Mark 8:31-38
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
What if all your sexual fantasies could come true? What if you could have all the sex you want with dozens of hot babes? But in the process you would lose your salvation. Would it be worth it? How tempted are you by the offer? The bottom line - which do you want more: your fantasies or God? When presented with a choice this stark, we tend to make the "right" choice by choosing God. But often the temptation is more subtle, such that we don't realize the true cost of what we are seeking. In those cases we fail to see the spiritual reality of what we are doing. When Peter was upset about Jesus predicting his own death, it was because he was only seeing it from a worldly perspective, so Jesus rebuked him: ""You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (verse 33). Similarly when we strive after sexual fantasies we have in mind the things of man, not of God. The way of God requires turning away from worldly pleasures and seeking God: "let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (verse 34).
Lord, help me to choose You, and follow You above all else.
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
What if all your sexual fantasies could come true? What if you could have all the sex you want with dozens of hot babes? But in the process you would lose your salvation. Would it be worth it? How tempted are you by the offer? The bottom line - which do you want more: your fantasies or God? When presented with a choice this stark, we tend to make the "right" choice by choosing God. But often the temptation is more subtle, such that we don't realize the true cost of what we are seeking. In those cases we fail to see the spiritual reality of what we are doing. When Peter was upset about Jesus predicting his own death, it was because he was only seeing it from a worldly perspective, so Jesus rebuked him: ""You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (verse 33). Similarly when we strive after sexual fantasies we have in mind the things of man, not of God. The way of God requires turning away from worldly pleasures and seeking God: "let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (verse 34).
Lord, help me to choose You, and follow You above all else.