Paul Addresses a Popular Worldly Meme

Statements like “follow your heart” are naive and dangerous. And they've been around for thousands of years. See Trust Your Heart?

In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul rebuked the Corinthians for saying, “I have the right to do anything,” ...‘Food for the stomach and the stomach for food’” (vs.12-13).

People were saying that hunger is a God-given desire and we eat when we're hungry. Likewise, sexual desire is also God-given, so we should fulfill it whenever and however we want.(1) 

Paul makes it clear in this passage that following our heart regarding sexual desires is not only naive and dangerous. It damages our hearts like no other sin: 

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body...You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (vs.18-20)

We can make sinful and damaging choices in every area of life, but sexual sin does deeper damage.(2)  

Our modern world rejects God's loving commands and promotes premarital sex, adultery, and pornography. And they reject God's commands and creation design to pursue LGBTQ lifestyles. 

In truth when people follow their hearts, they're following Satan's heart of destruction (John 10:10). 

I'm grateful that God gives us the courage and strength to say no to unhealthy desires (1 Corinthians 10:13). And when we follow God's heart, we find true fulfillment, meaning and purpose.

Please consider how you might lovingly share these truths with someone involved in sexual sin.  

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I also encourage you to read Sexual Sin is Serious and  Did You Know that "Unnatural" Sins Are More Damaging to Our Souls? 

Notes:

(1) “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”

“This phrase reflects a common saying in Corinth, emphasizing the natural relationship between food and the stomach. In the Greco-Roman world, such expressions were used to justify indulgence in physical appetites.” (source)

(2) “All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” 

“This phrase suggests a self-destructive element inherent in sexual sin. It affects the individual's physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. In the biblical context, the body is not merely a vessel but an integral part of one's identity and relationship with God.” (source) 

 

Spiritual Dehydration: Not Enough Living Water

There was a time when I hung flower pots on my porch and positioned other flower pots beneath them. Even though I needed to water them daily, they brought me great pleasure.  

When I'd water the hanging plants, I knew they had enough when the water began dripping from the bottom of the planter into the flower pots below.

If I missed a day, the leaves of the plants would begin to wilt and the flowers would begin to droop. If I waited two or three days, some of the leaves and flowers lost their color and died.

Similarly, we're God's garden. Without "living water," we also wilt, become unproductive, and gradually lose our purpose. 

We can't easily recognize when we dry out because our outward appearance stays the same. But we begin to back away from God's purposes and get too busy to spend time in His Word.  

Jesus said: “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38).

But we need to be drinking in His life-giving water in order to have it flow from us. We need to rehydrate ourselves in His Word, in fellowship, and in prayer. 

So let's do that! Let's drink in His living water so that it will drip from us and help water others! 

💦💧💦💧 

Note: In New Testament verses, life-giving or living water usually equates to the Holy Spirit within us. But we still need to drink deeply of God's Word and be involved in godly living to keep our relationship with the Spirit vibrant. See 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22.  

Please drink deeply of these Bible verses:

John 4:14: “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Isaiah 12:2: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

Psalm 36:7-9: “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

Never drink water from worldly cisterns:

Jeremiah 2:13: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” 

 

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The Bible: The Ultimate Manual for Life

By Marika Marton

I am often amazed as I discover more and more truth in the Bible and see how sufficient it is for daily living. It is an incredible “manual” given by God Himself—written not just to be read, but to be applied.

Peter summarizes this beautifully: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life…” (2 Peter 1:3).

If we follow it, we can escape eternal punishment from hell by believing the gospel and repenting of our sins. We can also live lives that please Him by obeying its instructions.

Here are some basic steps to follow:

1. Hear (read) the Word of God (Romans 10:17)

2. Understand (Jesus gives us understanding) (Luke 24:45)

3. Believe (accept/receive) (John 1:12)

4. Live (apply, obey) it (Luke 11:28; John 13:17; James 1:22; 2:26)

Sadly, many Christians do not consider the Bible sufficient for life, so they turn to “professionals” such as psychologists and psychiatrists for help. But principles taken from secular sources cannot teach us how to live a God-pleasing life.

They will turn our focus toward ourselves, trying to raise our self-esteem rather than teaching us to esteem God. This is how we can discern whether help comes from God or from a secular source: who is in focus—God or us?

Do not be deceived by these lies. Instead, be like the wise man who built his house on the rock—hear, understand, believe, and live it.

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For more on this subject, see Godly Mirror Gazing and Transformation, Not Information.

 

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God Can Use Our Scars

“I want to make sure it’s not skin cancer,” I said.

“It’s not,” the dermatologist said, examining the tiny spot on my face. I was content knowing it wasn't a problem, but he suggested I have it removed.

“It will only take me a minute to freeze it, and after a couple days, you won't even know it was there.”

“If you think that's a good idea, I'm fine having you do it as long as there aren't any side effects,” I said, “because I leave for an overseas mission trip in two weeks, and I don't need any extra challenges.”

“It will be crusty for a couple of days and completely healed within a week,” he assured me.

So I let him do it.

The next two weeks I dealt with a large, oozing blister from the second-degree burn, and I had to see another doctor to get advice for treating it. The wound ended up requiring daily care for three months, the whole time I was overseas.

 

The scar I now have is no big deal, no worse than the original age spot, but it's a good analogy for some of the unexpected detours we face in life.

Sometimes something seems life-altering, and it ends up being insignificant. Other times a single wrong move affects our lives in major ways. 

 

I've used an insignificant physical scar as an example, and God can certainly use those for His good. But more importantly, God can use our emotional scars for His good as well—things we've foolishly brought upon ourselves, things others have inflicted, and things we suffer from circumstances beyond our control.

We need to fully grasp the wonderful promise in Romans 8:28:

“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

This gives us confidence to know that God can use any scar, big or small, for our good. That's just one of many comforting promises He gives us!

 

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If you liked this devotion, please sign up for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION to Bible Love Notes HERE. And please check out these two helpful resources:

WISDOM FOR LIFE: Do you know the story behind my book Wisdom for Life? You can read it HERE and find out where to purchase it online.

LIES IN DISGUISE: Check out the relevant subjects in each chapter, read some endorsements, and find out where to order Lies in Disguise HERE.

 

 

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Peter Called These People “Ignorant and Unstable”

It’s popular to explain away unpopular New Testament truths by claiming Paul was merely writing his opinion or expressing a cultural prejudice. 

This is a major part of the propaganda of the modern “ex-vangelical” movement. But it’s been used for centuries to explain away commands that contradict culture (e.g., male church leadership, submission, premarital sex, gay lifestyles, etc.).

Peter calls people who make this claim “ignorant and unstable”:

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15-16

In these two verses Peter presents Paul’s letters as divinely inspired when he says people distort them “as they do the other Scriptures.”  

If someone thinks the human authors of Scripture made mistakes, there’s nothing in Scripture they can trust—not the words of Jesus, not the story of Christ's death or resurrection, not the hope of forgiveness and salvation. Why? Because all of these things were recorded by human authors. 

Either all of God's Word is divinely inspired, or none of it is!

I believe it ALL is. What about you?

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See:  

Believing God's Word Is Inerrant 

Why We Trust a Bible “Written by Men”

 

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