Well, it was bound to happen. Several months ago I mentioned my frustration with the lack of leadership we had running for President. I jokingly said I was going to run since I could not vote for anyone running.
Well, before I know it I have been drafted. This caught me by complete surprise!!!! Check out this news report I happened to see last night while watching the news. I am going to be taking contributions right here at guymelton.com
Watch this video shown this week at all Oasis Church Services, to find out why???
For those who are not on our Email list at Oasis, I am posting this so our Extended Oasis Family from around the Globe will know what is happening at Oasis Church, South Florida. I hope for those of you who reside outside South Florida have a wonderful July 4th . (The links on the Original email, do not work on this, but you can always go to our Visitoasis.org website or my blog site to find them. (Unfortunately when I place my Email on the blog, it cuts a few words off the end of the sentence. Sorry)
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Haven't done this before but thought I might DUMP some things on you all in one post. I'll try to keep it relatively short. (That word Relatively, is Relative of course)
I never cease to be amazed at watching the Space Shuttle Land. I do not normally get to see it live. But just a few minutes ago I found myself with my mouth open hardly able to breathe watching the 123rd Space Shuttle Discovery Land at Kennedy Space Center. I have only seen one Take off from the Beach in Satellite Beach. It was last year with my son and two grandsons. I was like this little kid totally overwhelmed while my grandsons played on the beach oblivious to the phenomenal feat. I asked my son Nate, have they ever seen one. Oh, yea they see them all. Its no big deal to them. Man I felt like this little kid!!!!!
What a sight to see this multiple ton aircraft, just glide into the Earth. No engines, no power!!! I just had to say something. Tonia is at an all day planning meeting. Im finishing off a sermon for July on the Satisfying Life, but tuned in when I heard it was landing. Unfortunately the last one I saw landing live never landed, on February 1, 2003 . As millions on that Saturday morning sat and watched this common sight now for most, the Columbia disintegrated over Texas. 7 Precious Souls lost. A reminder that Life is fragile. But God is Big and He is in Control!!!!!! What a Big God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today had a happy ending, and Im here still with my Mouth Wide open amazed at what I just witnessed.5 Million Plus miles in 14 Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those with a little extra time, check out the recent Russian Landing, I think they have a little work to do, before they catch us!
Tonight was one of those nights that are just special. I spent about 3 1/2 hours with our Leaders who lead our ministries. 90 Leaders and spouses met to have a great meal prepared by John Adams who leads our Kona Cafe on the Pines Campus. All 3 Campuses were represented. We don't get to be together very often.
Following the Meal Rev. Bud McCord our Missionary to Brazil gave us an overview of his new book , "The Satisfying Life" which is what our new Series at Oasis Church is based on. Actually it is based on John 15. If your going to be at church this coming weekend or one of our nightly services , you might want to read this passage. Speaking to our Staff, Deacons/Lay pastors, Church Council, Children's Directors , Worship leaders , Host Pastors , Womens ministry ,First Impressions Captains and Community group leaders Bud challenged us all to live the Abiding Life. To realize Jesus is in me and I have all I need in life to be satisfied is within me , Jesus Christ. It was refreshing. It was a time our Leaders who constantly give out , and serve others had a chance to be fed, spiritually as well as physically.
What a privilege to serve with these great men and women. As I looked around the room, I was just awestruck at the wonderful servant leaders our church is blessed with . I am so blessed to serve as servant leader to this incredible church. I love Oasis Church. Cant wait to see you this coming weekend and week.
If you did not read the first Post, please do so first or this one will not make sense.
After I Posted the first Post on this subject I received several comments and emails. This email from one of our members is the reason that Sexual addiction, or sex outside the bounds of a Marriage is so dangerous. This is the result!!
"I'm not sure I should say anything but I would like for men and women to know how porn destroys souls and relationships. My 20 year marriage ended because of such addiction and it destroyed our marriage and hurt so many people around us. As you know, I mourned for my ex-husband when he died , but what I think I mourned more than anything was our marriage that seemed to be second because porn was first (as any addiction). I think many men think that it's personal and harmless but nothing could be farther from the truth. As a wife, I felt degraded, helpless, and hopeless."
