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October 25, 2004 Creative Connection Weekly Devotional Just Lust - Leaving Lust Vegas by Ed Young Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5 No one is impervious to lust. Each and every one of us can fall prey to its temptations and lies. No matter where you are in life, lust can attack you and wipe you out if you let it. The evil one takes our God-given sexual desire and counterfeits it into something that is sinful and ugly. He uses our weaknesses to gain leverage in our lives and then he lies to us. He tells us that thinking about someone other than our spouse in a sexual way, taking a second look at the attractive person that just walked by, or watching that one sexual scene will not harm you. What he doesn't tell you is that the goal he has in mind is not to benefit us - it's to destroy us. All of us will be attracted to other people, but that is not what will ruin us. What will get us in the end is when we take that attraction and allow it to segue into an illicit sexual action that is mental, emotional, or physical. That action is exactly what God calls us to avoid. Too many of us think that God, by confining sexual desire to the marriage, is raining on our sexual parade. We think that because he doesn't want us to lust after others, he doesn't want sexual desire to be part of life. That is simply not true. God, by setting the guidelines of sexual desire, wants you to reach the goal of true and pure desire. But you cannot reach this goal if lust is present in your life. To avoid lust, God gives us a simple command - walk on. When you feel the pull of lust in you life, walk on. Don't give yourself excuses as to why you need to meet with that attractive person or why you need to linger at the office to wait for that appealing coworker. Those excuses, those lies, will only lead to destruction. This week, when you feel the lies of lust creeping into your life, walk away. Instead, turn towards God's truth. Surrender your temptations to God and allow him to work in your life instead. If you do that, he will give you the power to turn away from lust and walk on in your life. For more information about relationships and other subjects, visit the Creative Connection website: www.creativeconnection.org � 2004 Creative Connection ____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________ * This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. To unsubscribe from this newsletter immediately, simply click on the link below. If this link is not clickable, simply cut and paste it into the address bar of your browser. http://www.salememail.com/unsub/241/1698058.aspx * Copyright � 2004 Salem Web Network and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. 1698058 ____________________________________________________________ TRINITY COLLEGE & SEMINARY OFF CAMPUS & ONLINE Experience Personal & Ministry Growth Through Bible-Focused Degree Programs Associate and Bachelor of Arts Master of Arts, M.Div., Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Ministry http://l.salemweb.net/tcs2003tr/footer/ ____________________________________________________________ Questions or comments can be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
