Pornography is so terribly destructive! It destroys relationships, it destroys intimacy, and it even negatively effects the human brain.
Frank Powell has a short, but important, article listing 8 lies we believe about porn. Please check this out.
And then see what Bobby Conway has to say about the destructive power of porn in this video—
“Why, do you not believe there may be as much pride in rags as in an alderman’s gown? Is it not just as possible for a man to be proud in a dust cart, as if he rode in her Majesty’s chariot? A man may be just as proud with half a yard of ground as Alexander with all his kingdoms, and may be just as lifted up with a few pence as Croesus with all his treasure. Pray against pride, dear friends, wherever you may be. Pride will grow on a dunghill, as well as in the king’s garden. Pray against pride and vainglory, and God give you grace to keep it under!” —Charles Spurgeon
“How numerous are the tears of unbelief! We manufacture troubles for ourselves by anticipating future ills which may never come…. We get supposing what we should do if such-and-such a thing occurred, which thing God has determined never shall occur. We imagine ourselves in positions where providence never intends to place us, and so we feel a thousand trials in fearing one.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Usually, an adolescent wants ‘freedom’ but not ‘responsibility.’ Real maturity and genuine leadership are only transferred from adult to student, however, when kids receive both of these elements. We’ve not truly helped a young person mature until we’ve passed on ownership.” Reader from Tim Elmore’s post The Single Most Important Ingredient for Maturity.
Eric Metaxas points out that Planned Parenthood is trying to clean-up the image of its founder Margaret Sanger. But the facts about Ms. Sanger are quite alarming.
Ever feel like you are going through hell? Check out what David Wilkerson says in his post Out Of The Belly Of Hell.
Murray Vassar shows us what the new humanitarianism looks like. Sadly true.
[VIDEO] Bobby Conway has a really good answer to the question what’s the big deal about premarital sex—
“Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called ‘being in love’ usually does not last.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
“There must be nothing about our religion of our own inventing; it is for us to lay thought, and judgment, and opinion at the feet of Christ, and do what He bids us, simply because He gives the command.” —Charles Spurgeon
“The storms of life are no longer our point of reference when Jesus is our focal point.” —Dutch Sheets
Murray Vassar reminds Christians to speak up for morality!
“Policy, however, Sir, is not my principle, and I am not ashamed to say it. There is a principle above everything is political . . . And, Sir, when we think of eternity, and of the future consequences of all human conduct, what is there in this life that should make any man contradict the dictates of his conscience, the principles of justice, the laws of religion, and of God.” —William Wilberforce
Two imprisoned Christian pastors have been released from their prison sentence in Sudan. Kudos to the ACLJ!
J.Warner Wallace asks a great question: Can naturalism/evolution account for human dignity?
John Piper has a weighty post that is worth your time to read: satan and sodomy.
Have you seen enough? How much more do you need to see before you will do something? When is it enough that you will speak out?
The Center For Medical Progress is doing amazing work in uncovering the absolutely disgusting—and illegal!—practices of Planned Parenthood.
In this latest video, notice the calloused way this Planned Parenthood official calls babies “products of conception.” Are you kidding me?! It’s a human being, not a “product of conception”!
She matter-of-factly talks about her level of “specimen collection” and how “my department contributes so much to the bottom line.”
God, have mercy!
A recent attempt to defund Planned Parenthood failed in the United States Senate on a procedural vote. However, if more people will decrying these abominable practices to their Senator, there is NO WAY they could hide behind this again!
Please contact your Representative and Senators to tell them to defund Planned Parenthood, and put an end to these murderous practices.
This week I get to celebrate 25 years of being married to the most amazing wife God ever created!
I can relate to Winston Churchill who said, “My most brilliant achievement was the ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.” Amen to that!
So we are off celebrating, and I won’t be blogging this week.
Charles Stone gave us a very practical book in Brain-Savvy Leaders (you can read my full review by clicking here). Obviously out brain works best when we’re healthy, so check out some quotes from this book on brain health.
“Gratefulness is actually good for brain and body health.”
“At the end of our chromosomes lie protective caps called telomeres that are linked to longevity. Apparently, the longer your telomeres, all else being equal, the longer you live. Long-term stress shortens them, and mindfulness apparently helps lengthen them. For a Christian, mindfulness practices, such as meditation on Scripture and reflective prayer, which we often do in our devotional time, may possibly help us live longer.”
