our slavery to sin.
Thanks Pat, I'm glad that the videos and the discussions has certainly caught your attention and that you liked it. I'm sure that the others liked it as well.
Hey Sea-b, I'm not going to make a second blog, so feel free to use this blog.
No problemo, theekevy
I want everyone who's reading this to keep me accountable in this since I am having an issue with lust just like everybody else.
I haven't heard anyone mention this to me when they either call me or even e-mail. I prefer e-mail above all else but phone calls are fine with me.
Oh, you got it then!!! :D
Posto një koment