We both saw it for the first time.

I remember the first time that I saw it. I was spending the night at a friend's house. His parents were asleep, and we were up late watching satellite tv--the old, huge satellite system that took up a substantial portion of your yard. With the old satellites you had to wait for them to search out new channels. My friend and I were hoping to find some cartoons, but we got more than we were hoping for. When the satellite finally found some new stations, we both saw it for the first time: porn. At the time we didn't know what to call it. I remember feeling confused and disturbed. We immediately changed the channel and pretended that we didn't see anything. But that image stuck with me.

I'm sure that many people can relate to this story. Maybe you came upon it accidentally as I did. Or maybe an older brother or friend showed it to you. Or maybe you searched it out. Maybe it disgusted you too. Yet, somewhere along the way, maybe confusion turned to curiosity. Maybe disgust turned to delight. Maybe that first view led you into a web of lust. You certainly would not the first person this happened to.

Sadly, so many men and women (both Christian and non-Christian) battle with addictions to pornography. The sin of lust has consummed so many. It can quickly become your god, your idol. This is exactly what our enemy, Satan, would want. He seeks to take what is good--the God-given gift of sex between husband and wife--and distort and twist it. He wants men and women to worship the gift instead of the Giver. But Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

Below, I've placed some links to a few free online resources (E-Books) that you can download and read. These two resources--one for single guys and one for married guys--are excellent. They are written by Tim Challies (www.challies.com). The table of contents contains these chapters:

Introduction
Pornifying the Marriage Bed
Breaking Free
A Theology of Sex
Self-Centered Sex
Detoxification
Freedom
Recommended Resources

In addition, these guides included some very helpful discussion/study questions at the end of each section

Sexual Detox - A Guide for the Single Guy

Sexual Detox - A Guide for the Married Guy

Hair on Your Chest

Well, I guess you don't have to have hair on your chest in order to appreciate these links, but it would probably help.

* The Gospel Man Fellowship and Conferences - If you live near the Atlanta area, there is a conference planned for April 24-25. Lord willing, I'll be there.

*How Grace Changes Men Blog - This is the blog of the guy who started the

*Samson Society - "A fellowship of Christian men who are serious about authenticity, community, humility and recovery - serious, but not grave."

"Help!"

God, in his grace, has used addiction to shatter my moralistic understanding of the Christian faith and force me to accept the gospel. I am not a faithful man. That's why I need a Savior. I cannot live victoriously on my own. That's why I need a Helper and brothers. I cannot keep my promises to God--the very act of making them is delusional--but God will keep his promises to me.

As a Christian, I am perpetually reduced to the role of a supplicant. No more can I offer God a bargain, his favor in exchange for my faithfulness, or go toe-to-toe with him, demanding payment for years of service. But when I approach him humbly, as a restored prodigal son, he responds with overwhelming generosity to my requests for aid.

No fancy prayers are required. In fact, God finds fancy prayers repugnant. He loves it, however, when I acknowledge my need and my belief in his benevolence with a simple one-word prayer:

"Help!"

-Nate Larkin, Samson and the Pirate Monks, p. 132