Tag: Adultery

Temptation

Today’s reading is Proverbs 5 where a stern warning is given about adultery.

In this chapter King Solomon is writing to his son to tell him about the risk of the temptation of adultery and seeking temporary pleasure over the fruits of faithful marriage over one’s lifetime. This is steep contrast to what the world tells us. Sexual promiscuity is everywhere in ads, TV shows, movies, and now on social media. Satan and the world tell us to seek pleasure, you deserve it. It’s ok…just like the fruit in Genesis 3. The book of Ecclesiastes is also attributed to King Solomon and in it he also warns about seeking pleasure over what God wants.

I’ve mentioned in past writings that some years ago I had the opportunity to work with Jason Selk. Jason was a sports psychologist for professional teams and athletes and then began personal and business coaching as well. One of the things he talked about was doing a life projection when making decisions in the moment. If your goal is to get in shape and stay healthy, picture yourself 5 years from now if you don’t say yes to that workout you don’t feel like doing. And then picture yourself healthy when you say yes to that workout. One of my friends who was not a believer and now is and who is also very into personal and professional growth and books and podcasts on that topic said that pretty much every concept comes from the Bible. Well, we can see it here…

“and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

and you say, “How I hated discipline,

and my heart despised reproof!

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors,

I am at the brink of utter ruin

In the assembled congregation.”

Proverbs 5:11-14

Solomon is giving his son a life projection and telling him the temporary pleasure the world and Satan is telling you to chase is not worth it at the end of your life. How you feel on your deathbed about your choices and the life you lived is much more important. If you are someone who has fallen into this snare, know that there is forgiveness at the cross. Psalm 103:12 says he removes our sins as far as the east is from the rest. Read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. God loves and forgives you and wants you back.

Jason once told a story about a man he was coaching who struggled with his weight. They were out to dinner with a large group having a great time. After dinner the waiter came up and said he’d be right back with the dessert tray. At that point the man abruptly left and went home, despite the great time he was having. The next day, Jason asked him why he left so quickly. He said he’d done a life projection, and he didn’t like the person he saw 5 years from now if he said yes to a dessert…so he removed himself from the temptation. Not only did he do the life projection like taught here in the wisdom God gave Solomon, but he also follows what Jesus taught in Matthew 18:7-9 where he says if your eye or your foot or hand cause you to sin…remove it (not literally). Billy Graham said he would never put himself in a situation where he was alone with another woman who was not his wife.

Let us remember what God taught us in the very beginning in Genesis 2:24 and Jesus reiterated in Matthew 19:4-6..

“He answered, Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife,, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefor God has joined together, let not man separate.”

 

Dig Deeper

 

Today’s Reading: Matthew Chapter 5

As I continue in Biblejournal club, I have continue to grow in my understanding of each blog and each biblical passage. As we enter this new section of the year with the New Testament, I can see each portion in a different perspective. For the majority of my life I have seen the books of the New Testament as the journey of Jesus and the apostles. It tells the different perspectives of Jesus and the many journeys of Paul and his letters to the churches.
As I read through Matthew, my perception has changed and evolve into one that really looks at the author and their experience and their testimony of Jesus and how it relates to me and others today. Each of the writers of the gospel have been appointed by the Holy Spirit to relay the gospel to us, but each had their own backgrounds and those influenced the manner in which they conveyed their experience. Matthew was originally a tax collector. We know that this is a profession that is still not highly adored. The reason is because they have been taught how to look for the most obscure information and gain the most wealth from it. He knew how to dig deep. Matthew in his writing digs deep into some of these experiences of Jesus.
In chapter 5, we are at the sermon in the mount. The beatitudes are given to us here. But in The Message version these become so much clearer and more profound. Jesus is telling us to look deeper at the law and find the true underlying meaning. We sometimes get the crust of the issue, but not the core.
Matthew 5: 3- 10

 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

Salt and light – Allow our life with God to be the seasonings to the others. We should be able to bring the essence of God through our walk.  We should enhance the love and life of others if we are part of God.
Murder – Not only killing the physical person, but stop killing the essence of the person. Don’t degrade your neighbor or kill their spirit.
Adultery and Divorce – these are not just the act, but the moral complexity that are attached. Jesus is telling us not to get raped up with the legal ramifications but look at the moral implications. He is telling us to see the heart more so than the body. The spirit and the soul more than the act.
Empty promises – When we interact with each other, do not put on a facade. Let your words be true and not contrite with useless hopes and religious platitudes. Be real with others and not fake.
Love your enemies – Do good to those that would bro you harm or have done you harm. Loving your enemies doesn’t mean to put yourself in harms way, but it means to not allow hatred and despair make you do things that you wouldn’t want to do. Loving your enemies allows you to control your emotions and actions in the midst of adversity and strife.
In the midst of our daily lives, we have to look at the deeper meaning of the journey.  When we experience joy and happiness, we must look deeper to give the same joy and happiness to others even.  They might be experiencing something traumatic in their lives.  If we are going through some difficult times, we may have to dig deeper to see how is this glorifying God in the midst of our trials.  Sometimes God uses us to be reflections of his amazing grace and love in our most tremulous times.  God is in control, we will show his glory.
Be Blessed.