The Abundant Life Pornography Will Never Provide You Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: The Abundant Life Pornography Will Never Provide You -------------------------------------------- Date: 9/4/2000 Keywords: "faithfulness" "lovingkindness" "psalm" "righteousness" "transgression" "ungodly" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Psalm 36:1-12* 1. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2. For it flatters him in his own eyes, concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. 3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4. He plans wickedness upon his bed; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he does not despise evil. 5. Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies. 6. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are like a great deep. Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. 7. How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings. 8. They drink their fill of the abundance of Thy house; and Thou dost give them to drink of the river of Thy delights. 9. For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light we see light. 10. O continue Thy lovingkindness to those who know Thee, and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart. 11. Let not the foot of pride come upon me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen; they have been thrust down and cannot rise. Questions 1. Are you getting enough sleep?   2. How would you describe the quality of your sleep?   3. Do worries or guilty feelings make it difficult for you to fall asleep?   Practical help This is the fourth in a series of studies taken from Psalm 36. Yesterday we looked at four of God’s attributes: lovingkindness, faithfulness, righteousness and judgment (or justice). David, the author of this psalm, saw God’s judgments as a "great deep." In other words, how He operates and what He thinks are in dimensions our minds simply cannot handle. The reason we know anything about God is that He has chosen to reveal parts of Himself to us, but He is not simple and should not be treated lightly — the way the ungodly man does who is described in the first four verses. Now here is the really startling thing. God, knowing completely the depth and depravity of man (including any bent toward pornography), is determined to preserve rather than annihilate him if possible, which is a judgment or plan too deep for David to comprehend. So he says again, "How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God!" Next, David speaks of the children of men (verse 7). He could be describing mankind using the shared attribute that we all grew up from small children — and that we have forgotten important qualities each of us once possessed. Or he could be speaking about the present generation of small children who are innocent of the wicked actions of previous generations. The point is, we must each come to God as needy children because we do not have what it takes to save ourselves. The ungodly man living a life ignoring God does not understand this. The life this ungodly person is missing is described in verses 7-9. These are word-pictures that describe a spiritual life of great abundance. To take refuge in the shadow of God’s wings is to rest securely. It’s the same feeling you and I can have going to sleep with clear consciences because we have reconciled with God and others. To drink our fill of the abundance of God’s house is to have the key to His spiritual wine cellar. We are free to enjoy a rich relationship with a God who eagerly desires to delight and surprise us. He desires to awaken each of us to a life where joy bubbles up like a fountain of gushing water. Where our lives were once dark and sad, God desires to switch on the light. But that’s not all. When God shines His light, we become aware of more than just our sins and unworthiness; we begin to see a light glowing from our own changing hearts. Viewing porn doesn’t hold a candle to this kind of a life — and the good news is that this abundant life ours for the asking! Still have questions? Click here. 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."