The Scarlet Letter

I had to read The Scarlet Letter in high school, and like most books I was forced to read, I didn’t like it.  It was drama, and I don’t like dramas.  Give me good comedy or action, and I’ll come back for more every time… but not drama.  My life has plenty of that.  The story followed Hester Prynn, a woman who was found out in adultery after giving birth to a child, Pearl, while her husband was not yet in the Puritan colony of Boston.  It was sad to see that she was forced to mark herself with a red “A” that showed all who saw her that she was an adulteress.  The story continues into the vengeful scheme of her husband and the pain of the minister who committed the sin with her.  The acts of the characters are certainly not in keeping with the love and desire for reconciliation found in Scripture, but the story does show the pain that can be caused by just one act fueled by lust. Dealing with the subject of lust can be uncomfortable for some, but it is part of our life here in this world.  God is interested in dealing with real life, not some sugarcoated facsimile, so the Bible deals with lust.  So must we.

What is lust?  Lust is the improper viewing of another person in a sexual connotation. How do we act against lust?  I can think of no better picture of how to do this than the story God gives us of Joseph and Potifar’s wife in Genesis 39.  After Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he was taken to Egypt.  He found his way into the service of the Egyptian captain of the guard, Potifar.  Joseph was a righteous man, and God was not only blessing him for it, He was blessing Potifar’s entire household for it.  It was a great situation until Potifar’s wife decided get a little too much Joseph for herself.  She tried to seduce him multiple times.  On the final attempt she even got grabby and found herself holding Joseph’s clothes while he scampered away.  “Flee from sexual immorality.  Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).  We are told to run away from lust!  That should clue us in on the danger of it!  God knows that we cannot stand in a situation of sexual sin forever and be victorious.  So get out of there!  Remove yourself from the temptation, or you will be consumed by it.  That is why you must end a relationship if you are sexually sinning in it.  If pornography is a problem, get software to block it on the computer and/or only use it in a public place.

Sexual sin consumes.  It will literally become a chemical addiction in your brain.  Phenylethylamine releases dopamine during sexual activity and gives you feelings of bliss, excitement, and attraction.  That plus the release of adrenaline and endorphins cause sexual activity to become addictive, even if it is harmful.  It has been compared to the addiction level of opiates like heroine.  That is why Scripture says, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (Song of Solomon 8:4).  This, of course, applies to guys as well.

Lust does not just exist in the physical realm, however.  It is pervasive in the realm of the mind.  Jesus said, ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).  That means that we must control our thoughts in this area as well.  “I never actually did anything with her” or “I was only thinking about him like that” are not excuses.  Merely thinking about a person who is not your spouse sexually is deadly sin.

You might be tempted to ignore what I’m saying because I’m not a teenager, and I don’t know your life or what you’re going through.  The truth is that I was a teenager, and I made some of mistakes in this area.  The consequences remain to this day.  What is the good of staying pure?  Your love life is saved for your spouse.  You are all familiar with Velcro.  What happens when Velcro is stuck together and pulled apart too much?  It stops sticking well.  The same is true with people who have had a lot of different relationships.  They have given away their heart too many times.  It does not connect with another very well anymore.  When you do decide to get married, your past relationships will not just fade from your mind.  They will always be there.  You will have to tell your spouse about your past, and that is not a fun experience.  Do not give your heart away so cheaply; it is way too precious for that.  Also, your risk of STDs and pregnancy outside of marriage drops to a staggering 0%!  If you don’t have sex, there is no risk!

 So, how do we deal with the opposite sex?
Dating, as we know it today, is a relatively new concept.  It used to be a slang term referring to prostitution, and the modern concept is not far from the origin.  A man takes a woman out, spends some money on her, and at some level eventually expects her to “put out.”

What a Godly man and woman should be doing is called courting.  If you want more details about this I would direct you to a great book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.  The major difference between dating and courting is that courting is looking toward one goal, marriage.  That’s it!  If a Christian man and woman are “going out,” they should be able to see marriage somewhere in the future.  If either of them cannot, they shouldn’t be in that relationship.

