Imagine for a moment you’re walking home one day and you happen upon a scuffle on the street. A smaller man appears to be fending off a big man who is trying to steal his wallet. Being the good person you are and feeling particularly brave that day, you jump in and wrestle the thief to the ground while the other man recovers the stolen wallet. Wallet in hand, the smaller man pats you on the...
Your Motivation to Change Is Why You Can’t
When Ned shared with his Christian community that he had struggled with a specific sexual sin since young adulthood, they rallied around to support him in every way they could, including pointing him to Regeneration. As we sat together and talked, it was obvious he longed to please God, and he was highly motivated to do what he needed to in order to find freedom. I liked his zeal. But not what...
Giving Your Body to Jesus
When a man and woman get married, they have to show up. They don’t just send an email, they physically stand before a priest or pastor. They don’t just think their vows, they say them out loud for others to hear. They don’t give something pretend, they place a ring of gold on each others’ fingers. And, if you’ll allow me to go there, they don’t text each other naked photos or fantasize about each...
How Does God Restore Sexuality?
When I was 22, I remember walking alone across my college campus late at night, ashamed and angry. I looked up at the stars and prayed out loud, “God, I know you love me, and I love you. I also know you hate what I’m doing and I hate it too. So why won’t you change me!?” I’d been viewing pornography again, and sexual sin in my life was something I both hated and loved. I’d read books, tried...
Resisting Temptation (That Space Between Two Dinners)
I have a problem of using food to try to settle myself down at the end of a day. I’ve known this about myself for years but haven’t done much about it. In my life, it’s been one of those sins Paul writes to Timothy about, the kind that isn’t outwardly obvious on the face of my life, but that follows behind to judgment (see 1 Timothy 5:24). Recently, God spoke to me about this: “You don’t need two...
Every Fiber of a Man
Men, God designed you for a purpose, for a mission. A hammer is designed to drive nails. That’s its mission. You might say it’s most itself when that’s what it’s doing. Similarly, the male body is crafted by God so men can carry out their mission, and men are most themselves—most alive—when that’s what they’re doing. What are they designed for? What’s the mission? To love God and to love others...