There is no room for fantasy in your sexual relationship with your life partner. When you are having sex with your partner, you MUST be present, in the room, with them, focusing on what IS happening. Pornography and masturbation lead us into a fantasy world of sex and lust. For a lot of people it is the norm that is why the divorce rate is over 50% in a lot of countries.
The problem with fantasy is that it can never be satisfied. It grows and changes almost uncontrollably. It becomes a secret thought life that we have and we feel we have to hide it from those we care about. There is no room for it in a healthy marriage .A marriage is a sacred union between people and in the presence of God. The point at which you are married in God’s eyes is hard to know but when you have sexual intercourse with another person, there is an exchange on a spiritual level.
I personally was not a virgin when I got married and it is something I wish I could rectify BUT there is no taking your virginity back. One thing I have done, which I am proud of and has saved my marriage, is to reject any form of fantasy sex life. What my wife and I have is sacred and solely between us. You may think it is impossible to remain faithful in thought and action to your wife BUT I say it is completely necessary.
I made a choice one day and I have stuck to that choice. If I slip up, the first thing I do is tell my wife exactly what I have done. When you confess your sins, they have no power over you any more BUT when you hide them, they eat you from the inside out. Remember, the wages of sin is death.
Some practical things I have tried to beat the temptation of pornography and lust are:
1) Turn of the TV or change the channel when something even mildly pornographic comes on
2) I had a picture above my computer monitor of my daughter taken when she was still in the womb to remind me of where my loyalties lie.
3) Whenever I see an attractive woman or something tempting I used to say “ The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want “ recently I have changed to “ God is God “ and I will sometimes continue with “ God is God, my wife is a gift from God and I will not disgrace God.”
4) I have a good friend who I confess to and ask for prayer from when I am feeling tempted.
Most people don’t realize the dangers of a fantasy sex life and I certainly didn’t realize the benefits of living a pure, lust free life until I had tried it. There is nothing as satisfying as saying ‘I love you’ to someone and knowing that there is nothing ‘hiding in the closet’ or bouncing around in your head that you don’t want them to see.
Make the decision to break the chains that are put on you from masturbation and pornography. Don’t preempt failure by assuming you can’t do it. If you fall, pick yourself up and dust yourself off and give it another go. Things can only get better as you get better at resisting. There are some great books out there to help you like ‘Every Young Man’s Battle: Strategies for Victory in the Real World of Sexual Temptation’( and the whole series of Being God’s Man )
I guarantee you will be introduced into a whole new level of relationship if you succeed and it might just give you that edge to ensure that the devil doesn’t destroy your marriage and family.
God Bless You
Looking forward to hearing lots of support and testimonies for this one . Amen
Gefs's Weblog 
see, this is what i find difficult to understand about “christianity,” there is little room within it, all you have to do is look at the tags to see your attitude towards life. it seems that everything is a sin, every natural part of being human appears to be a sin in christianity, or maybe your translation of chrisitianity.
why say that “fantasy” cannot be satisfied? sure it can. there is more to fantasy than sexual fantasy, you have lumped fantasy under sex and that’s that. fantasy is good for humans, fantasy makes us human, if god didn’t intend on us having fantasies, then we’d not have imagination and the ability to think for ourselves. oh, but you can blame that part on the devil though, since mankind was corrupted by the devil in the garden of eden.
i suppose we blame the devil for everything, and people think its a valid excuse. not only do christians blame the devil for just about everytihing, so do the libertarians and the MODERN day humanist. everything has been corrupted, even christianity.
if the utilization of your little 1-4 things is supposed to keep you from the “sin” of sex and masturbation…of lustful feelings and desires, and if the christian way is supposed to keep us holy and seperate from sexual desires—then why are there so many priests in the catholic church that are fallen…that have committed the biggest sins that they can commit? if the catholic church demands their people to be chaste and not to have sex, then look what has happened to their own people over the past. or are these perverted priests (why never nuns?) just an abberation?
i find that people who rant on like you have here with this anti-masturbation and your anti-fantasy, anti-sex entry is a good reprsentation of a bogus christianity. it just tells others that the self-righteous believe that they are the right and everybody who disagrees is the wrong.
we are humans, we are what we are because god supposedly created us and if we were made in his image, then we are like him and he is like us. but of course, you can say we’re not like him, because the devil is here corrupting us. i believe that it is said that we are forgiven of our sins, because god sent jesus to “save us,” and all we have to do is ask forgiveness and believe in that forgiveness. what use was jesus’ death, if not for the fact that we are forgiven? sure you can come up with excuses and reasoning against me, but you know, i don’t care really.
i bet that this note will not make it past your moderation anyway…so, well, have a good one.
