September 2022 - Make No Provision

Aim for the Prevention, Not the Cure | Ephesians 5:18

by Alan Sharpe September 30, 2022

If porn is a habit with you, be encouraged to know that you can replace it with a healthier habit.

by Alan Sharpe September 30, 2022

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18

How do you quit porn? Do you quit porn by quitting porn? Do you avoid starchy food by avoiding starchy food? Do you exercise more often by exercising more?

One of the keys to abstaining from pornography is developing healthy habits to replace this wicked one. You avoid porn by doing something else. This is what Paul has in mind when he tells you and me to avoid getting drunk by being filled with the Spirit. You avoid the one by doing the other. You quit porn by doing something else.

But this is where plenty of brothers fail. They find a healthy substitute for their sexual immorality, and purpose to do the one instead of the other. But they fix their eyes on the finish line and not on the starting blocks. They fix theirs eyes on the cure and not on the prevention. Let me show you what I mean.

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Sanctification

“Be holy—but don’t make a Christ of it.” || Robert Murray McCheyne

by Alan Sharpe September 30, 2022

Self-righteousness is the largest idol of the human heart—yet the idol which man loves most and God hates most.

by Alan Sharpe September 30, 2022

Self-righteousness is the largest idol of the human heart—yet the idol which man loves most and God hates most. Dearly beloved, you will always be going back to this idol. You are always trying to be something in yourself, to gain God’s favor by thinking little of your sin, or by looking to your repentance, tears, prayers; or by looking to your religious exercises, your frames, etc; or by looking to your graces, the Spirit’s work in your heart. Beware of false Christs. Strive to be holy—but do not make a Christ of it.

Robert Murray McCheyne

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Consecration

“Don’t imagine yourself something when you are nothing.” || Walter Hilton

by Alan Sharpe September 29, 2022

Be careful to avoid this, and devote yourself inwardly to His likeness by humility, charity, and other spiritual virtues.

by Alan Sharpe September 29, 2022

Any man or woman who neglects to maintain inward vigilance, and only makes an outward show of holiness in dress, speech, and behavior, is a wretched creature. For they watch the doings of other people and criticize their faults, imagining themselves to be something when in reality they are nothing. In this way they deceive themselves. Be careful to avoid this, and devote yourself inwardly to His likeness by humility, charity, and other spiritual virtues. In this way you will be truly converted to God.

Excerpted from The Scale of Perfection by Walter Hilton. Public domain.

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Obedience

“Was Judas a better Christian for crying, ‘Hail, Master?’” || William Penn

by Alan Sharpe September 25, 2022

With Judas, they call Him Master, but take part with the evil of the world to betray Him.

by Alan Sharpe September 25, 2022

conflict between two men, life attempt, surreal concept

Sin is of one nature all the world over; for though a liar is not a drunkard, nor a swearer a whoremonger, nor are either properly a murderer, yet they are all of one church, all branches of the one wicked root, all of one family. They have but one father, the devil, as Christ said to the professing Jews, the visible church of that age. He slighted their pretensions to Abraham and Moses, and plainly told them, “He that committed sin, was the servant of sin.”

They did the devil’s works, and therefore were the devil’s children. This argument will always hold upon the same reasons, and therefore is good still. “His servants you are,” says Paul, “whom you obey.” And John says to the church of old, “Let no man deceive you, he that commits sin is of the devil.” Was Judas a better Christian for crying, “Hail, master!” and kissing Christ? By no means!

These words were the signal of his treachery, the token given by which the bloody Jews should know and take Him. He called Him Master, but betrayed Him. He

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Lust

“Always God is trying to get our attention.” || A. W. Tozer

by Alan Sharpe September 21, 2022

The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no strange or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

by Alan Sharpe September 21, 2022

man standing in front an open lightened door in the dark

What God in His sovereignty may yet do on a world-scale I do not claim to know: but what He will do for the plain man or woman who seeks His face I believe I do know and can tell others. Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days.

Any man who by repentance and a sincere return to God will break himself out of the mold in which he has been held, and will go to the Bible itself for his spiritual standards, will be delighted with what he finds there.

