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sc41ksg
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Posted: Fri Mar 9th, 2007 10:35 pm |
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I am new to this site (member for less than a month). On my Lunch hour I read and pray for all of you that are hurting.
I do come across allot of you who are struggling with the Internet. You are given advice of putting blockers or filters on your computers. But this still does not work, if there is a way you or your love one will get around it.
What worked for me. Was the Internet was my stumbling block, so we got rid of the Internet. I had no prayer life, so we got rid of the T.V. no cable, or the basic channels you can get in through a antenna. All DVDs or videos that had a foul word in it or any nudes (front, side, or back) gone.
My house is clean of this world. And the Lord is invited into my home. I spend my free time reading my bible (we also went through all the books and magazine and through out the ones that was a stumbling block also) and being a father to my son and daughter. Also a husband.
I still have falls and I repent and ask forgiveness from the Lord. But my falls are farther apart and I know who to go to. And when I get home I know that this world (Satan) is not their waiting for me. I invite the Lord in each day and fellowship with him.
I do ask my wife, once and awhile am I showing the fruits of a repentance life or am I acting like this world, self-center and looking for number one. It hurts when she says I am being selfish or self-center. But it is a red flag going up to look at my walk with the Lord. What is the stumbling block and what am I going to do about it.
I am the farthest person from the Lord in this group or my church. The more I get to know the Lord and I see my need for him. And that is a realty check. Only by his grace am I saved.
I am still praying for all of you and ask that you also pray for me
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guitarist63
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Posted: Sat Mar 10th, 2007 01:48 pm |
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Thanks for sharing Sc41ksg. Praying for you and that the Lord makes clear to your heart the things you still need to let go of. Like you, I have targeted weak areas in my life as well as the devil's strongholds and asked the Lord to deal with those, plucking the sin out by the root - whether it's lust, porn, masturbation, pride, unforgiveness, etc. God has been gracious and I can see the evidence of the changes he is making in my life. Recently, I felt convicted to dispose of a large part of my art library because of the pictures in the books of classical gods, occasional images of the devil, pictures of plain nudity, sometimes of something rather more than just plain nudity (eg. etchings by one of the most famous old masters of the 17th century and another of etchings and engravings by a very famous old master of the 15th century). Getting rid of possessions that are either strongholds or potential strongholds of the enemy (the devil), is one way we can show God that we are repentant of our sin and want to be freed from it. Of course, it's most important that we don't focus only on the external things, like material possessions, but ask the Lord daily to transform our hearts and minds - and every part of our being - and empower us with His strength, without which we would simply gather more possessions, etc., to take the place of those we have given up. We must lay our burdens down at the Cross, and give up ourselves first. Only through His transforming power within us - His Holy Spirit within us - will we finally have victory over the flesh that is opposed to God's Spirit and needs to be completely given up to His authority and Lordship. This is bound to be a continual surrendering to God throughout our lives. It must never stop. We must make our bodies our slaves - slaves to righteousness. Sanctification of the whole of ourselves is a long process, in my experience, and only God at work within us can bring about that sanctification. We can't.
Last edited on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 08:20 pm by guitarist63
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Raven34
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 02:18 am |
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sc41ksg,
Congratulations you have taken a huge number of steps to remove the temptation and you are doing it with your families and God's help. I think getting rid of the Internet was a great step but how do you then manage to post in this forum?
May you go from strength to strength.
guitarist63. Just a quick question because I am not sure if disposing of art is necessarily the way to go, especially if you purchased or obtained your pieces for the sake of art and not for lust.
Were the pieces so offensive that you destroyed them, thereby saving others from temptation, or did you sell them?
That is not intended to be self righteous but selling and possibly making a profit could be considered as benefiting from an evil. No offence meant by the question.
God bless you both.
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sc41ksg
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 06:17 pm |
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The answer to your question, I don't have the Internet at home. At work I sit in front of a computer for 8 hours and use it to respond to e-mail and research for work. I have to use it for work and I can not get around it.
During Lunch I respond to personal e-mails or personal business on the Internet.
You have pointed out something that is wrong and I should not be doing. It is stealing from the company to use the Internet for personal use. So, I am not going to be use the Internet for any personal business.
I still will be praying for all of you, and ask that you still pray for me.
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Raven34
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 07:35 pm |
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sc41ksg
I didn't mean to imply that you were stealing and I am sure your company wouldn't mind you using their facilities for a few personal things. Its a bit like using the photocopy machine to copy the odd page. So long as it is not abused.
I asked the question because I have always felt that by removing the source from one area does not mean that one won't be tempted to go somewhere ele. For example work or an interner cafe. A similar situation applies with blocking your home computer. I believe to overcome this thing we need to confront it.
When I first gave up smoking in 1981 I spent the first 6 months of "giving up" with a partially open pack in my pocket. It works for me.
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guitarist63
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 08:31 pm |
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Hi Raven34, Thanks for your comments about disposing of art. I had a lot of difficulty deciding what to do with the books (books, not art) which contained a lot of wholesome, good art - landscapes, portraits, conventional stuff. I didn't sell anything but decided to give it a couple of local charity shops. The books would be useful for anyone studying art history for first or higher degrees and would have been a waste to have just burnt or thrown away. The nudity was Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Durer, etc., whose names are well-known as old masters. The charity I chose will help save many lives and I think it will be a good thing.
