Thought And Character

James 4:7

2013-07-25T11:09:00.001-07:00

James 4:7. The reason so many Christians could not resist the devil or put the devil to flight is because they have not submitted themselves to God. All the miracles done through great people in the bible would not have happened if they did not submit themselves to God. So also in this dispensation, there are people who have submitted themselves to God and that is why we see them or call them successful people or God's Generals. They command and make things happen. So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

NASA Finds Message From God on Mars

2013-07-08T03:13:00.000-07:00

NASA announced today that its Curiosity Rover has found an unambiguous message from God written on tablets in a Martian cave.

According to an official press release two giant stone slabs the size of small elephants were located deep inside a cavern abutting Aeolis Mons, a large mountain.

Upon one tablet is a copy of the Ten Commandments and the text of John 3:16 written in 12 languages - including English, Spanish, Chinese, Basque and Hebrew. On the other tablet is a simple message in English reading "I am real."

According to top scientists who have studied the discovery extensively, these findings may have definitively established Christianity as the one true religion.

"This is amazing," says Syms Covington, an Australian researcher working for NASA's Mars Exploration Program. "We went into the cave looking for water, and we found proof of God's existence instead.

"I mean how else did those tablets get there? I can tell you one thing: there's not a single atheist inside NASA's control room now. What we saw was jaw-dropping."

Genesis 1:1

NASA's Curiosity rover arrived on Mars in August of last year with a mission to explore the Martian climate and geology for signs for habitability.

Thus far the mission has been a success, with the discovery of an ancient seabed and chemicals needed for life suggesting that Mars was once suitable for life.

However the tablets, both of which are signed "Peace and Love - Yahweh," represent the rover's most significant find to date, and is perhaps the most important scientific event in history.

"When people find out about this, they will demand change in our society," explains a political scientist at Georgetown University. "Democracy will have to give way to theocracy. We're gonna have to build more churches and reintroduce prayer into schools. Abortion is defiantly going to be illegal within a few months."

Despite its potential significance, Covington fears that the Earth-shattering discovery may not make the impact it should.

"Unfortunately, the mainstream media is so anti-Christian, they might not even pick up this story," he explains. "But God is real. We have proof. And everyone deserves to hear the truth."

Hold On

2013-06-26T04:02:00.001-07:00

Hold on, ride on, keep moving, don't quit, don't be weary, don't be tired, don't let the people or things around you wear you out. Hold on to your faith, for FAITH does see darkness.

Jesus And Gravity

2013-06-26T03:25:00.002-07:00

I'm to the point where it don't add up
I can't say I've come this far with my guitar on pure dumb luck
That's not to say I know it all
Cause every time I get too high up on my horse I fall

Cause I've got
Something lifting me up
Something holding me down
Something to give me wings and keep my feet on the ground
I've got all I need
Jesus and gravity

But I'm as bad as anyone
Taking all these blessings in my life for granted one by one
When I start to thinking it's all me
Well something comes along and knocks me right back on my knees
And I've got...

Something lifting me up
Something holding me down
Something to give me wings and keep my feet on the ground
I've got all I need, Jesus and gravity

He's my friend
He's my light
He's my wings
He's my flight

I've got something lifting me up
Something holding me down
Something to give me wings and
Something to keep my feet on the ground
I've got all I'm gonna need
I got Jesus, I got Jesus,

I got something lifting me up
Something holding me down
Something to give me wings and keep my feet on the ground
I've got all I'll ever need
Cause I got Jesus and gravity

I got something lifting me up
Something holding me down
Something to give me wings and keep my feet on the ground
I've got all I'll need
Cause I've got Jesus and gravity
Jesus, I've got Jesus, I've got Jesus
He's my everything
He lifts me up
He gives me wings
He gives me hope
And He gives me strength
And that's all I'll ever need

As long as He keeps lifting me up
He is my life
He is my God
He is my wings
He is my flight
Lift me
I've got Jesus, I've got Jesus
And that's all I need

To an Athlete Dying Young BY A. E. HOUSMAN

2013-06-26T03:15:00.006-07:00

The time you won your town the race

We chaired you through the market-place;

Man and boy stood cheering by,

And home we brought you shoulder-high.

