Back from Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. One would assume it was a relexing trip, enjoying the sun and the mountains. Yes, indeed it was a fun weekend on the bike, but it has been challenging weekend also. This challenge was hard to put on paper, but after chatting with Johan today and along with the recent study in Every Young Man's Battle with the high school boys confirms that no longer I should let Satan keep these things bottled up in the dark.
Being is such vacation/tourist spots and along with the hot and humid weather, it is a challenge for most man. I think Pastor Paul said it best in his last message. Summer fashion can be pretty merciless for most man. Shirt skirts, low tops, the summer is filled with landmines of sexual temptations. This is a true test of "bouncing eyes".
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman."
~Job 31:1
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."
Eph 5:3
Bouncing the eyes, what this means is that when a man sees something that is sexually tempting he is to immediately divert his eyes. This is a tough test, but I know strength comes from the Lord. Knowing that nothing is better than Jesus calms my male tendencies. I think most man will agree, sexual temptations are difficult challenges. And I must admit I have failed in such temptations. But praise God, His grace is enough to lift us up from the muck of sins. Also, God has been giving me strength by reminding me to stand firm in these temptations for the sake of my future wife. Plus for every woman, no matter how "merciless" in the way they dress, is a daughter of a father. And in honour and respect, I would too want to raise my future daughter in purity and holiness. So in conclusion, I do not have the authority to look with lust.
Thank You, Father, for the trials. I know you are shaping me into the man you want me to be.
*The Stumbling Block*
It is amazing how God uses long trips on the road to speaks to me. Over the last week, I have spent over 30+ hours on the road. My mind was filled with insights, some weird, some deep. Thank You, Lord, for the Holy Spirit continuing to speak to me.
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
~John 14:26
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I began to understand one of my potential stumbling block. Fear, just as what pastor Tom Holladay from Saddleback preached about. One thing I have convinced myself that I am not good at is languages. Beside cantonese and english, I have had trougle with other languages I tried to learn (mandrian, french and latin). And now I am expect to learn NT greek over the next two years. During the drive, I realized the problem is not the difficulty in learning the language, it is my fear of using and practicing it. My fear is that I will make a fool of myself trying. Funny though, I make a fool of myself all the time anyway, so why the fears?
That's one thing I still need to learn more about myself. Why the fear?
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