Psychological Impotence

Psychological Impotence
Almost anything can hijack your brain and shut down healthy interaction. From the speed junkie to the sports junkie. A junkie has a hi jacked brain. It’s hooked to the source of pleasure that triggers the dopamine release in the pleasure centers of the brain. This interaction tightens by demanding more stimulation to get the same pleasure. This then overrides almost everything else depending on the strength of the hijack.
The result? A hijacked brain... that thinks of little else than getting the next shot of dopamine.

I see it all the time in relationships:
1. Couples do not guard their bond so Netflix, the shot of alcohol, the office secretary’s cleavage or attention, porn, masturbation (self love) etc. dull the senses to each other and ignites the obsession.
2. A sexual affair has even more power. It engages all of the senses and turns off the brain to the spouse - psychological impotence.
3. Junk food makes a junkie. Sugar and its substitutes creates dependence. We are now a nation of food junkies.
4. Work, the relational or business power trip, and the accumulation of more, hook the best of intentions.

Why?
Its a progression:
1. Ignorance of the bonding principles
2. Ignorance of brain and relational function.
3. Ignorance of how the heart is formed
4. Leaving no developed capacity for real relationship
5. Thus not firmly bonded to God.
6. Thus not firmly bonded to each other.

Here is what the Solomon says, who later had his brain hijacked by adultery:
Proverbs 4:20-23
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.

Lord, I am not impervious to this. I have allowed these forces to dull my relationship with you. I repent.
“My son, anything that draws you from me is sin. Sin is the handle the devil needs to grab and control you. You are forgiven. Stay within the safety of my arms. These are the last days and this is the reason why the love of many is growing cold.”

Battle for sexual purity.

Did you know that you have the capability to wire your own brain? What you take in with your eyes and ears will, over time, cause you to think and behave in certain ways. Your brain is powerful that way; it can store images for years, and these images will literally re-wire your mind.

In our modern world, that can be troubling. Across social media feeds, broadcasted through commercials, and mixed in popular TV shows, we’re bombarded with impure images—from graphic violence to all sexuality outside of marriage—and as we take in these illustrations, it’s becoming normalized. Our brain patterns are changing, and our behavior is at the risk of being altered.

And that’s the problem.

Jesus says that a good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. What does that mean? If you have lust in your heart, it will produce lustful behavior; if you’re fostering sinful thoughts in your heart, they’ll produce sinful behavior.

But the only way to change your behavior is to change your heart. How? Jesus says in Matthew 6:22, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Ultimately, what you take in with your eyes will make its way to your heart.

So in order to wire our brain in a positive way toward godliness, we have to guard our hearts and guard our eyes. It’s in this effort that we realize the truth of Proverbs 14:16: “The wise are cautious and avoid danger.” This is the reward—by being watchful and prudent with what our eyes and heart take in, we will also find ourselves growing in other ways, such as with godly wisdom. This is because God sees and will bless our commitment to Him.

If you were being honest with yourself, what sinful behavior is affecting your life?

To dig a bit deeper, what sinful thoughts might those behaviors stem from?

         

May this be our prayer today: “God, I want to be a good tree that produces good fruit. Please give me the strength to battle negative images, and as I guard my eyes, may you be honored by the fruit I produce.”

1 John

hey guys – still hunkered down in 1 john. 

 

I wrote a couple days ago about living ‘fractured’ and how the weight of the blessings God has for us, can actually harm us than do us good, until we heal our cracks (repent, making every effort to remain pure, without sin)

 

I feel as though when I spend more time in the word, when I find myself praying through my day, singing, worshipping in what I do, that I am in effect, spending more time with Jesus.

 

If I invited you over to my house but you were obsessed with your phone and paid me no attention, I wouldn’t say that we are spending time together.  I would say we are in physical proximity, but not ‘spending time’. 

 

I hear God telling me that the answer to our fractured lives is simple. 1 John 2:12-14.   Spend more time with Jesus.  As a result and through that, we gain an understanding of WHO WE ARE in Christ and just how liberated from sin we actually are.

 

Praying for you now to keep in the word, spend time with Jesus, heal those fractures and get ready for the weight of his blessings. 

 

Peace and Love,

Jon

You Ready?

Hey Guys – a quick word.

 

When God calls you to an assignment, nudges you to have a conversation, or convicts you to be bold in your faith, this is the time.

 

Seize the day, plow in the right season, and experience the harvest. God is on the move in your life and in the world, and He wants you to join in.

