The Lion (Doesn't) Sleep Tonight

One thing I have learned well in my fifty plus years is that temptation never looks like temptation. You sit smugly in front of the evening news watching a parade of sinners in shackles and quietly think to yourself "I would never do that". No, you would not because the devil knows you would not. Instead, he knows what you "would" and he is a schemer (the dictionary definition being "someone who makes secret plans in order to gain benefit for himself"). He notices your weaknesses and intends to exploit them for his own benefit. So, he tests the waters. He throws a crumb and you eat it, so he throws a bigger one and then a handful until gradually you have finished a loaf. Pay attention, you are not immune. If there is a lion prowling in the high grass you stay alert and strap a weapon to your side. You don't turn your back on it for a brief moment of pleasure, because in the end it will eat you alive.

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Not Gonna Be Popular

Titus 2:3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Dear young women of faith,

My heart grieves for you today.  For all of you who have fallen at the foot of the Cross, and given your everything to Christ, yet not everything. Your words boldly proclaim Jesus, and your love for Him is evident. Your reaching out to others, your enthusiasm in ministry, all shine forth. Why, then, is my heart grieved?  It cries out in sorrow for the loss of what was divinely yours. Your body.

Somewhere along the route of your history, you heard the lie. Then later, you believed it. Then, embraced it. Satan whispered in your ear that there was no forbidden fruit, that your body truly was your own, that God never meant what He said about sexual sin. "Hogwash", the devil said, "the Bible is old fashioned, and outdated, and everything it says about sins against the body, rubbish."

You, who have chosen salvation, you have given your "almost all" to Him. What you have done with your body, outside the confines of marriage, and after your confession of faith, is intentional sin. Sin that grieves the Father's heart, because it is done boldly, and makes a mockery of the blood that Jesus shed for you on the cross.  It rends the white garment, and creates a chasm between you and the Lord.

"Not guilty", you say. "What I do with my body is my business. I can worship God, live for Jesus, and still have sex with whoever I want. No big deal." Yes, it is, and I pray today that God convicts your heart, and that you repent, and stop making that choice. Confess it as sin, then make the relationship right by abstaining, or marrying, and if you can't do either of those things, say good-bye to your temptation.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.