Strengthen Your Heart Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Strengthen Your Heart----------------------------------- Date: 8/8/2000 Keywords: "Christ" "sanctify" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: 1 Peter 3:15* but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; Question How does this passage relate to viewing Internet pornographic web sites?   Practical help If you are not a Christian (meaning you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior) then I can’t imagine that this passage will make any sense to you at all. If you are unsure who Jesus is then click here. When Peter tells you to sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart, he is saying something incredibly profound. He is telling you to make a special place in your heart for the idea that Jesus is Lord of your life. So whenever you must make a moral decision, like whether or not to view pornography, you will be able to draw from a unique source of strength to meet the temptation. That strength is a special love and devotion to Jesus you will have developed over time spent in study and prayer. Understand that you are not working in order to impress God, you are energized to know Jesus better because you understand how much He loved you by dying on the cross for your sins. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). People who center their lives around knowing Jesus well will respond differently to life’s problems and temptations than everyone else. In fact their response will be so unique that others will take notice and begin to ask questions. This will result in Christians having the opportunity of sharing Jesus in a gentle and effective way. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." And in John 8:12 He said: "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."