IT...The Reason I'm Giving "Draw Nigh" Away For Free
If you really think about IT, it’s a sad commentary on us as a society. With so much of IT readily available for public consumption, the underlying story is what we’re seeing merely reflects how high in regard we hold IT. The unfortunate truth is that IT’s disturbingly everywhere. You can’t miss IT: fashion, movies, email, music, billboards, commercials, magazines, etc. And don’t get all Joe Super Christian on me . . . you know exactly what the IT is. I’m referring to sex, or as I like to call IT that incredibly amazing gift God created solely for those in covenant marriage (I Corinthians 7:1-2).
There’s an old saying “Sex sells”. The issue I have with IT selling is that IT’s pretty apparent people haven’t properly thought through the consequences. Consider the following:
- Sex is the number 1 topic searched on the Internet.
- 70% of all adult magazines end up in the possession of minors.
- 300,000,000 X-rated videos have been distributed in the US (more than the entire US population).
- Over 50% of evangelical pastors report they viewed pornography last year.
- Kids ranging in age from 12-17-years old are the largest consumers of Internet pornography.
- 28% those admitting to sexual addiction are women.
- Pornography is a $10 billion business – bigger than the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball combined.
- 20% of the Internet consists of pornographic content.
- A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.
- 34% of female readers of Today’s Christian Woman’s online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll and 1 out of every 6 women, including Christians, struggles with an addiction to pornography.
- It is a currently held statistic that the average age of exposure to explicit materials for boys and girls is 5 years of age.
IT doesn’t matter if you’re walking with Jesus or not, IT is an issue for people everyone. Furthermore, IT is a tricky problem to address. When we are sick, we see a doctor. When we suffer emotionally, we seek a counselor. But when the problem is sexual sin, we battle in silence and darkness. The enemy loves a secret. People might feel that no one will know and that they are not hurting anyone else. These are the deceptions that Satan uses to help set his trap (John 8:44). You don’t have to go down to an adult store now and risk being seen in the parking lot when IT is readily available on the Internet at the office or at home. However, now that the Internet can present IT in the privacy of one’s office and/or home, access has become a much greater temptation.
The Bible is our record of the following: (1) God’s creation of human beings; (2) Our Creator’s establishment of a moral code of conduct for men and women; (3) God’s covenant with the faithful and; (4) the failure of humankind to abide by God’s law (Psalm 1:1-2; Matthew 4:4; Hebrews 4:12; John 1:1,14; James 1:21-25; II Timothy 3:16-17). Scripture is abundantly full of accounts of sin, including the sins of a sexual nature. There can be no greater evidence than the Bible itself that humanity has distorted and demeaned God’s intentions for the relationships between men and women. The Bible writers were quick to condemn those who use sex for lustful or perverted purposes. Fortunately, the Bible is not just a Book of condemnation, but the story of how God redeemed men and women from their sins through Jesus Christ.
IT reminds me of a story about a psychiatric ward that had a unique way to test the mental competency of its patients. The patient was put into a room in which the sink is plugged and the faucet has been turned on. The patient was given a mop and instructed to clean up the water that was spilling onto the floor. Any patient who attempted to mop up the mess, without first turning off the faucet, was not considered mentally competent.
How about you? Are you trying to “mop up” weak areas in your life without turning off the faucet? If so, “Draw Nigh” was created with you in mind.
I’ve gone back and forth for a couple of years on exactly what to do with this song. On one hand, I’ve heard countless stories and personally know too many people that are dealing with issues of a sexual nature. On the other hand, I don’t want this song to resemble a key that unintentionally opens Pandora’s Box for some unsuspecting individual.
With that said, I offer a word of caution. Please be aware that I intentionally used some pretty graphic language (nothing vulgar or inappropriate) in the song to communicate the message of hope in Christ. Should you choose to download this song, I pray that you enjoy it and it really ministers to the depths of your being.
The last line of “Draw Nigh” says “Know that if you contact me and ask for prayer, anything you share with me is going to stay right here.” If you’re struggling with sexual sins and desire to be set free, get at me. I’ve compiled some resources that could very well be tools God wants to use to liberate you.
To listen to “Draw Nigh”, click the album cover below. To download the song, right click on the album cover, then select “Save Link As”. To listen to samples and order your copy of Liberation, click here.
