At the end of the day, overcoming pride is essential to being able to overcome sin. But to just get rid of pride isn't enough. There must be something to take its place.

That thing is humility, and without it there can be no true deliverance from sin, nor any true fellowship with God. God is irresistibly drawn to those who exhibit this characteristic and so, it is a heart attitude that we ought to be zealous in cultivating.

{{blog-brse="/blog-ads-storage"}}

In this segment, Kathy Gallagher reflects on God’s character in light of the betrayal of His people. She also encourages wives to learn from this and to imitate the Lord even in difficult marriages. (From Podcast Episode #441 – |Victory| Understanding the Anger of God).

Nate: Kathy, we're talking about some deep things in this show today, and some things that are hard for us to understand. We want to look at God's anger. Part of what makes God angry is when His people betray Him. When you hear Him speak in the Old Testament, especially I think in the book of Hosea, He sounds like a grieving, anguished lover. I want to hear from you about this, because you know what it's like to be betrayed by a person that you gave yourself to.

Kathy: Yes. Speaking of the anger of God is not an easy subject for me. So, I'm going to keep it personal because my anger is different than God's anger. Human anger is very different than God's anger. But I do think at some level we can understand that He's a jilted lover. He has the heart of a jilted lover. As I was thinking about this and praying about it, my thoughts go toward the man. What was it in his heart, before he married her, that drew him to her? And what compelled Him to want to make a covenant with her? It's the covenant. In our modern vernacular we don't talk about covenant. But there was something about that woman that that man wanted to unite himself to. More than anybody else. What happened? What came in that would cause him to betray that? He didn’t just betray her, but also that union, which he had such a desire to have with her.

That was the cry in me when I found out that Steve was being unfaithful. The thing that came out of me was, "You gave yourself to me, and I gave myself to you. We were one. How could you?" That's the cry of the woman's heart because she understands the depth of that union. For some reason, I don't know if it's just in our modern culture or if this has been there since the beginning of time, but men tend to be more willing, I should say, to drift and to wander. And that's not only in marriage, but I think it's spiritually as well. We all wander. I don't want to be misunderstood. We all drift, we all wander. But when it comes to the covenant of marriage, men seem to be more willing to turn away from that because of the lust of the flesh. And that's the bottom line: it's the lust of the flesh.

To put into Biblical terms, and to bring it back more into focus of what God has experienced, His people have committed idolatry: spiritual adultery. They were spiritual harlots and it grieved Him and it broke him. And but His anger didn't lash out. Our anger lashes out right away. Like when I found out what Steve was doing, I had instant anger, instant rage, instant confusion. I was instantly broken. Everything was so instant. With God, it's not really like that. It took a long time for God to get angry to the point of judgment. So that's why I don't like comparing my anger to God's anger because it's pretty quick for me.

Nate: When you read the Old Testament where God sounds hurt, and where he sounds angry because of the betrayal. It sounds like you can kind of grasp something of what he went through.

Kathy: Yes, I think at some level we can. But not completely because He completely gave himself to Israel, and He provided everything they could possibly ever want or need. He gave everything. So the betrayal, as a wife and someone who's been betrayed, I understand that at some level. But not to the depth that God did, because I didn't give everything. My desire for marriage was selfish, also. There was some selfishness in my desire for my husband. It's always a mixed bag. It's never completely pure with us. With God, His devotion to Israel was completely pure and unselfish. So, to have that breach, a continual breach, continual centuries of His people in idolatry and running to other lovers, you get to your breaking point. I understand it in a very human way, but I could never try to pretend like I understand what God went through. I don't know. I can see it in the scriptures. But again, we read the scriptures through very a human viewpoint and it really takes the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to help us to really grasp the depths of not just His love, but His anger.

Nate: Yeah, it's so hard for us to understand the Lord because we're not like Him and we're sinful, like you said. I'd like for you to talk a little more about some sinful reactions that a wife has when she's being betrayed. Can you help explain why those are not accurate pictures of how God is responding when we sin against Him?

Kathy: Okay, there's a list. God isn't full of self-pity. God isn't bitter. God isn't vengeful. He's not jealous in a human way, He doesn't want to pay back. He's not like that. But we are. So, to bring it down to earth into the living room of women that are listening, we can become angry, vengeful, and full of self-pity, self-righteous and have bitterness. Bitterness is such a big deal for women. And I'm not saying it's not understandable. It is very understandable. I get it. I totally get it. The war for us is to fight against that because it's natural to have those reactions. But it's most un-godlike. And you can really measure where you're at by it. I mean this sin coming from our husbands brings out what's in us.

