Sunday, August 26, 2012

Abide In The Lord's Territory




I had been invited to a summer swim party held by a family in my church. Lots of church members attended, and everyone was having a great time. At one point, some young women arrived at the party, and changed into their swimsuits. They had chosen to wear very immodest swimwear, and were happily snapping pictures of each other in them with their friends. Soon after their arrival, one man turned to his wife and told her he needed to leave. He was very uncomfortable being around women so immodestly dressed. So the couple hastily packed up their things, said their goodbyes, and left.

I'm sure this was a difficult decision for this couple. Everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves. It seemed like a simple thing to just ignore or avoid these young women during the party. But this man could see the shades of grey in this situation. He didn't want to have these images stuck in his mind forever, and I'm sure it would be really awkward to greet someone at church when all you can remember is how they looked in immodest clothing.

Ulisses Soares, a leader in the LDS church, states, "Our daily question must be, "Do my actions place me in the Lord's territory or in the enemy's territory?" If we are in the Lord's territory, we will have no desire to do wrong. If we are in the devil's territory, we lose the spirit of the Lord, and even our ability to think or reason properly can become impaired.



We know that Jesus Christ was sinless. But the scriptures say he experienced temptation of every kind, even more than mortal men can handle. So how did he remain sinless? He did not give heed unto the temptation. Pure and simple. He saw the temptation, he turned his back on it, and thought about it no more. If Christ can do that, experiencing more than we are capable of, then surely we can do that as well.

Let's take up the challenge to become more like our Savior. Follow His example to seek after that which is good and right, and abide in the Lord's territory, so we can always have the Spirit of the Lord with us.


photo signature-2.png Posted by at

19 comments:

  1. TiffanieAugust 26, 2012 at 7:18 PM

    You post reminded me of this quote by C.S. Lewis - “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.” (From his book "Mere Christianity")

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    1. J VoglerAugust 26, 2012 at 7:50 PM

      Thank you for that quote! I love the logic in it. I need to read that book again.

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    2. caryjoAugust 27, 2012 at 10:55 PM

      My husband has been a C.S. Lewis fan for many years. What you shared is exactly what fits. Thanks.

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  2. Aritha V. August 27, 2012 at 3:43 AM

    admire the man, who decided to leave. The girls did not know what they were doing probably. Your picture is great. have a nice week!

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  3. a joyful noiseAugust 28, 2012 at 12:06 PM

    Fashion dictates what the majority of our young people wear. We have friends who wear a tee shirt over their swim suits. It helps prevent sun burn too :-) For myself, I am happy that some manufacturers are going back to swim suits with skirts that cover the lower portion and a top that covers well. The young man did well to be an example to the others by letting them know he disapproved of the immodest apparel. Thank you for sharing at Tell Me a Story.

    Here is My 6 th try to pass by your captchas! Here goes!

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  4. SusanAugust 29, 2012 at 7:22 AM

    What a courageous thing for that man to do. I'm impressed and challenged when people are willing to take a stand and guard their hearts. Thanks for sharing, Jean.
    Linking up from GDWJ,
    Susan

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  5. Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.comAugust 29, 2012 at 10:11 PM

    I agree with Susan. Courageous, on the part of that man. Thank you for sharing with GDWJ. A pleasure to have you in community with us. ~ Jennifer

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  6. EileenAugust 30, 2012 at 7:33 AM

    Kudos to the man who got up and left! I commend him for standing up to his convictions.

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  7. UnknownAugust 30, 2012 at 11:08 AM

    That is amazing! That is awesome that he was able to realize that it was not wise to stay and fill his mind with things that are not of the Lord! Thank you for sharing and linking up with Simply Helping Him! :)

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  8. MandyAugust 30, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    I agree. This young man's actions were courageous and admirable. I like what you wrote about temptation also. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking "I can handle it." or "This won't affect me because of my strong faith." It's so important to flee from situations that lead us into temptation. Great post!

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  9. MandyAugust 30, 2012 at 1:09 PM

    I agree that this young man was courageous and honorable. I like what you wrote about temptation also. It is so easy to think, "I can handle this," or "My faith is strong enough, or should be strong enough for this.' It's so important to flee from situations that we know lead us into temptation. Great post!

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  10. TamiAugust 31, 2012 at 5:35 AM

    Thanks for a great reminder.

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  11. AnonymousAugust 31, 2012 at 9:18 AM

    Being more like Him is a daily, hourly, minute-ly goal all of us should strive for...so true we need to be in His presence and invite Him into everything we do. :)

    Mindy @ New Equus - A New Creation

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  12. UnknownAugust 31, 2012 at 8:03 PM

    I have to admit that I haven't always dressed modestly with swimwear. But with age, I've learned the importance of it. Praying I can pass that along to the next generation.

    Thanks for linking up with WIP Wednesday!

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  13. CharlotteAugust 31, 2012 at 9:59 PM

    This took a lot of courage. I think they made the right choice in leaving. Thank you for sharing.
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

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    Replies
    1. momsthewordSeptember 2, 2012 at 5:14 PM

      And Jesus being fully God and fully man was able to resist, and because of His power, we are able to resist too. Thank you for the reminder and encouragement.

      I love that your friend told his wife that it was time to go home. I love that he was protecting his heart and not placing himself into a place of temptation. Good for him! Thanks for linking up to Making Your Home Sing Monday!

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  14. momsthewordSeptember 2, 2012 at 5:18 PM

    This is always so weird. My computer screen never shows "add a comment" and so whenever I come over, I have to hit the reply button and reply under someone else's comment. It won't let me add a comment of my own.

    Then, AFTER I reply I can see the reply button, lol! Isn't that silly? This happens when I try to comment on some other blogs too, so it's got to be a problem with my computer, lol!

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  15. JenniSeptember 3, 2012 at 7:19 AM

    Thanks for sharing this reminder with the Thrive @ Home community!

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  16. Michy (lovingourjourney.com)September 5, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    Thanks for linking up--this helps to read, for all the times we have chosen to leave somewhere because it wasn't what we wanted our son to see or learn..
    blessings
    michy

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