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I die devotionals

Seductress is bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword | P5-V4

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I die devotional

Proverbs 5:4

3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

Four months ago I didn’t think myself equipped to pull the speck out of my reader’s eye (Matt. 7:2-4) regarding these verses –  if indeed there is a speck of lust? I was still in combat training against the lips of an adulteress; her speech is smoother than oil, which makes grappling against her batting of the eyes and biting of the lip impossible to resist for turning into some perverse fantasy. It wasn’t that I was involved in a physical affair or looking at porn—that demon departed—but that the idea of being unfulfilled in some lustful way…was my battle ground; self-control is developed through the discipline of resistance.

Matthew 7:2-4
2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye?

That battle ground I mentioned, it’s a place you and I are sharing in my writing and your reading. It’s only natural for the mind to think about our subject at hand, but how the information of the topic affects us… intrigues me.

I had judged what I was up against four months ago as worse than committing the act of adultery because I lived in “death” for the experience of “Sheol”. In other words not looking at porn or resisting masturbation will not solve the deeper problem of lust although it is a step in the right direction. The feet of a seductress goes down to death and her appetite is the devil’s bed, or restroom perhaps? Because you know the places of your vices, they’re home to you and the devil. It’s a deal bargained for your soul unless confessed and repented of. The mind is so powerful that it has the capacity to stronghold you into unbelief by keeping you in your sin that Jesus Christ saved you out of; the choice on whether you want to live in sin or escape is purely psychological and spiritual in nature, the choice is made by how you behave! So how do you behave in secret?

The question is simple: 

Do you want to escape from the will of the devil (2 Timothy 2:24-26)?

The answer is not so simple; discipline is suffering. 

2 Timothy 2:24-26
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

In my case I lived in the adultery of my mind because of insecurities and pride that the Church couldn’t cure because it was too personal, beyond human intuition and perception. And until I faced what that meant in order for that part of me to die, I would continue to give myself over to the seductress of my soul—thinking I didn’t want that attractive person to look at me the way they did by which invoked sexual fantasies, but it happened because of sin… “So I must be safe, right?” Wrong! As innocent as it might be to experience the chemical and neurological processes of my reproductive and intellectual organs doesn’t mean I’m not guilty of committing adultery in my heart by turning what was innocent into a conscious fantasy where pleasure is performed until release, a proclivity to doing it over and over and over again.

The seductress of your soul might look like a number of different things: perhaps it is wanting something that someone else has, or perhaps fulfilling something that someone else doesn’t have or hasn’t experienced, or perhaps it’s the fact that the conscience convicts what is off limits and not understanding why will drive you absolutely insane until you find it out? I think we could go on and on in addition to scenarios, but I don’t think that wise, said facetiously. I think—or at least hope—you get the idea.

If you want to escape from the seductress of your soul you’ll need to first confess to the Church, that’s the first act of repentance and it might be multiple times, but don’t underestimate your faith in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. By “Church” I mean two or three witnesses of a congregation in the Body of Christ. These people will be governed by the Holy Spirit for the sake of your forgiveness and accountability moving forward in your new life. 

Without genuine christian accountability in your life you’ll fall all the harder into your sin you’ve just escaped from, so do not think you can win against evil without God, it is impossible without God!

I’ll be praying for you, reader.

MORE CONTENT & RESOURCES

P5-V3

Proverbs 5 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org | biblegateway.com

Matthew Henry (P5-V4) Commentary

  • (1.) How fatal the consequences will be. What fruit will the sinner have of his honey and oil when the end will be,
    • [1.] The terrors of conscience: It is bitter as wormwood, v. 4. What was luscious in the mouth rises in the stomach and turns sour there; it cuts, in the reflection, like a two-edged sword; take it which way you will, it wounds. Solomon could speak by experience, Eccl. 7:26.
    • [2.] The torments of hell. If some that have been guilty of this sin have repented and been saved, yet the direct tendency of the sin is to destruction of body and soul; the feet of it go down to death, nay, they take hold on hell, to pull it to the sinner, as if the damnations slumbered too long, v. 5. Those that are entangled in this sin should be reminded that there is but a step between them and hell, and that they are ready to drop into it.
Christian Soapbox, I die devotionals, Journal

Journal Entry 10

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And they said to him, “Where is He?” He *said, “I do not know.” They *brought the man who was previously blind to the Pharisees.

