Chapter 10 support pornography/"WHY DON'T YOU"

Job 31:1

1. "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman."

Job had not only avoided committing the great sin of adultery; he had not even taken the first step towards that sin by looking at a woman with lust. Job said he was innocent of both outward and inward sins. In chapter 29 Job reviewed his good deeds. Here in chapter 31 he listed sins he had not committed in his heart (31:1-12), against his neighbors (31:13-23), or against God (31:24-34).

Hope in the midst of affliction

Lamentation 3:51

51. My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.

Matthew 5:28

28. But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Some think that if lustful thoughts are sin, why shouldn't a person go ahead and do the lustful actions too? Acting out sinful desires is harmful in several ways:

1. It causes people to excuse sin rather than to stop sinning 

2. It destroys marriages;

3. It is deliberate rebellion against God's word; 

4. It always hurts someone else in addition to the sinner.

Sinful actions are more dangerous than sinful desires and that is why desires should not be acted out. Nevertheless sinful desires will result in wrong actions and turn people away from God.

Mark 7:21-23

21. For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22. adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23. All these vile things come from within, they are what defile you."

An evil action begins with a single thought. Allowing our mind to dwell on lust, Envy, hatred, or revenge will lead to sin. Don't defile yourself by focusing on evil. Instead, follow Paul's advice in Philippians 4:8 and think about what is true, honorable, right pure lovely, and admirable.

Joy is giving

(Words of encouragement)

Philippians 4:8

8. And now; dear you brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right and pure, and lovely; and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

Do you have problems with impure thoughts and a daydream? Examine what you're putting into your mind through television, Internet, books, conversations, movies, and magazines. Replace harmful input with whole wholesome material. Above all read Gods word and pray. Ask God to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It takes practice, but it can be done.

1Thessalonians 5:22

22. Stay away from every kind of evil.

We shouldn't make fun of those were called to speak for God ("scoff propheciecies"), but we should always "test everything that is said" checking their words against the Bible. We are on dangerous ground if we laugh at a person who speaks the truth, instead, we should carefully check out what people say, accepting what is true and rejecting what is false.

Christians cannot avoid every kind of evil because we live in a sinful world. We can, however, make sure that we don't give evil a foot hold by avoiding tempting situations and concentrating on obeying God.

1Peter 2:11

11. Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

As believers, we are temporary residence and foreigners in this world because our real home is with God. Heaven is not the pink cloud and harp existence popular in cartoons. Heaven is where God lives. Life in heaven operates according to God's principles and values, and it is eternal and unshakable, The Kingdom Of Heaven came to earth in the symbolism of the Jewish sanctuary (the tabernacle and Temple). Where God's presence dwelt. It came in a fuller way in the person of Jesus Christ: " God with us" it spread through the entire world as the Holy Spirit came to live in every believer. 

Someday, after God judges and destroys all the sin, the Kingdom of Heaven will rule every corner of this earth. Our loyalty should be to God's truth, his way of life, and his dedicated people. Because we are loyal to God, we often will feel like strangers in a world that would prefer to ignore God.

Proverbs 15:26 

26 The Lord detests evil plans, but he delights in pure words.

The godly weigh their answers; the wicked don't think before speaking because they don't care about the effects of their words. It is important to have something to say, but it is equally important to think about it first. Do you carefully plan your words, or do you pour out your thoughts without concern for their impact?