Nothing can be worse than seeing a guy running around naked. This isn’t a frat initiation. John Mark’s record tells of a guy who was insane, naked, violent, strong, dirty, yelling, and worst— night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. (Mk.5:5)
This guy’s demonized.
At the time of his death through the electric chair, Ted Bundy has been considered as one of the most high profile criminals in America. He was responsible for assaulting and murdering not less than 30 girls and ladies before finally being convicted in 1989.
Google his photo and he wouldn’t appear to be the holder of such horrifying resume. In fact, in an interview a couple of hours before his death he revealed that he grew up in a nice Christian home. There were no Dad and Mom fights and there was a tightly knit relationship among siblings. He was not a ghetto guy. He was not weird. He was normal, very normal. And Christian.
Asked as to how and why the spill happened in his life? His answer: Porn.
Pornography at age 12. Thanks to the neighborhood magazines left in trash cans and friends who shared the hardcore passion.
A couple of years after his hook up with porn, Bundy started what was to be America’s nightmare. Wiki it.
I wish to tell you that previously kids are exposed to sensuality at the age of 12. But nowadays, a man’s honor to a woman is already ravaged at the age of 5! Porn is a killer. Why? Because it results to masturbation to fulfill the fantasies ingested upon viewing such film. It then erodes a man’s view of a woman, thus the Bible is clear that if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he sins against her. And during Jesus’ time mind you, women were covered all over and the porn industry wasn’t born yet. That tells me that for me personally I shouldn’t depend on film categorization to make my judgment on a film because GPs doesn’t necessarily mean it is void of sensual acts at all.
The demise in the moral fabric of our generation is too great to be ignored. Pornography is a real issue that plunders a lot of young men and even women in our time. In Mark Driscoll’s words, some are even Porn Again.
Look at these statistics:
The number of internet child porn images has increased 1500% since 1988. Porn industry revenue in the US is at $13.3 Billion. There are 4.3 million porn sites now which makes up 12 % of total websites. Search engine request for porn is 68 million a day. Internet users who view porn are up to 42%.
The Bible tells us to flee from sexual immorality. Job says that he made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman. Pornography is a striking blow, but it is not something that we cannot conquer. God has called us to abstain from sins that war against our souls. There are countless of practical ways at which we can personally counter porn: accountability, x3 watch, and so on. But as much any of those help, this battle is a spiritual one. Reading the scriptures and understanding who God is will inculcate in us the fear of the Lord. Understanding His gospel and having a close relationship with Jesus will keep us from pitfalls as we walk closely with him. Understanding our position before God as his children may help us think twice of squandering our bloodline.
Porn is a man’s lazy way of wanting his sexual drive fulfilled. Stop masturbating. Your spouse or future spouse don’t deserve a jerker hiding behind the counters. Get a ring and marry your woman and enjoy God’s gift of sex.
If you are reading this and you are a porn addict, there is a way out of that pit. Jesus can rescue you from that devastating addiction. He will clothe you anew and lavish you with His mercy and grace as you repent from it. He promises you a scarlet to white spirit.
I am speaking tomorrow at the Every Nation School of Campus Ministry in Manila. So much to say, but I finally narrowed it down to the 10 things you must know in order to succeed in campus ministry long term. Here they are:
1. You must know that God loves you & accepts you because of who he is & what he did for you, not because of who you are & what you do for him.
2. You must know that God called you to do campus ministry, no matter what other opportunities are offered.
3. You must know that God will provide.
4. You must know that the gospel is the power of God for salvation, otherwise you will resort to all kinds of goofy & powerless ministry gimmicks designed to attract people to meetings.
5. You must know how to forgive. The longer you do ministry, the more opportunities you will have to practice this one.
6. Because you will face endless needs & countless open doors, you must know how & when to say NO. Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. Focus is necessary for success.
7. You must know how to ENGAGE your culture & community. You had to know that one was coming, and the next three also…
8. You must know how to ESTABLISH biblical foundations, or your disciples will be temporary.
9. You must know how to EQUIP believers to minister, or you will end up doing all the ministry, resulting in either burn out or very little fruit.
10. You must know how to EMPOWER disciples to make disciples, because that is the whole point of being a campus missionary.
In summary: honor God & make disciples
Gospel writer Luke notes in his book an instance wherein Jesus has shown his affinity with little kids.
Luke 18
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17”
Let the children come to me.
It is sad to note that the guys responsible for hindering the kids to get close to him were his very disciples. I wonder how frustrating could that be. There may be several ways we are hindering children from experiencing Jesus. One thing is clear-Jesus is not just adult stuff. Jesus wants them and so we are not in any way warranted to hinder them.
I just had a meeting with key leaders in our Kids Ministry. We have reminded ourselves of the crucial role of the Kids Ministry. We are facilitators of these kids’ growth in their knowledge and love for Jesus. And by no means are giving less effort for such a big investment. As teachers love to declare, Whatever it takes!
Why the campus?
70 % of our generation is below 30 years of age.
The fact presented in the diminishing age of salvation says 19 out of 20 who become Christians do so before they reach the age of 25.
50 % of our nation’s population is under 20 years of age, 30 % are under 30.
The composite of youth in our nation shows that 10% are out of school, 25% are ‘ruined’, while 65% are in the campuses.
Should we reach the campuses? I’d be silly to say no.
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