John 9:12-13

PRAYER

I pray, Lord, as each of your ‘seeing’ people are brought to testify of your work, will be strong and courageous. To the glory of your name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

If we’ve repented to God and have faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, we’re on a new foundation! There is much on our subject of a new foundation that I look forward to build upon—in hope that my building will survive the test of fire. Lets see where our new foundations leads us in the days to come.

Christian Soapbox, I die devotionals, Journal

Journal Entry 9

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So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made mud, and spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”

John 9:10-11

PRAYER

I pray our neighbors will have hearts’ genuine to the answers you’ve provided by sending the Holy Spirit to reveal the nature of your Word that makes our eyes see the miracle that you are; you’re seated at the right hand of the throne of God. I pray we are faithful in communicating the testimony of your work in us and the world. Please help us not use our ability through grace to see the world as an opportunity to sin by wrong motives and ideas, but for righteousness in serving the cause of your good news. In your Name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

DEATH

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17)

The nature of death is quite difficult for me to contend with, not because of fear, or…at least, the fact it will happen in its finality one day, but rather because the experience of impending death distracts from its twofold nature—the nature of its physical process and spiritual process. So while the experience of death has a physical hold on me due the condemnation of man; how I choose to die is of another nature to death entirely. Observe…

When you open your bible and turn to 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, what does it say?

Or how about when you turn to Revelation 20:13-15, what does it read?

The two biblical passages—of which there are more—presented, reveal two realities about death, at least, from my perspective. There is (1) a biological reality and (2) a spiritual reality of death. Lets proceed to understand the biological reality…

BIOLOGICAL REALITY

I don’t think it requires much explanation for understanding our biological experience of death, but the fact of its experience, is what is of interest to me, because the law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed – but can only be converted from one form of energy to another—of which, admittedly, am totally uneducated about. The only way that that makes sense to me as a human being of energy is that an eternal God (Father) [energy] exists outside our reality and is emitted as God (Son) [energy] inside our reality for emitting [energy] God (Holy Spirit)—LOGOS—to an eternal reality. It doesn’t make sense that life would randomly come into being only to evolve to death, intelligently—”the end”. How does that make any sense to anyone?

I can testify that I experience pain in the process of death, and that communicates something beyond the scientific resolve—it’s not a biological issue. Yes, biology is the study of life, the living, so how is death biological when the very definition contradicts. Death is not biological, it’s a consequence.

I can hear you smart people… “Don’t give me that! That’s not the definition!” Nonsense! I googled the study of death, and you’re correct, it’s the study of thanatology, but the point is… It’s a thanatological (Is that even a word?…) process of a biological reality (… It is a word! Yeahhh… I’m a stewpid smart person!!!). And that means the energy of death is a process of elimination; it will eventually conclude it’s purpose (converting into another form of consequence); whereas, the energy of biology will transcend (converting into another form of experience); we can see that, especially, in our Revelation 20:13-15 passage. That brings us to the second reality of deaths’ nature.

SPIRITUAL REALITY

Since our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the propitiation of our sins, but not ours only, the entire worlds (1 John 2:2). We now have the spiritual reality to die a different death given by the Holy Spirit of God to help in our time of need. We can choose to die a death in faith by believing in Jesus Christ, entrusting Him with our soul by the Word of God. That may sound simple, but the discipline of change is not pleasant nor the process easy.

When death converts into another form, the reality will be—figuratively and literally—Hell (lake of fire). Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire, the lake of fire is the second death (Revelation 20:13-15). That is a spiritual truth from a biblical God, and one not to be taken lightly as we see the world taking it. The consequence for neglecting the discipline of the Holy Spirit’s work in sanctification that saves and seals the believing soul is…a spiritual reality and of eternal significance.

If anyone reading this comes short of the fear of the Lord, then I pray you’ll consider this another plea for your souls’ salvation. I pray you’ll turn your mind and heart off to the world and “die” (For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but…) for the sake of Christ the Lord (…whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.), our gift of salvation; Jesus, is the Savior of those in the world who might believe (John 3:16-20). Do not wait for the days where you will wish you could die, but cannot:

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Revelation 9:6