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Raven34
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 08:36 pm |
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guitarist63
I think some of those old masters pictures were art for the sake of art, in many they simply took the form of nudity. So giving them to charities for others to benefit is brilliant.
God bless you.
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Ed Neal
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Posted: Wed Mar 14th, 2007 08:36 pm |
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sc41ksg wrote: What worked for me. Was the Internet was my stumbling block, so we got rid of the Internet. I had no prayer life, so we got rid of the T.V. no cable, or the basic channels you can get in through a antenna. All DVDs or videos that had a foul word in it or any nudes (front, side, or back) gone.
I ask you... is that really freedom?
Would not true freedom be to be able to have the internet in your home and cable TV in your home and yet never experience any desire or temptation to view things that lead you to bondage?
Is it too unrealistic to hope for such a freedom?
I do not believe it is. I have experienced it. I still exprience it. It is not by my power or wisdom, but by the truth of God... truth that I am living.
The reality that I wrote about 3 months ago in http://blazinggrace.org/forums/view_topic.php?id=553&forum_id=21 is still true for me today.
Praise God.
Pastor Ed
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Billyeah
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Posted: Mon Mar 19th, 2007 10:09 pm |
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I agree that would be true freedom. Having the temptations right in front of you, but not falling into them.
But if my understanding of scripture is correct, we should flee from temptation. Jesus said if our hand cause us to sin, cut it off, for it is better to enter into life maimed and not sin, than to have our whole bodies cast into hell. So my contemporary definition would be, "If TV, Internet, Magazines, ect cause you to sin. Cut them off!"
Yes I believe we would all truely love to have that kind of freedom. I ask for it every day! But for some of us, it hasn't come that easy. It could very well have to do with spiritual laziness, but just the same, I wouldn't be able to put myself into situations like that, with confidence I would come out with my purity.
Praise God Pastor Ed that you have overcome
Praise him that he will forgive those who repent.
Bill
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Ed Neal
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Posted: Tue Mar 20th, 2007 12:23 am |
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Billyeah wrote: I agree that would be true freedom. Having the temptations right in front of you, but not falling into them.
Perhaps it's just semantics, Bill, but I didn't say that freedom was not falling for the temptation, I said it was freedom from the very temptation itself. It is freedom from the temptation in the face of opportunity. Freedom is when we don't fall because it no longer calls our name.
A former smoker is not truly free from cigarettes when he has smoked his last one, he is truly free when he no longer has any cravings for them.
But if my understanding of scripture is correct, we should flee from temptation. Jesus said if our hand cause us to sin, cut it off, for it is better to enter into life maimed and not sin, than to have our whole bodies cast into hell. So my contemporary definition would be, "If TV, Internet, Magazines, ect cause you to sin. Cut them off!"
I think that is a fair application of that teaching. But please do not call that response "victory." That is only managing the temptations and minimizing defeat. But it's a long way from "freedom."
For 30+ years, I assumed that that was the best I could ever hope for. But now, I have experienced a freedom that surpasses that. I wish it for everyone. It is possible, too.
Yes I believe we would all truely love to have that kind of freedom. I ask for it every day! But for some of us, it hasn't come that easy. It could very well have to do with spiritual laziness, but just the same, I wouldn't be able to put myself into situations like that, with confidence I would come out with my purity.
Brother Bill, I never would have been able to put myself in situations like that before either. I always knew that somewhere in my heart, I still wanted that indulgence. I knew that when opportunity was present, the allure would call me and I would generally succumb. In truth, I actually looked forward to-- even planned for-- those opportunities so that I could indulge in that "high."
But I don't worry about that now, because I simply don't want it anymore. The allure itself is gone. And I can tell you, this is freedom like I've never known before.
I would challenge you to consider, however, that it's not simply a matter of asking the Lord for freedom and Him granting it. I know that sometimes God does that, but I think we'd all agree that, typically, He does not.
If the truth sets free (John 8:32), then lies keep us in bondage. If our bondage remains, then it should compel us to ask, "what lies do I continue to believe?" Discover and root out the lies, replace them with the truth, and freedom is inescapable (else Jesus' words are not true).
Instead, I fear that we have concluded that temptation is inescapable and redefine "freedom" as "resistance" when in fact, we live in continued bondage.
Praise God Pastor Ed that you have overcome
Praise him that he will forgive those who repent.
I am grateful beyond measure to be free from pornography's grip in my heart and life. I testify to the power of Jesus' words, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32 - NIV).
God does indeed forgive those who repent. I lived 30 years experiencing the repeated cleansing of the Lord every time I repented. His mercies are new every morning! There is no doubt about the patient grace of the Lord in my life!
That is why I wrote in my story (The Chain) about the burst of Light which left the men's clothing spotless white, even though only moments before they had been buried in the filth.
But... repentance and cleansing do not remove the chains, only the stains. The chains are only released when we "take off the collar"... that is, when we reject the lies that keeps us in bondage.
You would not believe how easy it is to walk away from the filth when the collar has been removed.
May the Lord bless you with the freedom that you long for.
Pastor Ed.
P.S. The story (The Chain) that I referenced is located here:
http://blazinggrace.org/forums/view_topic.php?id=553&forum_id=21
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