Today's Scripture
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. - (Romans 1:21-24 NIV)
Thoughts for Today
Humans were created for intimacy with each other and with God, but this intimacy was severely damaged when sin entered the world. Is it any wonder we seek to find intimacy in misdirected ways?
Instead of seeking relationship with God, we seek to fill ourselves with what the world can offer. But we don't find intimacy and peace that way. Instead, we become trapped in a cycle of sin.
What started out good in the Garden of Eden became twisted by the effects of sin. Relationship with God changed. Relationships with other people changed. Today's scripture says it well. Our desires and perceived needs are corrupted. We seek the world's answers for satisfaction . . . but we will never find any lasting peace or satisfaction there.
Consider this …
If we are created for relationship with God and in our sin we are striving to fill this with worldly things, then we will never be satisfied. Worldly things can never meet our need for God. If they could, God would be expendable.
The only answer is to deal with our inner need for relationship with God. Our goal cannot be simply to fix ourselves or even to have a better relationship with our spouse. Our goal must be to have a deeper connection to God. Call out to God and ask him to restore your relationship with him.
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. (Romans 3:22-25 NLT)
Prayer
God, I do need you. I've tried so many other ways to meet my inner needs, but nothing satisfies. I realize now that's because I first need to have a restored relationship with you. And I believe trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior is the way to do that. Please forgive my sins and help me begin to rebuild my life on the intimacy and strength of my relationship with you. In Jesus' name . . .
These thoughts were drawn from …Crossroads: Choosing the Road to Sexual Purity by David E. Longacre. Crossroads deals with choosing the road to sexual purity and is suggested for use in support groups and Christian counseling.
- Describes the sexual addiction process
- Shows how the sin of proximity often precedes sexual sins
- Shows the way out of sexual addiction
- Presents biblical insights to help a person break free and stay free
- Gives practical actions for renewing the mind
Serves as a powerful evangelistic tool by providing a way to minister to people's felt needs and then pointing them to Christ
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