“The hypothalamus acts as a controller to the master hormone gland, the pituitary gland. … Chronic stress can damage our body and even kill neurons in the hippocampus. However, since the hippocampus is one of the few structures that can grow neurons, called neurogenesis, when stress decreases and cortisol levels out, the brain can regrow neurons here.”
“When we feel bored we don’t get as much oxygen and blood flow. When the brain lacks engagement over long periods of time (we are bored), dendrites can atrophy. When that happens, we can lose brain real estate.”
“Neuroscientists have found that stuffing, denying, or a ignoring our emotions reinforces them, affects short-term memory, increases blood pressure, and robs our brain’s prefrontal cortex of the mental energy it needs.”
“Chronic anxiety and stress cause what scientists call allostatic load…. When our body secretes too much cortisol over long periods of time, these problems can affect us: impaired immunity, weight gain, greater emotional reactivity, heart problems, decreased memory, and diminished brain functioning.”
“Exercise increases a key protein necessary for a healthy brain.”
I shared some quotes about how we learn from Brain-Savvy Leaders earlier, and you can read them here.
From the pages of history we see how kings would finalize or enact a new law by using their signet ring to make their unique mark on the decree. Think about: there was nothing but words on a page, until the impression from the king’s ring made it a royal decree.
The King of Kings stamps His children as well. Anyone who places his or her faith in Jesus Christ receives God’s seal, marking that person as God’s royal possession!
The Hebrew letter taw means a stamp or inscription. It’s the final letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Beth, and its message seals up all that God’s Word symbolizes. In the last section of Psalm 119 called taw (verses 169-176), we read of someone who has made God’s Word an integral part of his life. Check this out…
In the New Testament, God’s seal is described this way—Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
Here’s one more cool thing about taw. This letter is made up of two other Hebrew letters: daleth and nun. This spells Dan. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, the tribe of Dan went last. Their job was to make sure no one got left behind.
Christians who have God’s seal of ownership on them, should live as holy rescuers. They serve by going last, and making sure no one gets left behind, but everyone hears the good news of God’s love.
Do you have God’s seal of ownership on you? What are you doing with it.
Here’s the video of the complete message on taw—
If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.
“People most affected by fear are those who hang around negative people. If you’re going to control the negative thoughts in your life, you’ve got to get away from negative people as much as you can.” —Rick Warren
“Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” —Horace Greeley
“It’s natural enough in our species, as in others, that the young birds should show off their plumage—in the mating season. But the trouble in the modern world is that there’s a tendency to rush all the birds on to that age as soon as possible and then keep them there as late as possible, thus losing all the real value of the other parts of life in a senseless, pitiful attempt to prolong what, after all, is neither its wisest, its happiest, or most innocent period. I suspect merely commercial motives are behind it all: for it is at the showing-off age that birds of both sexes have least sales resistance!” —C.S. Lewis
“Don’t make a decision, large or small, without sitting before God with an open Bible, an open heart, and open ears. Philippians 2:13 says, ‘God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases Him.’” —Max Lucado
“Strange as it may seem, one of the primary purposes of being shaken by suffering is to make our faith more unshakable. Faith is like muscle tissue: if you stress it to the limit, it gets stronger, not weaker. That’s what James means here [James 1:2-3]. When your faith is threatened and tested and stretched to the breaking point, the result is greater capacity to endure. … If you think your suffering is pointless, or that God is not in control, or that He is whimsical or cruel, then your suffering will drive you from God, instead of driving you from everything but God—as it should. So it is crucial that faith in God’s grace includes the faith that He gives grace through suffering.” —John Piper
“The promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things that I can do, about actions: no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way. He might as well promise never to have a headache or always to feel hungry.” —C.S. Lewis
“It’s the lives of the saints, not the arguments of the theologians and philosophers, that covert people.” — Pope Benedict XVI
The world is wideThe Center for Medical Progress has another damning video of Planned Parenthood’s illegal and disgusting activities. Here they document a Planned Parenthood vice president talking about how to circumvent the law they know they are breaking, so they can profit further off the misery they are causing.
The Senate and House are both considering bills to defund Planned Parenthood, who presently receives over $500 million each year of our tax dollars to subsidize their criminal “healthcare” practices. Contact your Representative and your Senators, and ask them to vote to defund these monstrous activities.
Craig T. Owens 