17. But, dear friends,
remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ
foretold.
18. They said to you, "In the
last times there will be scoffers who will follow
their own ungodly desires."
19. These are the men who divide
you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have
the Spirit.
20. But you, dear friends, build
yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the
Holy Spirit.
21. Keep yourselves in God's
love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22. Be merciful to those who
doubt;
23. snatch others from the fire
and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with
fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted
flesh.
24. To him who is able to keep
you from falling and to present you before his
glorious presence without fault and with great
joy--
25. to the only God our Savior
be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!
Amen.
Verses 20-22 above suggest
ways we can build ourselves up in our "most holy
faith."
1. Pray in the Holy
Spirit. Pick up on the tempo of Scripture, and
get into the same mood when you pray. Be joyful on
topics where Scripture is joyful, sorrowful where
it's sorrowful.
2. Remain in God's
love. This is more about remembering than
doing. Remember that if you're God's child, nothing
can separate you from God's love. There's nothing
you can do to intensify it or repulse it. Don't
know if you're God's child? Click
here.
For I [the
Apostle Paul] am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39
3. Wait for God's
mercy. Be patient. Don't insist that life be
the way you want it and when. This means even
enduring porn temptation until God delivers you
from it for good.
4. Be merciful to folks
who doubt. Encourage other strugglers,
especially when they don't see God's deliverance
right away. Help each other wait for God's
mercy.
This process can help us to
endure the temptation of porn and, having endured, to
stand strong.