Monday, May 18, 2015

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

   I know, I know. You must be thinking "Lame article. Who would write an article about porn?" Well, please feel free to click out of this blog if any of the following describes you; perfect, sinless, pure, etc. However, if you do not fall into any of the categories mentioned, read on and be convicted and encouraged. 


Before you read any further, consider a few surprising statistics: 


  1. 1/8 of searches online are for erotic content.
  2. 51% of young men say they first saw porn before the age of 13.
  3. 83% of boys &57% of girls see group sex online before the age of 18.
  4. 64% of college guys watch porn at least once a week.
  5. 18% of college women spend time online every week for sexual purposes.
  6. Those who identify as "Believers" are 91% more likely to look at porn.
  7. 16% of pastors surveyed said they visited a porn site in the last 30 days. 
  8. 56% of divorce cases involve one party who is obsessed with porn. 

   This should come as no real surprise; many young men in the church watch porn habitually. In fact, Richard, raised in a Christian home, remembers that he encountered pornography when a 10th-grade classmate slipped a photo into his math book. This marked the beginning of a 15-year addiction to pornography for Richard. 
   Now a pastor, Richard still faces temptations and struggles in his relationship with God: "It [porn] has kept me from healthy relationships with women [and] drastically affected my maturity in Christ." 
   Men are not the only ones who struggle with a porn addiction. Christine is a young woman who has come forward about her addiction. Her struggle began when she was 8 years old; she started watching porn after finding a hidden stash of her stepfather's videos. Now 26, Christine has kept silent about her addiction until recently. She says that porn ruined her view on sexual relationships: "Watching porn made it OK to have same-sex attractions, it made it OK to be experimental, it made it OK to have no boundaries," Christine recollects. "It was almost like my validation...'If I do X, Y, and Z, I'll have a satisfied relationship.'" 
   Research shows that the average addict is exposed to porn between the ages of 10 and 12. This accounts for the sex-saturated society that we live in today; relationships are initiated out of a need for carnal "satisfaction," while marriages crumble under the weight of unfulfilled sexual expectations. All because of one thing: pornography. 

But no one is without HOPE...

  • Accountability partner(s)-- This can be a parent, teacher, pastor, friend, or significant other. 
  • NoFap-- This website helps those who find themselves in sexual addictions take back their lives by instituting a comprehensive community-based porn recovery website. 
  • Operation Integrity-- This nonprofit organization dedicates itself to helping those struggling with a sexual addiction to overcome their addictions in a godly way. 
  • Covenant Eyes-- An online security system that filters "bad" sites for your personal use and sends a copy of your web browsing history to an accountability partner. 
  • Constant  Prayer-- Our Heavenly Father "is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13)
Cheers.

Info and photo courtesy of covenanteyes.com, WORLD MAgazine, the occidentalovserver.net, and redeeminggod.com

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Sometimes...


Sometimes you just have to realize it was never meant to be.
In the moment between silence
And the sound of a heart breaking
You realize that you. just. can’t.

Not anymore.
Not ever.

Sometimes you just have to realize that there’s nothing left.
There’s nothing left for you here.
Go home.
Go make new friends.

Do this
For yourself.

You probably thought this poem was meant for you.

Well, you see, you're wrong.

It was meant for someone else.