Now if that is not enough, Read the scripture below!!! For those who choose to fulfill the flesh, First Corinthians 6 tells us it actually is sinning against his own body.
12"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial.
"Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.
13..... The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."[b] 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Nothing in the Bible prohibits a man from enjoying sex within marriage to our spouse. Actually God gives us an amazing picture of Pure Romance between a man and woman in the book, Song of Solomon. Within Marriage there are no boundaries.. . But catch what Hebrews 13:4 says , Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. (The Message)
I made a commitment 33 years ago June 26, 1975 to love and cherish my wife until death do us part!! I plan to keep that vow. I am proud to say that Tonia is the only woman I have ever had sex with and plan to keep it that way until I die. But there is no guarantee. I have to continue to Guard my heart and think on the right things. I have to continue to stoke the the fires of love. I have to continue to see my wife as the beautiful person that God made her to be. I cant compare her with the Spray Painted , touched up pictures of models and those who are put out in front of us as men on a daily basis hundreds of times. I am as passionate about my wife as when I dated her 33 years ago and married that beautiful 19 year old. I desire her, I tell her often how beautiful she is and how much I desire her more today than ever. She is Hotter today than ever, and I want her to know it. Yes, it makes her uncomfortable, she gets a little embarrassed and tries to brush it off. But I mean it and I make sure she knows it!!! Guys , how can we expect our wife to respond to us when we treat them like trash, and they know we are getting our kicks with the Madame Whore, Proverbs talks about.
Ok, I have lots more to say, but what if your already like the man in Proverbs who is already caught up in the Madame whore of the Internet, magazine, or the prostitute on the street or screen. There is a way out. But you probably cant do it on your own. There are many things offered today for us to maneuver through this death trap. By the way, I have addressed mainly married men, but if your single, this applies just as much. You are not exempt to live as you will if you don't have a wife. Check out the verses I shared, most are for married or single.
Here is a comment by a single guy, who left a comment on my blog today: "beyond the Internet I know (as a Christian male in the church) it's awfully difficult when our sisters in Christ wear some of the same clothing we'd come to expect the '1 tracked-minded' women of the world.
I go to church to worship & I'm blindsided by body parts & flesh on women that take my mind to places it shouldn't be. It only doubles how difficult it is to stay pure as a Godly man.
I love a challenge, but sometimes I find myself crying out, God...u gotta be kidding me??? (you can read the comment in its entirety on my former post, I linked to above)
So Ladies!!! You ladies who are reading this even though , Its for men only!!! Take it from this guy, you have a duty also to watch you aren't the Madame Whore in the Proverbs, who calls out to the guy on the street, office or even church. I agree with the guy who comments here. As a Pastor it is unbelievable what I have to look at sometimes during my sermon. Some ladies dress like they are trying out for some sleazy magazine. I am not exaggerating, sometimes when our pastoral teaching team is teaching, and you can ask any of them, there are women sitting in the rows just in front of us with 3/4 of their chest exposed and little to the imagination. There is no cultural excuse like some say, or any other excuse. They are selling themselves!!!! Yes, in church!!! Ladies, please help us!!!
So ladies that is one way you can help us. Dress modestly, like scripture teaches. If your married give your husband the same respect and love you gave him when you dated him. Keep yourself the best you can physically. Stroke his ego, encourage him, build him up. (Go to our website and listen to the message on "Keeping the Sizzle in Marriage") While this doesn't guarantee your husband wont go chasing the Madame Whore on the Internet or else where , I believe he will be far less inclined to. NOW LADIES AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU KEPT READING THIS POST!!!! GOTCHA!!
Here are some tips that will help :
For those who follow our Blog but are not in our Oasis Church Family here in South Florida, below is our newsletter I Sent out today . I get so many who like to keep up with Oasis, this is my way of keeping you in the loop. Just a reminder, the typepad format cuts off the end of the line, so you complete the sentence. The links on the email letter will not work from here. Sorry!!!
