Should we literally gouge out an eye that causes us to sin?

The eye represents what we see. The hand represents what we do. What I think Jesus is saying here in Matt. 5:27-32 is, “Deal radically with what you expose your eyes to. Deal radically with what you handle and do, the places you go, and what you touch.”

Why doesn’t the church address the issue of modesty?

Here’s another great question I was asked on my blog:

"My husband and I are glad that the church is finally talking about the problem of pornography   and purity in the Body of Christ, and helping men address this issue. But why do we never hear about purity for women in the way they dress? I’m talking about women who profess to be Christ-followers. They become a stumbling block to their brothers when they dress seductively or dress to be sexy as the world has deemed fashionable. Please address the issue of modestly."

Pursuing Sexual Purity in Your Marriage

In my book The Purity Principle, I write about how Christian marriages face the same heartaches, struggles, and frustrations as other marriages, especially in the area of sexual purity. (But we have supernatural resources to deal with them.) The following guidelines for sexual purity in marriage can help you guard your relationship in this vital area.

(And whether you're married or not, sexual purity is inseparable from a committed Christian life. You want to know God’s will? You don’t have to wonder. Here it is, in 1 Thess. 4:3: “It is God’s will that you ...

Question and Answer of the Week: Taking Charge of the TV

With summer here, and kids out of school, many Christians, and especially those who are parents, might be wondering: How do I take charge of the television?

The fact is, you and your children will inevitably adopt the morality of the programs, movies, books, magazines, music, Internet sites, and conversations you participate in. GIGO—garbage in, garbage out; godliness in, godliness out. The cognitive is basic to the behavioral—you become what you choose to feed your mind on.

Sow a thought, reap an action;
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character ...

Fences and Freedom

When the summer started, our grandsons weren’t having all that much fun in our big side yard. Why? Because there’s a road on the north side of our yard, and these days the cars present a real danger to careless children chasing balls. And our grandsons love to chase balls.

So we would hover over them and tell them to stay in the middle of the yard and not go to the edge by the road. When they made a move toward the road, they sensed the tension in our voices. None of us were free. Nanci and I decided we needed to get a fence.