Question of the Week: How do we deal with having sinful thoughts?

Martin Luther once observed that you can’t prevent the birds from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from making a nest in your hair. He applied this illustration to temptation with two key passages in mind. Romans 13:14 gives us both a defensive and offensive means of combating temptation internally as well as externally. First, make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by having things in your life that you know you’ll struggle with. Practical steps in avoiding these are what’s referred to as amputation. If you struggle with pornography, get a filter on your computer/phone or remove them entirely. If you struggle with gambling or drinking, put your finances in the hands of a spouse or roommate. The examples aren’t easy to act on, but simple to identify. These efforts in cutting off negative input will show fruit in time. However, you can have no means of acting on sin and still have a sinful heart. Which is where the first point Paul made comes into play. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. An active pursuit of God is the most offensive effort you can make towards sin and darkness in your heart. Don’t just curse the dark. Pursue the light. Which is what brings us to the second passage. James 5:16 encourages accountability among believers that struggle in similar ways. Find someone who has been through the same struggles you have and talk to them face to face about the problems you’re having. Prayer and confession aren’t rituals to be performed with the permission of a priest. It is something God’s word emphasizes to be done among believers. Just make sure of three key things. If your struggles are sexual, don’t meet with someone of the gender your flesh is objectifying. That will merely be another provision for your flesh rather than a solution. If you’re looking for an accountability partner, don’t just pick someone who is just as young and frail in the faith as you are. Find someone who has seen victory in the areas you’re in bondage to and that you can look up to spiritually. And if you choose an accountability partner, make sure that the areas they are still struggling with aren’t going to cause both of you more problems then your meetings are attempting to solve. If you are going to trust someone with anything, make sure they are worthy of that trust.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

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Question of the Week: If witchcraft is a sin, would watching movies or reading books involving witchcraft also be sinful?

People who support this kind of approach to scripture usually cite Romans 1:32 for biblical support. And while they do have a point in that approving of those that practice a particular sin reflects a heart just as in conflict with God as those practicing it themselves, we need to be careful we’re properly defining what that sin actually is. The biblical word for witchcraft is pharmacea in both the Old Testament Septuagint and early Greek copies of the New Testament. We get our term pharmacy from it in reference to drugs and medicine. The abuse of these substances in pursuit of “spiritual experiences” is what the passages are referring to when condemning and even claiming capital punishment is due towards those that practiced these things in Israel. In context, it isn’t hard to see why drug abuse is sinful and why promoting and dealing drugs would be something Israel’s government was told to strictly prohibit. The question then is how this relates to modern witches and warlocks that are portrayed with supernatural powers, but in reality are more comparable to adherents of New Age philosophy. It certainly can be stumbling for people to hear false doctrine if they’re not prepared to show where and why it falls short of reality. But when it comes to movies, it defaults to Romans 14:14-23. If it is nothing more than an illustrative story to you, then it’s no more sinful to watch Chronicles of Narnia as it would be Harry Potter. If you personally don’t like the association with modern understandings of witches and warlocks having more power than they actually have through their chants and rituals, then you’d be better off avoiding things that stumble you on a person-by-person basis. Don’t condemn the people who watch the films and read the books with a clear conscience. And don’t condemn the people who avoid them for the sake of their conscience.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

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Question of the Week: Does God have knowledge of our prayers before we pray them?

The purpose of prayer isn’t to change the mind of God. It’s to change our hearts to be like God’s. The foundation of any relationship is communication. The sharing of the heart between us and God was modeled by Jesus as He continued His eternal relationship with the Father during His earthly ministry. Even in His most desperate moment, He prefaced His prayer to the Father with “Not my will, but your will be done.” With this all in mind, God hears our prayers. He enjoys hearing from us. The goal and focus isn’t to get your wishes granted, but to spend that time with Him. The more time you spend focusing on the Holy Trinity; Father, Son, and Spirit, the less time you spend focusing on yourself. Likewise, God also knows what is best for us. If we prayed something foolish, or in this context, too late, God already had the issue handled. The purpose wasn’t to alter His purposes, but to align your heart with His purposes. The Bible also acknowledges that we don’t know how to pray in the way we ought to. That is a role the Holy Spirit has covered in our hearts. Romans 8:26 Even when we’re late in our prayers, God wasn’t unaware of those issues while they were happening. Even when we’re deficient in our prayers, He has the situation well in hand. Even when we don’t pray, the Holy Spirit is praying for us.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4HFollow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.