Manonfire63
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2024
- Messages
- 125
- Gender
- Male
- Religious Affiliation
- Christian
- Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
- Yes
Men compete. Men compete in sports. Men compete in school. Men compete in the work place. Men compete in love. There are rules in sports. There are rules in school. There are rules in the work place. Should there not be rules for love and dating? Overcoming lust may be a shift of perceptions with The Lord Jesus Christ. That is what we are going to work on today.
Young man, he is thirteen or so, and he has been discovering girls and women. They are pretty. His buddies on the playground, they have been dating already. They came back with stories of their exploits. How is the competition building here for love? Our young man was developing how to look at girls. In competition with his buddies, he may have needed to "Get his." He may have needed to "Know that he could." "Dating" may have become a game of conquests. This was driven by The Ego.
We are going to fast forward, and our young man is sixteen. How is he looking at his female classmates? It is healthy to desire a mate. It is healthy to desire a potential wife. The competition for having a wife, it shifted towards sin and debauch. It is good to appreciate beauty. It is bad to be looking at the opposite sex, looking to use them outside of marriage in sin.
Fast Forward another 20 years, and our man is now 36. He has been married for six years, and has two kids. He was a wondering eye. He settled. He had all his excitement in sin, but was tired of it. He started looking for something permanent. He settled for someone. Six years after being married, he had a wondering eye because he was still in competition with his playground buddies from middle school. Maybe he looked at a celebrity like Leonardo DiCaprio and thought, "Why does he get the girls, and why can't I?" His unhealthy competition from Middle School may have shifted to being in competition with celebrities and rock stars.
Given our man started going to Church, and was seeking the Lord Jesus Christ, part of overcoming lusts may be to identity that there was an unhealthy and sinful competition. Our man lets go. He lets go of the competition. He says "I don't care." He stops caring about what other men are doing, and instead, he reflects inward, and looks to make himself a better man in Christ.
God is love. Our thirty six year old married man, he works to forget those past flings, past girlfriends, he drops the competition, and he works to love his wife, and think only of her. This is a good place to be to start listening to God's Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a teacher and a councilor.
There are a lot of interesting concepts that run through the Bible, through multiple authors. These concepts are succinct. This could be a long post. I am going to show you some verses, and gives some context.
Having Eyes to See and Ears to Hear is a major theme in the Bible. (Ezekiel 12:2)(Proverbs 20:12)(Isaiah 42:7) Have you ever heard that masturbation makes you go blind? For a young man, learning about how to look at girls, given he was lusting after girls, that separates him from God's fatherly love. He may have become blind and deaf in sin.
I have highlighted some concepts for you, and given you context for them. There may be a treasure trove of understanding here for someone with God's Holy Spirit. God bless.
Young man, he is thirteen or so, and he has been discovering girls and women. They are pretty. His buddies on the playground, they have been dating already. They came back with stories of their exploits. How is the competition building here for love? Our young man was developing how to look at girls. In competition with his buddies, he may have needed to "Get his." He may have needed to "Know that he could." "Dating" may have become a game of conquests. This was driven by The Ego.
We are going to fast forward, and our young man is sixteen. How is he looking at his female classmates? It is healthy to desire a mate. It is healthy to desire a potential wife. The competition for having a wife, it shifted towards sin and debauch. It is good to appreciate beauty. It is bad to be looking at the opposite sex, looking to use them outside of marriage in sin.
Fast Forward another 20 years, and our man is now 36. He has been married for six years, and has two kids. He was a wondering eye. He settled. He had all his excitement in sin, but was tired of it. He started looking for something permanent. He settled for someone. Six years after being married, he had a wondering eye because he was still in competition with his playground buddies from middle school. Maybe he looked at a celebrity like Leonardo DiCaprio and thought, "Why does he get the girls, and why can't I?" His unhealthy competition from Middle School may have shifted to being in competition with celebrities and rock stars.
Given our man started going to Church, and was seeking the Lord Jesus Christ, part of overcoming lusts may be to identity that there was an unhealthy and sinful competition. Our man lets go. He lets go of the competition. He says "I don't care." He stops caring about what other men are doing, and instead, he reflects inward, and looks to make himself a better man in Christ.
God is love. Our thirty six year old married man, he works to forget those past flings, past girlfriends, he drops the competition, and he works to love his wife, and think only of her. This is a good place to be to start listening to God's Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a teacher and a councilor.
Conceptual Bible Study - Heart of Stone vs Circumcision of the Heart
There are a lot of interesting concepts that run through the Bible, through multiple authors. These concepts are succinct. This could be a long post. I am going to show you some verses, and gives some context.
- I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
- For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them. 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
Having Eyes to See and Ears to Hear is a major theme in the Bible. (Ezekiel 12:2)(Proverbs 20:12)(Isaiah 42:7) Have you ever heard that masturbation makes you go blind? For a young man, learning about how to look at girls, given he was lusting after girls, that separates him from God's fatherly love. He may have become blind and deaf in sin.
- Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. (Jeremiah 4:4)
- But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:29)
I have highlighted some concepts for you, and given you context for them. There may be a treasure trove of understanding here for someone with God's Holy Spirit. God bless.