iiNeed

Hey Tribe!

Last night was some heavy stuff right?  Just to recap, we talked about the epidemic problem of pornography online.  After researching this topic, here's some things I found.  The average age that people are beginning to view pornography is 11.  Pretty scary right?  The bulk of people online that view pornographic material are between the ages 12-17.  The industry itself is over a $13 BILLION industry.  So the question from last week still stands...Does God care about our life online?

We already know that God does care.  Because your life online and offline are the same because they are both YOUR life.  We took a look at Luke 11:34-36 last night where we learned that "What you watch affects your soul."  Jesus talks about your eyes being receivers of light.  Since Christ calls Himself "the light of the world" we know that the light that He is talking about in this passage is Him and the truth about the gospel.  The darkness that Jesus refers to could be anything that takes your eyes off of Him.

Since pornography is proven by many psychologists to be highly addictive, it frequently enslaves those who view it.  In an article that I read recently, a Christian counselor (Robert Ellis) said that these images are as addictive as cocaine!  That being said, it is easy, after frequent use, for pornography to become master over you.  Since Jesus really wants us to follow Him with our entire life, this is a problem.  

If you are struggling with this right now, let me encourage you to "FLEE" sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18).  

Fill your life with Christ (Galatians 5:22-23).

Let Someone know about your problem.

Eliminate Gateways - If there are things that get you thinking about pornography or looking at it, stop doing those things.  It could be listening to certain songs, it could be playing a video game with images that are less than pure, it could be going online and posting things on Facebook that you shouldn't.  

Extreme Measures - Take your computer out of your room, don't go online unless someone else is present. Maybe even stay away from going online for awhile.  

I hope that last night was helpful for you guys.  Please know that if you need to talk about this issue that we are available to talk to you at any time.  See you next week.

Matt