Key Bible Verse: A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences (Proverbs 22:3). Bonus Reading: James 5:19-20

I had a friend who was heading for shipwreck, plain as the nose on your face. I took him to lunch and said, "Brother, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I want to ask you a question. Have you lost your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

When I told him my concerns, he protested, "There's nothing going on between us."

"Oh please," I said. "There may not be anything yet, but you're thinking about it and so is she!"

"I can't believe you're saying that," he retorted.

"Oh please," I said, "come on now."

We parted over lunch without resolution, but later he came back to me and said, "I want to thank you. I was so mad at you I could have hit you, but I want to thank you because you were right. My wife and I were going through a rocky patch and my secretary was sympathetic."

That's why I have a rule: I'm not alone with any woman other than my mom, wife, or daughters, period. I tell people when I go somewhere that if a woman is coming to pick me up at the airport, please make sure a second person joins her. And I'm not going to have a meal with a woman outside my family unless there are other folks at the table.

—Richard Land in Real Homeland Security

My Response: To be a true friend, is there someone I should challenge?

Thought to Apply: If you don't make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you.—E. STANLEY JONES

Adapted from Real Homeland Security (Broadman & Holman, 2004) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, give me the determination to do whatever it takes to stay sexually pure, both physically and mentally.

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