I’ve served in pastoral ministry for 25 years in the Southern Baptist Convention. There are many godly pastors, professors, and missionaries, but I’ve also seen many men that I thought were godly, live secret, evil lives behind the scenes. Several mentors that I’ve had have since fallen morally and are no longer in ministry. One of those men was David Sills.

I attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY from 2008 – 2019. In the winter of 2009, I went on a mission trip to Ecuador, led by Dr. David Sills. He was the Faye Stone Professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology at SBTS and the founder and President of the mission organization Reaching and Teaching. He had pastored churches in both the United States and Ecuador and served as a missionary with the International Mission Board. He also authored several books.

The Lord had given him about everything a Christian man could want: a loving wife, children and grandchildren, and successful ministry, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more.

In 2004, he began committing adultery with a female student at SBTS. And it lasted for 12 years, long after she graduated and moved out of state. When I went on a mission trip with him to Ecuador, in the Winter of 2009, he was a serial adulterer, and nobody knew it. I thought he was a godly man, a man I wanted to follow. But godly men don’t commit adultery, and especially not for 12 years. (And now, Sills is suing the SBC, alleging defamation, because leaders called him an abuser.)

What follows is a letter I wrote to all those who supported my mission trip, which included journal entries I penned while on the trip. I include this letter to show you what your sin does to others. Not only did Sills’ sin drag Christ’s name through the mud, and hurt his family and ministries, it also hurt so many who looked up to him. In my mind, he was exactly the type of missionary God called me to be. But he was pretending and deceiving us.

You’ll see from the letter that I learned how to be a godly missionary from David Sills, but, because of his heinous sin, I’ve since learned the kind of Christian I don’t want to be. I want to be the same Christian man in public that I am in private.

When hypocrites are pastors, professors, and missionaries, remember that Christ was not and is not a hypocrite. He is why you’re a Christian; He is the One you’re aimed at and following; and He’s worth the labor regardless of who falls around you. Sills, at some point, took his eyes off Christ. If you take your eyes off Christ, you’re capable of heinous, habitual sin. Learn from his failure. Pursue Christ in private and public, and you won’t fall.

You don’t need more, you need Christ. And you have Him! Be thankful for Him and all He has given you. Pursue Him with all your life! He is enough!

2009 Letter:

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Today, I traveled to Ecuador. The trip was somewhat uneventful. My plane however was delayed from Nashville, TN to Houston, TX. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but my layover in Houston was a little over an hour to begin with. So, when I got off the plane in Houston, I received a phone call from Dr. Sills’ secretary. She said, “The team is already on the plane, you’ve been booked for the next flight to Ecuador, but it’s not until tomorrow night. You will have to stay in Houston tonight.” She then told me that I needed to try to catch the plane anyways, but that I needed to at least get there to encourage the airline to put me in a hotel that night. So, I went as fast as I could. When I arrived at the gate, someone was buying my ticket. I was 10 minutes late. I think the only reason I made it was by the grace of God. The airline wanted to make the money for my ticket; so, they held the plane ten minutes. They booked me back on the flight, and I was able to fly to Ecuador with the rest of the team. Having never flown to a nation that speaks a different language than me, I was very relieved that I did not have to fly by myself.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

We flew into Quito last night. It’s the capital city, and is virtually in the middle of Ecuador, but just to the north a bit. The city is populated by roughly 2 million people. This morning we went to a local church that Dr. Sills pastored back when he was a missionary in Ecuador.

During Sunday morning worship, there was no interpreter, so I was a bit lost; however, I wrote down what I did observe: 1) they prayed much, 2) we sang Psalms set to music, 3) the sermon was somewhat interactive; the pastor asked questions of the congregation while expecting a response, 4) some children were dedicated, and there was a sermonette preached to the families of the children; the children then went throughout the whole congregation shaking everyone’s hands; and the children were then presented with gifts; 5) the pastor was very enthusiastic about the Scriptures, and 6) the church read much Scripture together.

We went to a local mall for lunch after morning worship. I expected to take a step back in time, but instead I walked into a very modern Americanized mall. We went to the food court in this three story mall to find KFC, McDonalds, Wendys, etc. Everyone dressed liked us, shopped like us, and ate like us. The only differences were their skin color and the languages they spoke. There were also some Ecuadorian restaurants and shops.

Once we left the mall, we drove for hours and hours, over 4 hours I think to Camp Chacauco. The ride was rough and honestly unnerving. Camp Chacauco is located about 45 minutes southeast of Ambato, near the town of Patate. Former International Mission Board missionaries Steve and Carol Thompson started this camp in order to train Ecuadorian pastors, hold church camps, retreats, youth and children events, pastors cabins, etc. (They resigned from the IMB 10 years ago when the IMB was withdrawing its resources from Ecuador because they viewed it as “reached”. After over 100 years of protestant missions, one can see the IMB’s reasoning, but Steve and Carol believed God still wanted them in Ecuador. Without support, they resigned, and trusted the Lord. He provided.) This camp is truly an awesome ministry in the middle of Ecuador. A pastor can come and live at the camp, go to seminary, eat, etc. for a very, very small amount of money. We slept in camp-style cabins.

Monday, December 14, 2009

We woke up this morning, and the cabins we stayed in had two showers and toilets each, with 8-10 people staying in each cabin. The facilities were much nicer than I expected. We had hot showers most of the trip, with good water pressure. Every now and then, due to rolling blackouts in Ecuador, we would lose pressure and hot water.

The camp is beautiful. We’re right next to a river. The Andes Mountains surround us on all sides. We’re even five miles from the crest of an active volcano. It erupts about every one hundred years. It started acting up again about three years ago. It had a minor eruption about a year ago.

This morning after breakfast we went to the market in a nearby city. The Quichua people bring fresh fruit, meat, vegetables, and hand-made products to sell throughout the week at this market. Unfortunately, these people are still discriminated against by other Ecuadorians. They are the lowest rung on the ladder by society’s standards. Though Ecuadorians do not value them as they should, God values them as much as any other human being on earth. This is why we came to give them the gospel.

We came to the open-air market this morning largely to examine the culture of the Quichua, hoping to better understand them as a people, in order to be able to share the gospel with them without unforeseen cultural barriers. Each community of Quichua people distinguishes itself from other communities by how they dress. Each color they wear stands for a virtue they possess or hope to possess. One man told us that his colors represented wisdom, courage, and purity. Each of these characteristics is possessed ultimately and perfectly in Christ. These qualities can then be avenues to share the gospel as we detail the perfect righteousness of Christ, His wisdom and purity; and His perfect courage displayed in His willingness to endure His father’s wrath for the sins of humanity. Though the Quichua may not realize it, they cannot possess these virtues perfectly. They must run to and depend on the righteousness of Christ by faith alone.

Before we came on this trip, each person was given a Bible story to memorize that he or she would share with the Quichua people in the evening. Probably around half of the Quichua can read, and half cannot. Even if they can read however, due to their learning being largely through oral means, giving them literature to read would do them little good. So, even if they can read it, they have great difficulty understanding it. Our goal therefore was to memorize Bible Stories so we could orally tell them to the people each evening. We picked ten stories to be exact, one building on the other, until the gospel was clearly shared on the final evening. After each story, we asked if there was anyone who thinks he or she can share this story. People would then stand up and try to share the story, being corrected by others in the congregation or the interpreter if they said something wrong. We then would encourage them to share these stories with their friends, families, and neighbors. As I type this, I rejoice over the fact that the gospel may be being shared by the Quichua at this moment, whether they realize it or not, as they sit to eat or stand to share stories with their friends. God will take this gospel seed and birth sinners into new life in Christ!

Tonight, we shared the story of 1) creation/fall, 2) Noah and the flood, and 3) Abraham and Isaac. The people heard the first two stories, but had never heard the third story of Abraham and Isaac. So, because the Abraham and Isaac story was the story I memorized, I was able to teach the Quichua something they had never heard before. They were very attentive; and they thanked us for sharing. They said that though they are taught the Bible, it is difficult for them to understand and remember. The stories help them to remember since they are an oral culture. We left encouraging them to share the stories with their friends. The stories build upon one another; so, the gospel is coming in a few days. At this point, we are encouraging them to trust God for their daily needs; as well as, for their salvation from their sins.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

This morning we went to the house of Nate Saint. He was one of the five missionaries that were killed by a Huaorani tribe in Ecuador in 1956. Jim Eliot was another one of the men killed, along with Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian. A movie was made about the men in 2006 titled The End of the Spear. The amazing reality is that the tribe that murdered these men was later reached by Nate Saint’s sister and Jim Eliot’s wife.

I must confess that it was sad and glorious to stand in the home of those who not only believed the gospel, but also gave their lives for it. They loved their God enough to see to it that a remote tribe in Ecuador glorified Him as well. Not only this, but they loved these head hunters enough to try and reach them with the saving gospel of Christ; and they were murdered for their efforts.

As I stood there contemplating their missional efforts, I couldn’t help but wonder what I’m doing for the cause of Christ in the states. How am I “bleeding” for the sake of the gospel? If I am not careful, I will bleed for the sake of arrogance, ego, pride, false conversions, the applause of men, the applause of the convention, etc. but not for the gospel. I have to ask myself if I had rather receive the loud praise of men, or the often silent praise of God… give me the praises of God alone.