Let us say it again: The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no strange or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose love has for these thousands of years enfolded the sinful race of men. And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to commun

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Prevention

“Use prayer as your first line of defense.” || Oswald Chambers

by Alan Sharpe September 17, 2022

We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.

by Alan Sharpe September 17, 2022

solitary man walking in the dark night toward light

We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don’t want to wait for God to resolve matters in His good time because His idea of ‘good time’ is seldom in sync with ours.

Excerpted from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

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Consecration

“Alive with the very life of God.” || Samuel Logan Brengle

by Alan Sharpe September 13, 2022

The transformation wrought in men by the baptism with the Holy Ghost, and the power that fills them, are amazing beyond measure.

by Alan Sharpe September 13, 2022

This was the inaugural day of the Church of God [Pentecost]: the dawn of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; the beginning of the days of power. In the morning of that day there were only a few Christians in the world; the New Testament was not written, and it is doubtful if they had among them all a copy of the Old Testament; they had no church buildings, no colleges, no religious books and papers; they were poor and despised, unlearned and ignorant; but before night they had enrolled three thousand converts from among those who, a few weeks before, had crucified their Lord, and they had aroused and filled all Jerusalem with questionings and amazement.

What was the secret? Power. What was the secret? God the Holy Ghost. He had come, and this work was His work, and they were His instruments.

When Jesus came, a body was prepared for Him (Hebrews x. 5), and through that body He wrought His wondrous works; but when the other Comforter comes, He takes possession of those bodies that are freely and fully presented to Hi

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Consecration

“Love is a willful stirring of our thoughts unto God.” || Richard Rolle

by Alan Sharpe September 9, 2022

The commandment of God is that we love Our Lord in all our heart, in all our soul, in all our thought.

by Alan Sharpe September 9, 2022

think outside the box, surreal concept of a clouds getting out of a poster

The commandment of God is that we love Our Lord in all our heart, in all our soul, in all our thought. In all our heart; that is, in all our understanding without erring. In all our soul; that is, in all our will without gainsaying. In all our thought; that is, that we think on Him without forgetting. In this manner is very love and true, that is work of man’s will. For love is a willful stirring of our thoughts unto God, so that it receive nothing that is against the love of Jesus Christ, and therewith that it be lasting in sweetness of devotion; and that is the perfection of this life.

Richard Rolle.

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Temptation

Quit Porn One Day at a Time | Hebrews 3:15

by Alan Sharpe September 7, 2022

No matter how strong the urges are, regardless of how powerful the temptation is to sin sexually, you can abstain from sexual immorality today.

by Alan Sharpe September 7, 2022

Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
Hebrews 3:15

One of the challenges of quitting pornography is that you have a past that shames you and a future that terrifies you. If you are like many Christian men, you have a history of looking at sexually explicit images and videos in secret. The remorse and guilt you carry for your past behavior is immense. And, again, if you are like many of your brothers in the Lord who struggle in this area, you cannot imagine a future where you are free from your bondage. The grip of porn seems too hard to beak. So, your past looks bad, and your future looks bleak.

But take courage with this thought: you don’t have to quit porn for good, just for today. Naturally, you want victory over your sexual sin to last, but the way to achieve your goal is to work only on today. Take your eyes off tomorrow, and next month, and next year. Fix

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Quiz

Quiz: 2 Peter 1:3

by Alan Sharpe September 6, 2022

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.
2 Peter 1:3

Questions

Who has given to us all things?
What is the purpose of these things that God has given us?
What accompanies these things?
Are these “all things that pertain to life and godliness,” ours automatically at conversion?
How do we avail ourselves of this divine power and these enablements?
Has God made available to you all that you need to live a godly life?
Do you need to look anywhere other than the Bible, or to anyone other than Christ, for the divine power you need to abstain from porn and masturbation?

Answers

God.
The purpose of these things that God has given us is life and godliness.
God’s divine power.
No.

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Red Letters

“Repent, Because” | Matthew 4:17

by Alan Sharpe September 5, 2022

If you repent today because a sexual sin has broken your fellowship with God, set your eyes on the future. Repent because the kingdom of God is at hand.

by Alan Sharpe September 5, 2022

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:17

When you turned to Jesus for salvation, which direction were you looking? You likely had your eyes fixed on your past. You looked back at your history of sinning against the Lord, and repented of it. Your goal was to leave your past behind you. That’s what repentance is all about—a fresh start, one that begins with a new way of thinking. Biblical repentance, after all, is literally a change of mind. To repent means to think differently, to reconsider one’s thoughts and beliefs. In view is a 180-degree turn away from sin towards the Savior.