Thanks for your comment on my article about sex and masturbation. If you read my testimony, you will get a glimpse into my past. I have been through the wringer from when I left home at 14 and have left almost no stone unturned when it came to sin. I write the articles I do because I have discovered that there is a kind of freedom in living a good life. The guilt and problems caused when you do all those things ‘your not supposed to do’ lead to unhappiness.
There is ONE MISCONCEPTION that people seem to have about Christianity (even most churches in my humble) and that is that you have to DO something for God to love you. God loves you unconditionally. If you earnestly seek Him you will find Him. When you stand in His presence and feel completely unworthy, hopefully you will want to be a better person, he will help you on your journey. He has helped me and all I am trying to do is help a few others. If you think all this stuff is too radical, that’s your call. If you don’t want to have the empty feeling that most of us have when we have to wear masks in front of others, and even our self, give up the pretense, surrender to God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
God Bless You
Remember : There is nothing you can do to make Him love you less. It is never too late.
appreciate your reply. however it avoids what i said in my reply to you and simply goes into something else altogether.
actually nearly everything you said in your reply to my reply has nothing to do with what i said. indeed, what you said in yours, i’ve heard all my life and is nothing new at all. fact is, what you wrote in your reply is empty itself since there’s nothing there that is in a direct reply to what i wrote.
i don’t understand where you got the idea that i had a misconception of the church or the dogma or christianity…i have no idea where you got it that i alluded to the idea that you have to do something for god to love you…that goes to making me sound as if i am some poor slob who isn’t worthy of anything too…christianity is too radical? i never and will never believe that christianity is too radical, actually that’s funny.
now you are saying that i have an empty feeling? where does that come from? i have no empty feeling, sorry.
we all wear masks too, and you are no exception, just because you’re a christian, you wear a mask when you “think dirty” and then “do dirty” and have to go and confess to your wife. that is a mask.
besides, what purpose to “fear god?” why fear god? that makes no sense at all. what we should fear is outselves, what we should fear is evil, darkness and satan. to fear god is ludicrous and very old testiment, not new testiment. there is no longer a reason to fear god at all.
i don’t get it, “the fear of the lord is the begining of knowledge?” how is that possible? sorry, i don’t see that one at all. perhaps you should study the philosophy of saint anselm, his theology doesn’t make sense either, however it might be worth your time to read early catholic nonsense philosophy like his.
again, none of your reply had anything to do with my original note, in reply to your entry.
anyway, thanks for the reply and you take care of yourself too…
Hey M8,
I apologies if you feel I avoided answering your comment, I will have a better go in a minute. The fear I felt when I strongly felt the presence of God was the ‘unworthiness’ He allowed me to feel so that I would humble myself before Him.
I am definitely NO EXPERT on theology, I set myself a goal to read the bible from beginning to end about a year ago and am only up to Ezra. I do not write things on my blog because I claim to have all the answers or even be ‘enlightened’ about God, I merely find that when I write the way I do, it helps some people and some people connect with it in a way that they can respond positively and that helps me. (be assured I don’t see you as responding negatively, I like your directness and believe iron sharpens iron)
Thanks again for your reply, I’ll re-reply to your first comment soon. God Bless You, Gef
I will try to respond to your original comment a bit more comprehensively ‘oilfield0hippie’
YOU SAID = see, this is what i find difficult to understand about “christianity,” there is little room within it, all you have to do is look at the tags to see your attitude towards life. it seems that everything is a sin, every natural part of being human appears to be a sin in christianity, or maybe your translation of chrisitianity.
MY RESPONSE = I don’t think ‘every natural part of being human appears to be a sin’. We just don’t live a ‘natural’ life. The life we live is pumped up with sex, drugs and rock and roll. The temptations to do things which are not ‘natural’ are the everyday norm.
