SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2019
11:31 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The Perversion”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesian
5:3-4
Message of the verses: “3 But immorality
or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among
saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse
jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” “3 But as for sexual immorality in all its
forms, and the itch to get your hands on what belongs to other people—don’t
even talk about such things; they are no fit subjects for Christians to talk
about. 4 The key-note of your conversation should not be coarseness or
silliness or flippancy—which are quite out of place, but a sense of all that we
owe to God” (Phillips). “3 Don’t allow
love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity,
filthy practices, or bullying greed. 4 Though some tongues just love the taste
of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty
or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect”
(Message).
I
thought that as we first begin this rather long section, probably at least five
to six SD’s on this subject, that I would give you some different types of
Bible paraphrase’s like the Phillips and the Message in order to help us better
understand this important section.
Let
us first of all think about some wonderful things that God has designed for
humans, thinks like true love, and perhaps eating, and I am sure that there are
other wholesome things we could talk about.
Satan will take these things like true love or eating and will establish
something counterfeit to go along with God’s good things. Satan produces counterfeit love to go along
with true love, and having people over eat to go along with what God designed
for our diets.
MacArthur
writes “In contrast to godly, unselfish, forgiving love, the world’s love is
lustful and self-indulgent. It loves
because the object of love is attractive, enjoyable, pleasant, satisfying,
appreciative, love in return, produces desired feelings, or likely to repay in
some way. It is always based on the
other person’s fulfilling one’s own needs and desires and meeting one’s own
needs and desires and meeting one’s own expectations. Worldly love is reciprocal, giving little in
the expectation of getting much.
Speaking of the kind of love, Jesus said, ‘For if you love those who
love you, what reward have you? Do not
even the tax-gatherers do the same?’ (Matt. 5:46).”
It
is true that the world claims to really want love, but the kind of love the
world wants is advocated and praised from every corner. It wants romantic love and so we hear songs,
and books, and movies, along with TV serials that continually exploit emotional,
lustful desire as it were really genuine love, but this is not the case, as it
is the fake kind of news that Satan is behind.
This
kind of misguided type of fake love causes many bad things to happen, things
like immorality and impurity, and the reason is that this kind of “love” is
selfish and also destructive, which is a counterfeit of God’s love.
We
will look at what MacArthur describes of the word used for immorality as seen
in the NASB95 version as we end this SD.
“Pormeia (Immorality) refers
to all sexual sin, and all sexual sin is against godly love. It is the antonym of enkrateia, which refers to self-control, especially in the area of
sex. When Paul spoke before Felix and
his wife Drusilla, ‘discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to
come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I
find time, I will summon you’ (Acts 24:24-25).
Felix had stolen Drusilla from her former husband and was therefore
living with her in an adulterous relationship.
The sexual self-control to the governor was that he was living contrary
to God’s righteousness by refusing to discipline his sexual desire, and for
that he was subject to God’s judgment.”
Lord
willing we will look at more of the Greek words and definitions in our next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Before I became a believer and was working as
an hourly employee there was a man, and I know now a worldly man, who when
talking about sexual relationships stated that “if God made anything better
that He kept it for Himself.” For a long
time I totally agreed with him, but then after I became a believer I learned
that God did make things better and that He did not keep it for Himself, but
gave it to me and that would be salvation.
Sexual sin is very powerful.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Humility is something that I continue to
desire to learn more about, and for God to teach me more about. True love, God’s love involves humility as
seen in Philippians 2:5-11. It is my
desire for God to increase my capability to love others as Christ loves me, and
in do this will be part of my continuing desire for humility.
Verse to go along with yesterday’s quote
is from Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart
of wisdom.”
5/27/2019 12:15 PM
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