PORN

Came across this again this week...





We laugh about it now, maybe find it a little bit offensive, but this is a massive problem in society and many people don't even know it, and if they do know it, they dont want to say anything about it. I even know a few people who have fessed up to porn being a problem in their relationships.

Porn is a $57.0 billion (U.S) world-wide - $12.0 billion in the US industry. Its massive. Its destructive... For more info, stats, help, porn filters for your computer go to www.xxxchurch.com

Porn and some G words...

I’ve been home sick the past couple of days. So, as I was in bed this morning I put the tv on and watched Oprah. Kirk Franklin was being interviewed. Kirk is a gospel singer, perhaps the biggest gospel singer around with tons of hits and millions of fans.

What Kirk had to say was that he used to be addicted to porn. He was coming out with his wife to let everyone know that porn is wrong, addictive and ruins relationships. Some of the interesting facts that the show came up with was that:

Porn is 57 Billion US dollars a year industry
Over 800 million videos made each year (just the known ones being made…)
70% hits on porn sites are while people are at work
And I googled the word ‘porn’ and came up with 94,500,000 Pages!

Kirk and some of the other people Oprah interviewed all testifies that the even by just looking at the images were as good as adultery, that they stick with you, and that it is really addictive. They also spoke about how hard it is just to speak about their porn issues. They spoke about loosing themselves to a fantasy world that they couldn’t break free from.

Kirk testified that once he told his wife things began to get better. They prayed together and his wife held him accountable. But the real reason Kirk says that helped him get through was by giving it to God, by realizing how God saw Him, and being able to accept that picture! Perhaps some words from a song he’s recently written will help;

Imagine me, loving what I see when the
Mirror looks at me ‘cause I imagine me
In a place of no insecurities
And I’m finally happy cause
I imagine me

Letting go of my past
And glad I have another chance
And my heart will dance
‘Cause I don’t have to read that page again

Gone, gone, it’s gone, all gone

The other day I wrote about the ‘G’ sins. But heres a better word to think about. Heres something that is good. Something clean and positive. Something Generous. Its GRACE. Our undeserved favour from our gracious Lord and Saviour.

Are you stuck in sin? Are you addicted? Don’t be ashamed. Give it to God. Realize who you are in Christ. Don’t carry it around. Jesus died and rose to take away our sin and shame. Thank you Jesus for your GRACE. Thank you that its "Gone, gone, it’s gone, all gone!"

If your struggling with this issue, heres a couple of sites that may be able to help you.

www.xxxchurch.com and http://salvomen.blogspot.com/

Heres something thats been bugging me and I know God HATES it too!

Everyone has seen the news aboute those terrible incidents with a bunch of school boys sexually assaulting and the police said last night raping a girl and catching it on video and selling dvds of it at school. (They did a bunch of other things too but not going into that just yet...) We see how companies are using sex to sell ALL their products, from cars to drinks, and not to mention sexualising girls toys and clothes. If you look up from the street on Bourke street infront of KFC you will see a massive billboard with a woman with her hand down her pants.

Is this harmless? I dont think so.

1 in 3 women have been sexually abused here in Australia. And that is only the ones that have been reported. Thousands more go unreported. How does this relate you say?

Women are treated like meat. Men see them and think they have to have 'that'. That is just a fact. Men are extremely lustful, undresing women with their eyes and to the least just "checking them out."

Jesus had something to say about this. "Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully (and this applies to women looking at women or men aswell) has already committed adultery with her in his heart!" Matthew 5:28

Our word is getting worse in this area. If you look at TV 10, 15 or 20 years ago the normal adds we have now would have been banned. How much worse will it be in another 10 years?

Sexualising men and women is now the norm and we are abusing the preciois gift of sex from God. It is sinful and we need to stand up as Christians. We need to show the world that we are all created in the image of God and that God loves us all. We need to highlight the precious worth of every individual. So, heres a challenge,

Men, tackle your problem with lust. Pray. Form lust support groups or get mentors and accountability partners to rid yourself of such sin. It is possible and God will help. Make a stand in the world by not perving on women, not talking about women as objects and be counter cultural and tell people that its not ok.

Women, dress modestly, you too can form groups and get mentors. Dont lead men into sin by making them lust after you. Dont buy the lie the world is giving you that you are a piece of meat. You are worth soooo much more than that! Dont let men use you, dont sell yourself or give yourself away. You are much more special than an object of lust.

Jesus didnt finish by just saying dont look lustfully, immediately after He said continued, "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29-30