Tag Archives: alluring

Kissing Your Past Goodbye

In the Bourne Identity series, Matt Damon plays a special ops agent who has forgotten his past.  Suffering from amnesia, Damon searches for clues to figure out who he is.  Little by little, flashes of his memory returns, yet numerous passports with different names makes this quest even more difficult.  Two films later in the Bourne Ultimatum, a sympathetic agent reveals his true identity, David Webb.  However, it was David who agreed to kiss his past goodbye.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, Acts 3:19.

In the real world, there isn’t a day that goes by without someone making a mistake, saying something regretful or wasting a perfectly good day.  No matter what happy face, facade or front that you may put on, imperfections permeate throughout the human body.  Exercise can mask obvious blemishes, but a hidden cancer of the soul exists without any cure.  Thus, whether you believe in God or not, the promise of a fresh start is alluring, worth further investigation.

Because of the LORD‘s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness, Lamentations 3:22-23.

Whether you have a friend forgive you, experience reconciliation in a broken relationship from your past or commit to starting over from scratch, these events produce peace.  When these interactions are verbal, confession tends to bind people together in perfect harmony.  Perhaps this spirit inspired the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30, “come to me who are tired and weary for I will give you rest.”  Therefore, if you are desperate for a new lease on life, come to Jesus to kiss the pain of your past goodbye.

by Jay Mankus

 

 

 

Flirting with the World

The term flirt is an intransitive verb which means to behave in a playful or alluring manner.  At the high school and college level, flirting is a method used to ascertain whether or not another individual shares any interest in you.  Like a scientific experiment, probing, tickling or winking either stimulates a mutual connection with another person or results in a cold rejection.  Unfortunately, flirting with the world is like playing with fire, often leaving deep scars from where your soul got burned.

Eve introduced the world to flirting in Genesis 3.  Flirting begins in Eve’s mind, questioning the boundaries God had set in Genesis 2:16-17.  As Eve’s thoughts began to wander, her eyes enter the fray, lusting over the beauty of the fruit on the Tree of Knowledge.  Cain had a similar problem in Genesis 4:6-7 as God tries to intervene to prevent free will from being exercised in the form of murder.  According to Jesus in Matthew 5:21-22, the jealousy within Cain’s heart, led to immense hatred, ultimately planting the seed to kill.  When you flirt with the ways of the world, death and destruction often follow, Deuteronomy 30:17-18.

In his book entitled Flirting with the World, John White reaches a scary conclusion about the impact flirting is having on the church.  According to White, “the sexual behavior of Christians has reached the point of being indistinguishable from that of non-Christians”.  In an attempt to blend in, trying not to offend others, the salt of faith has lost its flavor and the light of Jesus is experiencing nation wide power outages, Matthew 5:13-16.  As godly role models continue to fall from grace, an “everybody’s doing it” mindset has led saints toward a pit of despair, James 1:13-15.  Intervention, public confession and accountability is essential to break free from the bondage to sin, James 5:16.  Therefore, if you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, think twice before you actually flirt with the world.

by Jay Mankus