Hello all, I'm unsure just how much of this topic has been covered or not, but just thought I'd share some of my findings. I was doing well w/ the PMO, but had a little relapse (stress related). As a result, I began checking out the Bible and what it says. I've read online that the Bible is supposedly silent on topics, such as PMO. And, online articles will also repeatedly tell you how it's perfectly safe to do (MO). However, the Bible actually says a lot on these topics...more than I ever realized... First off, I'm not a preacher - but, I am a Christian. I was watching a TV evangelist one day and out of the blue he shared a verse that, quite frankly, got my attention because he provided a verse that listed all the type of people who will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It was: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20. Verses such as these involve being sexual immoral and 'sensual.' I actually had to look up what it meant to be 'sensual,' which entails being, "relating to or involving gratification of the senses and physical, especially sexual, pleasure." So, in other words, just because the Bible doesn't explicitly say "PMO" doesn't mean that we're not still sinning. Worldly society in the 21rst century will say, 'go ahead and do whatever pleases the senses.' Whether it be homosexuality, etc. Yet, these very same people are devils preventing us from entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. On the topic of Kingdom of Heaven, folks even say - oh well, I'll be okay, I'm good enough. But, what is good? I feel the need to break this topic down too. There are two deaths: 1.) The physical death. 10/10 people die. It's a fact, as we all know. 2.) The 2nd death is where we all must stand before God and give an account of what we did in this life - whether or good or bad. If our names aren't written in the Book of Life, we are cast into the lake of fire for all eternity - the spiritual death because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. If we're not w/ the Lord after our physical death, it's the lake of fire for all eternity as our final destination. These topics are crazy important as key motivators to get us (yes, I say 'we' because this includes me too) to stop PMO because not only do we have to give an account before God Himself on Judgment Day, but also our sexual immorality and sensual addictions will keep us out of the Kingdom of Heaven = the 2nd death. I don't know about you, but whenever I feel tempted to PMO, those two points mean more to me than the mere seconds or minutes at best of pleasure compared to all ETERNITY of what I will be feeling. That means repent (turning) from this sin, tattoo these key verses onto our minds, and focus on getting right. Repent and trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart He is Who He says that He is, you (we) will be saved. "He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." (Proverbs 28:13). Just reading the Bible is certainly great, but we need to focus on these specific key verses because we need to zone in more where we're struggling at in life. For instance, if I need pair of shoes, I'm going to go to the adult male isle. Not the women's or kid's isles, obviously. When I was reading through the Bible, a key verse popped out: "How can a young man keep his way pure? He does so "By living according to your Word." (Psalms 119:9). Again, tattoo those key verses in your mind because this is a spiritual battle we're up against. The good news, even though I know that I (we) have to stand before God to give an account, there's good news: "Anyone who is among the living has hope - even a live dog is better off than a dead lion." (Ecclesiastes 9:4). We have to be strong and stand up for ourselves by saying, 'No - I'm not going to do this anymore!' Even the Bible says those who are cowards will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.' Be strong for yourself and others: "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the right of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the right of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9). For those Rocky fans, remember what the trainer, Mic said to Rocky prior going into a fight? "Women weaken the legs." It's true - get tough and fight. I got to the point with the girlfriend that I outright said, NOPE, not fooling around anymore in that I'm tired of giving of myself time and time again! I'm helping to save her soul too. If she moves on with someone else, it is what it is... These key verses to hone in on are crucial because self-help books are nice, but since this is a spiritual battle, we need spiritual weapons. There are more powerful verses in the Bible too - feel free to jump in and read them. For instance, the Bible says that, even though we can't see it, there is warfare taking place up in the heavens battling for our very souls. Being sexually immoral is very dangerous because the Bible also says every sin we commit occurs outside of the body (if I say a cuss word when jamming my toe, etc.), but sinning sexually is a sin against your very soul. Not only does fornication run the risk of HIV / AIDS, etc., but you also join together as one flesh while fornicating (that's why the Bible says that they become as one when married). In other words, if a fornicating partner has a negative spirit attached to them (a spirit of anger, lust, envy, jealousy, rage, murder, hate, etc.), you're actually inviting that within you and vice versa to them, as well. The same goes with PMO - in that you look upon another individual with lust and create adultery with that person in your heart...it's adultery through sensual lusting. I don't know about you, but it should put the fear of God in all of us and maybe that PMO session isn't worth it after all. Not to scare anyone, but I recall a time when I was in church and we had a special guest speaker in which members of the congregation would come up and receive a word from this speaker who would prophesy over you. I didn't want to do it because what if he found me out and shared it out loud in front of everyone? Well, that's actually what happened. He was a true man of God and although he indicated that I would do great things in life, I need to "guard my mind (my soul) in what I was looking at." Bam. Proof that God knows what I'm doing, literally and figuratively. Again, a warning of the 2nd death. Not cool. And again too - this is a spiritual battle, therefore, we need spiritual weapons. I once had an uncle who, as early as a young boy, played around with those spiritual board games. When doing so, he opened some form of negative energy that attacked both him and his immediate family. Nothing but bad luck has followed him to the point that a minister had to give him key verses to pray over himself to deal with these dark and demonic attacks. When you're in God's Word, you're safe and all hell can't prevail against Jesus. Plus, we'll be blessed in life supernaturally because we're walking upright. A lot of people are relying on self-help booklets and new-age counseling, etc., but I wonder just how much people keep failing at this PMO because God was left out of the equation. It's a spiritual battle; use spiritual weapons. I'm unsure who this message is for, but I know it's meant for someone out there. I know it's for me too to be reminded of. Thank you for reading.