I had a dear lady, an older woman many years ago, I don't know why she did this, but it was so powerful in the moment that she did it. She didn't know me that well. I don't know that she even really knew my testimony very well. But she walked up to me, she wrapped her arms around me and said to me, "The most Godlike characteristic there is is forgiveness." I didn't know that I ever had any real unforgiveness, because I had already dealt with it many years before. But it penetrated my heart so deeply because I knew it was almost like Jesus was wrapping His arms around me and reminding me of how powerful forgiveness is, and what it does to the inward life and the soul of the woman. Because that is the only way that I know of to go through what I went through. If I would not have had the willingness to forgive the unforgivable... And that only came by the Holy Spirit. Because it wasn't in me. Naturally speaking, it's not in any of us.

But the power of forgiveness is power. It is truly powerful. And that is the only way for a woman that does have bitterness raging in her. It's by choosing to keep going back to that Fountain of Life. And it's God who gives us that gift. It comes from him. But He wants us to have it. If I could virtually or verbally wrap my arms around women that are listening who are devastated and tell them the most godlike characteristic there is is forgiveness, I would do that. I am doing that. I just feel that way! That's how you're going to get through this. You have to keep forgiving. That's what God did to us, His enemies. His worst enemies. It's just a very powerful thing.

Nate: Yes, as you are talking, I'm thinking about the contrast between us and God. He is instant and forgiveness and slow and anger, and we're instant in anger and slow to forgiveness.

Kathy: We drag our feet with the forgiveness because we have a list of do's and don't. We have a list of rules. If I forgive him, he'll just do it again. That doesn't negate the responsibility. There's a chapter in my book titled Level Playing Field. I just live here. I can never forget what God has forgiven me of. I don't want to forget what I was. Some people say, "Yeah, the past is in the past." That's fine. I don't live in my past, but I don't want to forget what I was, and what God rescued me from. It keeps the ground level for me with everybody. We're all sinners. And if I ever get to the place where I forget where I came from, then I start looking down my nose. I become critical. I'm judgmental. I can't love people properly when I'm not in the reality of the debt that has been paid for me. And that goes especially for marriage. It helps a lot for a wife to remember what her debt was, how much she was forgiven and what Jesus did for her.

{{blog-bwalk="/blog-ads-storage"}}

Nate: As you're talking, I'm just reflecting on how important it is for us to daily be in the Word of God. Because it's that place with the Lord where He's speaking to us in clarity. We take for granted how involved the Holy Spirit is in that time, when we're saying, "I want to be in your word, I want to know you." And there is great spiritual clarity about our inside world and about who He is that wouldn't be there if we weren't daily with Him. He's reminding us day by day, "I saved you from this. I'm rich in mercy. I'm slow to anger. I'm all of these things.” I guess I'm just really grateful for God's word as I'm listening to you talk because the Word of God just declares things as they are. And one of the messages over and over in the Word of God is, "Trust me. trust the full revelation of God, as He is.” Is there one specific reaction of God toward the sin of man besides forgiveness that helps you really trust Him?

Kathy: Besides forgiveness, my answer to that is Calvary. Calvary expresses everything about God because Calvary speaks volumes. It's Genesis to Revelation. The heart of God is redemption. That is the remedy for the husband who's in sin and for the wife who will be in sin if she doesn't fully embrace the revelation of forgiveness, of Calvary and of the resurrection. Those things are so absolutely central to our faith and our trust. You know what happens to Christians, I think? I've been a Christian for a long time and you get very familiar with things. The Word becomes familiar. And when you start to think, “I already know that,” And you say, "I've already read that. I've already I've already studied that," you're in trouble because God is becoming dusty to you. You need the Holy Spirit to come in and break up that fallow ground in your heart.

That could be a real reason why some women have such a hard time letting go of the sin of their husbands. It's because God is not a very present help to them. He is, but to them He's not, and their hearts have grown cold. The sin that their husbands committed has created such a callous over their hearts. That's what happens to women. That's why I harp when I have the opportunity. I am constantly harping on the need to forgive, and to let it go, and keep loving, keep serving, keep giving yourself away. God will take care of you. But we look too much to our emotional needs and not so much to our spiritual needs. We think that if we get our emotions straightened out, then our spiritual life will get straightened out. That is just so backwards. It's just not right.

