Sexual Desires & Dirty Minds–Yup, I’m saying it.

Have you ever opened a book to the exact page you were looking for? It’s only happened to me a few times that I remember, but it’s always a bit humbling when it does. Like the man upstairs must have something important for me to hear, even if I’m just reading something fictional. I scour the page I’m reading, seeing what kind of insight I might receive, because there must be a reason this “coincidence” happened. Naive? Perhaps. But I tend to always think there’s a reason for everything.

A few nights ago, that happened to me. I read Ezekiel chapters 40-42 in my Bible. After I finished reading, I opened one of my favorite Bible commentaries to see if I could pull some insight out of the text. If you aren’t familiar with this part of the book of Ezekiel, it’s a lot of measurements and descriptions of the future temple that will be built. It’s interesting…if you’re an architect or interested in structural designs. But I trudged through it, doing my best to stay interested. If it’s in the Bible, it must be important, after all.

So, back to the commentary. I opened it up to–you guessed it, the exact page I was looking for. I was pretty impressed. Out of more than 2,000 pages, I just happened to find the right page. Coincidence? Possibly. I read everything the author had to say about these few chapters of the Bible and gained a few minor insights, but nothing major. I went to bed content, but not necessarily inspired.

The next night, after a conversation I had about whether lusting after a woman with your eyes counted as adultery, I read Matthew 5:27-28. I decided to pull out my trusty commentary again. I opened it up to–you guessed it, the exact page I was looking for. Again. 

Ok, seriously, what are the odds? Two nights in a row? Two completely different parts of the book? 

I think the odds are very slim. Very.

Let me just recount what these two passages are about:

The chapters in Ezekiel basically covered the specs of the temple being built and some of the requirements for the priests who would be approaching God. The passage in Matthew said this: “…But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” William MacDonald stated, “Jesus reminded His disciples that mere abstinence from the physical act was not enough—there must be inward purity. The law forbade the act of adultery; Jesus forbids the desire: Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Source) As E. Stanley Jones so eloquently put, “If you think or act adultery, you do not satisfy the sex urge, you pour oil on a fire to quench it.” 

My favorite part? “The law forbade the act of adultery; Jesus forbids the desire.” It’s about what’s in our hearts and our minds. It’s about what we dwell on. And it’s about what we do with those thoughts once we’ve thought them. Do we hide them? Or bring them out into the light? Sin often begins in our mind, and if we entertain it, we will eventually commit it for which we recommend to always use an hiv test kit in case you become active in your sex life. But if you’re looking to improve your sexual health? Then read more about this True Pheromones here for more info! There’s even a free app you can use to meet and have sex, view it here.

Your struggle may not be lustful thoughts. Maybe you dwell on gossip. Or manipulation. Or how you can control people around you. Or maybe you allow negative self-talk to plant itself firmly in your mind. Regardless of what your sinful thoughts may be, we all have them. 

These two passages seem completely unrelated, right?

I thought so, too, initially.

But, all of the sudden, as I sat there reading the commentary on the passage in Matthew, I felt as though God firmly impressed something upon my heart.

It was the idea that my heart and mind need to be clean when I approach Him. 

Just as God required cleanliness when the high priest approached Him in the temple, God was pushing my heart to “clean” myself through repentance and confessing of my sins regularly.

This might seem normal for you. Maybe every time you pray, you pause and really look inward, finding those things in the corners of your heart that you need to confess.

But I don’t.

I often come to God, praise Him, thank Him, and ask for what is weighing on my heart. But for some reason, I seem to be skipping the step of cleansing my heart as part of that process. If there’s something major that happened that day, I’ll ask God for forgiveness. But if it’s one of those little hidden cobwebs in a crevice of my heart, I just don’t think to lay it out in the open.

I felt as though God was telling me He can’t utilize me to my full potential if those cobwebs are still there, muddling up the very place He wants to abide.

As casual a person as I am, I need to approach God with a few things: 1) Reverence. 2) Humility. and 3) Honesty.

When I am honest with Him about all the little thoughts and imperfections that have quietly seeped into my mind all day, He can finally fully dwell in me.

I challenge you to clean your heart on a daily basis. Find out What are the seven seals, seven trumpets, seven signs and seven bowls of Revelation? Do a real-life quality control check. See what’s hiding in there and lay it out with open arms before the One you adore. Then, and only then, He will use you to your fullest potential.