It has been said that in sexual addiction we exchange intimacy for intensity. One of our deepest and most fundamental needs is intimacy, but we settle for the intensity of a sexual thrill, a rush, a pseudo connect, a dalliance wearing a mask of intimacy. We have gone to bathe in the desert sand, deluding ourselves that it is the beach. Here again, we have sought to satisfy a legitimate need in...
Desert Training
Last week we talked about how walking away from sexual sin can feel like walking into desert – and why this is necessary. If you missed that post, you can read it now here. I closed last week’s post by saying that only in battle can we rid the land of the enemy. We must let the desert train us for this battle. God is available for intimacy with you. True, lasting, committed intimacy...
Drawn to Intimacy and Identity
Can you explain why you are drawn to the form of a woman or the form of a man? Beyond the specifics of what aspect of the body attracts you, have you ever considered why? At the core, the stirring is because sex, gender, and sexuality are profoundly linked to intimacy and identity. They are profoundly linked to the true Goodness for which we’re made. Sexual imagery has power because...
Body Image
Everywhere we turn, we see images of men and women who look good to us—beautiful, happy, healthy, connected. Whether online or at the mall, at church or the coffee shop, images of the human body catch our attention and point our desires toward something to fill our longing. Consider the ways you’re longing for more in life, and these images seem to hold the answer. Do you feel lonely? You...
Be One Who Illuminates
Bob Ragan is the director of Regeneration’s Northern Virginia office and is an ordained deacon in the Anglican church. He graciously wrote this week’s post for us. If you live in the DC Metro Area, please consider joining Bob for Into His Marvelous Light, our annual Sweet and Savory Fundraiser. You can learn more or register here. A few weeks ago, I had surgery performed in my left...
Like Flint
Jesus’ death is not usually something we’ll run into accidentally. Easter, on the other hand, seems to be a part of our culture that’s here to stay. Even if you have to wade through egg hunts and chocolate rabbits, any trip to the grocery store this time of year will remind you Easter’s on its way. Not so with Good Friday. In contrast to our culture, and even some streams of Christianity that...