Comments on: Pornography

By: José María Armesto Caldeiro

José María Armesto Caldeiro — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 07:48:35 +0000

Al leer el comentario de ByWaterAndBlood que me acaba de llegar, recordé una enseñanza que hace unos 21-23 años me dio el Espíritu Santo. Yo tenía entonces 5 ó 6 años en el Señor. Recuerdo que solía ir a comer a un restaurante asequible el menú del día. Ellos encendían la TV para que la gente la viera mientras comía. Yo solía comer y aprovechar para ver-escuchar las noticias. Lamentablemente en ciertas cadenas de TV, especialmente las privadas, las noticias iban acompañadas con "regalitos" visuales diversos. En el caso que recordé se trató de un "simple" desfile de moda, en el que las modelos lucían generosas transparencias. En ese tiempo yo había abandonado mi hogar siguiendo instrucciones del Señor. Debido a mi fidelidad el Señor tenía absoluto control de mi sexualidad, pues me concedió el don de continencia, ya que habiendo estado casado ahora no podía disfrutar de los beneficios conyugales al respecto por seguirle a Él. Esa noche después del desfile de moda del mediodía tuve una efusión nocturna durante el sueño. Cuando me levanté en la mañana le pregunté al Señor por qué había ocurrido eso y Él me recordó claramente las transparencias del desfile y que debía guardar mis ojos si quería seguir gozando de Su protección.
Como dice ByWaterAndBlood, nuestro subconsciente capta muy rápido ese tipo de imágenes y he notado que en algunas ocasiones penetran muy profundo y en tales situaciones después debo orar unas cuantas veces pidiéndole al Señor que las borre completamente; lo que usualmente toma un tiempo para que dejen de aflorar a la memoria.
En Twuiter y en Google + últimamente está habiendo una invasión. recuerdo que en Google + una vez me anoté en un grupo de frases célebres y tuve que salir de ahí rápido porque algunos ponían fotos muy subidas de tono. ¿Qué hacen esas fotos en un sitio de frases célebres? En Twuiter hay chicas dedicándose a publicitar sus servicios poniendo sus "Me gusta" en mis twuits y cuando uno mira la foto de quien puso el "me gusta", se da cuenta de lo que hay detrás; ya he tenido que bloquear a tres chicas.
Saludos y bendiciones a todos!!!

By: ByWaterAndBlood

ByWaterAndBlood — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 02:11:28 +0000

Thank you for sharing your heart in such a candid way so that the body of Christ might be edified through your testimony. I have been struggling with a conflict between my desire to be entertained and/or informed and the content I am exposed to in these endeavors. I convinced myself that (by the power of the Holy Spirit) I could "eat food sacrificed to idols" and be strong enough to rightly divide the content I am exposed to. I have found that this is not the case. I am weak because *when I subject myself willingly* to sources of visually, aurally or intellectually stimulating content that I know will be imbued with evil I believe God removes His protection and lets me stand on my own power. I might be able to withstand it for a while but continued exposure wears me down. I sense it creeping into my subconscious. I find my thoughts, behavior and intentions changing, little by little until a seed of iniquity sprouts and quickly becomes well-rooted in my psyche. Even though I stopped watering them it takes time for these tares to die. Since I have canceled my Netflix account I have had dreams and urges in the night that haunt me. I thank Yahweh for alerting the Spirit within me that something was wrong. The whole armor of God… FLEE from idolatry.

I believe a fast of sorts is in order for me. I've felt a strong need to limit my time on the computer, what sites I go to (Facebook and YouTube INSIST on displaying women's lingerie ads even though I mark them as inappropriate, and Google image searches always seem to show something I really wish I hadn't seen), what entertainment I listen to and watch (even some of the more "wholesome" shows and movies have very subtle sexually suggestive material – arguably the most dangerous kind because it "innocently winks" at evil). In my opinion the worst sort of coercive content is the most subtle. These kinds of seeds go straight past our prefrontal judgment, especially when our brains and bodies have been worn down and/or induced to trance by the flickering lights on our screens.

So fast it is. When I first moved to Montezuma I didn't have internet or a cell phone for months. It was quite liberating. The Lord was giving me inspiration to write music in its place. I also notice a need to get a hold on my diet. I've been overeating junk food, especially when watching Youtube.

Reading back over this it is plain that the word "I" has been overused. This means that my ability to focus on serving and helping others is stunted by the wickedness I've allowed in my life. It is a real setback, but since He has made this evident I can now begin to move past myself and get back to doing His good will.

By: José María Armesto Caldeiro

José María Armesto Caldeiro — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 18:41:48 +0000

Beloved Joseph,
Thank you for your sincerity, honesty and vulnerability, which will undoubtedly be a blessing to the Body of Christ.
Many years ago I stopped using the Hotmail-MNS page
and I moved on to Gmail, precisely because it showed provocative images.
Thank you for those filtering pages that are very useful for everyone, in the face of the obscene invasion that grows and grows without measure, even for those who do not have problems with pornography but do not want to be exposed. I just installed mine and replicated his article on my blog.
I pray with you that the Lord will use these tools for the benefit of all.
Blessings!

By: Joseph Herrin

Joseph Herrin — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 15:51:22 +0000

Dear James,

If a brother like you would take the time to download a program such as the one I have suggested, and would stick to it, I would consider all of my effort worth it.

Also, since you have mentioned television, please let me add the following to your statement. I have no television, but the Internet is just as bad. I have Amazon and it has many movies and T.V. shows for free and to purchase. I have found the same thing as you have when watching them. What is even more evil is when I don't notice it. It is like creeping frog sickness. Raise the temperature of the water a little at a time and you do not notice it.

I have also taken steps to mitigate this from happening. I have thrown out all of my videos of a questionable nature (practically all of them). I have also gotten rid of the downloaded videos. I am looking to other means to occupy my time when I am tired. There are loads of documentaries and preaching videos. I like to play a game of Scrabble by myself (against the computer) before I go to sleep at night, and it is good for people who have had a stroke. I am listening to Scriptures played in the evening. I am listening to my music collection. There are lots of good ways to spend quiet time.

Joseph Herrin

By: pat

pat — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 15:02:34 +0000

Thank you, brother!

By: Unknown

Unknown — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 14:24:10 +0000

Thank you for this post. I came here expecting to see something related to the recent shooting but this is far more vital to the daily struggle against temptation.

This is something I and people I know have struggled with. Sometimes successfully sometimes not.

There have been times when watching TV or searching the web that seemingly for no reason my mind would begin wandering towards this sin. That's when I realize that some of the content in front of me is subtly seductive. It's everywhere in varying degrees.

The software you mention won't block TV content but is worth a shot for surfing the internet.

Thanks for sharing.

By: Skip

Skip — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:05:25 +0000

Thank you Brother Herrin for so courageously and honestly addressing a subject which has affected so many people. One thing is certain, and that is once a specific type of sin has been committed by an individual, that one event opens the door to a flood of Satanic assaults in an attempt to keep that person in that state of sin, whether or not that person is born again. This applies to sins of lust, stealing, lying, adultery, etc., whatever the sin may be. The devil and his own know our weakness from that point on. That weakness will be a point of attack for the rest of our mortal lives. There is one fact which we should all remember who are born again by the spirit of our Creator. The power of the Spirit of Yahweh within is greater than the Satanic powers outside of us. When we literally cry for help, for protection from our spirit within, from the very depths of our soul, we will receive undefeatable help from above.