Today, the road all runners come,

Shoulder-high we bring you home,

And set you at your threshold down,

Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away

From fields where glory does not stay,

And early though the laurel grows

It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut

Cannot see the record cut,

And silence sounds no worse than cheers

After earth has stopped the ears.

Now you will not swell the rout

Of lads that wore their honours out,

Runners whom renown outran

And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,

The fleet foot on the sill of shade,

And hold to the low lintel up

The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head

Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,

And find unwithered on its curls

The garland briefer than a girl’s.

THE WEAPONS OF THE DEVIL

2013-05-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

1 Adultery
2 Fornication
3 Masturbation
4 Homosexual
5 Lesbianism
6 Pride
7 Lie
8 Jealous
9 Bitter in heart
10 Anger
11 Beauty
12 Lust
13 Deceitfulness of heart
14 Spiritual Sex
15 Spiritual Food
16 Discouragement
17 Self righteousness
18 Shame
19 Fear
20 Double minded "doubt"
21 Arrow of prayer less
22 Arrow of fasting less
23 Disobedient
24 Man sinful inventions
25 Promise and Fail
26 Worldly song
27 Coursing
28 Witch,wizard,witchcraft, sorcery
29 To Like Something too much than Christ
30 Too much of talking
31 Eaten too much
32 Strong Love without Agape Love
33 Worriness

THAT IS WHY JESUS CHRIST WAS MANIFESTED,THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORK OF THE DEVIL.

SHE DIED AND JESUS TOOK OVER HER DEAD BODY AND SPOKE TO THE CHURCH

2013-05-02T04:06:00.002-07:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wGtt98hnqbk

Your Home Your Life

2013-04-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.
I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.
My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.
Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.
Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.
But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.
She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.
That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed -dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.— At least, in the eyes of our son—- I’m a loving husband….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. If you are not in a relationship now, remember this for the second (or third) time around. It's never too late.

If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Reactions And Response.

2013-04-05T12:24:00.002-07:00

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying
to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few
thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies. I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the
disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it's my
reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.
Lessons learnt from the story:
• I understood, I should not react in life.
• I should always respond.
• The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress or hurry.

GO FOR CHECK UP.

2013-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Its is advisable to go for MEDICAL check up so as to know your HEALTH STATUS to know if you are medically fit. To know your Medical Status, go to a competent medical practitioner. So also it is of much importance for you to go for SPIRITUAL check up to know your FAITH STATUS so as to know if you are Spiritually Fit, Eligible, Capable, and Sound (2 Cor 13:5). To know your Spiritual eligibility, no one else can take the place of The Holy Spirit as the only specialist in this field. In such a time as this that the whole world is remembering the Victory of JESUS CHRIST through His Death and Resurrection, let the Holy Spirit check you up and if you are TESTED and DIAGNOSED of any illness or deformity, He'll FIX YOU UP again and you shall be perfectly made whole. Glorious Things.

Prophet T.O. Obadare, Man Who Offered Salvation to Nigeria’s Notorious Armed Robber, Dies in Akure at 83

2013-03-21T13:42:00.002-07:00

RENOWNED evangelist and founder of the World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry, a religious body popularly known by the acronym WOSEM, Pastor Timothy O. Obadare, has transited into eternal glory on Thursday in Akure at the age of 83.

Pastor Obadare, an inspiring walking scriptural encyclopedia, who presided over WOSEM , an autonomous part of the Christ Apostolic Church, operated from his Oyemekun Road, Akure base.

Obare was supposed to emerge in the hierarchy of succession as the president of the Church, but his disability as a blind man was used to shortchange him but other leaders of the church.

His monthly miracle and revival crusades, known as ‘Kosheunt’ became a hive for drawing faithful from all over West Africa to WOSEM headquarters in Akure.

The prophet’s gift of copiously coping from the bible made it difficult for a lot of people to believe that he was a completely blind man. Obadare was a blazing critic of political and personal corruption and ineptitude. Most of his radio and television preaching, which peaked in the mid-1970s, were always interpreted in several Nigerian languages and in the English language.

Although Mr. Obadare spoke good English, as he was a teacher before the loss of his sight, he often preached in his native Yoruba language.

His ministry turned Akure, the capital city of the south western state of Ondo into a major religious pilgrimage destination for most of his lifetime. The later preacher lived in California for most of the last four years of his life, where he had been receiving professional care for undisclosed health challenges.