YOU SAID = why say that “fantasy” cannot be satisfied? sure it can. there is more to fantasy than sexual fantasy, you have lumped fantasy under sex and that’s that. fantasy is good for humans, fantasy makes us human, if god didn’t intend on us having fantasies, then we’d not have imagination and the ability to think for ourselves. oh, but you can blame that part on the devil though, since mankind was corrupted by the devil in the garden of eden.
MY RESPONSE = I was talking about sexual fantasy as that was the topic I was trying to address. Fantasy is dangerous because it is just that, fantasy. If you know God, you do not need fantasy. God is almighty and all powerful, therefore anything you desire, He can give to you. You may then say ” well I desire an orgy” God would not give that to you because it is sinful (would hurt you)
YOU SAID = i suppose we blame the devil for everything, and people think its a valid excuse. not only do christians blame the devil for just about everytihing, so do the libertarians and the MODERN day humanist. everything has been corrupted, even christianity.
MY RESPONSEThe ‘devil’ resides inside us in many ways. I heard an analogy once that illustrated it nicely for me,
‘Everyone has two forces inside them, like a good dog and a bad dog. The one that wins is the one you feed the most.’
YOU SAID = if the utilization of your little 1-4 things is supposed to keep you from the “sin” of sex and masturbation…of lustful feelings and desires, and if the christian way is supposed to keep us holy and seperate from sexual desires—then why are there so many priests in the catholic church that are fallen…that have committed the biggest sins that they can commit? if the catholic church demands their people to be chaste and not to have sex, then look what has happened to their own people over the past. or are these perverted priests (why never nuns?) just an abberation?
MY RESPONSE Firstly, I DON’T THINK SEX IS A SIN It is a gift from God BUT a gift to be used between married, heterosexual couples. Secondly, I do not particularly like the Catholic church as I see they place their clergy as a boundary between people and God. I think this goes back to the time when books were very expensive and people were illiterate. This meant that people would have to have God ‘interpreted’ for them as the only people with access to the bible were the clergy. I definitely don’t believe anyone should be celibate unless it is a desire they have to ‘fast’ so as to get closer to God and that is completely private and up to them. Lastly, as for the acts of anyone else, they will be dealt with by God, I don’t judge them as I myself am far from perfect. Really the last 🙂 My 4 step thing is just sharing something that has helped my. I know I NEVER thought I would quit smoking but I did. If I never thought I could quit smoking, quiting lustful thoughts and masterbation was in the realm of EXTREME IMPOSSIBLITY but I am getting pretty good at it. I can only credit Jesus and my hope in sharing the steps that helped me was to possibly offer some practical steps so that people don’t feel too daunted by the whole topic.
YOU SAID = i find that people who rant on like you have here with this anti-masturbation and your anti-fantasy, anti-sex entry is a good reprsentation of a bogus christianity. it just tells others that the self-righteous believe that they are the right and everybody who disagrees is the wrong.
we are humans, we are what we are because god supposedly created us and if we were made in his image, then we are like him and he is like us. but of course, you can say we’re not like him, because the devil is here corrupting us. i believe that it is said that we are forgiven of our sins, because god sent jesus to “save us,” and all we have to do is ask forgiveness and believe in that forgiveness. what use was jesus’ death, if not for the fact that we are forgiven? sure you can come up with excuses and reasoning against me, but you know, i don’t care really.
i bet that this note will not make it past your moderation anyway…so, well, have a good one.
MY RESPONSEI think if I have articulated myself well enough in my other posts, you will find that I believe almost exactly the same thing as you. One of my favorite verses is 2Peter 1:3-15
2 Peter 1:3-15 (Amplified Bible)
3For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [[a]full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).
4By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.
5For this very reason, [b]adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in [c]exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),
6And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),
7And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
8For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [[d]full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
9For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [[e]spiritually] shortsighted, [f]seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall.
11Thus there will be richly and abundantly provided for you entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12So I intend always to remind you about these things, although indeed you know them and are firm in the truth that [you] now [hold].
13I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle (tent, body), to stir you up by way of remembrance,
14Since I know that the laying aside of this body of mine will come speedily, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
15Moreover, I will diligently endeavor [to see to it] that [even] after my departure (decease) you may be able at all times to call these things to mind.