 

So be ready with arms wide open to His plans today.

 

Admit your faults, failures and fractures.  Be healed.  Be righteous.  And then, be ready.

 

Reminders for: praying for persons of peace, sharing your struggles, victories.  What are you praying for and how can we? 

 

Proverbs 20 v.4

Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

Your inner circle.

Who are they?

 

We may not always get to choose the people who surround us. We didn’t choose our in-laws, the co-workers who share our cube wall, or the neighbors who live next door.

 

But the friends we allow in our inner circle are our choice. We can choose who we call when we’re feeling down. We can decide who hears about the conflicts in our marriage. And we can pick who we hang out with on the weekends.

 

As God’s people, Solomon emphasized the importance of “iron sharpening iron.” When believers band together to share God’s Word, pray for one another, and give godly advice, we are sharpened. Refined. Renewed. More effective, efficient, and purposeful in our faith. Without the support or sharpening of one another, we become dull and aimless.

 

It’s okay to have non-Christian friends. In fact, it’s more than okay; Jesus, Himself, was known to be a friend of sinners. But they weren’t in His inner circle. Jesus specifically appointed the twelve disciples and intimately surrounded Himself with people of the same mind and of the same mission.

 

Proverbs 27:17 and 19

 

Peace,
Jon

 

The great promise.

After our discussion on parenting last night and re-reading a few notes from Michael’s sermon I got into Deuteronomy 6 and then 2 Peter 1:5 was on my mind and notes from another sermon. 

 

The Scripture.  The Promise.  The GOOD NEWS!

 

2 Peter 1:5-8 says: For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, steadfastness; and to steadfastness, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly affection; and to brotherly affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

What is God asking me? 

“Where do you work hardest at in life?”

 

“Make Every Effort” (to add to your Faith)

 

You believe in Jesus?  Ok, so what now? 

 

Question:  What do I do work hardest at in life?  What are my life goals?  What are my ministry goals?

 

Do I have a goal to be the person (the man) God wants me to be.  The person I need to be. 

 

When you are the right person, you will produce fruit. 

 

What does the right person look like?

 

God is concerned about changing me and not my circumstances. 

 

What is your attitude?  Do I want to change?  Am I excited to Get to change? 

Do I ask God to change me?

 

Are you thinking I Get to or Have to change?

          Do I have to forgive?

          Do I have to stop watching these movies?

          God will let me into heaven if … ?

 

I need to move from “Have to” to a “GET TO” mentality and perspective.

 

Do you want to be SAVED from the old you?  You really want to hang on to part of the OLD you?

 

You say you believe?  Then you must EXPRESS what you believe.  Go after it.  Verse 5 “make EVERY effort” [to add to your faith].

 

Goodness/knowledge – we are living these busy, hectic and often chaotic lives, scattered and worn thin, giving shallow answers and saying what we think people want to hear about our condition.

 

What effort are we making in knowledge?

 

The knowledge we need to make effort in KNOWing God better.  Growth in knowledge does not mean knowing the facts.  But rather, internalizing those facts, becoming the facts.

 

Self-control – desires are normal.  We have a desire to eat.  We have a desire for sex.  We have a desire for sleep.  We have a desire for play.  We have a desire for clothing.

 

All of these are natural desires. But our controlling them (moderation) is key.  Don’t compare your desire to someone else to think you are doing better than them, so you think you are doing ok because you are doing better than them.  You must look upon yourself and your own actions.

 

Steadfastness- this is patience; holding up under the heavy weight of pressures of life

we might ask god to get rid of the weight, to take away the pain and the pressure.  however, you cannot become steadfast without pressure.

 

Have you ever asked God for difficulties?  To become more steadfast?

Do you care more about your comfort or your character?

 

Would you be willing to accept an entire year of ease with no growth to God OR would you be willing to accept a year of hardship in which you would just grow immeasurably close to Jesus, to walk stride in stride with him, leaning upon him in those moments, learning who HE is and who HE wants you to become?

 

I choose the year of trial.

 

A life of comfort = complacency, taking it easy and no growth towards him

A life of hardship = Growth and closeness to Jesus

 

Godliness- becoming more like God through all of these things; you have been given the ability

 

If you had a treadmill in your home, you return it because you didn’t lose weight, the store might ask you “Did you use it?”  We have the Holy Spirit within us, we have the tool, but are we using it?