And these are things I have had to learn. I am still learning these things. I don't have it all figured out. I just know though there are some things that are basic to doing this: Calvary, the resurrection, faith and trust. Trusting him no matter what it looks like. You have to put your trust in the Lord, and you have to turn your eyes away from the sin and the sinner. This is an effort. This takes monumental effort. It takes a lot of effort. But if you can start to do that, life will flow back in, because that is your expression of trust: to turn away from what's happening and turn to the Lord. And the Word of God will become more real. It will become more alive. It will speak to you when you're face down. When you're like Mary and not Martha, you will experience Jesus more.

I'm not saying all your problems are going to go away and you're going to feel great. I am not saying that. I'm just saying there's going to be a reality of God that will help get you through this trial. I know that a lot of people are going to hate me for saying this, but the Lord has allowed this. That needs to be looked at. Why did God allow this? It's a very painful thing. But I knew when my world broke apart God was speaking to me, He was after something in me. It was a big deal.

I hope and pray that some of this stuff helps women who are grappling with these things. Because we want a quick and easy psychological answer. If you're a Christian, it's not going to happen that way. A pill isn't going to take it away. A trip to psychotherapy session isn't going to take it away. You can get some temporary band-aids, but nothing but the blood of Christ the forgiveness of sins, the washing of the water of the Word and the renewing of your mind is going to do it. That's what must happen. It's a lifelong journey.

In this week’s episode, we look at one of the most shocking moments in King David’s reign, when he became a liar, an adulterer, and a murderer. We’ll look at it through the eyes of Nathan, the prophet who confronted David in his sin. We’ll also examine Psalm 51, the song that David wrote to express his brokenness, repentance, and need for mercy. This is a story that hits close to home for anyone in sexual sin, and we think what it teaches about God is essential for living a life of victory.

Sexual sin could be compared to insanity because the addict is living in his own fantasies more than real life. And because even though their lifestyle is destroying themselves and their family, they keep on sinning. Biblical counselor Jim Lewis offers some excellent thoughts about this subject. (From Podcast Episode #367 - Sexual Sin is the Epitome of Insanity).

Sexual sin could be compared to insanity because the addict is living in his own fantasies more than real life. And because even though their lifestyle is destroying themselves and their family, they keep on sinning. Biblical counselor Jim Lewis offers some excellent thoughts about this subject. (From podcast episode #367 - Sexual Sin is the Epitome of Insanity).

Here at Pure Life we are Biblical Counselors. That is to say, all of our counsel comes directly from the Word of God. We believe that sexual addiction is an intense emotional attachment to sin. Addiction is a sin problem, and only God has the solution for sin. We are not psychologists, and we don't want to be. The word psychology means the study of the soul. And we believe only the Creator of the soul can heal it.

So, we put men in the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit uses the Word to change a man's heart, renew his mind, and therefore change his behavior. It does little good to amend a man's behavior if his heart hasn't changed, because he'll always go back to what his heart worships, and his mind believes. But when God changes a heart and renews a mind, you end up with a new man.

I've laid this foundation because frankly, for the rest of my time I'm going to talk about psychology. One thing that all social scientists can do, and some do quite well, is to study human behavior and report out what they find about how men consistently behave. A scientist will analyze what he observes and record repetitions and patterns. This is the basis of all science. And not surprisingly, sex addicts all behave the same way. There's a discernible pattern to sin.

James writes in chapter one of his letter that a man is tempted according to his own desires, deceives himself, gives into the act of disobedience, and the result is always death. Every sex addict walks through this pattern every time. It is the self-deception that is critical to the process. He has to lie to himself and believe his own lies in order to give himself permission to disobey God and do what he knows to be wrong. Though he knows the consequences of his sinful behavior will only lead to guilt, separation from God, injury to God and others, he puts all of this out of his mind, and pursues the object of his desire because he wants the very temporary high that comes from his sin.

A rational person looking at this would quite simply conclude that such a thing is insanity. You know this brings death, you know it and yet you do it anyway. Patrick Carnes is a highly regarded clinical psychologist who has spent his career studying the behavior of sex addicts. He is the author of such books as Don't Call it Love and Out of The Shadows. And while we may not agree with psychological methods of treatment, we cannot fault this man's observations and analysis.

In his book Out of the Shadows, Carnes basically says that all addictions are the result of insane thinking. This is nowhere truer than among sex addicts. He writes that, "Addicts progressively go through stages in which they retreat from the reality of friends, family and work. Their secret lives become more real than their public lives." In other words, they lose touch with reality. He says, "Leading a fantasy double life is a distortion of reality. An essential part of sanity is being grounded in reality. So, in the sense that the addict distorts reality, the sexual addiction becomes a form of insanity."

