It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. ~Theodore Roosevelt
Sexual Purity Posts
It Is Never Satisfied!
Paul – Recovering Pharisee
Phil 3:13-14 – Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ESV
Paul, called Saul in his pre-Christ following days, was raised to be a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was trained by the very best that Israel had to offer and most likely would end up one day as the chief priest of the nation. That destiny came to an end when he met Jesus. (Acts 9:1-22) After his conversion he became the greatest missionary the world has ever seen, and had a hand in evangelizing much of what we now call Europe.
When we read Paul’s writings, maybe as much as two thirds of the New Testament, we see a man in recovery, we see recovery language; just look at Romans chapter 7 as an example. We know that all of scripture was inspired by God through the Holy Spirit, and so we know that God is a proponent of recovery. Indeed, the Bible itself is the book of recovery of the entire human race.
In our scripture above, a small sliver of what Paul wrote, we see him making three important statements, and I’m going to put them in recovery language:
- That he doesn’t think he made it through his recovery program under his own power.
- That he is putting the past behind him.
- That he is continuing to work his program.
This shows us a significant mindset, one that ought to be emulated. Paul knows that it is God in him, the Holy Spirit, who has brought him out of his personal pit and into the truth. Paul knows that the past is gone, cannot be changed and is irrelevant to his future. The Paul says that he is going to continue reaching for his prize, the same one we have in Christian recovery, the prize of the upward call of Christ.
Do Not Lose Heart
Unfortunately, I don’t remember where I read this and from where I copied it. All credit to the original author. If this is yours, please feel free to post a comment with the link to the original.
Jesus, our Master, in Luke 18 tells us to pray and not loose heart.
The Apostle Paul encourages us several times to not loose heart.
2 Corinthians 4:1 [ The Light of the Gospel ] Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Ephesians 3:13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
We should not lose heart–but we have already lost heart–so many Christians [addicts and non addicts] living in the world today have lost heart.
So, how is it that the Apostle Paul asks us to not loose heart when it is so easy for a Christian to loose heart.
Let’s look at the reputation of the man who is calling on us to not lose heart, let’s look at what he endured to get to the point of saying ” we do not lost heart”
II Corinthians 11:23-27 English Standard Version (ESV) 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
If Paul endured what he endured to preach the gospel around the Mediterranean and did not loose heart. Surely I can endure and not loose heart given how little I face by comparison?
I am thankful for the support I have to help me move forward. That support is also critical to pressing on and not loosing heart.
Let’s Talk About Porn FREE EVENT
Here is the link to the video broadcast of this event:
http://livestream.com/chapelwood/specialevents/videos/102330120
Average age of first exposure is 11 Years. 12-17 year olds are the largest porn consumers. Teens see 50 porn clips per week. 1 out of 3 youth who viewed pornography, viewed the pornography intentionally. Porn sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. 70% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to Internet porn before the age of 18.
Some parents are in denial about it while others are terrified by it, but the truth is, our kids are facing an unprecedented tidal wave of pornography. Statistically speaking, four out of five 16-year-olds regularly access pornography online, and first-time exposure most often occurs in the preteen years. And yes, girls are looking too. Research continues to confirm the devastating effects of modern-day pornography as witnessed by professionals such school teachers, family counselors, brain specialists, and law enforcement agents, to name a few.
But here’s the good news, parents. We don’t have to sit by while our kids drown in this epidemic. Join us on October 18 for a community wide event, sponsored by West Houston area churches and local ministries. Learn strategies to inspire your kids to avoid pornography and equip them with the tools to resist looking. Whether your child is in the cradle or in college, you’ll benefit from this.
This event is open to all parents who want a plan on how to proactively address this issue within their own families.
October 18, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Chapelwood United Methodist Church, Sanctuary
11140 Greenbay, Houston, TX 77024
