Wednesday, January 27, 2016

What do you know about Lust? Job 31


“For lust is a shameful SIN, a CRIME that should be punished.
It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.  It would wipe out everything I own.”   Job 31:11-12 NLT


The Meaning

Easton's Bible Dictionary, defines “Lust” as “Sinful longing; the inward SIN which leads to the FALLING AWAY from God (Rom 1:21).  ”Lust, the origin of sin, has its place in the heart, not of necessity, but because it is the centre of all moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity.” In Mark 4:19 "lusts" are objects of desire.”    Other the references include:  See Adultery; Covetousness; Incest; Lasciviousness; Sensuality; Sodomy[1]; and even others include charm, crime, criticism, integrity, temptation.[2]

·         1 John 2:16 NKJV - “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life—is NOT of the Father but IS of the WORLD. “

·         1 John 2:16 NLT - “For the world offers ONLY a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”

Since the very beginnings of life and as early as in the Garden of Eden, we can see lust appeared, and how when that lust isn’t mastered brings separation, destruction and pain with life-long consequences. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”[3]
Though our subject is lust I have to focus for a minute, how detrimental for the society is not having a strong foundation that withholds the storm-force winds as they come in.  As women we “manage” our homes, and if we aren’t strong when temptation comes, we can take the home down. When you wake up, wake up a bit early so you can praise the Lord, and READ His Word, before the day kicks in; when you’re dealing with the kids, include God’s teaching, pray for them; when you’re about the home business keep worshiping God; when you’re doing dishes, PRAY! When you have fellowship time, praise God; and when you get to bed again, Praise HIM even more for giving you the strength to finish another day!!! Stay rooted in God, my friend!

Back to our original subject, lust…
Let’s ponder about a few things here…
·         You need A + B = C
·         Lust/pleasure + desire = crime

In Eve’s case, when she “saw” (pleasure) (A) and then desire was added to it (+B), she took its fruit and ate (= C).
  
Shameful sin and crime are very strong words that describe lust, but when you realize if she would it stopped it at the beginning it wouldn’t had gone as far as it did, that’s what make it a crime, the life-long repercussions!

If you get to school or work, and you see a pencil or a tape that doesn’t belong to you, but you take it with you anyway, it’s wrong! You might say, but it’s a small thing, but that’s not it, it’s that you’ve liked it, and then wanted it, and at the end, you’ve taken something that it is not yours; and this was just a “small thing”.  As the time goes by, since that wasn’t corrected then, then one day you see a stapler, and you take it home; you needed it, and thought “I’ll bring it back” but then you forgot. Time keeps passing by, and one thing after another, until some day, unexpectedly, you get served court papers; you’ve been accused of a crime, theft! It’s all the same equation, A + B = C, a shameful sin, a crime! And the consequences are all the way to hell;  as a person that never been to jail, it could be hell for me to make it there; a place where everything you owe will be wipe out, that isn’t fun, and definitely not worth it!

Whether the sin is committed behind closed doors or not, still is a sin; because pleasing the lust of the eyes or the flesh, like Rev. Louie Montoya says:  “will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and really cost you more than you want to pay”. It will translate into adultery, lasciviousness, sodomy, Hello! Incest, Hello!!! …A CRIME! Terrible, terrible, terrible things!!!

Application

“Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”[4]  
Parting from all these given details, the question to ponder is, Do I Have Any Lust in My Life?

Here’s how to prevent Lust:

·         Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

·         Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids.  Proverbs 6:25

·         Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.  Romans 13:13

Start by making a new confession of sins and of faith to God as the Father and Creator of all, to His Son, JESUS thru whom we were given salvation by dying in the cross for our sins, and accepting that gift and making HIM the Lord, Savior and Master of your life.  Keep repeating this process of confession and acceptance will get you realizing the things you’re doing wrong, and with time, you’ll master those, and will aware you of the holes before you get to them, to avoid them, preventing you from falling in them again.
Then the matter is just like when you’re training for a test, preparation. 

1.       FILL YOURSELF WITH THE BIBLE; get a Daily Devotional, because just like our body needs food on a daily bases, our mind and soul need God’s Word.   
2.       JOIN A BIBLE STUDY, men, women, couples (which ever applies to you) this is the training camp where if you have questions, you ask.  Here you will find people that had been walking longer in the faith and have experience sometimes the road where you’re going today, and can help you with suggestions, and prayer.  Also is here where you will develop fellowship and make friends that will help you living outside the church the principles that in the church are taught.
3.     COME TO CHURCH, weekly!!!  Make it a PRIORITY! Your life and your loved ones deserve that chance. 

The more you fill the cup of your heart will God’s Principles,

the less of everything else will be in it!



Please know I’m praying for you! Have a GREAT day in the LORD!!!



[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?topic=NT0003109
[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/nkjv/job/31/1/t_refs_467011
[3] Genesis 3:6 NKJV
[4] 1 Corinthians 10:6

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