Following our visit to Nate Saint’s house, we visited a local Catholic church. The church was very beautiful. It stood out from the rest of the buildings. The inside was extravagant as well. As we walked around, we noticed that there were murals on the walls that detailed various miracles Mary had performed in the community over the past several hundred years. Also, there were banners on the wall that explained why they exalted Mary to such a lofty position. They believe her to be the co-redeemer with Christ. In every mural and statue Jesus was depicted as either a baby or dead. His physical resurrection was not emphasized. So, with such an idolatrous view of Mary and a diminished view of Christ, it is no wonder that the locals do not heed the gospel. Many of them have never heard the true gospel found through God’s grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. This is one of the many reasons missionaries are needed in Latin America. Over 94% of Latin America considers themselves Roman Catholic.

Tonight, we shared the story of 1) the Passover and 2) the Ten Commandments. The people were very receptive and appreciative again. After the Ten Commandments were shared, the question was asked to them if we could keep God’s law perfectly. They replied, “yes”. We then explained that no one could keep God’s perfect standard. We left them wondering what they then must do; and we encouraged them to return the following evening hear the answer to the sin problem.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

This morning we stayed at the camp for free time. This gave me a chance to rest. Going back and forth to the Apatug and Angahuana communities in Alto has worn me out. The drive is about two hours one way. So, each night we’re on the road for around 4 hours. Plus, during the day, we’ve been driving to the market, the Nate Saint house, etc. During this entire trip, we probably averaged 5-6 hours per day of riding on the bus. We went all over Ecuador.

Tonight, we returned to the Quichua communities to share Bible stories. We shared the stories of 1) Mt. Carmel and 2) the birth of Christ. The people were very receptive again. It’s almost like watching the enthusiasm of children on Christmas morning as they open their gifts. The Quichua love to hear the truth of God’s Word. They are extremely encouraged; and thus, we are as well. As we pour into them, we see them receive the truth so well, and it encourages us to continue on with joy.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Today, we traveled to one of the hundreds of waterfalls found in Ecuador. For some reason, this specific waterfall shoots out of a mountain and falls beneath about a hundred feet with tremendous force. On the way down to the waterfall on the trail there was a sign in Spanish that read, “Prepare to be surprised, God exists!” As we stood there, about fifty feet from the waterfall, we could feel the rock in under our feet shake from the force of the waterfall. It was truly an amazing sight to see.

Tonight is the final evening we went to the Apatug and Angahuana communities to share the gospel. Tonight we shared 1) Jesus and the storm, demon, woman, and Jarius’ daughter, 2) the Pharisees, Trial, and Crucifixion, and 3) the resurrection, ascension, and great commission. The people were very receptive again. We encouraged them with the gospel, and encouraged them to respond.

In this specific culture though, they are not independent like Americans. These people largely will make decisions as a community. So, they will sit and discuss Christianity as presented by us, before they make decisions largely together. Once the gospel was presented, we encouraged the people to respond, not by walking an aisle or signing a card, but in repentance and faith in Christ. We could have easily had people raise their hands if they wanted Christ, but we wanted them to make genuine life-changing decisions. Our hope was that they would decide that night, and then the next day and the next, continually until eternity; trusting in Christ alone for salvation. We were unconcerned with reporting numbers when we returned, for the numbers would have been largely false and bloated. If the leader in the community had raised his hand, largely the entire congregation would have as well. Please pray for their genuine conversion and the gospel to spread forth throughout these two communities and abroad.

Tonight, we also supplied Christmas presents for over 150 children. At this time of year, children go door to door looking sad while saying, “Feliz Navidad.” We instead provided Christmas for these children, for what we provided was largely all they would receive for Christmas. The children were very excited; and there were over three hundred people in attendance this night.

They also honored us tonight with a feast. They cooked for us and put us in a room by ourselves, while they stood outside. While they only cooked chicken soup for themselves, they served us potatoes, corn, haba beans, cheese, and roasted guinea pigs. The food was good. My guinea pig though looked just like the roasted bottom of a guinea pig. It was still pretty good though. They cooked so much food for us, I was worried that we would offend them if we couldn’t eat it all. Dr. Sills told me that they would finish what was left over. There was enough left over to feed us for two or three more meals.

Friday, December 18, 2009

After breakfast today, we left Camp Chacauco and headed toward Quito. We had to be up at 4:00 a.m. the following day in order to get to the airport and catch the plane back to the states. On the way back, we went to the middle of the earth monument. The latitude and longitude is 0,0. It’s literally the middle of the earth. It was interesting; and we had time to buy souvenirs.

On the first night we arrived in Quito, some of our items were stolen while we were at the mall. Dr. Sills and some of the other students went to talk with the hotel owner. After a long conversation, the man would not admit to any wrongdoing, nor would he offer to look into the matter among his staff. So, Dr. Sills moved us to another hotel for our final night. Once we got checked in though, we noticed that one of the ladies looked familiar. It turns out that this man owned this hotel as well. We all locked our doors that night. Since we’ve returned home, the owner has since found the thief, and he is returning the items. He actually thanked Dr. Sills for his courage in confronting him to let him know about the thievery.

In conclusion, when you pray, please do not forget the Quichua people; as well as the other peoples of the earth that we may not even know about. The gospel is a message for all people groups. Let us either send others to reach them or go ourselves; and at least, let us pray for all ethnicities to come to know Him as we do. For His glory alone!

In Him,

Pastor Jared Moore

Act 1

Even the purest doctrine, and church and civil order, cannot save a heart that loves sin more than Jesus.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

—Hebrews 11:6

The printing press was invented in 1440. Like most of the technological advances of human history, man’s progress can be used for good or evil. The Reformation spread due to the printing press, and the common man could finally own a Bible in his own language, but pornography was distributed far and wide as well.

In the 1550’s the Reformation made its way to England, and Thomas Cranmer was tasked with turning the Church of England decidedly Protestant. Many Roman Catholics were converted due to his leadership over the churches, and the influence of the writings of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli. Cranmer recruited prominent Protestants John à Lasco, Martin Bucer, and Peter Martyr Vermigli to teach at Lambeth, Oxford, and Cambridge.

At the Strangers’ Church in London, Lasco served as a pastor. It was full of Protestants that had fled persecution, as well as locals that had been recently converted.

One of the families under his care was the Taylors: a husband and wife, and their four children. Their families had been tailors by trade for hundreds of years. The two oldest children were girls, then they had a boy, and the fourth was a girl as well. The boy’s name was Thomas.

When Thomas was 10 years old, he had an older friend who fled from Italy with his family to London. He was Protestant too, but he had secret sins. He shared with Thomas a book he brought from Italy, that his parents didn’t know about. It was full of lewd engravings, printed in Venice and smuggled north, images that burned in a young man’s memory. Thomas was embarrassed and convicted at first but took the book home and hid it from his family. That evening, as his father prayed for purity for the family, Thomas was cut in his heart but justified his lust with the thought: “Looking at a book couldn’t possibly hurt anyone.”

In the evening, while feeding the animals, Thomas would go look at his book in private. He began to devour it, but he did not know it was slowly devouring him. Before long, he looked at it every evening and thought about it even when he was at work. He could not wait to return home.

Thomas had always had a close relationship with his sisters. He even had occasional tea parties with the youngest, Alice. But he started to notice them in ways no brother should, even Alice. He often thought about them inappropriately. Yet, like a good Protestant child, he memorized his pastor’s catechism, which read,

Q[uestion]. 84. Can man not keep himself from sin and avoid it?

R{esponse]. If we refer to external sinful acts, such as slander, killing, adultery, stealing, drunkenness, and other things of that kind, the ability has been given us in part through the innate natural powers (we attempt it with all diligence—since surely we also have been under obligation) to keep ourselves from such sins. If we wish to consider sin as it pertains to the inner perversity of our nature, then we can never be without sin. In fact, we are unable to do anything but sin as long as we live here. (Phil. 3; Rom. 7)

Q. 85. What! Can we not satisfy the law if we outwardly preserve ourselves from sin?

R. By no means! For God has not been satisfied with the external appearance of duty, but desires the heart, because it has been corrupted with unyielding evil, by which it happens that it cannot completely observe the law, which is spiritual. (Dt. 6, 10, 11, 26; Mt. 22; Jer. 17; Rom. 7; Gal. 5)[1]

But the words rang hollow to Thomas, because he did not believe them. He believed himself and his book instead.

The Protestant influence in England was short-lived, because Mary Tudor came to power, and she led ruthlessly, gaining the moniker “Bloody Mary” due to her bloodlust and execution of Protestants. She even executed Thomas Cranmer, which was illegal, because he recanted his Protestantism; but repented publicly as he was headed to be burned at the stake. He even burned the hand that signed his recantation, first. Many Protestants fled England because of her rule.

Act 2

In 1557, after years of worshipping in darkness and living in fear, the Taylors escaped from “Bloody Mary” to Geneva, Switzerland, which was ruled by John Calvin. Geneva accepted thousands of Protestant refugees under his rule. The Taylors set up a tailor shop and began their work immediately. But Thomas brought his book with him to Geneva.

While his father worked on making suits and clothes for the locals, Thomas would get the thread and materials from his mother, and her co-workers, at a shop up the road. Several Protestant refugees’ wives and their daughters worked together there. And Thomas especially loved spending time with the girls. He would linger around them for several minutes, even after he received what he came for, because he wanted much more.

