Ricardo: > Actually a TRUE cristian when offered porn for a bible will probably say > "Oh, take the bible for free, as a present"
Wow, I agree with you again. This is some kind of record, what? two in a row! Even beyond that, a discerning Christian would at least attempt to befriend the person, in order to understand the origin of the Enemy's foot-hold in their life. (It is possible to befriend a person without participating in the same things a person does; that's actually what Christ did.) What that person needs is the love of Christ, and an opportunity to be healed in their inward parts. A Bible won't help much without that, unless the person is already drawn to God in his/her heart. But coupled with love, it can change a broken heart into a brand new one in an instant, and daily transform that person by a renewing of their mind. > >> You seem to think the inner man, a savage beast which needs occasional >> outlets of his aggression, is somehow tamed by inflaming, then >> pacifying, his passions. >> > > Not really, but as you said, god knows what lies in your heart. So > there's no case denying it, or repressing it. If the darkness is inside > you, then it is part of you, YOU must change, not repress it. You must 'repent' of it. What does that mean? The Greek word is 'metanoia,' and it means, literally, 'a turning of the mind.' So, until you 'change your mind' about it, i.e., agree (Greek: "confess") that it's rebellion against God and seek to go 180 degrees in the other direction, your carnal heart will not and can not change. You are a slave. God forces this 'decision' on no one. Because of this, many believe they have no hope, but in fact -- like any other aspect of our sinful nature -- it's completely 100% in our control to remove the iniquity from our hearts. Not of our own strength, mind you, by by the spirit of God that indwells once we assent, by conscious decision of our will, to His presence, working in us what we cannot do by ourselves. > So what I really say is you might as well enjoy it, seeing that your > heart really wants it. Bzzzt. Wrong answer. Your heart will ALWAYS want it, so long as you live in the flesh, instead of the spirit. The only way out is to decide to turn against it and call on God to do the rest. You have to be reborn in your spirit to want what the flesh does not want. > And after you've seen it and got it out of your > system, Bzzzt. Wrong again. Far from 'getting it out of your system,' you are in fact giving even more right to the demonic to indwell and compel you. Healing and discipleship is a process of removing enemy rights in your life, freeing you to reach your "true" destiny. It can happen quickly, or it can take many years; each person is different. My process has been, and continues to be, uh, a process. :) > start meditating on who are you and why do you need such a > pantomime of true life. When you are really changed you'll not need to > repress anything, and god will know your heart is true. I guess the disagreement here is whether and how you change. It is not possible of your own strength, but an act of faith that IF you turn your mind against it, your spirit will revive and with the help of God's spirit, clean your heart up and set it right. "For apart from me, you can do nothing." > I seem to > remember there was this guy who had all the fun in the world, women, > parties, orgies, and then he had a change of heart and became a saint. That's how it usually works. But that 'change of heart' started with a change of mind (metanoia) and a cry to God from deep in the will to take control of the situation his heart was in. Only God can make a man a new creation in the manner you describe. If a man tells you he did this of his own strength, he is a liar, even if to you he still appears to be a saint. > Well there it is, repressing is not changing your heart, it is merely > make up. Repressing doesn't work because we're using our own fleshly power to fight our own fleshly desires. Good luck with that. The flesh cannot defeat the flesh, and even if it could, it wouldn't. "What is born of the flesh is flesh; but what is born of the spirit is spirit." But the idea that the only alternative to repressing it is to indulge it is totally off base. You can overcome it, via the aforementioned metanoia. Indulging it merely deepens the foot-hold that makes you completely unable to resist. > >> Ricardo: >> >> I actually liked your reply to Mike, as you probably guessed by now. >> > > Damn it! I must be doing something really bad here. :) > >> But you and Nick are wrong in your admiration of porn. > > I don't admire it, nor hate it. If you need to watch it, that says > something about your heart. But your heart is as it is, whether you > watch it or not. OK, this point is worth elaborating upon. There is positive something to be said about 'being real' with God in terms of where you're really at. "For you desire honesty in the inward parts," the Psalmist says. Indeed. The prayer should then be: "Lord, I know with my mind that this is wrong, but I cannot resist it at all. I have no will power to fight it, in fact, I don't even see what's wrong with it. I enjoy it. I get angry at people who suggest it's not right. Will You show me why this is, and give me the wisdom and strength, in the name of Jesus, to overcome it?" For all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. > When I practiced karate they used to tell us the belt > colour was meant to reflect your knowledge, but your knowledge would not > reflect the colour of your belt. I used to do martial arts, once upon a blue moon, and I was pretty good at it. Knocked the crap out of people in tournaments and everything. It is, however, totally saturated with the demonic (as are all eastern 'religions'), and it's probably one of many reasons you feel 'powerful' when you get angry, but helpless to resist sex, porn etc. Notice in karate, and even more in kung fu, you practice 'forms' that attempt to indwell the 'spirit' of various animals in you. These are all controlling demons. Real grand masters indeed do overcome the flesh and even, to a degree, physicality itself, and they are deeply spiritual. Unfortunately, it's a counterfeit spirituality, even if the person seems, like Mr. Myagi in the "Karate Kid" to be a really cool, down-to-earth person. The demons that bring power to this person are under the control of the god of this world. Whenever I go to a church that has a karate club (one of the more amusing names: "Kicking for Christ"), I have to shake my head. Epic facepalm. >> But, it's your right to enjoy it, while you can. Good luck with that. >> > > I'm 50. Bloody God promised us 70 years, actually He merely (re)set the natural limit to 120 or thereabouts. > so I guess when I'm 68 I won't > have so much sex drive and then I "repent" for a couple of years and > all's good ;c) :| > > But really, I'd rather die and dissolve. It will be a welcome rest, like > when after a tiresome day you close your eyes and welcome oblivion, if > you don't wake up tomorrow you won't really notice because there is no > more "you". Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. You won't just dissolve into oblivion. But, it's no good trying to "prove" that. It's not something you can know carnally. It does explain, however, why you invite friends to nude cannibal BBQ parties. ;) - Publius -- "It ought never to be forgotten, that a firm union of this country, under an efficient government, will probably be an increasing object of jealousy to more than one nation of Europe; and that enterprises to subvert it will sometimes originate in the intrigues of foreign powers, and will seldom fail to be patronized and abetted by some of them. Its preservation, therefore ought in no case that can be avoided, to be committed to the guardianship of any but those whose situation will uniformly beget an immediate interest in the faithful and vigilant performance of the trust." [Federalist Papers #59] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
