Tempting images and messages will NEVER disappear from the cinema of our mind and the chambers of our heart.

Our defense starts when we fight to control what enters our mind by recognizing what tempts us. Knowing about this vulnerability in advance and minimizing or eliminating its potential to ignite our temptation provides a better chance of resisting the message and its lustful impulse.

But that is NOT enough!

It is imperative that we continually process our thoughts through God’s filter and load his Word into our memory. Otherwise we will rationalize that we are only doing what everyone else is doing, “so how can it be so bad?” Hitting this spot in the road means we have deluded ourselves into thinking we are “safe.”

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:16

The pressure to respond to the baser instincts never really goes away. It stands to reason, for “everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16).

That’s why I continually ask God to help me recognize what tempts me and give me the resolve to load his Word into my memory to make sure lustful thoughts do not blast off the launch pad. The best response to these temptations is to stop, “turn the channel,” and then run away fast. When my eyes drift to a woman in the wrong way, I tell myself she is a child of God and so am I. It works.

And I make sure my mind and heart are fully stocked with God’s Word.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11