Geneva, under Calvin, was a Christian paradise. Thomas learned the gospel there, memorized the catechisms, knew the doctrines, but he never trusted them. One of the first catechism answers he learned in Geneva was Calvin’s on the Tenth Commandment:

214. M[inister]. Seeing that the whole law is spiritual, as you have so often said before, and the other commandments are not only to order outward acts, but also the affections of the heart, what more is added here?

C[hild]. The Lord wished by the other commandments to rule our affections and will, but here He imposes a law also on our thoughts which though charged with covetousness and desire, yet stop short of an active intention.

215. M. Do you mean that the least temptation that enters into the thought of a believer is sin, even though he resists it and does not consent to it?

C. It is certain that all evil thoughts proceed from the infirmity of our flesh, even though we do not consent to them. But I say that this commandment speaks of concupiscence which tickles and pierces the heart of man, without bringing him to a deliberate purpose.

216. M. You say then that the evil affections which involve a definite act of will or resolution are already condemned, but now the Lord requires of us such integrity, that no wicked desire may enter our hearts, to solicit and incite them to evil.

C. That is right.”[2]

He was looking at the book he kept hiding, every day. Not only did he not repent of his lust, but he thought about it constantly and pursued it in his heart and mind every waking moment.

One day, Alice wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed home with her. He began looking at his book, but the thought crossed his mind, as if a word from a dark man, that his sister was in the next room. So, he went to her, laid hold of her, but she screamed, managed to get free, and ran. Thomas chased, but Alice escaped into the forest.

When his parents returned home, Alice came home and told them that he looked at her like he hated her; that he grabbed her hard and was going to hurt her, but she didn’t know all that he had planned. Thomas apologized to them and Alice, and his parents did not permit him to stay with her by himself anymore.

That evening, when Thomas was supposed to be tending to the animals, but was looking at his book, a man dressed in black appeared in the back of the sheep pin. Thomas was startled at first, but then the man spoke, “Thomas, the Bible says, ‘there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.’ If you’ll follow me, I’ll give you power and a disguise where you can do whatever you want to whomever you want, with no one knowing.” Thomas asked, “How can this be? What must I do?” The man replied, “You must commit your life to me, and I will make you rule over others.”

Thomas already thought of young girls as his prey. He only thought for a moment and said, “Yes. I submit.” And the man in black laid a cross down in front of Thomas and demanded, “Renounce your Christian faith by trampling this cross.” Thomas jumped up and down on the cross. Then, the man said, “Kiss my backside to show you will only serve me.” And the man turned into a black cat, turned around, and lifted his tail. Reluctantly, Thomas leaned down and kissed the cat’s backside. The fur was coarse and stank of sulfur. It then turned back into the man.

The man told Thomas that he would come to him the next evening at the same time, in the form of a black cat. He must follow him to find a wolf skin, that would change him into a werewolf when he wanted. Thomas could finally do what he longed to in his heart.

The next day, he went to work with his father, as normal. He was thinking about all he was going to do when he was a werewolf. As he picked up the materials and threads from his mother, he gazed at several of the women’s daughters, memorizing their faces, like a wolf looking at his prey.

That evening, when Thomas went to tend to the animals, sure enough, there came the cat. He took his lamp and followed him. They went through the woods and down to the creek. The cat stopped at a rock. Thomas lifted it up, and there was the wolf skin. It had a soft glow and pulsated slightly, as if it was alive. He took it home and hid it.

Act 3

The next day, Thomas told his father he wasn’t feeling well and needed to stay home. He never missed work, so his father permitted him to stay, but he was not sick. When his family left for work, Thomas waited a few hours and then retrieved the wolfskin.

He put it on and immediately transformed into a werewolf. He walked upright like a man, but when he ran, he would drop to all fours like a wolf. His head was that of a wolf, with sharp, jagged teeth; and his nails were sharp claws. And he was hungry. Even though it was daytime, he went hunting.

Read more

2. Whate’er my God Ordains is Right

3. Hark! The Herald, Angel Sing

4. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

5. Jesus, I my Cross Have Taken

6. Abide With Me

7. Amazing Grace

8. Gladly Would I Leave Behind Me

9. A Mighty Fortress is Our God

10. Be Thou My Vision

11. The Church’s One Foundation

12. God Be Merciful to Me (Psalm 51)

13. Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

14. Jesus, I Come

15. Man of Sorrows

16. Rock of Ages

17. Free From the Law, O Happy Condition

18. Grace Greater Than Our Sin

19. Sovereign Grace O’er Sin Abounding

20. He Leadeth Me

21. It is Well With my Soul

22. How Great Thou Art

23. There is a Fountain

24. All I Have is Christ

25. Jesus Paid it All

26. His Mercy is More

27. Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

28. I’d Rather Have Jesus

29. Guide me oh Thou Great Jehovah

30. Hast Thou Heard Him, Seen Him, Known Him?

31. Not What My Hands Have Done

32. On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand

33. Psalm 73 (Surely God is Good)

34. The Love of Christ is Rich and Free

35. Thy Mercy My God

36. Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

37. Thy Will be Done

38. Upon a Life I did not Live

39. Before the Throne of God Above

40. O Great God

41. Great is Thy Faithfulness

42. See the Destined day Arise

43. He Will Hold me Fast

44. Holy Spirit Living Breath of God

45. Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

46. All Glory Be to Christ

47. This is My Father’s World

48. The Power of the Cross

49. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (The Glorious Christ)

50. In Christ Alone

51. Are You Washed in the Blood?

52. O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer

53. Doxology

54. Fairest Lord Jesus

55. He Hideth My Soul

56. Prepare Him Room

57. He Who is Mighty

58. The Old Rugged Cross

59. I Need Thee Every Hour

60. Trust and Obey

61. O Holy Night

62. Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

Here is a Playlist of these 62 Hymns on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOk-LGYpzz-qdmwkPS6eMe3gGJhUaBjge

Avarice…greed.

It’s a common sin among mankind and has been ever since Lucifer, Adam, and Eve wanted more than God gave them. Greed is birthed in a man’s heart when his flesh or the devil tells him, “You don’t have enough. You deserve more than the scraps God has provided.” Lustful greed then moves in the heart, and if the man does not rebuke himself and repent swiftly, he’s already fallen within, and now all he needs is an opportunity, because he’s begun to seek it. When a man wants to sin, his flesh, the devil, or the world always provides the occasion.

That opportunity came for a Catholic Priest in Nuremberg, Germany in 1530.

Read more

A ghost I see now and again,

She comes out at twilight,

When I’m down in the deep dark night.

The Siren calls, and I hear her say,

“You, but a child, I matured long ago,

And I’m here today to save your soul.

Open your box of memories,

Think of me and you’ll escape your miseries.

Blame me for your choices,

I’m the savior that silences all critical voices.

Forgetting me is the reason,

You can’t tolerate the season.

My smell, you remember often,

A benevolent aroma, your shame, to soften.

You painted over me.

And hidden I’ve been,

Unveil me, and you’ll see,

I alone can save you from sin.

I’ve remained here all along,

Hear my enchanting song.

Follow me and you’ll be alright,

I’ll save you from the deep dark night.

I’m the undercurrent in your life.

Guiding you through a maze of strife.

I made you who you are,

The reason you still live, your north star.

You are my time vault,

And in you I placed,

Unworthiness, shame, and fault,

So I could come today to heal and replace.

I’ll excuse your darkest sinful lots,

For you’re a product of me not your faults.

In your mirror, see my face,

A benevolent queen, full of grace.

No one you can trust, but me,

For I made you all that you are to be.

No one knows you like I do,

A loving mother I’ve been to guide you.

You are only worthy when you remember me,

Forget me not, lest my beauty you won’t see.

You cannot flourish without me,

For I help you righteously hate your enemy.

Talk of me often,

And I’ll give you a restful coffin.

I know you’re tired. Together we’ll sleep.

And your soul I’ll pleasantly keep.”

But on this weary road,

Another voice I hear,

It’s the carpenter’s Son,

“Come to Me, and your trauma will be undone.”

He calls me back to His cross,

Where He gave His life, the King suffered loss.

My best day, and His worst.

God the Son crucified, cursed.

Where was God? I thought. But then Gabriel speaks:

“See Him hanging there, submitting to a sinner’s lot.

Gnashing and weeping ensue,

The Son of God, traumatized for you.

Foretold by the prophets, and Christ Himself,

Sinners tortured the Son of Man,

Under God’s sovereign hand.

Then, out of the tomb, He came,

Ascended to His Father’s side to rule and reign.

The greatest good known to man,

Came out of the worst trauma ever experienced, that a man can.”

Could it be that the God of right,

Was sovereign over my trauma, even in the deep dark night?

If the God-Man’s trauma can bring immeasurable good,

Then the Lord can use mine, if Him, I only understood.

I need not know how God uses the Siren or the fallen,

I only need to cling to the One who knows, He alone is sovereign.

He is enough, regardless of what I don’t understand.

For He is my all, and I’m headed to the promised land.

My trauma renamed me long ago,

But a new name I have today, Christ has saved my soul:

Child of God, bride of Christ, brother, friend.

He’s called me His own though I’ve heinously sinned.

