FL Was Warm, PA Is Not

Florida was warm, Pennsylvania is not. It's really cold here. I grew up here, I should be used to this, but I have never gotten used to it. It's really cold and going to Florida made it worse.

Thanks to those of you who prayed for Sheri and I while we were gone. We had a great time. It's good to be back.

For those of you who were wondering, I kept the men after the service to talk about a foothold that is true in the lives of so many (all) men: lust, and in many cases, lust through pornography. When I get a chance to get alone with God, like on my vacations, I really try to listen hard to Jesus both personally and as a leader of our Body. While we were in Florida, the Holy Spirit laid this on my heart, so much so that I had to deal with it right away -- this past Sunday.

I didn't rail on the guys. No one got yelled at and there were no stupid threats. What I did was remove the guilt and shame that surrounds this issue. It is the inherent shame of this particular sin that keeps men bottled up in their secret worlds of cyclical sin. It destroys men, it destroys marriages and it wrecks families. The only way that men beat lust is through the brotherhood of other men in truly accountable relationships that are safe and honest places to share and be challenged. As long as Satan can shame a man into living in this secret world, he won't reach out for help, and subsequently, he won't have victory over this area of his life.

In order for our men to be the warriors for the Kingdom that they are called to be, they have to shed the weight of this sin of lust and pornography, this foothold that is so devastating. Cornerstone, and particularly the small groups at Cornerstone, are now safe places in which to do that.

And to you, my fellow warriors at Cornerstone:
May the gentle conviction of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit drive you from your isolation. May you step out from a yoke of bondage to shame and into the glory of Christ through the brotherhood found in His Body and may you be free.