We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, none of us are perfect BUT we do need to make every effort to improve ourselves. Remember the story of the wedding, many were called, few were chosen. Just because you believe in Jesus doesn’t mean you can twist things to suit yourself. We will be called to answer for every action (word and thought) and at that time I will sob miserably because I am not worthy of perfect love. That is when I pray Jesus will vouch for me saying that He has seen the attitude of my heart and knows I want nothing more than to be right in His eyes.
I hope I have made a better go at answering your first comment m8, I apologies again for giving it the quick brush over and look forward to your future correspondence.
God Bless You
First it really relies on god to openn their minds first, then it is themselves that must open their hearts, unfortunately if there is constant misunderstanding there is nothing we can do for any individual unless they and God allows it. Unfortunate truth, we can pray for them for God to allow them to see more clearly but until God does we cannot dust. It is a Spiritual battle but We know who is the King of Kings and we must see His will first in order for us to ask His will in others.
God Bless you and all those within.
Hey deigratia,
Thanks for your comment. It is very true that we cannot do anything unless it is inline with God’s time and God’s plan. I love 1Corintians 1:18 -31
18For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.
19For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing.(A)
20Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world’s wisdom?
21For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).
22For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom,
23We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.
24But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
25[This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
26For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.
27[No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.
28And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,
29So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.
30But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].
31So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.
We cannot talk people into accepting Christ, and it is a good thing too because, If we could, someone else could talk them out of it. It is all done by the Holy Spirit and according to God’s will and plan. My goal with my blog is to strengthen people who are already in Christ and hopefully explain God and Christianity in a way the helps people who don’t know him let go of their preconceptions.
God Bless You deigratia and look forward to hearing more from you, Gef
Here is a meditation for oilfield0hippie :
Mathew 5:17 – 20 The Law of Moses
17Don’t suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. [e] I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. 18Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen. 19If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. 20You must obey God’s commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don’t, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
I agree with you that those who do not know Jesus or have not yet received their salvation should not feel hindered by the feelings and desires they consider natural. You do not have to do anything to receive your salvation except repent and accept God’s grace through His son Jesus Christ. We all need to repent as we were born sinners and there is nothing you can do to make yourself unworthy of His love. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Once you have received your salvation however, you are obliged to do as in 2Peter 1:3-15 and make an effort to be a better person. Finally, Jesus himself told us very clearly how we would be judged in Mathew 5, particularly the verses I have put above (17-20 ) I bring to mind once again the wedding banquet, many are called, few are chosen. I personally am going to do everything I can to ensure that I don’t waste a drop of that precious grace. I pray the same for you my friend.
God Bless You
First, this is to Gefs—thanks for the long, thoughtful reply to my second reply to you. It was really late when I first came here and being tired I decided to delay any kind of reply I might make. Now that it isn’t as late and is actually another day, I still have not fully read your reply. I will read it fully and reply, if I decide to, in my own blog.
Now this is to “deigratia”—an atypical, hypocrital reply, made by a self-righteous “christian.” You take it upon yourself to say that I don’t know god, and that you should pray for me. You say that it is up to god to open my mind? I don’t think so, fact is, I’ve never heard that one before. I am limited on my “book read” and/or educationally given “christian” dogma, I go on what I have learned from personal experiences, my past relations with “religious” people and so on. I take it that you beleive it is up to god to do things, to “open” my mind to god? That is ass backwards is it not? It is up to man to open their “minds” as you put it, to god, not the other way around. I was taught that god is always there, waiting for us to come to him, not the other way around, as you make it sound.
I don’t need to go to god, to have an open mind, I have been given the gift of an open mind from my own personal experiences. I am open to ANY philosophy around, be it chrisitian, jewish, taoist, buddhist, muslem or whatever else. I am a syncrinist (sp?) and though you and other self-righteous christians may say that it isn’t a belief or that I’m a loser because I “can’t come to god” or whatever else, I’d say go and study what one is, before you say or insult it.
I am not a christian, especially the kind you are, I am a spiritual person, I will not explain my beliefs here because I honor Gefs comment area, for this isn’t the place for debate, it is within our blogs, that is the place for debate.
