Yesterday around 4:00 I was home by
myself watching football and work on a
kitchen sketch on my computer. When it
hit me. An all-out assault on the visual
area of my mind. The visual rolodex came
a live and I got inundated with pornographic images. It was absolutely overwhelming. I dwelled and I panicked for several
minutes. Hear me I wanted to go down
that road, but I didn’t want to go down that road. That road is death. That road hurts my lord, that road hurts my
wife. That road is full of death traps
and is a dead end. So I sent a 911 text
to the men I meet with and prayed a short prayer and then opened my kindle to
the mirror bible. Looked at the table
contents and felt led to 2 Corinthians 7.
What happened next was amazing. 7:3 there is no
hint of condemnation in my message; I have always maintained that our hearts
are joined with you in death and in life. 7:4 I
am absolutely persuaded about you and take great pride in you; we are seamlessly
one; therefore my joy rises above all sense of claustrophobia. 7:5 when we first arrived in Macedonia we had no chance to
relax for a moment; we were literally thronged by trouble; we faced conflict on
every side and felt deeply alarmed. 7:6 how
wonderful it is to discover God’s comforting closeness when you feel like a
bird that cannot rise in flight to escape the fowler; this time God’s closeness
was reinforced in the arrival of Titus! For
me the arrival of Titus signifies me taking those thoughts captive and drawing
near to Him.
7:10 To anchor
one’s thoughts in God’s thoughts when faced with difficult or painful
experiences brings escape from sorrow and leaves one with no regrets; but oh,
what a dreadful contrast is the world system (of the law of karma and
works) which adds regret upon sorrow! Whereas the
one brings such immediate relief, the other seems to be an inescapable
deathtrap! 7:11 consider how this very thing that caused you such initial
grief has turned your attention to God! It revived an immediate sense of
urgency to realize your position in grace; almost like when your arm is twisted
and locked behind your back, and your own efforts to clear or save yourselves
were completely neutralized. You were greatly alarmed with an intense desire
and burning zeal to re-endorse the basis of your righteousness. And so in
everything your blameless innocence is vindicated!
The 911 is the subject line in my text
that I need prayer and need it now. It goes
to the five men I meet with every week. I
received three texts and two phone calls.
That was awesome! Thank you
Jesus.
Do you have 911 men and women in your
life right now? As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens
another!