 

Brotherly Affection (1 John 4:20) Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

 

Love – love, not for who they are, but in spite of who they are.  The same love God has for us.  Not for who, but in spite of who.

 

God’s Promise for our lives =.  Verse 8.  If they [qualities] are increasing you will be EFFECTIVE AND PRODUCE FRUIT and increase in KNOWLEDGE of JESUS.

 

Don’t compare these (in you) to others, but only to yourself. 

 

Are you more loving than you were a few months ago? 

Are you more in self-control than you were a few months ago?

Are you steadfast through the trials?  Are you praying for him to take or give pain?

 

 

My challenge to myself – What do you work hardest at?

work?

Kids?

Parenting?

Ministering/changing others?

 

God speaking through the sermon message of parenting

 

God says: You need to pursue my character, my moral excellence.

 

NOT TELL YOUR KIDS à “Obey me, so you don’t end up like me.”

 

Deuteronomy 6:6 -  “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

 

As we walk and persevere towards excellence, producing fruit, we can explain to them “See?  See his Grace?  See His peace?  That is what He wants for you”

 

God’s word:

 

Focus on BEING the right person, focus on your character. 

 

God wants to give me a fruitful life, becoming who he wants me to be through steadfastness; becoming the man I was meant to be.

 

Keep Still?

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 8:32-33

 

A sobering thought to you who say:

 

1. It’s not my gifting to share the gospel.

2. Discipling is for the more gifted.

3. It shouldn’t be uncomfortable it should feel natural.

 

Of course then many say, “The way I live my life is a witness.”

 

The truth of the matter is that our best works are like “dog poop” according to Paul. Philippians 3. Best get the word out. A simple Jesus might be better than nothing unless of course its spoken in anger.

 

From my Bible reading Matthew 8

What's your part?

The more we dive into adoption, foster care our eyes are opened to the plight of the fatherless, the widow, the unreached, the oppressed and the injustice around the world.  We have been set on fire, by God, to act upon what we’ve seen, learned and KNOW to be true regarding the infirmities of His people around the world and India.  We see a people who are searching for more, searching for answers, finding them in gods that will never hear their inner screams and pleas for help, forgiveness and peace. 

 

Maybe you feel bad for the thought of orphaned children and you want to make a difference.  Maybe you feel called to help the elderly or kids with special needs, or women and children caught up in sex trafficking.  You might have a love for all of those things, but the truth is, you need to support it but it doesn’t have to be what your reaching into. 

 

The good news is that we are a body with many parts (1 Cor 3:5 and 12:12).  We don’t all need to reach out to do the same thing, however we need the support from each other in all we do. 

 

When I’m shoveling, I’m not using my feet to hold the shovel, but it would be difficult to shovel the driveway from one location.  I need the support of the feet!  Help me move around to shovel the whole driveway.  I have to shovel.  You have to walk.  Someone else has to “bend at the knees!”

 

We don’t all have the same calling but we need to support each other in what we are doing to build and proclaim the kingdom.

 

We are all gifted and we all play a part in the body.  Don’t be dismayed or overwhelmed by the opportunities to serve and give “It’s not important who does the planting or who does the watering.  What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.” – 1Cor. 3:7.

 

I really encourage you to find a spiritual gifts test if you haven’t already, or utilize the results from one we’ve done previously.  I can tell you my own gifting has not changed, but I do know that I’ve realized I have more gifts than I utilize.  We all do.  Some are stronger than others, but that is GREAT NEWS because we don’t need a bunch of body builder biceps and a bunch of puny legs that can’t hold up or do a squat!

 

We need to continue to grow otherwise we will have become ineffective (2 peter 1:8) in preaching the gospel.

 

Let’s find time today to listen for God’s prompting in our hearts.  Find some time to get in the word.  We need all of us, all the parts of the body, to work together for his mission.

 

I believe we have done a spiritual gifts assessment, but if you are looking for one, there are plenty of tools available online.  (My most recent spiritual gifting results =  1. Teacher 2. Serving 3. Mercy-showing.)

 

I’m praying for more opportunities to utilize the gifts and stepping into those roles, without hesitation when prompted. 

 

Challenge:  Find your past results or take a new test and share your results and find out “What’s your part?” and then let’s take some action steps to move the body.

 

What’s your passion?  Are you following the call?  How?  Why not?  How can we pray?

 

Peace and Love to you guys,

Jon

Do.

(my ramblings of the morning – read or not). I hear God saying:

 

 "Do."

