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Men of Integrity, March/April 2006
My Secret Side
Theme of the Week: Facing My Messy Side
Friday, April 7
Key Bible Verse: I know perfectly well what I am doing is wrong … but I can't help myself (Romans 7:16-17). Bonus Reading: Romans 2:1-4
Since I grew up in a strong Christian home, it was hard to relate to friends who'd share about their struggle with pornography. I would have acknowledged my own sexual struggle, but hadn't felt the power of temptation in this way. Then a few years ago I began to receive e-mail notices for pornographic websites, and my curiosity (and the ease and hiddenness of the access) got the better of me.
What died for me was my own high opinion of myself, made worse by the fact that I worked as a staff supervisor for a Christian ministry. The only way I could get past the cycle of concealment and shame was to speak about it, first to my wife and my supervisor, and then with friends and others who knew me. I had to let others see the messy, sinful side of me. Speaking with others helped me not to remain alone in my sin and gave me the discipline to turn away. I suffered the death of my own sense of invulnerability and then witnessed God's resurrection power through, in part, letting others in. This gave me a fresh knowledge of the powerful saving work of Jesus in my life.
—Richard Lamb in The Pursuit of God in the Company of Friends
My Response: What pretense is blocking the repenting and restoration I need?
Thought to Apply: Christians tend to divide sins into two categories: their sins and our sins. The Bible, of course, knows no such distinction. Sin is sin, without partiality shown to the sins of God's people.—JOE BAYLY
Adapted from The Pursuit of God in the Company of Friends (InterVarsity, 2003) by permission.
Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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March/April 2006, Vol. 9, No. 2
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Prayer for the Week |
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Help me, Lord, to identify and confess my sins so You can offer forgiveness and bring healing.
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