He explains that all human behavior flows out of a man's belief system. That is the filter through which all of his information passes. We agree. He sees reality, makes decisions, and behaves according to what is true for him, what he believes. Again, we agree. The Bible is very clear on that. So, because the addicts very perception of reality is completely skewed, he acts according to his reprobate mind. To borrow the descriptor given by the apostle Paul. He completely ignores all the possible and even probable consequences of his behavior, believing that he is exempt or immune. And that such things as getting caught, bringing pain upon his spouse, losing his job, destroying his marriage, wrecking his life, incurring the judgement of God on his sin, will never happen to him.

{{blog-si="/blog-ads-storage"}}

But Paul writes, "Be not deceived, God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he also will reap" (Galatians 6:7). Sin has its wages and one day it will pay out. Most of the men who come to Pure Life end up here because their sin began to cost them dearly. They come, not just to rid themselves of their sin, but to save their marriages, their sanity and their very lives. Speaking still about the insanity of sexual addiction, Carnes offers a list of lies that a man must tell himself and believe in order to do what he does. His list includes these, and every one of them is untrue: If I don't have it every few days the pressure builds up; I'm oversexed and have to meet my needs; what she doesn't know won't hurt her; every guy would do this if he could; if only my wife would be more responsive; cybersex is just electrons, this isn't real; with the stress I'm under, I deserve it; it's my way of relaxing; this isn't hurting anyone. Carnes concludes that whatever rationalization the form the self-deception takes, it further cuts the addict off from the reality of his behavior.

We agree with these conclusions. That there is an insanity to sexual sin, because we see it every day. And not because Carnes says so, but because the delusion that comes with sin is clearly taught in the Bible. The Bible describes perfectly man's behavior when he pursues sin, and he acts the same way every time. He lies to himself, believes his own lies, justifies, blame shifts, separates from God and others, falls into guilt, remorse, despair. Then to make himself feel better, he believes his own lies and repeats the same cycle all over again.  It is no wonder that a social scientist can describe this typically human pattern of sin revealed by the word of God.

When the Psalmist David was repenting of his sexual sin, he cried out to God, "you desire truth in the inmost being" (Psalm 51:6). There is no better anecdote to the insanity of sexual sin then the consistent exposure to the truth, and an unwavering commitment to speak nothing but the truth. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in, and why we advocate strongly a Biblical approach to sexual sin. First, the word of God is the truth, and reading it and studying it fills our mind with the truth. The Holy Spirit comes alongside His Word and applies the truth to our hearts and renews our minds. He shows us the lies we've believed and replaces them with the truth about God and about ourselves.

A commitment to transparency and accountability means no more secrets and no more lies. We must believe the truth, speak the truth and live according to the truth. Insanity loses touch with reality. Sexual sin makes you insane. You live in a world of fantasy and order your life accordingly. You believe lies and tell lies. Sanity, being of sound mind, is living in reality. Believing, speaking and living the truth. Believing a lie binds you to that lie, but believing the truth sets you free.

In chapter 15 of Luke’s gospel, we find three amazing stories that all paint a unified picture of God. We see the picture of a shepherd pursuing his lost sheep. We see a woman, diligently searching for her lost coin. And we see a father, eagerly ready to welcome home his lost son. These parables were meant to reveal the heart of a God who pursues those who are lost, who overflows with joy when they are found. This week, three Pure Life Ministries staff sit down with Nate to discuss how this picture of God’s mercy is very evident as they reflect on their own journeys to Christ.

In the previous six sessions we’ve been unveiling the truth that all sin can be traced back to the self-life and to the pride which it produces in our hearts. Now we want to look to the great Savior and Physician of our souls to find out what His remedy for this sickness is.

In this video, we look into the wonder of poverty of spirit, brokenness, and surrender, and we discuss the indispensable roles they play in being healed and saved from the self-life.

{{blog-brse="/blog-ads-storage"}}

In our current series we’re looking at how to live a victorious Christian life. We’ve shown that this can only be done through the power of mercy, but God’s mercy is often radical, going far beyond what our human ideas would imagine. Take the example of Hosea, a man called to embody God’s mercy in the most unlikely way possible. He was called by God to marry a prostitute. This picture is shocking, but it exemplifies God’s faithfulness to us, even when we go astray. So join us as we dive in to this picture of mercy as we learn what it reveals about God, and how we can appropriate that into our own walk with Him.