 

 

heard a good quote this a.m. during my bible study by Dwight L. Moody –

 

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.”

 

 

 I’m working through a review of  James study.  Felt led to James recently so here I am.  (posing questions to myself as I read, but you could read as though I’m asking you too)

 

God is talking, are we listening.  Are we obeying?

 

 

James 1:22 and 2:14-17 and 26

 

22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

 

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

 

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

 

 

I want to do what matters and feel the moving of the spirit within me to change and help others in a tangible way.  “To know him and make him known” was often a way I’d sign my letters in the past.

 

sometimes I wonder if we have stopped getting to know him, letting other things get in the way.  priorities askew.  how are we getting to know him better?  are we in the word?  Yes?  Then lets share.  What are we reading.  What are we hearing.  What do you hear god telling you, specifically.  what direction or course do you think he is calling you to go.

 

I believe we don’t know the power or acknowledge the power of the spirit within us.  The overwhelming peace of found in the abandonment when we lose ourselves in him, give him the reigns, find his peace and fall in stride with him and his plans.

 

have you ever willed compassion?  I don’t believe you have.  If you’ve seen a picture or seen a video of a malnourished child with bones protruding and sunken eyes, your heart aches and you are filled, albeit momentarily, with compassion.  you see the eyes of a child you want to help, donate or save.  that is the coercion of the spirit!

 

I think we can put our arms out, pushing god away and keep from feeling that rush of warmth from the spirit.  like the sun shining brightly on a cloudy day, we have an aversion to the sun (spirit) because we think we know what we want (comfort) and we feel like we are keeping ourselves safe and secure if we can just do it by ourselves.  If we would just put our guard down.  Put the reigns down.  Embrace him and let the spirit rush in and ignite the fire within us, to respond without hesitation.

 

This is love.  This is joy. this is good.  this is kind.  this is the fruit!  this is what we are to do!

 

Do you feel the tug of the spirit?  we need to respond.  We have to respond.

 

(Romans 8:12) If we are not living according to the spirit, but responding with a sinful nature of the flesh, if we do nothing we are sinning and we will be held accountable one day for the cries of the ones we did not help.

 

We know they are crying so what do we do now?

 

The following is from the teachings of Charles Stanley:

 

 

Are there any conditions placed upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?”

 

Yes.

 

First, we must stay yielded to the Spirit. We must say yes to the Spirit when He prompts us to take a certain action or say a certain word. We must give mental assent to the Spirit’s direction, and then we must actually obey His prompting and follow through by doing or saying what He has called us to do or say.

 

The Spirit often speaks to us in the stillness of our hearts with a word of conviction or assurance. When the Holy Spirit is directing us away from something harmful, we very often have a heaviness, feeling of trouble, foreboding, or uneasiness in our spirits. When the Holy Spirit is directing us toward helpful things, we tend to feel a deep inner peace, an eagerness to see what God will do, and a feeling of joy.

 

How can you know if you are yielded to the Holy Spirit? You are yielded to Him when you can say to Him, “Here is what I desire. But if Your answer to this is ‘no,’ it’s all right. I’ll do what You say.”

 

Second, we must believe and obey His guidance. We are much more likely to hear what the Holy Spirit has to say if we are actively listening for Him to speak. We are much more likely to see the Holy Spirit’s direction if we are looking for Him. Hebrews 11:6<https://www.intouch.org/read/life-principle-22-walking-in-the-holy-spirit> tells us that God is a “rewarder of those who seek Him.” We are to be diligent in seeking His guidance, asking for it, watching for it, anticipating it, and receiving it.

 

The Holy Spirit has come to reveal the truth to us. He has come in His all-knowing ability to impart to us what we need to know in order to live obedient and faithful lives. Trust Him to guide you, now and always!

 

My question for you is this:

 

What is God calling you to?  Do.

What does he want From you and For you

Matt. 25 (all of it) 2 Tim 3:16, Heb. 4:12, Acts 17:11, Gal. 1:8

 

 

When you ask God “what is your will for me today? As you are wrapped up in a blanket, sipping your mocha, eating your blueberry muffin …

 

God says: “Oh that is so cute.  Look at you with your little blanket, all wrapped up and comfortable.  What about the millions suffering that can’t or won’t ask me for my will today …because today, and every day they will struggle to find clean drinking water and food.  They are struggling to feed their kids and stay alive for another week .. another day.  Ask me again what my will is as you sip your latte.”