However I had to come here and leave a comment to you—because you have made your shadowy innuendo towards me. Maybe other people have a “constant misunderstanding,” don’t generalize too much, based on my words. If you can’t see the philosophy within, then don’t make remarks that are stereotypical, when aimed at people who dissent from your views.
I would suggest that you take a bit and study the writings of Erasmus and Cicero, Erasmus was a genius, he was a “Christian” in the TRUTH fo what christianity is and his works are true lights within the darkness of the world, and within the darkness of “christianity.” Cicero might be a pre-Jesus, pre-christian philosopher, however even though he would never know Yahweh or Jahova…or “I AM”…or any of the unpolluted, undimiminished, untwisted god…he was a christian with his beliefs. I would suggest therefor that you read what a TRUE christian proclaims, read Erasmus, read Cicero, hell, even read Soren Kierkegaard.
It simply sounds, to me, from your reply that you aren’t a true christian, becaue of your very own words of spiritual condemnation…yet then again, I am never surprised by words such as yours, for they represent chrisitian thought, nowadays.
Good will to you, sir and hopefully one day your own mind will be truly opened up and you will be able to accept other people and their beliefs without condemnation.
Pax…
http://free0radicals.wordpress.com/
Hey M8,
I am not sure if I grasp syncronist theology or even the concept but let me have a go. From the moment we are born, every event is shaping who we are. Our understanding or awareness of what is happening is determined by our ability to recognize that everything that happens to us is predestined. At each and every moment of our lives, we are faced with opportunities. If we are sensitive or aware of the opportunities being presented to us, we can make ‘informed or correct’ choices and our path continues to be unfolded ?
Forgive me if my vocabulary if not the norm for your beliefs, I didn’t go and read your suggested reading. However, I recall a moment when I was packing my Volkswagen campervan, ready to leave for Byron Bay in Australia, with the sun on my shoulders and peace in my heart. The world was my oyster after feeling ‘enlightened’ by James Redfield’s books. I practiced being ‘intune’ to the syncronosity of life and it made my life 1,000 times more enjoyable.
While I was there packing my combi, some mormons came up to me and tried to get me to read the bible and accept Jesus. They made the comment that everyone needs to read the bible and I replied that I would read the bible if they read The Celestine Prophecy. They declined saying that there was only one book they needed. I then declined saying that there were many books I needed but the bible was not one of them.
Not so many years down the track I see that everyone experiences God. Athiests, Buddhists, Muslims, children, everyone. Every person will stand, face to face with God when they die and He will judge them. At that point, I know what my response will be.
God Bless You M8
‘Good is good all the time, all the time, good is good’ Amen
P.S Looking forward to you response to my earlier comment and further correspondence.
Hi,
I totatally disagree with you. We should change our thinking wit time as scintific reasearches have proved that masterbation is useful and not harmful for us.You are trying to preach what old scruptures have taught but perhaps you will appreciate that since than men have advanced his knowledge manyfold and we should become adaptable to change.
Tell me what is wrong in a sex fantasy. Is it not relieve a person from his mental stress and hence restrains him/her to take physical action . If a man do fantasy sex with his wife thinking of some other woman,chances are he will feel satisfied and will not try for actual sex.Same is case of masterbation which restrains aboy/girl to go for physical sex before marriage and even after marriage it avoids adultery by spouse in case both of them are not staying together for a long period.
I agree that if you are going to kill someone and you dedide to punch them instead it is a good thing. However, punching people is still not good. I don’t believe there is any physical problem with masturbation but I do believe their is a spiritual and psychological problem.
There is an amazing sense of freedom in being completely true to your spouse. To be able to say ‘I love you’ and know that you put that person before your own desires.
On the other hand, if you have created a secluded area in your mind, a ‘fantasy zone’, there is room for your thoughts and desires to wander unchecked.
My thought is ‘would you be happy for Jesus Christ, your Lord and saviour to see what goes on in your fantasies ?’
Relieving stress and desires is not a valid reason. We are called to live in the spirit and to work to live righteous lives. I don’t base my reasoning on ‘old scriptures’ but on my desire to live a life that brings God glory and honor. I’m not perfect but I try not to waste His grace.
God Bless You, Gef
Ephesians 5
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Gef,
Thanks for stepping up!
May our Lord richly bless you!