You're Saved, You're Sexual ... You Struggle, Let's Talk
"If you follow a universal principle, it positively impacts all areas of your life. Universal principles don't compartmentalize." -Steve Pavlina Year after year, I hear wives agonize over the choices their husbands made. “What was he thinking?” they’ll cry, “and how could he do a thing like that if he loved me?” Continue Reading
"If you have no temptations it is because the devils are your friends, your leaders, and your shepherds. And by allowing you to pass your poor life tranquilly, to the end of your days, they will drag you down into the depths." -St. Gregory Continue Reading
It hung over the entrance to Auschwitz, a large metal sign handmade by prisoners, offering a last shred of false hope to the doomed: “Arbeit macht frei” (“work makes you free”). Some have argued it was placed there to deceive inmates into thinking hard work would earn them a release, while others argue the saying was a common slogan extolling the virtue of labor. Either way, it was damnably false, a sick joke and the cruelest of lies. Because, of course, work made no one free in Auschwitz. You were there to be worked to death, or put to death. Continue Reading
“A person overtly expresses distress, but it is covertly gratified at the prospect of the satisfaction they can wring from their misfortune.” – Dr. Eric Berne, Games People Play Even as a child, dynamics between people interested me. I was ten years old when Eric Berne’s classic Games People Play was published, and since I helped myself regularly to my parent’s reading material, I dove into the book, intrigued by the title. I understood about half of it, but the 50% my boy brain could glean really stuck with me, and darned if the years Continue Reading
My youngest son probably isn't crazy about it when I tell stories about his childhood. At the ripe age of 17 I guess he's entitled to object, although I often tell him he's free to write awful things about me once he's grown, as long as they're interesting and salacious. Anyway, I try not to tell "Jeremy stories" unless they're ones which I'm sure won't needlessly embarrass him and which also have a good point. Continue Reading
Wives often ask my wife and I how they can really know their husband, who’s committed some form of sexual sin, is getting better. While there’s no acid test, there are some things I believe a woman can and should expect when her man says, “I was wrong; I’ve repented of it.” Continue Reading
We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are. -Thomas a Kempis If I were to describe everything I’m tempted to do, I’d lose all credibility. Not that anyone thinks I’m above temptation, of course. But the nature of the temptations that hit me at times is so base, so ugly and contrary to everything I stand for, that I’m sure many people who once took me seriously would, if they knew the thoughts I sometimes get, write me off, and I wouldn’t blame them. Things that are unclean, violent, narcissistic or Continue Reading
“For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” -Psalms 103:14 If a man falls into sexual sin he can repent and move on. If he falls into despair, he may never get up. So despair scares me in ways sexual sins don’t. That doesn’t negate the seriousness of porn use, adultery, perversions or other moral failures, since the misuse of the body is described in scripture as something especially damaging. (I Corinthians 6:18) And, lest we forget, both the first martyrdom in the New Testament (John the Baptist’s beheading Continue Reading
When a racer’s vehicle needs repair, he doesn’t junk it. He pulls it over for a pit stop, and he certainly doesn’t do that because he’s finished with the vehicle. Just the opposite – he does it because he’s not finished with it! It’s a valuable car, and he has purposes in mind for it. After all, the pit stop isn’t a junk yard, but a place for repair and rebuilding. Continue Reading
I’m convinced, though I’ve got no solid evidence, that there’s a creature in every man that sabotages his intentions and integrity. I call it the Weasel, and I find him lurking in any number of situations where guys have to ‘man up’ to their own deeds. He first showed up in the garden, when Adam knew he’d sinned. Remember his first response? Run and hide, which is a both a traditional and stupid approach to failure. Yet there Adam is, cowering in the bushes instead of dealing with the problem. Continue Reading
A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. -Ruth Bell Graham Continue Reading
“So maybe my nature does draw me to you. That doesn’t mean I have to go with it. I can say yes to some things, and no to some things that are gonna Continue Reading
I’m a logician. No matter how wrong I am, I can always convince myself I am right. -Jarod Kintz Continue Reading
Then said Evangelist, 'If this by thy condition, why standest thou still?' He answered, 'Because I know not where to go.' -Pilgrim's Progress Been Continue Reading
“For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.” - James 1:20 Some stories put me in touch with my inner murderer. This one’s a pretty Continue Reading
{ Fascinating coverage, Joe. I'm curious to know more about what can/has been done to change the mental state (versus physicality) of people with gender dysphoria,... } – Apr 27, 3:50 PM
{ Your ministry and perspective is a tremendous blessing. Thank you for sharing your struggle and what God has taught you through it. As a compassionate... } – Apr 26, 9:38 AM
{ Joe- as always, excellent writing and research! And I love how you always remember to talk about the heart of God. I can't imagine what... } – Apr 25, 7:12 PM
{ I WAS SICKENED WHEN HE TOLD THE STORY OF HOW GOD MADE HIM & LOOKED DOWN & DECIDED HE WOULD GIVE HIM THIS GENDER ISSUE... } – Apr 25, 6:49 PM
{ Your honesty, and courage are as phenomenal as your insight Mr Dallas. Thank you Sir. } – Apr 25, 2:51 AM
{ Joe, that is why we love and respect you so much: you always speak the truth in love and have always been transparent about your... } – Apr 25, 12:48 AM
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