Therapists say, “The body keeps the score,”

Yet my trauma, she haunts me no Moore.

For Christ’s body keeps His and my scars,

His trauma and mine, dead in an empty tomb, no longer mars.

2. Preach topical exposition, sometimes, where you have a topic that a text explicitly deals with. Preach that topic by expositing that text.

3. Preach topically but systematically, sometimes, where you have a topic that many texts deal with. Preach each Scripture in context.

4. Preach the text, not so you’ll hear “Amen” from the crowd, but from the original human author and God.

5. As you prepare, tremble as a man who will give an account to God, because you will.

6. Prepare so that your hearers leave thinking on God, not you or an illustration you shared.

7. Use tone and voice inflection that fit the text not your hearers’ sensibilities.

8. Aim the content of your sermon at the most mature person in the room while using language that the most immature person in the room can understand.

9. Use illustrations to explain the text, not to entertain the goats.

10. Preach to be forgotten and for the Lord to be remembered.

11. Use facial expressions and movement that fit the text, not your hearers’ sensibilities.

12. If you’re uncertain about a text, preach the most probable interpretations (this should be rare).

13. Preach the text, not theories you’re wrestling with.

14. Warn your hearers of the heretical interpretations of the text from church history and today.

15. Apply the text to your hearers, but the Holy Spirit will do much more application than you if you preach the text.

16. Preach the law from the text. Do not soften it. Preach it as written. Cut the guilty with it.

17. Preach the gospel in line with the text. Do not add it. Those who are cut by the law will run to Jesus for healing, if they submit to the Holy Spirit.

18. Do not allegorize the text unless the text demands it or it can be built upon the text.

19. Use biblical retributive tone, not cultural retributive tone. Your tone should be stronger the more heinous the sin is according to the text, not the culture.

20. Do not let the Pharisees, Sadducees, or Herodians govern what you preach: beware the leaven of the Pharisees (legalism), the Sadducees (theological liberalism), the Herodians (political power). Preach so that the legalists, liberals, and political idolaters tremble. If they tremble today and repent, they won’t tremble for all eternity.

21. Use rhetoric that is easy to remember but say it in a way where you are easy to forget.

22. Preach so that hell is the most unthinkable terror known to man.

23. Preach so that heaven is the most unthinkable joy known to man.

24. Preach so that they know you believe the text. If you don’t believe it, resign.

25. Preach to win them to Jesus not yourself.

26. Magnify the beauty of God.

27. Magnify the beauty of God’s design/creation.

28. Expose the ugliness of sin.

29. Whatever the main points of the text are, make them the main points of your sermon.

30. Show them how your text fits with all the Scripture written before it.

31. Show them how your text fits with all the Scripture written after it.

32. Show them how your text fits in God’s plan of redemption.

33. Include the doctrine of the Trinity often: all things being from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. And how their worship and obedience must be by the Spirit through the Son to the Father.

34. Include the incarnation often: God the Son becoming flesh to redeem His church, those who repent and believe. Only the God-Man can reconcile us to God.

35. For illustrations, mostly use Scripture to illustrate Scripture.

36. For illustrations, use contemporary examples sparingly so that your hearers know how to live in this world for Jesus.

37. Use your introduction to draw your hearers to the text.

38. Preach your sermon as a fork in the road: your hearers can either follow Jesus or the devil.

39. Help your hearers see the beauty of God’s word, that He has spoken and is not silent.

40. Preach as long as the text demands, but don’t bite off more than you can preach.

41. Do not add to or take away from God’s word. Your job is to help your hearers see the beauty of God’s word. You are the garnish. Shine headlights from the beginning to end on the text.

42. Use your conclusion to reveal how God demands a response. “Now that you know God’s word, how will you respond to God? If you’re in sin, will you turn from it and live according to what God’s word says? If you’ve believed wrongly, will you submit to God’s word and believe rightly? If you’re an unbeliever, will you repent and believe in Jesus and be saved by His death in your place, and receive His righteousness credited to you through faith?”

That question is a sobering one for me. It’s one that all pastors and church leaders need to ask and answer with, “No.”

There’s a real temptation in ministry (at least for me), to spend my time ministering to those outside my home to the detriment of ministering to those inside my home. If we allow our congregations’ needs to dictate our schedules, neglecting our responsibilities at home can be sinfully justified.

Remember, in order to be qualified to pastor God’s people, a pastor “must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” (1 Tim 3:4-5, ESV).

Also remember that pastors who preach the gospel should not undermine the gospel by refusing to love their wives as Christ loves the church:

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Eph. 5:25-33).

The more we understand the gospel, the more we should be willing to die for the well-being of our bride. Marriage for every Christian man is a call to die for the salvation and sanctification of our wives.

These truths are important to mention because there is a real danger for pastors to think that they can separate the integrity of their ministry from the integrity of their home. Consider John Wesley, one of the greatest Christian preachers who ever lived, as an example. Nathan Busenitz, at the Cripplegate Blog, recently wrote an article titled “John Wesley’s Failed Marriage.” In this passage from Stephen Tomkins’ biography on Wesley, he quotes a couple biographies about Wesley, and some statements about Wesley’s marriage are startling:

• When Wesley left for a ministry tour in Ireland in 1758, Molly reported that her husband’s parting words to her were: “I hope I shall see your wicked face no more” (p. 155).

• “Reunited in England, they clashed violently—Wesley refusing to change his writing habits [of sending affectionate letters to other women] and Molly accusing him of adultery and calling down on him, in her own words, ‘all the curses from Genesis to Revelation’” (p. 155).

• “Almost the sole surviving record of this marriage from Molly’s side dates from December 1760, when she said Wesley left a meeting early with one Betty Disine and was seen still with her the following morning. She told him ‘in a loving manner to desist from running after strange women for your character is at stake’” (p. 159).

• “In 1771, Molly announced that she was leaving John again. On 23 January, the Journal reports, ‘For what I cause I know not to this day, [my wife] set out for Newcastel, purposing “never to return.” I did not leave her: I did not send her away: I will not call her back.” (p. 174).

You can find the full article here. It’s worthy of your time and attention.

How could the father of Methodism have such a glaring blind spot? I don’t know. But don’t assume that you and I are immune from such blind spots.

May we constantly examine the integrity of both our public and private ministries. May we constantly repent and believe in Christ’s finished work alone to save and sanctify us. May we never be satisfied with our own holiness as we depend solely on the holiness of Christ to justify us.

How will you respond? Will you remember the covenant you made before God and afresh and anew commit yourself to your bride, coming and dying for her physical and spiritual well-being?

You too may have a wife that has an occasional “wicked face” (to use Wesley’s words), but never pretend that her wicked face somehow changes your responsibility to God and her. Just as Christ died to cleanse His wicked bride, you do the same. Point her to Christ through your own self-sacrificial death. May Christ be the source of your love for your bride. Come and die, friend … come and die.

What are your thoughts?

1. Repentance - It will be a layman’s guide to repentance. I’ve already written three chapters that will be posted on Substack in December 2025.

2. Christian Lore - In Church History, there are several historical stories of ghosts, monsters, witches, etc. I will share 10 stories, with some license. I will also do a podcast; and I’m planning 4 more books in this series, since I already have 50 sources. I have the domain http://Christianlore.com as well. The goal will be to teach deep Christian truths through fictional stories that are interwoven with historical fact. And you’ll have access to 2-3 podcast episodes that only subscribers will be able to listen to.

If you’re able to do a higher tier, please consider it. It’s much easier to spend time writing when it helps take care of my family. I love Christ and His church, so I’ll keep writing. But your giving frees me to write more in a shorter period of time.

You can ask questions, make comments, and suggestions about this book. Every page will be published here as written in rough draft form, and then you’ll receive the completed/edited paperback copy as part of your subscription when they’re published.

Thank you folks! I look forward to enjoying Christ with you!

• The man who lusts is unthankful for the wife or singleness God has given him.

• The greedy man is unthankful for the possessions God has given him.

• The murderous man is unthankful for God’s sovereign providence.

• The disobedient child is unthankful for the parents God has given him.

• The liar is unthankful for God’s sovereign providence.

And so on...

This is why the Bible begins with, “In the beginning, God...” And the 10 Commandments begin with, “Worship God only...” And the Two Great Commandments begin with “Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”

This is also why Israel’s worship was so meticulous. God was training the affections of His people towards Him, but only those who believed had their affections shaped toward Him.

When you’re thankful for God and His creation, you cease from sin, which won’t fully occur until we’re perfectly thankful for Him in eternity. This is why worshipping Him, by the Spirit through the Son to the Father, is so essential. You become like who or what you worship: either God for good or idols for worthlessness.

See Psalm 115:1-8 and Ephesians 5:1-6:

Psalm 115:1-8 -

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

Ephesians 5:1-6 -

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

When you see Him look at you, you have 2 choices:

1) Turn from Christ and turn to porn.

or

2) Turn from porn in repentance, weep bitterly, and turn to Christ in faith, and live His commands from your heart.

1) When Christ looked at the rich young ruler, he turned from Christ to his possessions.

The rich young ruler told Christ he kept the law from his youth. “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions (Mark 10:21-22).

2) When Christ looked at Peter, he wept bitterly, repented, and turned to Christ.

Peter told Jesus that he would never deny Him. And Jesus said, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you” (Mark 14:29-31).