Why is it important for a Christian to only court another Christian?
For a believer in Jesus, who is your first love?  The answer is unapologically JESUS!  How can you be in a close romantic relationship with someone who does not share that love?  I could never court an unbeliever.  They would dump me by the end of the first month because they’d be sick and tired of me witnessing to them and talking about Jesus!  “You might be tempted to ignore what I’m saying because I’m not a teenager, and I don’t know your life or what you’re going through.  The truth is that I was a teenager, and I made some of these mistakes.  The consequences remain to this day.  When you do decide to get married, your past relationships will not just fade from your mind.  They will always be there.  You will have to tell your spouse about your past, and that is not a fun experience.  What is the good of staying pure?  First, your relationship with God is put first.  In every sin, He is the one chiefly offended.  Remember the woman caught in adultery?  Jesus did not go to her husband or deal with the guy she was sleeping with.  He looked into her eyes and said, “Your sins are forgiven.  Go and sin no more.”  Reconciliation must first come with Him.  Second, your love life is saved for your spouse.  You are all familiar with Velcro.  What happens when Velcro is stuck together and pulled apart too much?  It stops sticking well.  The same is true with people who have had a lot of different relationships.  They have given away their heart too many times.  It does not connect with another very well anymore.  Do not give your heart away so cheaply; it is way too precious for that.  Last, your risk of STDs and pregnancy outside of marriage drops to a staggering 0%!  If you don’t have sex, there is no risk.

So, how do we deal with the opposite sex? Dating, as we know it today, is a relatively new concept.  It used to be a slang term referring to prostitution, and the modern concept is not far from the origin.  A man takes a woman out, spends some money on her, and at some level eventually expects her to “put out.”

What a Godly man and woman should be doing is called courting.  If you want more details about this I would direct you to a great book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.  The major difference between dating and courting is that courting is looking toward one goal, marriage.  That’s it!  If a Christian man and woman are “going out,” they should be able to see marriage somewhere in the future.  If either of them cannot, they shouldn’t be in that relationship.

Why is it important for a Christian to only court another Christian? For a believer in Jesus, who is your first love?  The answer is unapologically JESUS!  How can you be in a close romantic relationship with someone who does not share that love?  I could never court an unbeliever.  They would dump me by the end of the first month because they’d be sick and tired of me witnessing to them and talking about Jesus!  “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14b-15).  I am in Christ, and those in light have nothing to do with darkness except bringing light to it!  Darkness flees from the light of Christ within me.  If you are involved romantically with an unbeliever and they are not fleeing from you, you should ask yourself if you really are a light.

Be careful with your heart, Christian.  Don’t give it away cheap to bare scars that may never fully heal.  It is precious to your King.  Give it to Him completely.  Trust in Him.  Follow Him.  Obey Him, and He will show you the one person to give it to here.

7x70

When I was a boy, one of the close family friends were my next door neighbors.  They were an older black couple that I remember being very nice.  To this day my mom enjoys telling the story of one morning when they realized I was nowhere at home.  Understandably, my parents worried and went looking for me only to find me over at Smitty and Laurice’s house having breakfast.

In the middle of the night, my mom woke me up.  I still remember the scene vividly as I write this.  She came and sat down next to my bed, and the look on her face coupled with the tone of her voice told me something was wrong.  She told me that Smitty was dead.  He was a mailman, and he had been out doing his route when a drunk driver hit his vehicle flipping it.  I never got to say goodbye.

Being around people is a situation that is bound to cause pain.  None of us are perfect, and we are going to hurt each other or let each other down from time to time.  That’s just the truth of it.  It’s life.

Renee had four daughters.  One day her daughter, Megan, was in a car with her friend on the way home from the beach when they were hit by Eric, who was behind the wheel drunk.  Both girls were killed by the collision.  Eric was 24 years old, and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. 

Renee began to travel around to schools and churches speaking about the dangers of drunk driving.  After doing these speaking engagements for a time, she started to see that something was missing.  When she realized this, God laid it on her heart that she had not forgiven Eric for taking her daughter’s life, so that is exactly what she did.  She reached out to Eric in prison and forgave him.  “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).  From that single act of compassion, the rest of her family followed her lead and forgave Eric for what he had done.  Through the immense love shown to him by this family, Eric was led to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Romans 4:7).

Renee not only forgave Eric.  She also got his prison sentence cut in half to 11 years, and the plans are to have Eric join her as she begins preaching the power of forgiveness along with the dangers of drunk driving.  They now describe Eric as part of their family.  They lost a daughter, but they gained a son.  I think Megan is smiling in heaven, and I know God is.

The Story Behind Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not a foreign concept for those who walk with Jesus, but often I believe we do not understand the lengths we are expected to go in forgiving others.  Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus responds to Peter, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).  Jesus is saying in no uncertain terms that there should be no end to your forgiveness.

The truth is that all of us are guilty before God, and He has forgiven us more than we can comprehend by pouring out His own blood at the cross.  There was no other way, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Leviticus 17:11).  All of us were guilty of our own sin and would have to pay our own debt, but God was not.  Only He could pay for the sin debt of another.  So He paid the debt for everyone.  We just have to accept it.

In light of that forgiveness we have already received for our sins against God, it is only right for us to act in the same way and forgive the sins against us.  If we cannot forgive, do we really have forgiveness?

