Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday April 10, 2007

It is becoming a normal Sunday for some pastor somewhere to announce he is leaving his wife for the affections of a man. In one Colorado church when the pastor made this announcement the congregation stood and cheered. I guess this is part my fault as I was warned about all of these things back in 64 when I voted for Barry. I am sorry.

As shocking as the above fact, another fact equally shocking is the admissions by 40 percent of current clergy are in a fix equally condemned in the scripture. Pastor Darrin Patrick in his short piece in Homiletics stated:

"40 percent polled said they had an extra marital affair since beginning their ministry."

When you add to this number the percentage of pedophiles, the percentage of wives who mostly out of total frustration from the actions of a 'gay' clergyperson for a husband or totally neglect, have had or are having an affair the numbers are through the roof.

Having counseled numerous couples over the years following some deviation from God's plan, I have to state the percentage of men/women who have this event in their life is very high that they are likely to have another event. I thank God for the ones, who respond to biblical truth, accept personal responsibility for their actions, quit placing blame and walk in with Jesus with no more events.

Most counselors of all types and shades say that sexual deviation from the biblical pattern is really the reaction to a deeper impulse and sex in some form is the acting out of frustration, rage, impotence in other areas, ie, a lack power/authority/appreciation in the work place or in too many cases the home. To deal with underlying cause is too vast a subject for this article.

When I developed the Spiritual Dynamics ministry to 'fallen' Christian workers back in the seventies I found that in counseling over 3000 workers who had taken a fall for sexual sins, that not one couple had engaged in a daily time of prayer with the wife/husband. Not one couple. Couple this fact with the looseness of our time, pastors etc having lunch with ladies, working alone with ladies late into the night, counseling with no safeguards and you are opening the door to temptation, in some cases asking, wishing for temptation.

A dear pastor friend came to see me not long ago and with tears said, "Brother Lilly I want to thank you for so sternly rebuking me a few years ago when I was counseling a younger woman after services at a local restaurant with my wife absent. I was getting into trouble emotionally and knowing that you cared enough to call me on this departure from procedure helped me to get right with the Lord."

Do you have idea how much heartache was halted in midstream due to the timing of the wake up call?

Commenting on genuine love, Robert Browning wrote:

"Take away love and earth is a tomb."

Here is the key, the love of Christ rolls away the imprisoning stone and love breaks out with Christ in our heart.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit.

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