When we become a vessel for the mercy of God to flow through to others, that’s when we begin to live in victory. But as humans we have a hard time really understanding what God’s mercy is. So, we’d like to spend a few weeks looking into God’s word for specific pictures that will help us understand what is in God’s heart. This week we’ll look at the bronze serpent, an old testament story that reveals the judgment that comes because of our sin as well as the wonderful healing that is available to us when we look to Christ by faith.

In this next session, we focus on a very dangerous and very deceptive manifestation of pride: spiritual pride. This pride can tempt us to brag about own spiritual lives and those who exhibit it often see themselves as more spiritually mature than others, even bragging about accomplishments in their spiritual lives. But they are dangerously close to the spirit of the Pharisees, of whom Jesus said, “They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”

In this session Steve Gallagher, author of the book i: the root of sin EXPOSED, joins us to unpack how spiritual pride is just another way of promoting ourselves and our own goodness, rather than the righteousness and mercy of God.

{{blog-brse="/blog-ads-storage"}}

In this Interview with Pastor Steve Gallagher we discuss the anger of God, and how we can see God's goodness and mercy in the way He opposes the sin in our lives. (From Podcast Episode #441 - |Victory| Understanding the Anger of God)

Nate: One of the things that the Bible says about the Lord is that He is good and righteous in all of His ways. I know that there are some people who cynically look at the Old Testament, for example, and see stories—or pictures—of God's justice and His anger, and they use that as an excuse to say, "How could He be? How could He be good and righteous?" I've heard you speak very passionately about God's anger, His justice, His wrath, things that we might see at times as being more on the negative side of God's character.

But I've also observed that you don't have any struggle with believing that God is abundantly good, that He's yearning to pour out His love and His blessings on man. So, how is it you're able to hold those two aspects of God's character in your mind, without them contradicting each other?

Steve: To me there is no contradiction. But let me just say, the reason I preach so much about God's justice and His wrath and so on, is because it's not being preached in the church. Secondly, because my primary audience are people who are being dominated by sin. So those are very important subjects to address.

As far as the Lord is concerned, I know Him. I know Him, and I feel like I know Him pretty well, humanly speaking. He is good in all of His dealings. His goodness in Old Testament scripture is depicted as a perfect balance between truth and mercy. In the Old Testament, you see those pictures of God's justice and His wrath, and so on. But why? The reason that you see Him pour out His wrath on nations and people, is because there comes a point where He has to protect other people, and that is the mercy. For instance, what about when ruthless people were knifing pregnant women, and throwing babies against walls? That's the kind of typical stuff that would happen with the Assyrians, the Babylonians and nations like them. So, when the Lord brought judgement against those kinds of nations, it's because of His goodness. Because His heart is, "Okay, I can't let this continue on."

So that is very real to me. When I think about the Lord, He is pure goodness. Yes, He's got the side to Him that is just, but He is absolute pure goodness! What's in His heart is to do good to people all the time. However, one of our biggest problems is that we tend to think in the temporal, while God is always thinking about the big picture and the eternal picture. So, when He's dealing with, let's say believers, in certain ways, it's because He's thinking of what's good for them eternally. He's looking them and thinking, "Okay, while there here living the Christian life for thirty or forty years or so, what happens in that 30 or 40 years is going to be with them forever." He sees that as enormous, compared to that tiny little speck of time while we're here on earth. So, His goodness always takes into account the big picture and the eternal picture.

Nate: I'm glad you mentioned the Old Testament, because I think there are a lot of people who hear that God says, "I'm good in all of my ways," but then they look back and they cynically say, "Oh, what about the Old Testament?" I think those same people would probably look at our modern world and say, "Well if God is so good, then why do bad things happen to people? Why are there natural disasters?" They ask why this or why that, to whatever seems to contradict the character of God. So, let's step back from a theological viewpoint, in a sense, and let's make it personal. Why are we so quick to accuse God when we suffer?

Steve: Let me just say first of all that the word you used earlier is the perfect word: "Cynically." People who don't take the time to really study what was happening in the Old Testament times, who just grab hold of something they've heard, like God ordering Saul to destroy all the Amalekites, that sort of thing. They just grab something like that, and in their humanistic version of mercy and goodness they think that God should be good to everyone all the time, not taking into account, like I said before, what people were suffering, and so on.

