Sunday the 7th of May (click scripture references for online Bible)

Intense time together in the Message. I pray that we be comforted and discomforted as the Lord is pleased, and not to the comfort of our "sarx"/flesh. Rom.8:9-17

Delicious Food
Joyful Singing
James, LT, Lonnie (sp?)
Laurel, Zach
Zach, Courteney (sp?)
JP, Prari
Lew
Steve, Joan, Caroline, Grace, Christian
Chris, Sheena
Andrew
Tim
Sarah

Prayer and sharing
Silent prayer for 7 minutes...

Time in the word:
Eph. 2
Col. 3
2 Cor. 4:4
Tim. 2:23-26
Hebrews 12:1-4

Casting off our old lives
Rom. 6--becoming more and more deeply, slaves of righteousness...

Not putting our old lives to bed,
but putting our old lives to death.

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a further word about Lew's comments on sexual immorality.

this is a sin unlike others, beloved. It is more serious than the others because of the nature of sexual union. 1 Cor. 6
says that one who sins sexually sins agains their own body, the temple of the holy Spirit...

I warned us about the false idea that we follow God for a "happier life"--for the fulfillment of our desires...

I warned us that we don't follow Christ to get a "better experience", as has been argued in churches lately. Lately, it has been widely spoken that "sex is better" "god's way". This is true, but not in exactly the way it may seem...

as truly as a clean conscience is better than a soiled one
as truly as peace is better than brokenness of heart
so is obedience to God better than the ways of the world...

but the pleasures of sin are real.
it is true that sin is "more pleasurable" than righteousness...
for a time
for a short time
but that short time can be decades long.
Sin doesn't sour as quickly as they tell you on TV. There are gravely disobedient people who are much "happier" than we who suffer in obedience to God. We swim upstream.
And if our obedience to God is rooted in the expectation of "results", "fulfillment", or any other earthly outcome, we are on the wrong track.

Serving God in purity,
abstaining from immorality--it's druglike draw, and promise of fulfillment that is rising like the tide on this generation--
is not to be motivated by our desire for pleasure, or comfort, or anything on this earth...
In fact, it is likely that our lives will be LESS pleasurable--even our sex lives--than those of the unbelieving dead around us, because we are WAITING. Waiting for Jesus' return... And we go against the grain of this world...

We are to live with our minds and hearts on THE THINGS ABOVE. Heavenly things, where Jesus is, are to motivate our daily actions... Our hearts are to be captivated...our imaginations are to soar in the heavenlies with Jesus... "Well done, good and faithful servant..." is the dream of our heart!

So don't believe them when they promise that the best "anything" is God's "anything". Sex down here is tastier to the flesh when stolen... This is why it's so dangerous to motivate our lives out of self interest, and the desire for comfort, pleasure, or any earthly security. We are called to pilgrimage. We are called to homelessness, and the cross. We are promised great peace and joy, and eternal pleasures and reward, at the cost of this world.

Some Scriptures To Consider:
Ps. 73
Proverbs 5:
Proverbs 6:20-35
Colossians 3
Matthew 16:25-27
Mark 8:35-37
Luke 9:24-26

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The major portion of our time together was spent in reflection on the degree to which God is calling us to put aside our old ways, not to be too gentle when dealing with our "bad habits" and "struggles", thinking that it's "okay" because we've "been through stuff", but to passionately throw aside the old ways and live out the new life.
Philippians 3:12-21
1 Cor. 9:23-27 has another word about this.
Rom 8:9-17Not giving opportunity to our SARX--ruthlessness in our casting off/putting to death of our Old Nature...