One of his most visible works as a prophet was perhaps the miraculous conversion of notorious armed robber, Shina Rambo, from a life of crime to life as a Christian preacher.

In an exclusive interview once granted sharpedgenews.com by the once-deadly armed robber, Shina Rambo said Prophet Obadare is the most influential person in his life. The armed robber-turned-preacher said that Obadare not only concerted him to Christianity, but also took him under his wings and sponsored him to bible school.

BREAKING NEWS: Iconic Prophet T.O Obadare, pioneer CAC evangelist dies at 83

2013-03-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

Iconic Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) evangelist and a pioneer Christian preacher, Prophet (Dr.) T. O Obadare is dead. He was aged 83. He died in his home beside CAC Koseunti, Akure in Nigeria, according to his New York-based son, Pastor Abraham Obadare.

The first time such a report was published was in 2010. It however turned out to be false.

Baba Obadare as he is fondly called was very active in the early days of evangelical ministration in Nigeria following in the footsteps of the late Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola. Even while others later balkanized Christianity and turned it into money making and jet traveling venture, Obadare remained a humble man of God who depended on the scripture rather than material things as major motivation for embracing Christianity.

He was the founder of the World Soul Winning Evangelistic Ministry (W.O.S.E.M) which he founded in 1974. Although legally blind, he commanded a large following.

His death is a major blow to the era of Christians who believed in piety and humble living.

PSALM 35:27

2013-03-19T06:21:00.001-07:00

Psalm 35:27 KJV. Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. This word was so strong in my heart yesterday and as i began to think on this verse, the Holy Spirit ministered this to my heart. Even as i took much time thinking about this verse The Holy Spirit said to me that as the God The Father hath much pleasure in the prosperity of His people in all that they do, likewise we that are called sons and daughters of God should do one to another, but the reverse is the case. We take so much pleasure in pulling down ourselves, talking down against on ourselves, backbiting, full of bitterness, envy, anger, disunity, hatred, living in unforgiveness, finding faults in people, untrue and unfaithful to each other, murdering people in our heart and with our mouth, pretending to love but deep in the heart is hatred, stand in the presence of God and do all we do even in church lifting up holy hands and legs and yet still keeping malice with brethren or fellow sons and daughters of God, whom God has forgiven all their sins, standing together in groups talking against the pastors, leaders, even against churches, condemning everyone when He that paid the price did not condemn anyone, judging one another even when (GOD) The Greatest Judge has not judged anyone. What have we turned ourselves to people of God? What have we turned the Body Of Christ to? Is this the church that Christ hath washed in His most precious blood? Is this the church that Jesus Christ is coming back for? Is this the gathering that God commanded, where God said in there coming together in unity that He'll command His blessings upon them? Is this the church without spot or wrinkle that Christ is coming back for? Is this the church that Christ called His bride? Are these the sons and daughters that the whole world is waiting for the manifestation? No wonder we did not see God in our daily living. If truly we do live, move, and have our being in HIM, then we should live our lives the way He expected us to live, desiring the prosperity of one another. Let this mind be in us which was also in CHRIST JESUS. Glorious Things.

Angelica Testimony: MICHEAL JACKSON, SELENA and KIDS in HELL !!!

2013-03-14T05:19:00.001-07:00

Second Video (2nd Experience) - Angelica Zambrano (Heaven and Hell Testimony)

2013-03-14T05:17:00.002-07:00

2013-03-14T04:28:00.001-07:00

TESTIMONY:Princess Diana, Gaddafi, Micheal Jackson, Smokers, Prostitues & Pastors in Hell !

2013-03-14T04:06:00.002-07:00

I saw Homosexuals in Hell

2013-03-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

See these videos and also transfer to others to make everyone live a careful of hell.

Have Faith In God.

2013-02-15T15:20:00.003-08:00

There are people who their parents named them THOMAS, but they believe in God, have faith in God, and take him at His promise, and yet there are people who their parents also named them FAITH, but they don't trust God a bit. Faith is not in the name you answer, what you have, who you are, or the people around you. Faith is trusting God with all your heart, taking Him at His promise, and don't waver, don't be a reed like Christian.

Tommy Walker - Thank You For Loving Me

2013-02-13T14:50:00.001-08:00

Thank You Lord For Loving Me.