When Jesus was arrested and brought to the Chief Priest, Peter was outside the gate, but could still see Jesus. After he denied Christ twice, Luke writes, “And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:59-62).

After Jesus was resurrected, He came to Peter, and Peter showed his repentance and faith, and love for Christ, by agreeing to feed his lambs, and to tend and feed His sheep. Jesus told him he would lose his life for following Him (John 21:15-19).

Choose wisely Christian.

You’re living like the rich young ruler or like the apostle Peter. Which is it? Only the beauty of Christ can tear love for porn from your heart.

Can you see Christ looking at you?

Do you see His beauty? Do you love Him?

Lust is a hidden sin many Christian men and women privately tolerate, often excused by the world as a natural human trait. Yet, the Bible exposes it as a product of the fall, sinful from root to fruit. As Christians, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can walk with Christ to the Father’s glory. Freedom from lust hinges on loving God more and despising our sin more deeply. This study guides Christians to see God’s beauty and the ugliness of sin, fostering a repentant, hopeful Christian life. Through Christ’s work, victory is within your reach! Dive into this study, trust God’s word, and break free from lust.

There are several items you need for this Bible study curriculum:

• The book 33 Days to Freedom From Lust: A Hope-Filled Devotional by Dr. Jared Moore

• The book 33 Days to Freedom From Lust Leader Guide: A 7-Week Study by Dr. Jared Moore

• The book The Lust of the Flesh: Thinking Biblically About “Sexual Orientation,” Attraction, and Temptation by Dr. Jared Moore

• Eight 33 Days to Freedom From Lust video lectures with Dr. Jared Moore

How to Purchase:

Total Curriculum (Paperback and PDF copies): $60 shipped

• Contains 1 copy each of the 3 books needed and the videos, but each student needs 1 copy of 33 Days to Freedom From Lust as well.

33 Days to Freedom From Lust (Table of Contents included below): $15 each shipped.

Videos (Video Titles included below): $20 emailed.

The Lust of the Flesh (Table of Contents included below): $20 each shipped.

33 Days to Freedom From Lust Leader Guide (Excerpt included below): $12 each shipped.

Pay through these options, include your address and email address:

• PayPal - jaredhmoore@hotmail.com

• Venmo - jaredhmoore

• CashApp - jaredhmoore

*For special bulk prices of any of my books, email jaredhmoore@hotmail.com.

**If you cannot afford this curriculum for your church or Bible study, email me at jaredhmoore@hotmail.com, and we will work it out.

Excerpt - 33 Days to Freedom From Lust: A Hope-Filled Devotional

CONTENTS

Introduction 15

How to Use This Book 17

Day 1: God is Eternal / Lust is Temporary 19

Day 2: God is Holy / Lust is Sin 25

Day 3: God is All Powerful / Lust is Weak 31

Day 4: God is All Knowing / Lust Knows Only Death 37

Day 5: God is All Present / Lust is Only in Sinners 43

Day 6: God is All Wise / Lust is All Stupid 47

Day 7: God is Just / Lust is Injustice 53

Day 8: God is True / Lust is a Liar 59

Day 9: God is Beauty / Lust is Ugly 65

Day 10: God is Love / Lust is Hate 71

Day 11: God is Triune / Lust is Selfish 77

Day 12: God is Unchanging / Lust Cannot Satisfy 83

Day 13: Jesus is Truly God and Truly Man / Lust Images Satan 87

Day 14: Jesus is the Seed of the Woman, of Noah / Lust is the Seed of Satan 93

Day 15: Jesus is the Seed of the Woman, of Abraham / Lust is the Seed of Satan 99

Day 16: Jesus is the Seed of the Woman, of Israel, of David / Lust is the Seed of Satan 105

Day 17: Jesus is the True Prophet / Lust is a False Prophet 111

Day 18: Jesus is the True High Priest / Lust is a Worthless Priest 117

Day 19: Jesus is the True King / Lust is an Unrighteous King 125

Day 20: Jesus is Savior and Lord / Lust is Harm and Deception 129

Day 21: The Holy Spirit is God / Lust is Sinner-Made 133

Day 22: The Holy Spirit is Life / Lust is a Murderer 139

Day 23: Jesus Baptizes us with the Holy Spirit / Lust Immerses us in Death 145

Day 24: Think on God, Develop Patterns of Righteousness / Think on Lust, Develop Patterns of Evil 151

Day 25: God Says We’re Marvelously Made / Lust Destroys us From Within 157

Day 26: The Lord Forgives and Gives Eternal Life / Lust Brings Death and Hell 163

Day 27: God Created us for Marriage / Lust Says we Were Created for Sex 169

Day 28: God Created for His Own Glory / Lust Hides God’s Glory 175

Day 29: Christ’s Beauty Destroys Idols / Lust Creates Them 181

Day 30: Christ is our Identity / Lust is our Enemy 187

Day 31: Holiness is From Above / Lust is From Below 195

Day 32: God Empowers us to Live Fruitful Christian Lives / Lust Stunts our Growth in Christ 201

Day 33: God’s Image-Bearers can Only be Satisfied in Him / Lust can Never Satisfy 209

Next Steps 215

Freedom From Lust Shorter Catechism 217

Freedom From Lust Larger Catechism 223

Other Books by Dr. Jared Moore 246

Excerpt - Videos:

1. Video 1: Introduction

2. Video 2: Genesis 3:1-6 — Defining Sin

3. Video 3: Matthew 5:27-30 — Any Lust in the Heart is Sin

4. Video 4: Romans 1:24-27 — Homosexuality in One’s Heart is Sin

5. Video 5: James 1:13-15 — To Desire Sin is Inner Temptation and Sin

6. Video 6: When we are and are not Tempted Like Jesus

7. Video 7: The Christian Tradition’s Teachings on Lust

8. Video 8: Excuses Cannot Save us From Lust, but Jesus Can

If you would rather download the videos, you can download them here.

Excerpt - The Lust of the Flesh: Thinking Biblically About “Sexual Orientation,” Attraction, and Temptation

Foreword

1. THINKING BIBLICALLY ABOUT THE LUST OF THE FLESH

2. GENESIS 3:1–6 – ADAM AND EVE WILLED THE LUST OF THE FLESH

3. MATTHEW 5:24–27 – SEXUAL ATTRACTION IS RESERVED FOR MARRIAGE

4. ROMANS 1:24–27 – UPSIDE-DOWN WORSHIP LEADS TO UPSIDE-DOWN DESIRES

5. JAMES 1:13–15 – WE DESIRE WHAT WE ARE AND WE ARE WHAT WE DESIRE

6. SINCE JESUS WAS TEMPTED WITHOUT SIN, IS FLESHLY DESIRE STILL SIN?

7. AUGUSTINE AND THE REFORMERS VERSUS THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

8. CODIFYING AND SPREADING THE REFORMATION TRADITION

9. THE LUST OF THE FLESH CANNOT BE SUBLIMATED TO HOLINESS

10. ONLY GOD-DESIGNED DESIRES CAN LEAD TO HOLINESS

Excerpts - 33 Days to Freedom From Lust Leader Guide: A 7-Week Study

Introduction 1

Session 1: Understanding Lust, Our Enemy 3

Session 2: The Lust of the Flesh was Man’s First Sin 9

Session 3: I am Responsible for Every Impulse of Lust in my Heart 15

Session 4: Homosexuality in One’s Heart is Sin 21

Session 5: All my Sin Begins as the Lust of my Flesh 27

Session 6: There are Two Forms of Temptation 33

Session 7: Augustine’s and the Reformer’s Teachings on Lust 39

Session 8: How to Fight and Repent of Indwelling Sin 45

Other Books by Dr. Jared Moore 51

“Each session follows the same structure:

Getting Started: Prayer, discussion, and fellowship.

Digging Deeper: Hearing, believing, receiving, and understanding God’s word.

Accepting the Challenge: Applying God’s word.

Each week, be sure to encourage your students to enjoy Christ above all things.

After all, the goal of this study is for your hearers to learn how to live in hope with Christ, not in cope with lust.”

My father died suddenly of a massive heart attack on May 23, 2014. We talked some a week earlier at my daughter’s birthday party. We had a good time. Although it’s been 11 years, I still mourn the loss, and often find myself longing for a few minutes of conversation with him. “If I could just talk with him, I would tell him how much I appreciated him.” I’ve told dad in the past of my appreciation for him, but I question if I told him enough, and if I told him enough recently.

Thus, what follows is what I would say to dad if I could have a brief conversation with him. This exercise is for me and those who have fathers who are still living. If your father is still living, you have an opportunity to tell him how much you appreciate him. Don’t wait! You can tell him “enough” and tell him “enough recently.” This article is not for my father, for he’s enjoying His Lord at King Jesus’ table today in Heaven. My earthly father has reached the goal, Heaven with Christ, and he now needs nothing, including the thoughts of his son.

Dad, if I could talk to you, I would say. . .

Thank you for reading the Bible in front of me when I was a young boy. Some of my earliest memories are of you reading the Bible in your spot on the couch. I read the Bible every day in part due to your example.

Thank you for dragging me to church. I hated going to that boring place, but you made me go. I was loved by Christians there, and taught the word of God there. I’m a Christian and a pastor today partly because of your demand for your family to worship the Lord every Sunday.