“And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us…  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15).

After Smitty was killed, I had to figure out how to forgive the man who did it.  I was angry at him, hated him.  He didn’t know it, though.  He doesn’t even know who I am.  It has been said, “To hold a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”  It is true.  Holding onto anger against another person only hurts you.  Forgive them and experience the freedom God wants you to have in that forgiveness.  “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that prisoner was you” (Lewis B. Smedes).

Then, after you have experienced that freedom, show them the freedom of knowing Jesus and being forgiven of everything you have ever done wrong.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).

From Darkness To Light

In the summer of 2005, I went over to Turin, Italy to share the Gospel through teaching English.  I was very excited because western Europe has always been the place in the world I wanted to visit most, and other than a quick stop in Frankfurt on the way to Kiev, I had never been there.  Italy was an amazingly beautiful place.  The architecture was fascinating, and the amount of history that was literally at my fingertips made me delirious.  As I dealt with the weight of centuries upon me, the shock of food so fresh and delicious that it makes my mouth water even six years later blew my mind in the form of a street-side calzone that is still the best I have ever had.  I could go on to describe the rich Italian farmland full of tomatoes and grapes that stretched on for miles, and the beautiful stillness in my soul as I saw the sun rise over the intense blue of the Mediterranean Sea.  It brought tears to my eyes.

Despite the beauty of Italy, there remained something else.  John and I were walking back to the hostel one evening when we were both struck by the spiritual darkness of the place.  Obviously, a place that has largely rejected Jesus is spiritually dark, but it was like running into a dense fog that was not physically there.  An inky blackness seemed to reach out from the alleys and streets to darken the evening shadows.  The lights of the riverside party dimmed a bit as we the Holy Spirit within us awakened to the sensation.  John spoke first, "Have you noticed how spiritually dark this place is?"  I had to agree.  We were on the front lines of the Great Spiritual War that has always been fought and will continue to be fought until Jesus returns and God finally casts Satan into hell.  I pray that I always am on the front lines.  There are so many souls that are out in that darkness right now that desperately need the light of Christ.

"Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in iron" (Psalm 107:21).

They sit in darkness as rebels because they have rejected the Word of God.  They are prisoners, bound in the chains of their own selfish desires, slaves to their own instincts.  Just as they are, so were all of us, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11a).  At one point we were also bound in sin, condemned before a righteous God.  What happened in your life?  What changed?  Someone came to you, right?  God opened your eyes, and for the first time you saw truly.  The scales fell and radiant light flooded in casting out darkness as you first believed.

"The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
   on them has light shined.
You have multiplied the nation;
   you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
   as with joy at the harvest,
   as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
    and the staff for his shoulder,
   the rod of his oppressor,
   you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
   and every garment rolled in blood
   will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
   and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
   to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
   from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this" (Isaiah 9:2-7)

For God gave to us His Son, who is Himself, co-eternal with the Father.  "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4-5).  Darkness cannot overcome it!  The radiant light that shines forth from the Father and the Son now shines forth from the heart of every child who cries out proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ to the glory of God the Father!

In the days of the Judges before the monarchy was established and David ruled, Israel was disobedient and walked in darkness worshiping the Baals.  God then brought them to their knees as He gave them into the hand of Midian.  For seven years, the Midianites and Amalekites would plunder and take the produce of the land of Israel like locusts leaving nothing for Israel until Israel returned and cried out to God.  God called Gideon to deliver His people.   In the night the three hundred came down to surround the camp of the Midianites and Amalekites and all the people of the East that lay in the valley.  Suddenly, out of the darkness trumpets blew and jars shattered.  Light poured forth from hundreds of torches as the enemies of the Israelites fell by the edge of the sword. 

On that day the Lord broke the combined armies of nations with three hundred men.  Two thousand years ago He stole victory from defeat and broke death itself!  "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 
'Death is swallowed up in victory.'
'O death, where is your victory?
   O death, where is your sting?'
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Death!  Where is your victory?  Where is your sting?  You can no longer cast fear!  There is no more pain!  What else can you do to us?  You lost and Christ is reigns as king!

That is the day I look forward to.  That is the day when darkness will be completely cast out by the divine light of the Almighty.  When we will stand before the throne, seeing Him in His complete glory.  We will dance and sing, shout and leap, fall to our knees bathed radiant in perfect light!



Jesus is already seeking you.  If you do not know Him as your Savior, step out of the darkness of your life and into His light.
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame'" (Romans 10:9-11).

"So Jesus said to them, 'For a little while longer the Light is among you.  Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.  While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light'" (John 12:35-36).