2013-02-13T14:36:00.001-08:00

What love the Father has lavished on us
That we should be called His sons and daughters
Precious in His sight
Greater love this world had never seen
When He hung on that tree
O why would He do such a thing
For dirty sinners like you and me?

Your love is patient and humble and kind
It's greater than all my sin
It always protects and trusts and hopes
And will have no end
It's Your love that lifted me up from the depths
Set my feet on a solid rock
With a firm place to stand
Lord I always will trust in Your loving hand

O God thank You for loving me
When on the cross You made history
Lord You died for me
Forever my praise will go to Thee
O God thank You for choosing me
To be Your child and bear Your name
O Jesus I will never cease to sing Your praise

How wide how long
How high how deep
How endless is Your love for me
How wide how long
How high how deep
How endless is Your love for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WicvVsGozF0

7 Surprising (and Negative) Effects of Porn

2013-02-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

Porn is a problem. It's a personal problem for many and a cultural problem for all. You may think you have not been affected by porn, but you have because it's embedded in the surrounding culture. The staggering size of the pornography industry, its influence upon the media, and the acceleration of technology, paired with the accessibility, anonymity, and affordability of porn all contribute to its increasing impact upon the culture. Pornography affects you whether you’ve ever viewed it or not, and it is helpful to understand some of its negative effects, whether you are a man or woman struggling with watching it or simply a mom or dad with a son or daughter or a church leader. There is a plethora of research on the detrimental effects of pornography (and I do not think that what follows are necessarily the worst of them), but here are seven negative effects of porn upon men and women:

1. Porn Contributes to Social and Psychological Problems Within Men Anti-pornography activist, Gail Dines, notes that young men who become addicted to porn “neglect their schoolwork, spend huge amounts of money they don’t have, become isolated from others, and often suffer depression.” (Pornland, 93). Dr. William Struthers, who has a PhD in biopsychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, confirms some of these and adds more, finding that men who use porn become controlling, highly introverted, depressed, dissociative, distractible, narcissistic, curious, and have high anxiety and low self-esteem (Wired for Intimacy, 64-65). Ironically, while viewing porn creates momentary intensely pleasurable experiences, it ends up leading to several negative lingering psychological experiences.

2. Porn Rewires the Male Brain

Struthers elaborates,

Wired for Intimacy

In a similar vein regarding porn’s effect upon the brain, Naomi Wolf writes in her article, "The Porn Myth,"

After all, pornography works in the most basic of ways on the brain: It is Pavlovian. An orgasm is one of the biggest reinforcers imaginable. If you associate orgasm with your wife, a kiss, a scent, a body, that is what, over time, will turn you on; if you open your focus to an endless stream of ever-more-transgressive images of cybersex slaves, that is what it will take to turn you on. The ubiquity of sexual images does not free eros but dilutes it.

3. Porn Turns Sex into Masturbation

Sex becomes self-serving. It becomes about your pleasure and not the self-giving, mutually reciprocating intimacy that it was designed for.

4. Porn Demeans and Objectifies Women

This occurs from hard-core to soft-core pornography. Pamela Paul, in her book Pornified, quoting the research of one psychologist who has researched pornography at Texas A&M, writes,

‘Soft-core pornography has a very negative effect on men as well. The problem with soft-core pornography is that its voyeurism teaches men to view women as objects rather than to be in relationships with women as human beings.’ According to Brooks, pornography gives men the false impression that sex and pleasure are entirely divorced from relationships. In other words, pornography is inherently self-centered–something a man does by himself, for himself–by using another woman as the means to pleasure, as yet another product to consume (80). Paul references one experiment that revealed a rather shocking further effect of porn: “men and women who were exposed to large amounts of pornography were significantly less likely to want daughters than those who had none. Who would want their own little girl to be treated that way?” (80).
Again, it needs to be emphasized that this is not an effect that only rests upon those who have viewed porn. The massive consumption of porn and the size of the porn industry has hypersexualized the entire culture. Men and women are born into a pornified culture, and women are the biggest losers. Dines continues,

Pornland

5. Porn Squashes the Beauty of a Real Naked Woman

Wolf, in her own blunt way, confirms this,

Wired for Intimacy

6. Porn Has a Numbing Effect Upon Reality

It makes real sex and even the real world boring in comparison. It particularly anesthetizes the emotional life of a man. Paul comments,

Pornified

7. Porn Lies About What it Means to Be Male and Female

Dines records how porn tells a false story about men and women. In the story of porn, women are “one-dimensional” –they never say no, never get pregnant, and can’t wait to have sex with any man and please them in whatever way imaginable (or even unimaginable). On the other hand, the story porn tells about men is that they are “soulless, unfeeling, amoral life-support systems for erect penises who are entitled to use women in any way they want. These men demonstrated zero empathy, respect, or love for the women they have sex with…(Pornland, xxiv).”

