July 19 Thought for the day....stuff of flesh, impurity

Our culture has shifted and changed. However, the Bible, God's Word remains the same. The things God outlines for our good are to be a blessing. The things He condemns are not to be prudish but instead to keep us from heartache, pain, and brokenness. Some fight God's ideals for us, we need to remember He has amazing blessings, a great hope, and a love that would overwhelm us if we would simply live as He asks us to live. Paul is outlining some of the things that will cause us great pain in Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Because of space, I am not going to go over things I think are obvious in our understanding. "Impurity" means unclean, or lewd the word suggests that these are thoughts. In Mark 1:23, we are told Jesus had to deal with a man with an unclean spirit. He had become so overwhelmed with pornographic, lewd, demented, thoughts that a demonic spirit had taken hold of him. We the same thing with Mark 5:2. Once again a demonized man controlled by an unclean spirit. Pornography has become so common place, things that should make us blush no longer do, and we simply accept them as normal.  Science has now proven that porn is more addictive than crack and it is doing mental and emotional damage to men and women. It begins in some popular ways through fantasy. The Shades of Grey movies are an example of erotica that some Christians have felt are normative but have damaged relationships and ideas in many. We have become numb to erotica in Game of Thrones and other series in our pop culture that has robbed us of true and real intimacy. This is part of the damage of impurity. OK, some are mad and don't believe me let me just put it this way...keep watching this stuff, and I'll put you on my calendar for counseling soon enough.
The Father's heart is for us to have intimacy with him and with the family of God growing in real and healthy relationships. Pornography and lewdness rob us of intimacy and replaces it with emptiness.
What are you watching? What are you reading? What music are you listening to? How does it make you feel after you allow it into your life? God's ways and plans are for love, blessings, joy, and a deep sense of intimacy that is not dirty but fulfilling. God longs for you to be free. Don't allow the enemy the freedom in your life to place you in bondage and torment never being able to achieve the joy of real freedom and true love and intimacy in all of your relationships, knowing you are loved!