Purity For Life

This question from our interview with Glenn and Jessie Meldrum didn't quite fit the rest of our theme for episode #402 World of Lies: A Gospel of Lies. But in this short discussion, they offer keen insights on prayer and Bible reading that will help anyone seeking to Walk in the Truth, especially new believers.

Scripture tells us that the last days are characterized by deception on a global scale. But Jesus and the apostles didn’t primarily warn us about deception that would come from the world. The main thing they were concerned about was the deception that would assault Christians from inside the church.  And any serious student of Scripture will quickly conclude that our modern church is filled with messages that match the description of these lies which the apostles spoke of. Part six of our current series, World of Lies, discusses why Christians must have discernment in order to overcome the deception seeking to cripple their faith.   If you would like more information about Steve Gallagher’s book, Walking in Truth in a World of Lies, visit www.aworldoflies.org .   And, if you’d like to learn more about Glenn and Jessie Meldrum’s ministry, In His Presence Ministries, visit www.ihpministry.com . You can also check out Glenn’s podcast, The Radical Truth Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.

Our desires shape us and dictate our decisions, and one of the strongest desires inside every human is the desire for knowledge. The 21st century has given us an unprecedented ability to indulge this hunger, to the point that we have access to an almost limitless amount of information. On the surface, this abundance of information seems to make limitless progress attainable for us. But it also comes with a price, especially since most of it comes from a world of lies. Today we tackle three areas that cater to this deception: mass media, the internet, and pornography.

America has often been called the greatest nation on earth, founded on the belief that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are God-given rights for all. But what has been the outcome and the fruit of such noble-sounding ideals? Today many believe things like, "I deserve everything I want;" "my version of the truth is obviously right;" "the government exists to serve me;" "no one can judge me." How could the ideals of our founding devolve into such selfishness and pride? In this episode, we discuss how the lies of the academic, business, and political realms have helped form us into The United States of Deception.

We must know what the truth is if we are going to be able to avoid drowning in deception. A great portion of our culture believes that there there is no such thing as absolute truth--so we can't turn there. But could it be that turning to the American Church to find the truth is potentially just as dangerous as turning to the world? In part three of our series, World of Lies, we ask the tough question, “Is what much of the church culture sees as truth actually just more deception?”

The biblical writers characterized the last days as deception on a massive scale, a global assault on truth that would deceive not only the unbelieving world, but multitudes inside the four walls of the Church. And it seems clear that we are now living in the very last of those days they spoke of. If that’s true, then there is one thing we know for sure. We are being lied to every day, all day, in many different ways. Today we look at the truth about deception: what it is, how it works, and why people are deceived.

Our newest series, World of Lies, will examine the growing deception of these last days and the threat this is to the body of Christ. Today we tackle the unexpected danger that threatens a person who is constantly bombarded with lies, which often grows quietly to slowly erode our lives in God. We look at how our culture is sewing this into us. And, our director of counseling, Ed Buch, joins us as well, to talk about how this concealed threat is a common problem for the man stuck in sexual sin.

Shawn grew up in a decent Christian home. But his teenage life was marked by rebellion, pride, and sexual sin. In college, he had dropped the Christian façade completely—unless it got him something he wanted. So when he met Susan, he used that Christian mask to win her heart. They got married, and things went alright for a while, until his double life was exposed. But God was faithful. Through Pure Life, God worked in their hearts during the most difficult period of their lives. Today they not only have a joyful marriage, but a passionate love for Jesus.

Anyone who has been in sexual sin for a long time, has had to keep their private lives covered with a lot of lies. They have lied to their families and friends. They have lied to their churches, pretending that everything is okay with them spiritually. They also lie to themselves, saying that God understands, that the rules don’t apply to them. But the worst lie they have told is to Jesus. They say they love him and are following him, but they refuse to follow His commands. In this episode, we discuss the false religion that tempts all of us.

It’s easy to get discouraged if you’ve been stuck in sexual sin a long time. You may really want to stop, but you’ve tried everything you can think of to get free and yet, nothing works. Maybe you’re thinking, “This is hopeless. I’ll never be free.” If you’ve been thinking along these lines, you’ve fallen prey to self-pity, just another one of Satan’s schemes to keep people away from true repentance, faith and salvation. It’s an easy trap to fall into. In this episode, we look at how to know if you’re in self-pity, how to avoid it, and how to get out of it.