 

IT IS OBVIOUS God’s will from his world “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matt. 22:35)  à church is not even close to being serious about this.

 

“When you go out, I will be with you” When you feed the least of these, you are feeding me”  “When you give the least of these water, you give me water.”  (Matt. 25:40,45)  God is with the poor!!!!

 

God is saying “Find me” by going and ministering to other people.  God’s word is filled with commands to take care of the poor: How did we miss this?

 

It can be easy to miss the obvious about the holy spirità  our prayer should be that we are humble enough to realize that we may have missed some obvious teaching of the spirit and you haven’t applied those to your life.

 

“Be quick to listen. ..” à  our culture of Facebook, Twitter where everyone is quick to speak, we want to impart our opinion, we want everyone to hear us, … BUT then we aren’t listening and the danger is we don’t hear the voice of God.

 

Are you serious about keeping in step with the Holy Spirit?  à  Doing whatever he has called you to do.  He is calling you to do something; God has a mission for you and it might be right in front of your face.

 

Do you really want to hear from God?  Do you want to know absolute truth?  Or do you think his voice would be an interruption to the comfort of your life? 

 

Maybe god is calling us to a really, really comfortable life?  Then we go to heaven and its’ even more comfortable there.  Do you think this is your call?

 

Are you willing to give it all up?  Are you willing to get uncomfortable?  Can you ask “God, take me anywhere?” and be willing to go? 

 

God has called you to more, but you don’t want to think about it.  You want to ignore the uncomfortable and deny the truth of his words and commands.  “The least of theses …”

 

The words on the pages of the bible are not a second hand story.  They are God’s words for you.  He is quite clear in what he wants from you.

 

So, what good does God want from you and for you?

Game Plan

Luke 22:39-71

 

Thinking about how the disciples had a game plan. 

 

It reminded me of the years of high school and college football (glory days!) and how we had a game plan.  Our quarterback would have us in the huddle, giving us the play, the blocking scheme and the routes.  We all had something different to do, some of us blocked, some of us ran with the ball, some of us created a screen.  The huddle would break and we would go up to the line with great emotion and adrenaline as we knew what we were about to do, if we succeeded, would bring us to what we all wanted and what we were playing for.  A victory.

 

But what would the game had been like if we had broken from the huddle and then ran to the sidelines to sit on the bench for 30 seconds.  Then after that we ran back to the huddle on the field, all fired up and ready to go, we break the huddle and run to the sidelines to sit the bench for another 30 seconds.  This wouldn’t make any sense.  It’s not the plan. 

 

There is no path to victory on the sidelines.  (I think I’m the first person to say that)

 

It reminds me of our church, collectively speaking.  Our Sunday huddle.  We rally around, full of excitement, full of fever, ready to take the ball and run for victory.  Then Monday comes and the week beings.  And we spend the week on the sidelines.  Then we head back to the huddle on Sunday, we get energized, excited and ready to explode into the mission field!  Victory is ours! 

 

But then Monday comes.  We head back to the sidelines.

 

The disciples plan did not envision what they actually had coming.  The disciples wanted to overthrow the roman government, they wanted  to construct their own empire and they wanted to rise to positions of authority.

 

What they got was a whole lot different than their plan.  What they got was whipped, slaughtered, beaten, beheaded and ultimately death.

 

But, in light of their suffering.  God had a plan.  God has a plan.  For his disciples.

 

WE ARE THE DISCIPLES!

 

What do you want?  What are you receiving?  Are you hoping for a better marriage, a better relationship with your kids, maybe you want to change the life of children who aren’t your own by showing them and living the gospel in front of and with them.  Maybe you want to end slavery and injustice.  Maybe you want every child to have a father.  Maybe you want to spread the good news in our community.  All great things!

 

We champion for it on Sunday.  But what are we doing on Monday?

 

Are we suffering for the cause?  Even Jesus didn’t want to suffer.  He says (Luke 22:42) “ take the suffering from me” in his prayer on the mount of olives.  BUT BUT BUT … he ends the prayer with “I want your will … not mine.”

 

Is this a prayer you are praying?  Asking for God’s will, even if it leads to suffering?  Ultimately, I believe he has great in store for all of us and we are going to face suffering, but we have the promise that he will never leave or forsake us.  I have to admit I still struggle with knowing he is with me, as I try to take the reins in life.

 

I’m praying for you and would ask the same for me, that we find strength in where He leads us and be willing to go there.

 

Peace guys,

Jon