But the motivation for repentance isn’t only your past, is it? When Jesus started His earthly ministry, He commanded men and women to repent because of the future. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” He said. In other words, have a change of mind because something glorious is comi

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Prevention

“Satan took advantage of his self-confidence.” || R. A. Torrey

by Alan Sharpe September 5, 2022

I found it safer at the close of each day not to be too confident that there had been no failures nor defeats that day, but to go alone with God and ask Him to search my heart.

by Alan Sharpe September 5, 2022

I once knew a man who seemed to make extraordinary strides in the Christian life. He became a teacher of others and was greatly blessed to thousands. It seemed to me that he was becoming self-confident and I trembled for him. I invited him to my room and we had a long heart to heart conversation. I told him frankly that it seemed as if he were going perilously near exceedingly dangerous ground. I said that I found it safer at the close of each day not to be too confident that there had been no failures nor defeats that day but to go alone with God and ask Him to search my heart and show me if there was anything in my outward or inward life that was displeasing to Him, and that very often failures were brought to light that must be confessed as sin.

“No,” he replied, “I do not need to do that. Even if I should do something wrong, I would see it at once. I keep very short accounts with God, and I would confess it at once.” I said it seemed to me as if it would be safer to take time alone with God for God to search us through and through, that while we migh

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Prevention

10 Things I’ve Learned After 10 Months Porn Free

by Alan Sharpe September 4, 2022

I looked at pornography for the last time on November 4, 2021. Here I am, 10 months later, with some lessons I’ve learned along my journey.

by Alan Sharpe September 4, 2022

I looked at pornography for the last time on November 4, 2021. I remember the date because that is the day I started this daily devotional. My goal was to help Christian men (and myself) abstain from pornography biblically. Here I am, 10 months later, and I have not looked at any pornography since then, and neither have I masturbated. Here are some lessons I’ve learned along my journey.

Pastors don’t want to address the issue of porn
Some pastors and church elders refuse to address the issue of pornography or masturbation from the pulpit or in private in any meaningful way with brothers in the congregation.
Temptation can come anytime, anywhere
A few days ago I visited a beach on a remote lake in Northern Saskatchewan. I was the only person on the beach. I suddenly experienced a strong temptation to take matters into my own hands, as it were. I was surprised at the suddenness of the urge, and that it struck in such an odd place. I resisted it nevertheless.
I don’t feel it if I don’t feed
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Lust
The Secret to Quitting Porn? | 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

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by Alan Sharpe September 3, 2022

You can be free of sexual immorality without spending a dime. Look to God alone. Seek Him as your strength, your motivation, your reason for staying sexually pure.

by Alan Sharpe September 3, 2022

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Want to know the secret to quitting porn? You don’t have to join a 12-step program. You don’t have to understand the limbic survival brain. There’s no need to complete a Sexual Dependency Inventory with a sex addiction counsellor ($695). And there’s no need to go through 12 month’s of clinical counselling ($9,000).

The remedy for your compulsive use of pornography and masturbation isn’t found in a book, or in a course, or across the couch f
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Consecration
“I will surely cleave by my sweet Saviour.” || Martin Luther

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by Alan Sharpe September 1, 2022

I know full well and have found what the name of Jesus had done for me.

by Alan Sharpe September 1, 2022

Out of my own experience, I am able to witness that Jesus Christ is true God; I know full well and have found what the name of Jesus had done for me. I have often been so near death that I thought verily now must I die, because I teach His Word to the wicked world, and acknowledge Him; but always He mercifully put life into me, refreshed and comforted me. Therefore, let us use diligence only to keep Him, and then all is safe, although the devil were ever so wicked and crafty, and the world ever so evil and false. Let whatsoever will or can befall me. I will surely cleave by my sweet Saviour Christ Jesus, for in Him am I baptized; I can neither do nor know anything but only what He has taught me.

Excerpted from Table Talk by Martin Luther. Public domain.

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