[[WARNING: I know that there are younger kids out there who read my xanga, some whom I know personally, and others whom I don't. Either way, the following entry is for mature individuals only who are of age]] Yes, I had to write that*
R.E.S.E.T. lingo:
the ill hydration (th
l h
-dr
sh
n):
n. referring to the act of not masturbating
v. refraining from masturbation
Usage Note: Understood to be in compliance with living a life set apart for Christ Jesus, in obedience, not for a season, but for a lifetime.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ...know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
2 Corinthians 12:9-11 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 11 I am become a fool in glorying...
Galatians 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God...
...and I know that as soon as I click "Submit," God will put me to the test, holding me accountable to the things I have read in His Holy Word. I truly feel like I am fighting a battle on many fronts, and this front is just one of them. But I am fighting a winning battle. As hard as it is to kill my flesh, and to die to my carnal nature daily, I can know from the very start that I already have victory in Jesus. In some circles, it is impossible for people to comprehend that a man or a woman can live a lifestyle that refrains from masturbation, but take it from me, God can make it very possible. Try to remember: He is more than worth it.
Yet masturbation is only a shade of the much bigger picture. God demands obedience, that is to say: perfection, and not simply excellence. Businesses claim excellence because they find a profitable balance between quality and costs; aiming for perfection is too costly. Excellence occurs in our lives when we find a comfortable place to seem to others that we are a good Christian, all the while diluting God's standards for sexual purity with our own standards of sexual purity. Ohh, a glance wouldn't hurt; no one would know about an innocent fantasy. Then there's the excuses: no one could possibly do that, so we don't take God's standards seriously. And just like that, we are enslaved to some form of sexual impurity, big or small, from pornography to wandering eyes, missing the mark of perfection because we aren't even aiming for it.
Of course and as usual, anything I happen to write is preached to myself. The battle with sexual impurity is an ongoing battle that I still fight every single day. Thanks to Loc, there's a new book that I just started reading: "Every Man's Battle." I've gotten through quite a bit of it, but I will echo the back summary strongly encouraging the book for "men who have fallen in the past, those who want to remain strong today, and all who want to overcome temptation in the future" (and, I would add, men who are presently struggling with sexual sin in every form).
There are some unbelievable testimonies in this book. I can hear the book screaming: "You are not the only one." I truly believe that men need to stop frontin' and acknowledge the problem, if there is one. I've heard this, and said this before: God does not bargain with sin. And as for the women, I think there is a version of this book for women. Either way, women should also check this book out to (a.) understand the battle a lot of men must fight and (b.) apply the truths to their own battles with sexual sin and impurity, which I know can be just as bad for them (today I speak from a man's point of view, being that I am a man). Here is a truth presented in the book, which I found I could identify with in my own life:
"I had no faith in my own prayers because of my sin. My faith was weak in other ways as well. As a full-commission salesperson, if I lost a number of deals in a row to the competition, I could never be sure if those setbacks weren't somehow caused by my sin. I had no peace.
I was paying a price for my sin.
My marriage was suffering as well. Because of my sin, I couldn't commit 100 percent to Brenda out of fear that she might dump me later. That cost Brenda in closeness. But that's not all. Brenda told me she was experienceing frightening dreams in which she was being chased by Satan. Was my immorality causing spiritual protection to be taken away from her?
My wife was paying a price.
At church, I was an empty suit. I came to church desperately needing ministry and forgiveness. I never arrived ready to minister to others. Of course my prayers were no more effective in God's house than anywhere else.
My church was paying a price.
I remember listening to one sermon in which the pastor talked about "generational sin"- patterns of sin passed from father to son (Exodus 34:7). Sitting in the pew, I recalled that my grandfather had run off from his wife in the middle of the Great Depression, leaving her with six kids to raise. My father left his family to pursue multiple sexual affairs. The same pattern had been passed to me, proven by my own multiple affairs in college. Though saved, I now found that I still didn't have this purity issue settled in my life, and I was scared by the thought of passing this pattern on to my kids.
My children could be paying a price.
I finally made the connection between my sexual immorality and my distance from God. I was paying hefty fines in every area of my life. Having elimanted the visible adulteries and pornography, I looked pure on the outside to everyone else. But to God, I'd stopped short. I'd merely found a middle ground, somewhere between paganism and obedience to God's standard."
I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of life in that "middle ground." "Every Man's Battle" presents truths in a real, genuine, and in-your-face kind of way, which is what makes it so powerful. One day, I'm gonna put my testimony up on this thing. In the meantime, life goes on; I will fight my battles in assurance, and God will always prove faithful.
P.S. I can't help but mention something else that the book discusses that struck me. Some people are deceived into believing that marriage will be the antidote to all the sexual bondages and frustrations (I myself being one of those people). One must understand that this is very far from the truth. If one is in this situation, know that sexual impurities must be taken care of no matter what stage of life you are in (for even marriage can throw its curved balls) before those impurities cause problems even years down the road.
Why my Jesus is so precious to me.... and how I know that He understands and feels me when I hurt:
Isaiah 53 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth... he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Thank You Jesus 
.
I praise God tonight, that despite the battles I am fighting, on every front, I can honestly say with all my heart, that....God is faithful, and His love & mercy endureth forever and a day. Praise God Hallelujiah!!
Grace and Peace. Be blessed you* 
lol (yeah right)
sigh...
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