Sean McDowell: The Hidden Price Tag of Porn

2013-02-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

Today’s pornography is different from any in the past in three ways: accessibility, quality, and consumption.

Pornography is tearing apart the fabric of our society. You may think this is an

overstatement. After reading, “The Social Costs of Pornography” by the Witherspoon Institute, I think it may be an understatement.

In 2008, the Witherspoon Institute sponsored the first multidisciplinary exploration of the social costs of pornography. Scholars from various fields including philosophy, psychology, and medicine were included in the forum. Every major shade of religious belief was represented, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, agnosticism, and atheism. And both the left and right in American politics were present. They all agreed that there is a substantial multidimensional, empirical record of the harms pornography brings to society. Obviously, such agreement is rare.

Today’s pornography is different from any in the past in three ways.

1. Accessibility.

The Internet has made porn ubiquitous.

2. Quality.

Today’s porn is much more hardcore.

3. Consumption.

Porn consumption has increased radically with the advent of the Internet. Sixty-nine percent of men and 10% of women report viewing pornography more than once a month. Eighty-seven percent of men admit using it in the past year. The researchers conclude, “In sum, there is evidence that more people—children, adolescents, and adults—are consuming pornography—sporadically, inadvertently, or chronically—than every before.”

More from ChurchLeaders.com: 40 Positive Reasons to Avoid Porn

How does pornography actually harm people? The researchers list a plethora of ways. Each of these points is supported with empirical evidence in the report. Keep in mind that these areobjective facts about pornographic consumption, not my subjective opinions.

Those who view pornography overestimate how frequently certain sexual acts are actually practiced, which increases one’s willingness to do unconscionable things.
Porn viewers physically map their brains based on the images they see. Pornographic consumption remaps the physical structure of the brain.
Many men who view porn lose the ability to relate to or be close to women.
Porn viewers become desensitized to the barrage of imagery, and as a result, child pornography and violent pornographic images often lose their ability to shock and disgust.
Women often report distress and harm when discovering that their husbands view porn. They typically feel betrayal, loss, mistrust, devastation, and anger as a result of their partner’s behavior.
Porn users have an increased likelihood of divorce and family break-up.
Those who had an extramarital affair were three times more likely to have used Internet pornography than those who had not.
Porn leads men to place less value on marital fidelity and more value on casual sex.
Therapists report seeing fourteen- and fifteen-year-old boys addicted to porn.
An Italian study reported that boys who view porn were more likely to report having sexually harassed a peer or having forced someone to have sex.
Adolescent girls who report using pornography are more likely to report being victims of passive violence such as sexual harassment and rape.
Today’s consumption of pornography encourages sexual exploitation such as trafficking.
Adolescents who view pornography are more likely to view women as sexual objects.
Porn consumption raises the risk of sexually risky behavior.
Men who use pornography are less attractive to potential female partners.
Exposure to pornography decreases sexual satisfaction with one’s partner for both men and women.
Chronic pornography use is associated with depression and unhappiness.
Users often report disgust and shame at finding themselves stimulated by images that would have once repulsed.

What do we do? For starters, can you help spread the word about the dangers of pornography? Please consider getting a copy of the report, “The Social Costs of Pornography,” and study it. Talk to your friends about it. Share it with your family and church. Blog about it. Or forward this blog to as many people as you can. There needs to be a renewed conversation about how pornography is damaging this generation. We can no longer ignore the most dangerous health hazard to this generation. Our kids deserve better.

My Time with an Ex-Porn Star

2013-02-12T23:08:00.003-08:00

There are real faces behind the facts and statistics about pornography.

For Mars Hill’s Real Marriage sermon “The Porn Path,” we flew up Crissy, a former porn star who’s since become a Christian, as a special guest to be interviewed in a Q&A with Pastor Mark and Grace as part of the sermon.