As far as individuals, especially Christians, why does the Lord allow bad things to happen? Why does He allow a Christian couple's child to die? Why does He allow a Christian man to get in a wreck and become paralyzed, for instance? Joni Eareckson Tada. Her life is a testimony to why He does it. That woman walks with God, and she is full of the Holy Spirit. And yet, she was a frivolous minded girl when she had that accident. She probably would have just ended up being a very mediocre Christian at best. But because of the suffering that she went through all the years of her life, she has affected a generation. So, how do you compare the two? Yes, it was horrible what she had to experience. If you've ever heard her story, the suffering is unbelievable. But the rewards in people’s lives! How many people were deeply affected by her? What about her overall effect on the thinking of the church? How do you compare? Those affects are eternal, and her sufferings have been temporal.

Nate: I really like the way you answered that question. What you did is you explained why God sometimes sovereignly moves to basically do something that He knows is good for us that we're not aware of. But sometimes, He hasn't acted yet, He's only threatened to act. He's warning people of what's coming if they keep going in a certain direction. And a lot of times, to be honest, it can be terrifying to hear His words. So, what would you say to us about those times when God really threatens us?

Steve: Again, that’s all mercy. I've said this before somewhere, but His justice system reminds me of the mandatory sentencing laws in the United States. If you have been convicted three times for instance, you go to prison for life. And other laws like that. God has established in His judicial system certain laws and certain consequences, that are just in effect. They're written in stone. After pouncing these laws, He comes in, let's say, more fluid-like in the Spirit, wanting to do mercy. He knows what the justice is going to be if this person continues down this path. That is immovable and that's what they're heading into. So, in His mercy He comes in with nothing but love trying to warn them to get them off of the path they're on. He's trying to protect His people from having to face that justice. It's all mercy.

Nate: What about when He, in a sense, steps it up, and actually actively starts opposing people?

Steve: Again, it’s all mercy. If you think of the Christian life as being straight and narrow, and as a narrow path, which it is, and when you start to veer off and go sideways, going astray and you're headed for disaster, He sees that and what does He do? In His mercy He stands right in front of you like a wall. He opposes what you're doing and the behavior that is taking you down that path. That is all mercy, again. It's all goodness.

Nate: I want to start wrapping up the interview. We asked your wife this, but I want to ask you as well. When it comes to your personal walk with God, why does God's attitude toward sin help you trust Him?

Steve: Because in my fifty years or so of knowing Him I see very clearly now, looking back, how He has dealt with me regarding my sin issues at times. And I have nothing but trust for Him because like I said, He wants to oppose me going down any wrong paths and He is concerned about my eternal well-being. What is not to trust there in that?

Nate: I appreciate the way you're talking about this, because we're trying to help people understand that even this side of God that is very uncomfortable to us is motivated by His goodness. I was thinking about the C.S. Lewis quote in the Chronicles of Narnia where one of the characters says about Aslan, "Well He's definitely not safe, but He's good." Today we've been looking at a side of God that shows that He's not safe to our flesh, but He's good to us. We're talking about it because in true Christianity, we have to see God and we have to serve Him as He is, rather than creating our own version of Him that fits our preferences. I want to get your take on this. Why is it, that seeing God as He truly is, is essential to walking in victory over sexual sin?

Steve: For one thing, we will stand before Him as He truly is. The narrative we have written in our own minds based on our own desires is largely a false narrative. Okay, we can deceive ourselves and lie to ourselves and try to make it into something that it isn't. But we're going to end up paying the price if we go down that path. So, knowing the Lord in reality, as He actually is, and reacting to Him as He actually is, is the only safe course. But if we do that, we will really come to know Him in His goodness.

Nate: Amen, well thank you very much.

Steve: Yeah, it was great. Thank you.

In this series we’ve been talking about why receiving God’s mercy and then giving it away to others is central to coming out of sexual sin. Maybe some of you have been saying to yourselves, “Well, that sounds good in theory, but does mercy really work? We think that one of the most convincing ways to show you the power of mercy is to share the story of Frank Leonetti—a man whom God saved from the depths of sin and despair and who has been giving his life away for the last ten years so that people might know Jesus—the one who gave him newness of life. We hope and pray after by the end of it you’ll believe that mercy works.

‍

Last week we discussed how God is good and trustworthy, even when our circumstances challenge us to think otherwise. But what about when it isn’t our lives, but God’s own Word about Himself, that makes us question his character? Because the Bible is full of pictures of a God of wrath and a God of anger and many people can become uncomfortable or even untrusting of God, because of these revelations about Himself. But a right understanding of this aspect of God is vital to knowing and loving Him – it’s vital to living a life of victory. In this episode, we have both Steve and Kathy Gallagher in the studio. Each of them help shed some light on this often misunderstood aspect of God.