Sitting There Trying Not To Sin...

I was eating in a restaurant eating with some fellow pastors not long ago. I was seated looking at the entrance. While there, a couple entered who were obviously riding a motorcycle. They were both dressed in leather and taking off headbands as the waitress approached them to seat them. They began to take off their jackets where I was absolutely shocked. The female of the couple was wearing an incredibly revealing top. I don't mean to be too descriptive, but I do see it valid to try to paint you an accurate picture.

The top was strapless, low cut, and had a large split in the center. It was held together with a small leather strip that wrapped around her rib cage. Think leather tube top with a cleavage cut. Now, to add to this attire, she was rather....um....well, lets say she was not lacking in the bust area. She was a very attractive woman all the way around.

I immediately (well, as soon as I could) looked down at my plate. Nothing on my plate to stare at, I had already finished eating. I glanced back up, still there, but jacket all the way off now. Yeah, that helps. It seemed like they were waiting forever. So there I was, looking at my empty plate while everyone else talked. I was just sitting there trying not to sin. Finally, the waitress seated them... behind me. THANK YOU JESUS!

Now, this is the sad part, but I always want to be honest. I wanted to look behind me to see her again. UGH! Are you kidding me! Why? Why was I so drawn to her? I am happily married, I have no desire to cheat on my wife. I love Jesus with all my heart, I don't want to sin. So what was it that made me want to look again? I prayed, "Oh God, please give me strength."

Sin looks good, but ultimately sin is destructive. In Hebrews 11, Paul writes about the "short lived pleasure of sin." That's exactly what it is. Take the example above. I could have given in and looked on this unknown woman with lust, but it could have ended in a fight with her partner, a divorce with my wife, and the ruining of my testimony as a pastor. But I can not deny the fact that I wanted to look again. Sin looks good, but it is very short lived.

So I just sat there and tried not to sin. And God delivered me. Soon we got up and left and I refused to allow myself to look again lest the thought be fully conceived as sin. That's the best thing about it. When we call out to Jesus and put our trust in Him in order that He may be praised higher than what we want, He delivers us.

In Christ,
jon walton

Overwhelmed...

There are certain moments in life that will stick with you. They may be life changing events, powerful words spoken to you, or actions taken by someone that took you by surprise. They are moments that overwhelm you with emotions. Moments that make everything else just disappear. One of these moments happened to me Sunday and I will forever remember the power in that moment.

After pastor Rick delivered a powerful message, I knew I needed to repent of a sin that keeps creeping up in my life. I was sick of it coming back and I wanted to give it up again. I wanted to do more than lay it down, I wanted to sacrifice it on an altar before my God. I know you can repent anywhere, but there is something about physically getting up out of my seat and walking down front to kneel before God. It is an admittance that I am not perfect. That I, a pastor, still mess up and need redemption.

When I knelt down at the front of the room, something happened that I did not expect. I felt a hand on my back. I don't know why this took me by such surprise. I pray with people all the time. Then I felt another, and then another. I was thankful, but again this shocking to me for some reason. I couldn't help it, I glanced up to see who had come to help carry my burden. Who I saw overwhelmed me.

Three of my youth girls.

Three girls I have been leading, teaching, calling, praying with, and pouring into for the past four years. Three girls I have a great love for and I have seen growing spiritually. All three had already faced so much in their short lives. All three had their hands on my back, helping their youth pastor carry a burden. I was overwhelmed.

My prayer of repentance quickly shifted to a prayer of thankfulness. God had shown me in a powerful way that not only He was with me, but He had put people in my life that would help carry my weight.

To these three young women of faith that came forward, I want you to know that the love of Jesus shined out from you Sunday. Just as Paul wrote this to the church of the Thessalonians, I write this to you:

We(I) always thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in our(my) prayers. - 1 Thes. 1:2

In Christ,
jon walton