Dating in America is almost exclusively driven by an obsession with personal happiness and getting what we want. It’s clear that these ideas do not line up with Scripture. As Christians, we must be radically different from the world when we approach romantic relationships. Obviously, we must abstain from sex before marriage, but it goes much deeper than that. Today we look at how Christians should seek, not only to find a good spouse, but to please God in this whole process, so that their relationships honor God and reveal that He is trustworthy in all things.

Being betrayed by someone you love brings indescribable pain. When David was betrayed, he cried out, “Fear and trembling grip me. Horror has overwhelmed me.” The betrayed wife knows these emotions well and Kathy Gallagher has been there herself. She has used that experience to minister to thousands of wives, so that rather than being destroyed by pain, they are drawn closer to the Savior and Lover of their souls. In this week’s episode, Kathy helps us understand how to deal with painful emotions biblically, and how to allow God to have His rightful place in our hearts.

When a Christian parent finds out that their child has been looking at pornography, they are often thrown into a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Where did we go wrong? Why would my child do such a thing? How will we ever recover from this? If the Lord has allowed you as a parent to discover your child viewing porn, don’t despair. There are clear answers to your questions, and there is a path forward. There are basic spiritual principles that will help you find the right mindset to guide your child into victory in the battle for sexual purity.

Jesus taught that anyone who would save his life must first lose it, and He demonstrated this by laying His own life down at Calvary. But today, the gospel being preached looks very different, promising life to everyone without requiring them to follow Jesus’ example. This false gospel wants the resurrection, but no Cross. So, many in the church are unaware of what it really means to follow Jesus example. They are still the master of their own lives and bear no resemblance to Christ.

The Bible says, “The Message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” Could it be that multitudes of professing Christians are trapped in sexual sin because they have rejected The Message of the Cross, and thus have been denied its power? Today we continue to discuss The Message of the Cross, and why it is so important to realize the depth of our sinful condition before a holy God. Without it, we are devoid of strength to turn from our sins, strangers to the true power of God.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” This is The Message of the Cross, and it stands against the message of our culture which teaches us to pursue what we want, when we want it, how we want it. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus must be willing to die to this self-centered mindset. But amazingly, as we surrender to the way of the Cross, we are deeply transformed. Today we look at how The Message of the Cross demands the death of our self-lives.

Most church leaders today would condemn pornography use as wrong, but are they also warning their churches about entertainment? And they would show great concern if a church member spent their time and money pursuing drugs and sex, but what if they were just obsessed with being happy? In this episode we look at the spiritual danger of spending your life pursuing pleasure. Our 30 plus years of ministry, have revealed that the pursuit of pleasure, comfort and happiness leads many men into sexual sin. But we’ve also seen that when the lust for pleasure is overcome, sexual sin’s hold will be broken.

The Apostle Paul said that the mind set on The Spirit is life and peace, but the mind set on the flesh is death. Sexual sin is not a disease - it is the fruit of a mind set on the flesh. But there is hope, because Paul gave us a solution: If by The Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. But how do we actually do this? In this episode we'll look at what it really means to set our minds on The Spirit so that our heart and lives will change.

Being needy is not a popular idea today. Our culture values self-confidence, self-reliance and self-satisfaction. Unfortunately, these values often put on a religious mask and sneak into the church in the form of religious pride. This pride deceives many people into believing the best about themselves, even those who are enslaved to sexual sin. Today we’re going to look at how important it is to grasp our true condition before God. We’ll also explore why our attempts to be good in our own strength often prevent us from experiencing the abundant life promised to us in Jesus.

The Bible is full of people that were called to be holy and to separate from the world around them. The author of Hebrews even declares that without holiness no one will see the Lord. Clearly God is calling us to leave our love for this world to draw near to Him. In this episode, preacher, author, and Pure Life graduate Dustin Renz looks at this vital subject and asks this question: what is hindering us from a deeper walk with God?