A very New Me Continued

Here's another post of mine from Human Heaven. It still goes into further detail of what I have been coming to learn. Let me know what you think! In other words, if you think I am totally cracked up or not.
YFTCF
Greg


"I'm not judging myself or anyone else, but I do not believe I am obeying God if I continually look at and lust over women. Was it not you filth-man who said that Christ came and set a standard far beyond what anyone else ever even considered? That is "If you even look at a women lustfully, you have commited adultry in your heart with her." What about that? I am not being obedient to God if I continually lust. And you still don't seem to understand what I mean. I will resist, but that resistance has to bring about a complete change of heart one day. Resitance, if it does not bring about a change one day, means nothing to me. The goal that I press on for and pray for is a completely changed heart. It is not a religion where I have to say "I can't do this" "I can't do that" "These are the standards Christ laid out and I have to meet them" it's a faith that says "Thank you God for changing my heart, giving me your heart, that I may be forever in communion with you, as a friend." To simply obey is not the faith I want, the faith I want is a faith where I am walking with God in the garden of Eden being in communion with Him, Having His heart and His desires planted in me, figuratively speaking. Why do we have to settle for less?

Your dad was quoting Romans 7:13-25. However, you cannot forget or leave out the chapters before or after those. Paul talks about living life in the Spirit, that obedience doesn't flow from "I have to do this, I have to do that" but from friendship and communion with God. A relationship where He doesn't tell us what we're not supposed to do, but one where He changes our heart so we don't even consider doing those things in the first place. Does this mean it takes away our choice? Not at all, we still choose not to lust, not to hate etc. but those choices are strengthened by a heart that doesn't desire those things anymore. It's like me and pizza; I am lactose intolerent now (i developed it in 2005) and pizza happens to be the worst for me. I liked pizza, but because of what it does to me I don't even desire to eat it anymore and therefore, I choose not to. The choice for me to eat is still there, but I don't desire to. There is a verse here that I absolutely love. Romans 7:16-19 "When I act against my own will, by that very fact I agree that the law is good. This indicates that it is not I who do it, but sin which resides in me. I know that no good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; the desire to do right is there, but not the power. What happens is that I do, not the good i will to do, but the evil I do not intend." Since chirst set that rather large standard (i agree, to show us we can't even attain it on our own)that even the desire to sleep with someone is sin, why then should I have to go through life always having to 'avert my eyes' to keep those desires from rising up in myself? I understand that Paul says Christ came to set us free from that law, of knowing what i want to do but not being able to do it. This was just one of many things I am pressing for, but the reason being is because I want to be free to look at my sisters in christ without having my mind going immediately to how good looking they are and how much i want to just sleep with them. I don't struggle with this so much with my female friends who are spoken for, like Elina, it's the ones that are single or the ones I simply don't know personally and don't know if they're single that I struggle with.

Anyways, I'm leaving it at that. I am pressing for a change of heart in this area, and many others, because I know I don't have to live with it the rest of my life. No longer simple obedience, but a change of heart, no longer simple "good feelings" but a change of heart."