Archive for December, 2009

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
- Galations 6:2

Helping others. It is a very rewarding experience. When we enter a healing journey from habitual sin such as sex addiction, it feels good to lend a helping hand to another in need of support. When we have been struggling, it sometimes feels very natural to help others who are struggling too. It is a welcome distraction to the difficulty of resisting temptation. Scripture even directs us that “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4) As virtuous as it may seem to reach out to help fellow strugglers, we must hold to the whole counsel of scripture.

Jesus included this very topic, showing loving support to others, in what He described as the second greatest commandment in the entire Bible: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Amazingly, Jesus said that we have to love ourselves. Loving others and loving ourselves are inextricably linked. Paul confirms this in Gal. 6:2 and Php. 2:4 when he wrote that we should “carry each other’s burdens” and “look…to your own interests”. For some reason, the thought of helping another person can be a lot easier than reaching out for help ourselves. In order to “carry each other’s burdens” we have to be willing to let others carry our burdens as well. There is a mutual give-and-take implied in these scriptures. If we try to help others, yet do not seek help for ourselves, we are not fulfilling the law of Christ. We are in fact in violation of it.

It is incredibly important to continually share our burdens with our fellow Christians. In fact, if we are not willing to share our struggles with others, we actually disqualify ourselves from helping anyone with theirs. In order to experience the blessing of fulfilling the law of Christ and looking to the interests of others, we must first ensure that we have opened ourselves up. This keeps our hearts humble. Then as others look to us for support we can reach out to them from a position of meekness rather than one of superiority.

When we take the care to unburden our hearts, we are reminded that we struggle too. Not only so, but those that look to us for help realize that they are not alone. They can share their heart openly knowing that we truly understand their plight.

The next time you feel inspired to reach out and help others who are struggling, take a step back. First check your own heart to be sure that you have been open before the Lord and the people that He has placed in your life. Doing so allows these scriptures to be realized in our lives. There is nothing more exciting than when the word of God is made alive through the experience of it!

Lord, give us the courage to open our hearts. Let us be inspired by Your word that instructs us that while we are to help others, that we cannot neglect ourselves in the process. Give us the wisdom to allow others to carry our burdens and in so doing experience the blessing of the laws of grace being fulfilled in our lives.

I am very excited to announce a new direction and new focus for our ministry. As many of you know, we have endeavored over the years to create a safe online community where those who struggle with sexual integrity can come and receive support, encouragement, prayer and fellowship. We have been really successful in this and it has been a pleasure to be a part of.

After the New Year 2010, we will be rebranding and relaunching Higher-Calling.com. After the New Year, we will be known as “The Purity Report.” When you visit higher-calling.com you will be redirected to the new site.

What is The Purity Report? I’m glad you asked!

Most of us have seen or heard about accountability going badly. The church has not done a great job keeping accountability safe. It has tended to be too authoritarian or too unstructured. Neither are helpful and leave those struggling with purity frustrated or worse, believing a lie that the church does not have the answers!

The Purity Report is a simple framework for accountability relationships. It consists of a “script” for confession to be used by those struggling with purity and a set of guidelines for their accountability friends. The combination of these components foster safe and effective accountability.

The program begins with a 40-day challenge during which strugglers complete The Purity Report every day for 40 days. They share that daily report with someone they know personally. We also have specific forums to share the report with the online community, and tools on the website to help send the report to those who are not on the website through email. It takes about 5-10 minutes each day to complete the report. After the 40-day challenge, we encourage participants to continue using the report weekly to stay accountable long-term.

We will continue to foster a safe online community as we have always done. But, we are really excited to take this new direction. We have a vision to see accountability restored to the church and for many to be set free!

Please join us in sharing The Purity Report with your churches. If you would like, you can contact me at info@purityreport.com with any questions or if you would like us to discuss the program with your church.

You can visit the newly designed website at www.purityreport.com. It is still under development, but you can learn more about the program there.