After the event, I chauffered Crissy and her friend to the airport to catch their flight home to L.A. Due to the severe snowstorm that hit Seattle this winter, her friend was able to get on a last-minute flight, but Crissy missed her flight altogether.

This meant I ended up spending a few more hours with her. Little did I know my time with her would be life-changing.

As we waited to be sure her friend’s flight successfully took off, Crissy began to share her story, much of which she did not tell at the event. Her words brought all I had learned about the effects of porn to a completely different level.

It suddenly became very real. There was a real face behind the facts, a real voice behind the statistics.

I took away three major things from our conversation that will forever remain with me.

1. Women Are Extra-Special

1 Peter 3:7 tells men, “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
When I read the words “weaker vessel,” I don’t see it as saying women are the weaker sex or unequal to men, but rather women are extra-special, especially your wife.
Crissy’s story helped me to see that being a man means treating women (and in the future, my wife) with extra-special care, love and respect. I am to treat them as I would the most delicate vessel in my pottery collection—not because it is prone to break, but because it is invaluable.

2. Porn Is Real

I know firsthand how addicting porn can be. During my college years, I was serving the church and watching porn. I was leading worship and watching porn. I was a leader in the church and watching porn.
It was a love-hate relationship. No professing Christian, after watching porn, says, “I’m glad I did that.” We know it is wrong by conviction from the Holy Spirit and regret it after the fact—but we keep going back.

If you’re looking at porn, know this: Real people are involved, and real damage is done. When you watch porn, you are supporting and encouraging the sexual, emotional, psychological and physical abuse of real women, not just actors.

Talking with Crissy, my disgust over my history of watching porn and my gratitude to Jesus for redeeming me from that horrid habit simultaneously reached new highs. I wish every guy could sit down with Crissy for five minutes and just talk to her. If that doesn’t convict him, I don’t know what will.

3. Jesus Can Redeem Anyone’s Story

What stood out the most to me as Crissy shared—despite all she had been through over the years with guys (not men) treating her as a commodity rather than a person and disrespecting her entirely—was that she told her story with a smile on her face.

Crissy knows without a doubt her past does not define her—Jesus does.

She knows in Christ, she is righteous and spotless without blemish. She has hope for the future because of Jesus. She knows Jesus is using her past to redeem others in the present.

She now works for a nonprofit organization called Treasures, which aims to reach out to women in the sex industry with the message that they are loved, valued and purposed by Christ.

For those of you struggling with porn, know this:

There’s no such thing as “free porn”—it’s a lie.
Real women are being hurt in the porn industry.
Porn promises what only Jesus can fulfill.
Because Jesus conquered sin and death, this sin can be put to death once and for all in your life. You are fighting a battle that has already been won through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Jesus really can and will redeem anyone’s story.

4 Reasons Men Like Porn

2013-02-12T22:59:00.000-08:00

One of the tasks of a good friend or accountability partner to someone who is

Why do people run to porn again and again?entrenched in pornography is to help them understand their own heart.

Why do they run to porn again and again?

Solomon reminds us “the purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water” (we often can’t see our own motivations), “but a man of understanding will draw it out” (Prov. 20:5, parenthesis added). A wise friend helps to draw out of others the deeper motivations they are unable or unwilling to see in themselves.

1. Porn is easy, but relationships are hard.As an accountability partner, it is important to understand the allure of pornography: What deeper motivations keep men coming back to it again and again? What are good accountability questions we can ask to get to the root of the problem?

Relationships, especially our closest relationships, involve work.

Every day we are required to care what’s going on in others’ lives. We must put up with sour moods, offensive behavior and selfishness—both in ourselves and in others.

In contrast, porn offers men a feeling of risk-free intimacy.

Pornography offers men a fantasy world where they are required to know nobody, require no romance and no self-sacrifice for the benefit of others. And for many men the payoff is great: not only can they avoid the messiness of real relationships, they can also feel the delight of a million virtual women catering to their every whim.

Good Accountability Question: Has there been a relationship in your life recently that has been unusually difficult?

2. Porn is comfortable, but life is stressful.

In life things go wrong. Expectations are frustrated. People let us down. Tragedies happen. We get sick. We get tired. We get into sharp disagreements. Life is stressful.