Thank you for teaching me that you need Jesus. Due to your sin, you were not good enough to earn God’s favor. You needed Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. You needed Him to forgive you, to save you from the Hell you deserved. You needed His righteousness given to you through faith. If you needed Him, then I knew I needed Him as well.

Thank you for helping others in private. You’ve helped numerous people who were less fortunate than you over the years. You never trumpeted your good deeds, but I heard of many of them. Through your example, I learned that I too must help others.

Thank you for teaching me the importance of honesty and integrity concerning vocation. You worked hard, and you always gave your best. I remember one time when I went to work with you when I was a teenager. We were putting baffles in a new house so you could blow insulation in the attic. Due to us cutting the baffles, there was cardboard everywhere. Many who had already worked on the house had left their garbage behind, but you insisted that we clean up our mess. It took over an hour. I was angry because I was ready to leave. We cleaned up our mess together, and I learned a valuable lesson. What others do is not our standard. We must be obedient to the Lord regardless what others do. We work for God, not man.

Thank you for praying over my ministry when I preached at your church. I was in my early twenties, and your pastor had invited me to preach. When you prayed before the love offering, you wept as you prayed for God to bless my ministry. Your approval encouraged me to continue in gospel ministry.

If I could talk with you, I wouldn’t speak of your sins and shortcomings. Now that you’re gone, they seem strangely small and insignificant. . . for they lay in the grave where we placed your body. When that body rises, it will rise anew; it will rise glorified in the likeness of your Savior, Christ’s resurrection body. Because of God’s grace, you will return with Christ to rule and reign forevermore! I will see you again soon. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Matthew 6:1-4 –

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Hebrews 13:16 – Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

2 Corinthians 9:6-14 –

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

1 John 3:17 – But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

Oftentimes, however, Western Christians think they are too poor to give to the poor. In rare cases, this may be true, but in most cases, it is not. What I often find is that Christians tie their money up in their wants and then say, “We are too poor to give to the poor.” It’s similar to the Pharisees refusing to honor their parents by taking care of them in their old age because they had pledged their money to God (corban). They justified their sin by a “greater good” argument. Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) would have helped them! Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for exalting this man-made tradition above the command of God, saying,

“You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do” (Mark 7:9-13).

The “tradition” that Christians have handed down is not like the Pharisees who neglected their parents in the name of pledging their money to God. Western Christians, in most cases, are not neglecting the poor because they have pledged their money to the local church. Instead, the “tradition” Christians have handed down is that they have a “right” to spend their money how they want to spend it.

Although it is true that Christians are free in Christ to spend the money God has given them for his glory, the reality is that Christians are not free to neglect the poor. We cannot ignore the clear commands in Scripture or the example of Christ because we have tied up our money in our wants. In other words, you and I are not free to spend our money on our wants while saying, “We are too poor to give to the poor.”

If you are able to give to the poor, especially poor Christians (and most Western Christians are), and you refuse to because you have tied your money up in your wants, you are sinning against God. You are committing the sin of greed. Now, we cannot be legalistic and require a certain percentage for the poor, but we must give generously because of all that we have been given (2 Cor. 9:1-15). The gospel compels us to give monetarily out of what we’ve been given by God eternally. We really cannot out-give God.

To help Christians, especially Christians who think, “I’m too poor to give to the poor,” discern if they are sinning in refusing to give to the poor, consider this poem:

Those Poor Christians, What a Sight!

They cannot afford

To give to the poor

For their new vehicles shine so bright.

To the poor,

They cannot lend their hand

For they are too busy

Saving for Disney Land.

Those poor Christians, What a sight!

Past the poor, he and she drives,

To exercise their God-given right

On their iPhones, to their homes

To suffer their impoverished lives.

The poor, they cannot afford to feed

Their money is tied up

Paying for restaurants with family,

The Internet and Cable TV.

Those poor Christians, What a Sight!

In all of life, they lack greed

For only the rich deny the poor with all their might

And spend beyond their need.

After all,

Greed is only a rich man’s sin,

For only he is required to heed God’s call

To give generously with a grin.

(Prov. 14:21, 31 ;19:17; 28:27; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Eph. 4:28; etc.)

Are you shackled by sexual lust? Victory is possible—Jesus Christ can set you free! Unleashing the blazing light and beauty of the triune God in all His glorious attributes, Dr. Jared Moore exposes the darkness and ugliness of lust. With a helpful (and delightfully creative) method, he points the struggling soul to Scripture, poetry, and song—for when our souls are filled with the Spirit, with the Word of God, and with exuberant praise, the lasting pleasures of godliness become sweet and the shallow allurements of lust quickly lose their luster. If you are struggling with lust, this month of devotions—soaked in prayer and applied diligently to the heart—will provide an armory of spiritual weapons for the battle.

—Dr. Joel R. Beeke, chancellor of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of Heritage Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan

A joyful journey from sin to obedience for men and women seeking to mortify the sin of lust. Indeed, most of the principles Dr. Moore teaches are helpful for mortifying any sin. I appreciate the thoughtful and organized way the book is structured, and its multi-sensory approach designed to help the reader internalize each precept. This book is a must have for biblical counseling and discipleship.

—Michelle Lesley, women’s discipleship blogger/speaker. Co-host of A Word Fitly Spoken Podcast.

And she wrote,

I responded with the following tweet, because I thought that what she argues here sounds similar to what A.J. Swoboda and Nijay Gupta argued at Christianity Today in their 2021 article, “Jesus Was the God-Man, Not the God-Superman.” They say that Jesus doubted God at various points of His ministry and life.

And we went back and forth a bit more,

Childers argues that faith, when it is not 100%, is not sin, because it’s doubt not unbelief. But listen to Paul, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23), and listen to the author of Hebrews, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6), and the entire chapter of Hebrews 11. The doubt that she describes does not come from faith but is in opposition to it. It is indeed sin to not believe God at His word 100%. This is why, to be saved, we must have humility like a child, believing whatever the prophets, apostles, and Jesus said (Matt 18:1-4; Luke 18:15-17).

Now, it is good to seek understanding, to say to God, “I believe, help me to understand,” and then to read His word carefully, to gain understanding. But that’s not doubt (even though Childers calls it doubt in her tweet); that’s growth and maturity. We shouldn’t need anyone to dig up the Middle East for us to believe God’s word. Rather, we should take God at His word, for He has spoken through the prophets, apostles (and their close associates), and Christ.

Then, Childers responded by linking to a 2018 article she wrote, “4 Lessons we can Learn From Doubters in the Bible,” to explain what she believes about doubt not being sin. She begins her article with this quote from Tim Keller,

A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.[i]

Keller is mistaken because doubts are not like antibodies that strengthen your relationship with God; rather, doubts are like cancer cells that harm your relationship with God, and will spread and kill your faith, if you don’t repent and believe.

Jesus had no doubts. Our loved ones in heaven have no doubts. And we will have no doubts in the New Heavens and New Earth. The only people who have doubts in eternity are those burning in hell. Doubt is not a prerequisite for growth or maturity in Christ, faith is.

Doubt cannot be sanctified.

For, to doubt God or His word, you must believe someone or something else more than Him, whether your own mind, someone else’s mind, a skeptic’s argument, etc. That’s why, the moment Eve began believing the serpent, she disbelieved what God had said, and the result in her heart was that she saw the tree the way the serpent told her to, not God: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6). Doubt is literally what caused the fall of mankind into sin: belief in the serpent which was doubt or unbelief toward God.

In the rest of Childers’ article, she lists four doubters from Scripture as positive examples: Habakkuk, the father of the demon-possessed child, the apostle Thomas, and John the Baptist.

First, most of the time when the prophets question God, and every time Christ did, they question not because of doubts but because of God’s revealed will in His word. They appeal to who God is or what He has promised, as to why they’re questioning. They’re not correcting God or doubting Him. Rather, they’re like the martyrs the apostle John saw in Revelation 6:9-11,

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

The martyrs sound similar to what Habakkuk said in the beginning of his book, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save” (Hab 1:2), a quote that Childers says is doubt. Longing for God’s justice is not doubt. And questioning God based on His revealed will is not doubt either. It’s faith seeking understanding, not doubt seeking understanding.

That’s also why Christ cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” (Matt 27:46)? God only forsakes the wicked (Ezek 39:23-24; Micah 3:4), not the righteous; and Christ is perfectly righteous. Therefore, He rightfully cried out to fulfill Psalm 22:1, questioning God forsaking Him. Christ was not doubting but rather trusting in God’s word. After all, a few moments later, Christ cried out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46). He never doubted God for even a moment. We too can question God, so long as it’s according to His revealed will, His word, but we cannot doubt God or His word, for that is always sin.

Second, the times when the prophets or Scripture writers doubt, they are sharply rebuked explicitly, like Job was by God in Job 38-42. God’s rebuke can be summarized by Job 38:36: “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?” This is a rhetorical question where the only answer is “God.” After all, who was Job, the creature, to correct the Creator? Job responded by repenting:

Then Job answered the Lord and said: ² I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴ ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ ⁵ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; ⁶ therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:1-6).

Job, the most righteous man on earth at the time, sinfully questioned and argued with God and sought to correct Him. God sharply rebuked him, and he responded by repenting. Hence, Job’s questioning of God was neither neutral nor good, but was sin that required his repentance.

