Do Not Destroy Yourself

13 And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands. 14 Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. -Malachi 2:13-14 BSB

The phrase “you have broken faith” means acting treacherously toward one’s spouse through betrayal. The moment a man or a woman crosses that line, your “good deeds” for the Lord, will no longer be accepted. Repentance and, as much as possible, reconciliation must be a priority. As long as you are in sin, a spiritual wall has been constructed between you and the Lord. He will not hear your prayers (Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.”)

When one commits adultery, it will bring upon divorce, and the children will be immensely impacted by it, not just in the physical aspect of it but spiritually. They will eventually become estranged from the Lord because Satan will take that opportunity to ingrain in their minds his lie, how much God has failed them. That is why God hates divorce. It affects the husband, the wife, and the children.

16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith. -Malachi 2:16 BSB

Don’t destroy your godly progress and work that you have labored so hard for the Lord for a moment of weakness. If you fall, remember, you will destroy not just your character and your walk with God, but your entire household will collapse, bringing devastation to your family.

Advertisement

How To Shield Yourself From Satan’s Arrows of Sexual Enticement

Numbers 31:15-16

15 Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? 16 These caused the children of Israel, through the word of Balaam, to act unfaithfully against the Lord concerning the thing of Peor, and there was a plague among the assembly of the Lord.

The thing that happened at Peor:

Numbers 25:1-3

While Israel dwelt in Shittim, the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They called the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 Israel joined himself to the Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was inflamed against Israel.

The enemy’s formidable weapon against men are enchanting women to entice you into adultery. According to Ephesians 6:10-18, demons are behind these women, they not being aware are being used to cause Jesus’ followers to sin against Him.    

We men must keep our eyes pure because that is the entry way into our souls. This is Satan’s primary attack for entrance. How do we protect our eyes from letting darkness creep in? 

• Don’t watch anything that has women wearing almost nothing as to entice your minds.
• Don’t read anything in WordPress that’s sexual in nature because your mind have eyes as well and will convert the sexual words into images.
• Don’t look at porn magazines which is a landmine, throw it away immediately.

Job who was a righteous man knew Satan’s entry way into his life and what did Job do to combat that temptation?

Job 31:1

“I made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?

Luke 11:34-25

34 The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore lest the light which is in you is darkness.

---

Through the Power of the Holy Spirit we can be victorious because our strength comes from the Lord who supplies all we need to overcome the wicked one. Walking by the Spirit do we block the devil’s sexual arrows that he tries to kill our faith with. 

To Walk in the Spirit:

• Everyday we must communicate with the Lord through prayer.
• Everyday we must learn God’s way of righteousness by reading His Word.
• Everyday we must do and act according to His Word so that we may change more into the image of Jesus Christ.

When we are in obedience, Jesus will supply us with His Power to defeat the devil’s attempts in making us fall into disgrace by adultery.  

Lust: A downward spiral

A study on lust to help believers on how to overcome it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.

The Lord gives us a promise that He will help us overcome when we are in the midst of a strong temptation.

Psalm 119:9-11

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. 10 I have sought You with all my heart; don’t let me wander from Your commands. 11 I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.

The Lord gives us strength to overcome sin or sexual temptation through His Word. The Word of God must be read everyday and applied to one’s life in order to be effective.

Colossians 3:5

5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry

As believers in Jesus Christ, we must put to death sin that easily ensnares us. The Greek word for death is Nek-ro-o which means to deprive of power, destroy the strength of or subdue. One way to put to death sexual sin is to starve the flesh by filling your mind and heart with God’s Word and meditating on it so your inner man is strengthened instead of your outer man.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

3 For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality,4 so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor,5 not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God.

The word sanctification means holiness which basically is to imitate God’s character here on earth so that He alone would receive glory from our lives. Sanctification is God’s will for all believers so that we can be effective for His kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:18

18 Run from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commit is outside the body.”On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

The Greek word for “Run” is “Fyoo-go” which means to flee away, seek safety by flight. Metaph, (to shun or avoid by flight), to be saved by flight, to escape safely out of danger. God will always give you an open door so you may run out of your temptation and into His loving and protecting arms. Not only must one flee from sin mentally but also physically which is against the body, which can possibly lead to a deadly disease.

Jude 1:7

7 In the same way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them committed sexual immorality and practiced perversions, just as angels did, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

We see a strong warning how the Lord takes sexual sin seriously. In turn we also must take it seriously and strive to live in holiness according to God’s standards which is found in the Bible.

Hebrews 13:4

4 Marriage must be respected by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge immoral people and adulterers.

We should never forget this verse so when sexual temptation presents itself, we will remember that God’s eyes are on us and we will not escape punishment if we give in to the temptation. Having this mindset will help us to flee.

Ephesians 5:3

3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints.

The Greek word for “Proper” is “Prep-o” which means to stand out, to be conspicuous. As Christians, we must live a life that shows God’s character and holiness and not like the world which is immersed in sin. We should stand out not because of our sins but because our life reflects Christ in us. As we try to lead lives in purity (the Holy Spirit being made evident in us) our light shine so we stand out in a good way.

Philippians 4:8

8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.

Always fill your mind with things that are pleasing to the Lord and desire to accomplish His will which is revealed in the Bible. Make a habit that when impure thoughts enter your mind, immediately thwart it by thinking about something else that’s not sinful.

2 Corinthians 12:21

21 I fear that when I come my God will again humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the moral impurity, sexual immorality, and promiscuity they practiced.

Remember to always immediately repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness and to help you not to fall into that sin again.

Titus 2:11-13

11 For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for “Grace” is “Khar-ece which means “favor and especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the person’s life. God has shown us favor by giving us His Words (the Bible) to help us live a life that would bring Him glory and we would benefit from it highly.

Job 31:1

31 I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?

Another way you can run or flee from any type of sin is to make a decision not to gaze for any period of time on any temptation that’s calling you. Quickly look away so that the image will not be seared in your mind to be a temptation and trap at a later time.

In the end, our dependency is in the Lord’s strength through prayer and reading His Word faithfully. If you drift away from these two, your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ will get cold. It’s like being in a small boat close to shore and falling asleep without you being aware the current has taken you into deep waters where all the sharks (demons) are at, ready to devour you.

Don’t fall asleep. Always make your relationship with Jesus a priority or else you will drift away from Christ and put yourself in danger.