Porn, by contrast, offers a very comfortable world where nothing goes wrong. Porn offers a ready-made setting where we know we will get exactly what we want.

Of course, we know it’s fake. It’s like professional wrestling or “reality” TV. As Chris Hedges says in his book Empire of Illusion, the success of these forms of entertainment lies not in fooling us that these stories are real. “Rather, it succeeds because we ask to be fooled. We happily pay for the chance to suspend reality.”

Good Accountability Question: Have there been any stresses in your life recently that have brought on a feeling of pressure or strain?

3. Porn is exciting, but life is boring.

The word “boredom” first started being used by French authors when they wrote about that feeling of discontentment when life gets tedious.

While the feeling of boredom has probably always been around, it is only in the last 300 years we have seen it become a social epidemic. Blaise Pascal said boredom is the plight of a modern man when “he lacks distraction and has no absorbing passion or pastime.”

Boredom is one of the fruit of a leisure culture. As wealth and free time increase, so does our hunger for distraction.

As we come to expect constant stimulation and excitement, the day-to-day can seem dull by comparison. With Google at our fingertips, information is everywhere, but we easily become detached, anonymous spectators, rarely taking risks of vulnerable involvement or passionate commitment—rarely acting on what we know.

Culturally we are guilty of what Dorothy Sayers calls the sin of tolerance, “the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.”

Porn offers a world of sexual excitement to our bored minds. Porn is a highly sexualized form of the image-based culture in which we live, a world where billions of pictures are painting a thousand words at break-neck speeds. Porn offers a fantasy of pure sexual stimulation.

Good Accountability Question: Have you found yourself bored or itching for excitement? Do you feel like your life is mundane?

4. Porn makes men feel powerful, but real life makes them feel powerless.

It is easy to feel small in the world. We intuitively know the world does not revolve around us, but this doesn’t stop us from wishing it did. We want others to pay attention to us, to treat us as important, to put us first. This desire can be so strong at times we can actually begin to feel entitled to it: We want a little corner of the world where we are kings.

Porn offers men a deluge of power. In a man’s porn-fed fantasy, the girls never say no. In pornography there are no social barriers between a man and the woman of his dreams. Pornography sells the idea that beautiful women are trophies—collectibles that show the watching world what a real man really is. Pornography also sexualizes male dominance, allowing men to fantasize about a world where women enjoy being treated as objects.

Good Accountability Question: Have you been in any situations recently that made you feel belittled, unimportant or disrespected?

The Biblical Goal of Accountability Questions

The reason accountability partners should ask these pointed questions is not to “psychologize” sins away. Rather, the goal of good accountability questions is to use them as a springboard to focus our thoughts on benefits of the Gospel of Christ more than the pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:24-26).
Each question opens a door to living out Heb. 10:24: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”

When we ask the question, “Has there been a relationship in your life recently that has been unusually difficult?” the goal is to help others see how they are looking to a particular relationship to make them feel pleasure or fulfillment (thus, a relationship that is always letting them down). We can then point them to the fullness of joy and satisfaction that comes from Christ (John 15:1-11; 16:16-24; Rom. 15:13).

When we ask the question, “Have there been any stresses in your life recently that have brought on a feeling of pressure or strain?” the goal is to help them see that they are using porn as an escape from life. We can then point them to the psalmists who saw God as their refuge (Psalms 46; 59:16-17; 61:1-3; 62:5-8; 91; 142). Instead of escaping from reality, we can escape into divine reality.

When we ask the questions, “Have you found yourself bored or itching for excitement? Do you feel like your life is mundane?” the goal is to help others see if they have been settling for a life of amusement over a life of amazement. We can then point them to the excitement of knowing God and obeying him (Matt. 13:44; 2 Cor. 8:1-2; Phil. 1:3-4; Col. 1:9-14; 1 Peter 1:3-9; 3 John 1:3-4).

When we ask the question, “Have you been in any situations recently that made you feel belittled, unimportant, or disrespected?” the goal is to help them see they crave power, importance and esteem from men more than they crave the favor of God. Jesus asked, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44) We can point them to the eternal glory the Father gives to Christ, and that as Christians we share Christ’s glory because He lives in us (John 17:20-24; Rom. 2:6-10; Col. 1:24-29).