Moreover, if those in Scripture who doubt are not explicitly rebuked, the history is told in such a way that the reader is supposed to see the doubter as being rebuked for his doubt, like with doubting Thomas. Childers writes about Thomas,

When the time came for his face to face meeting with Jesus, Jesus didn’t scold him for doubting, or shame him into some kind of blind faith. Instead, He offered evidence to back up what Thomas had been told. Only after offering His hands and side to Thomas as evidence of His resurrection did He say, “Stop doubting and believe!”

Thomas’ doubt was rational and cerebral. Jesus answered his intellectual doubt with evidence.

She is mistaken because Christ said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). And Christ explicitly rebuked the eleven apostles in Mark 16:14, including Thomas, “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” The emphasis of the text is that we should not be like Thomas, but rather, we should believe the testimonies of Christ and the apostles, without having to see Jesus’s wounds face-to-face.

Third, Childers presents the father of the demon-possessed child in Mark 9:24 as a positive example, when he says, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” But the reason why he said this is because Jesus, when talking to him, said to the crowd, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you (Mark 9:19)?” Jesus explicitly rebuked him for his unbelief in the passage. Also, the Greek word used here translated “unbelief,” is apistia, and it’s rebuked in every other use or context around it in the New Testament: Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:6, 13:58, 16:14; Romans 3:3, 4:20, 11:20, 23; 1 Timothy 1:13; Hebrews 3:12, 19. Here are a few examples where it’s rebuked explicitly in same verse it’s used,

Mark 16:14 – ¹⁴ Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.”

Romans 11:20, 23 – ²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. ²³ And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.

1 Timothy 1:13 – ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,

Hebrews 3:12 – ¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Hebrews 3:19 – ¹⁹ So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief [emphasis mine].

Fourth, with John the Baptist, he indeed doubted while in prison, but Jesus responded to him, telling him of His miracles. The narrative is not crafted so that we will follow John the Baptist in his moments of unbelief, but so that we will follow Jesus because He is the Christ. Jesus, by telling John the Baptist’s disciples that He was working miracles and that, “blessed is the one who is not offended by me,” (Matt 11:2-6) showed that He is indeed the Christ, and John the Baptist and his disciples should not be offended by Him; but instead, should persevere in believing that He is the Christ.

That’s what we’re supposed to understand from John’s doubting. We’re not supposed to look at John the Baptist’s doubts as something we should imitate, any more than any other person’s sin in the New Testament. We should not have doubts about who Jesus is. After all, we have even more evidence than John the Baptist had, because we have Jesus’ entire ministry in the Gospels, and His progressive revelation through the apostles (and their close associates), in the rest of the New Testament.

Finally, in Childers’ last tweet to me, she said “the English word doubt is broader than the biblical words,” which is mistaken on her part. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines doubt as,

Noun,

1 a: a lack of confidence :

has doubts about his abilities

b: an inclination not to believe or accept

a claim met with doubt

2 a: uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making

b: a deliberate suspension of judgment

3: a state of affairs giving rise to uncertainty, hesitation, or suspense

The outcome is still in doubt.

Verb

1: to call into question the truth of : to be uncertain or in doubt about

He doubts everyone’s word.

2 a: to lack confidence in : distrust

… find myself doubting him even when I know that he is honest …—H. L. Mencken

b: to consider unlikely

I doubt if I can go.

3 archaic

a: fear

… I doubt I have been beguiled!—Sir Walter Scott

b: suspect[ii]

intransitive verb

: to be uncertain

All of these definitions of the English word “doubt” refer to unbelief in some form. If Childers disagrees, I must ask, “Which definition of the English word ‘doubt’ toward God or His word do you believe is neutral or good according to Scripture?”

The bottom line is that doubt cannot be sanctified. It is unbelief both biblically and according to our English language. The answer to doubt is to take God at His word. To say, “I believe, help me to understand,” not to say, “I believe, help my unbelief.” For, anything that does not proceed from faith is sin (Rom 14:23), and doubt does not come from faith; therefore, to doubt God, Christ, His Holy Spirit, or His word, is always sin.

We believe and seek understanding. We do not doubt and seek understanding.

[i] Keller, Timothy (2008-02-14). The Reason for God . Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, location 192

[ii] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doubt.

This week was awful. We’ve seen that great evil is among us.

Thursday was September 11, the anniversary of when Muslims flew passenger planes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in 2001. I’ll never forget that day. I remember I was home, and my mother called me from work to tell me that a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers. I turned on the TV, thinking it was a horrible accident. But then, I watched as another plane flew into the other Twin Tower. The towers exploded and crashed to the ground.

Almost 3,000 Americans lost their lives that day.[1] And nearly 7,000 more have died from various cancers and lung illnesses due to their heroic response in helping the victims and with cleanup.[2]

Osama Bin Ladin orchestrated the terrorist event all because America to him was the great Satan due to the Christian influence here.[3] We are the infidels who deserve to die according to the Quran.[4]

When I was in the PhD program at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary six years ago, there was a pastor from Jordan in the program too. It was his homeland, born and raised. He told me that the King of Jordan was keeping ISIS out currently, but that there was about 20% of ISIS-friendly Muslims already in Jordan; and that the moderate Muslims, about 40%, would help ISIS if they breached the walls, fences, and patrols, and tried to take over Jordan.

You must understand Christian that the so-called liberal or moderate Muslims in America, if Muslim law (Sharia) is ever on the voting docket in America, or if ISIS-friendly Islam gains a foothold in America, the moderate Muslims that pastors like J.D. Greear defend,[5] will agree with them. Sharia will be the law of the land, and no moderate Muslim will stand in its way. Only Christians will.

September 10, 2025

On Wednesday, September 10, Charlie Kirk was speaking in Orem, Utah at Utah Valley University to over 3,000 College students. A 22 year-old College student that had been living with his tranny boyfriend,[6] used a High-Powered bolt-action rifle, a Mauser Model 98 Rifle, .30-06., a .30 aught six, a gun that is legal in all 50 states, and legal in the UK,[7] to shoot and kill Charlie Kirk from 150 yards away.

If Charlie Kirk can be assassinated in Orem, Utah, then Jared Moore can be assassinated in Crossville, TN. Charlie was 31 years of age, and a husband and a father of two young children. He traveled across college campuses debating and sharing the Gospel. He co-founded Turning Point when was 18 years old. As he matured, got married, and had children, he grew more and more biblical. If you go and look up videos from him from the past several years on College campuses, you’ll hear him share the Gospel of Jesus Christ over and over again. You’ll hear him defending the death and resurrection of Christ and encouraging people to repent and believe in Him. Millions of people heard the Gospel because of him. And there are numerous testimonies online of people who came to Christ due to his influence, and even more since his murder.

The reason why I say that this is such a great evil is because Charlie was just like many of us here. Most of the things that he said, I say every week from the pulpit. And I’m shocked by how many people hated him. There’s a website that was launched a few days ago that has over 30,000 public posts on Social Media from people who publicly celebrated his murder.[8] It’s shocking to think that there are that many people out there in America who hate the morals and ethics of Christianity, so much so, that if they could get away with it, they would murder us.

I don’t say these things to scare you. I’m just telling you the reality of the time we live in. But, church, listen, Christ lived in an even worse time; and most Christians in history lived in a worse time than we do now. Remember what Jesus preached in Matthew 16:24-26,

“²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

Jesus told us that He would give us a cross. Rome crucified criminals on crosses. Jesus was the most loving Man who ever lived! And the Jews and Gentiles murdered Him for it. The apostles were some of the most loving men who ever lived, and most of them were murdered for it as well.

How Must Christians Respond?

So, what are we going to do about Charlie Kirk’s murder? How should we respond? What we must do is realize that we can bleed better than anyone else, so we can be bold for Christ. Because of the wonderful grace of God in Christ, we take our last breath here and our next breath will be with Jesus. We shouldn’t cower because of fearing man. Fearing God means that we don’t have to fear anyone else. We are free to lovingly share the Gospel and Christ’s morals across the world because Jesus is Lord. This world needs Jesus, and we must take Him to them.

An example from history of how Christians can bleed better than unbelievers is found in the story of the Salvation Army and the shipwreck of the RMS Empress of Ireland.

General William Booth founded what would later be known as “The Salvation Army” in 1865. Its purpose from beginning to end was the salvation of men’s souls. Over his lifetime, he established Army work in 58 countries, holding “salvation meetings” often. He published a book in 1890 titled, In Darkest England and the Way Out, where he made a case for helping the weak by abolishing vice and poverty through building houses, providing food and shelter, and in training people with the necessary skills needed to get jobs.

But make no mistake, Booth’s primary concern was still with the souls of men, women, and children. He wrote in the “Preface,”

“I have no intention to depart in the smallest degree from the main principles on which I have acted in the past. My only hope for the permanent deliverance of mankind from misery, either in this world or the next, is the regeneration or remaking of the individual by the power of the Holy Ghost through Jesus Christ. But in providing for the relief of temporal misery I reckon that I am only making it easy where it is now difficult, and possible where it is now all but impossible, for men and women to find their way to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[9]

In 1914 many salvation army officers were on a large ship, The RMS Empress of Ireland, and it wrecked. It’s become known as the Titanic of Canada. On May 29, 1914, roughly 2 years after the Titanic crashed, the Empress crashed with another ship in icy cold waters. They too didn’t have enough life preservers for those on board: 1,012 people died as a result, 465 survived. There were 130 Salvation Army officers on that boat on their way to a conference: 109 of them drowned. Survivors have said that the reason why most of them drowned is because they were taking their life preservers and putting them on other people, as they said, “I can die better than you can.”[10]

Another example comes from John G. Paton, a Christian Missionary to the New Hebrides Islands in the 1800s.

When Paton determined that he was to go to the unreached tribes of the South Sea Islands in 1856, a fellow Christian objected, "You will be eaten by cannibals!" To this Paton responded:

“Your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.”[11]

One out of every one Christian will die. Christian, we can bleed better than any unbeliever because we are ready to be with Jesus. Our sins have been forgiven and we’ve received the righteousness of Christ by His Holy Spirit through faith, and now we are reconciled to God. We can live our lives boldly for Christ regardless of whether people hate us or love us. We can share the Gospel and the morality of Jesus boldly because we love Jesus and we love sinners, because He loves sinners! The cross of Jesus proves His love for sinners!

Christian, if you are silent about Jesus and His ethics, you may live longer, but you won’t live better. And then one day, you’ll die in your silence and you’ll be where all the martyrs are, but you’ll lose reward because you feared men more than God. Yet God is so gracious and loving that even the silent Christians spend eternity with Jesus.

So this morning, I want to challenge you to be like Jesus, to love God so boldly, to love God’s word so much that you’re willing to fear God above mankind, and you’ll take the Gospel into a hostile world, even if that means you must give your life for Jesus and His morals.

He’s worth it church! Jesus is of supreme worth! Hold tightly to Him who lives and hold loosely to this world that is perishing!

[1] “9/11 Investigation,” Accessed September 15, 2025, https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/911-investigation.

[2] Michelle Whitmer, “Asbestos Exposure and 9/11,” April 8, 2025, https://www.asbestos.com/world-trade-center/.

[3] “In Their Own Words: What the Terrorists Believe, What They Hope to Accomplish, and How They Intend to Accomplish It,” Accessed September 15, 2025, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060905-7.html.

[4] Quran 9:5 (Surah At-Tawbah) says, “But once the Sacred Months have passed, kill the polytheists ˹who violated their treaties˺ wherever you find them, capture them, besiege them, and lie in wait for them on every way. But if they repent, perform prayers, and pay alms-tax, then set them free. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Quran 9:29 (Surah At-Tawbah) says, “Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture,¹ until they pay the tax,² willingly submitting, fully humbled.”

[5] See Dr Jared Moore, “JD Greear Says Christians Should Learn From Muslims Because We Are Selfish People,” YouTube video, February 7, 2025,

. Also see Dr Jared Moore, “JD Greear Says Christians Should ‘Cherish’ And ‘Fight For’ Muslims, Their Rights,” YouTube video, February 7, 2025,

.

[6] Brooke Singman, “Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin lived with transgender partner who is now cooperating with FBI: officials,” September 13, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirks-assassin-lived-transgender-partner-who-now-cooperating-fbi-sources.

[7] The 30 aught 6 is legal in the US in all 50 states: https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/. It’s also legal in the UK: https://www.countydeerstalking.co.uk/rifle-calibres.

[8] See Charlie’s Murderers, Accessed September 14, 2025,

https://charliesmurderers.com/.

[9] General Wm Booth, In Darkest England and the Way Out (Chicago: Charles H Sergel & Co, 1890), 7.

[10] Evangeline Booth and Grace Livingston Hill, The War Romance of the Salvation Army (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1919), 23.

[11] John G. Patton, Missionary to the New Hebrides: An Autobiography, ed. James Paton (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1891), 55-56.

God eternal, no start, no end,

No parts, no needs, we all on Him depend.

Past, now and forever, He simply is,

In Him, eternal bliss, my salvation begins.

But lust began in the serpent’s heart,

And bids me, from God to depart.

Promising me bliss with a deathly kiss,

Its pleasures…

Read more

God is eternal, has no beginning, no end, no parts, no needs, and He exists in and of Himself from eternity past, now, and forever; while lust began in the serpent’s heart, will end in the Lake of Fire, and only offers fleeting pleasure that quickly fades.

2. How does God’…

Read more

Scripture and Reflection

Ephesians 5:3-6 –

³ But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Impurity or covetousness refers to a state of any form of lust or sexual immorality. It shouldn’t even be named among Christians. This includes homosexuality or same-sex attraction, for these are the root of lust, produced by the flesh not the Spirit.

Paul says the remedy for lust is thanksgiving. Why? Because jealousy and discontentment are inherent in lust. To lust, you must not be thankful for God. You’re jealous of Him, thinking you know better and have better use for creation than He designed. You’re also discontent with what God has given you in this life. If you’re married, you’re not thankful for your spouse, so you lust. If you’re single, you’re not thankful for the singleness God has given you, so you lust.

The remedy is to be satisfied with God and His providence. If you’re thankful, you won’t lust. If you lack thankfulness, you must cultivate it through,

1) Worshipping God with other Christians in a local church.

2) Hearing, reading, believing, singing, and meditating on His word.

3) Praying to Him in faith.

His beauty is of infinite worth, and He created us; therefore, we should be satisfied with Him. Our gratitude for Him should never cease or decrease, and we should know that reflecting His image is the greatest good we could possibly pursue.

Colossians 3:1-10 –

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Romans 8:12-13 – ¹² So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 12:1-2 –

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Having been raised with Christ, we must long to be in Heaven with Him. We must set our minds on Him and the eternal life He has provided for us. We have died with Christ and have been raised to life in Him, that where He is, we may be also. When He returns, we will also be with Him in glory. This glorious truth should shape our affections in such a way that lust becomes unthinkable to us, something that is beneath us. It’s part of the old man, not the new one who has been born again in Christ.

Because we’re united to Christ in His death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, we must put to death what is fleshly in us, what is earthly not heavenly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. God’s wrath is coming upon people and the world because of these sins. We will escape because of our union with Christ, but we should live according to who we are in Him not who we were. We used to live for lust before we were united to Christ; now, we must live for Christ from our hearts, because He is our life, and we have left sin and death behind, have put on Christ, and are being conformed to His image.

We owe our lives to God not our lusts. Christ has freed us from the power of sin, and His Spirit empowers us to live for Him. We must sacrifice our fleshly desires, and instead, be transformed by the renewing of our minds through reading, receiving, and believing His word.

Application

When you lust, you show that your heart is not content with God or His good provisions. You’re jealous of Him, so you’re willing to twist His good creation, your own body and others, to fulfill your evil desires. But lust cannot satisfy you because you are God’s image-bearer and He is conforming you to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. Yet, lust wants to conform you to mirror an unbeliever who is dead in sin, who you used to be, but are no longer.

When you lust, you show that you’re focused on this temporary life not eternal life. You can’t aim at Jesus in Heaven at God’s right hand, and lust. God’s wrath will come upon the world for sins like impurity and covetousness, but as those born again in Christ, we’re too good for lust. You know and have experienced too much good, truth, and beauty in Christ, to lust, and you have even more waiting on you in eternity.

Today, will you be content with God’s design, His provisions for you, and how He’s governing all creation? Will you fix your eyes on Christ and Heaven in eternity, where you will be soon? Will you remind yourself that only God can satisfy you, and lust cannot? Will you pray often and hear, read, receive, and believe God’s word? By the Spirit, you can put lust to death today, but will you?

Marching Orders: Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him

Receive, believe, and live the truths you’ve read. Memorize and meditate on these truths today:

One Sentence to Shape Your Affections:

Since I am created in God’s image and I’m being conformed to Christ’s likeness, only God can satisfy me, not lust or any other sin.

One Poem to Shape Your Affections:

Lust whispers lies, a fleeting thrill to chase,

It sows discontentment with God’s good will and grace.

It twists His gifts, it clouds my heart and mind,

It short sights my eyes to lose vision of heaven’s kind.

Yet I, raised with Christ, am born anew,

Born again, I am God’s child, one of the few.

My heart, once dead, now seeks His holy face,

To live with Him in everlasting grace.

From fleshly desires I turn and depart,

Thanksgiving heals the jealous Christian heart.

In worship, prayer, and the word I find,

A transformed life, a pure and renewed mind.

Christ has won, and I’m in Him,

While God’s wrath comes for the world’s sin.

No debt to lust, but to Jesus alone I owe,

A life of love, a rushing river to overflow.

So, fix your eyes on Christ enthroned above,

His beauty, His truth, His everlasting love.

Content in Him, my lust will fade and dim,

As I live for Heaven, forever united to Him.

One Song to Shape Your Affections:

Add this song to your playlist, “Gladly Would I Leave Behind Me.”

On YouTube,

By Sovereign Grace Music (Written by Ann Griffiths, Doug Plank)

1. Gladly would I leave behind me
All the pleasure I have known
To pursue surpassing treasures
At the throne of God the Son
Worthy of unending worship
Love and loveliness is He
By His precious death were millions
From the jaws of death set free

[Due to copyright laws, I cannot include the rest of the lyrics here, but they are included in the above video.]

End with Prayer

Scripture and Reflection

Psalm 104:24-30 –

²⁴ O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. ²⁵ Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. ²⁶ There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. ²⁷ T…

Read more