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This blog post is only for the Men. I want to have a heart to heart about something I realized a few days ago, that I had not addressed on my blog. "What Were You Thinking ?" is the name. I try to be true to this in sharing what I am thinking. In my role as Pastor of Oasis Church I cannot always say the things I can on my personal blog. Or many times I choose not to.
The subject I am discussing is Sexuality. While reading another Christian blog this week the guy mentioned several sensitive subjects he has only addressed a few times, just because he is uncomfortable discussing them. Well it hit me, I don't think I have touched the subject of Male Sexuality even once this past year. It needs to be discussed. Why? Well we have an epidemic in the Church among mainly men in the way of unhealthy sexuality. It is sexual addiction. I do believe it is epidemic from all the signs I see and observe. I can give countless examples of good men who have been caught up in Immoral Sexual Addiction. Now don't get me wrong, I don't believe Sex is bad. That goes without saying it was actually invented by God himself, for our enjoyment. And most of us, as men, Enjoy it.
Where it concerns me is when it goes outside the bounds of marriage. As I was reading the Proverbs recently, which I do every day, I was reminded of the danger of letting sexual immorality creep into my life. In Proverbs Chapter 9 the Message calls her Madame Whore. She sits on the porch on Main Street and calls out to the passer by and lures him in. Proverbs 5 warns against the Seductive Woman, her words are smooth, soft and sweet!!! It also reminds those of us who are married to continue to enjoy the wife of our youth.
Now most of us don't identify with this ancient proverb even when its written in a contemporary paraphrase, but let me break it down to what it could mean today. While the day of the prostitute waving most men down on US 1, or as the Proverb says, Main street doesn't seem to relate to most of us, (most men I know probably would never step into an adult bookstore/video shop) there are still the prostitutes sitting on the porches and the madame whores that are just as dangerous today. They are in our homes...the cable movie channels that most excuse as entertainment. We actually bring the Whore into our homes. The Internet!!! Never has Satan had a better way to grab us with the Prostitute and Whore the Bible speaks about than on the Internet. It is so easy. It can happen before we know it. It can happen even if we don't look for it.
Just recently I was doing some googling of a very benign subject. I came across a church website in the list and was curious why it showed up. Well, when I clicked it!! I t had some of the most pornographic pictures you can imagine. It was sickening. Under a church website. I had to make a very quick decision. Did I want to do a little research or move on?!!! It was an eye opener in more than one way. It reminded me how dangerous my computer is. How easily I can be sucked in to the Madame Whore that Proverbs is talking about. I do a lot of reading of Christian blogs and some secular ones. I visit a lot of church sites and ministry sites. But at anytime this can happen.
Now you say, "Pastor but you wouldn't be tempted"!! You've got to be kidding. I don't know of any healthy man who is not tempted at some point. The only men I have known who are not tempted and attracted sexually to a beautiful woman at times are those who are attracted to men. Pretty straight forward but guys, it can happen to any one of us. We are all tempted, let's be honest. We must put ourselves in the position not to fall. This is not easy when the Prostitute has moved into our offices, homes and computers. We must be Abiding in the fullness of God's Spirit to have a chance. It can be done but it isn't easy.
Now honestly, as a young man of 18 madly in love with my beautiful young girlfriend, who has now been my wife for 33 years this month, it was hard to not be tempted. But if you would have told me at 52 years of age I can still be tempted I would have said you're crazy!! I have the same desires and drive now as then. Age hasn't made a difference. The point I make is don't think with age you'll just get over it. No, as men God made us to be aroused by a beautiful woman with our eyes. That is the way it is. So we must constantly be on guard. I'm very concerned that many men are on the verge of losing it all because they have been caught by the Prostitute of Porn or Adultery. By the way, I have never met a man who was caught up in Adultery who did not have a Pornography addiction. Mark it down, you are in grave danger, if you're there.
There are no good excuses. We can always find an excuse and justify our actions. I have heard them all. She is a nagger, she is cold, won't have sex enough for me. She doesn't keep care of herself. She has gained so much weight. She just isn't affectionate anymore. We can make all the excuses, guys. The simple fact is that God calls on us to live a pure life. It is not about her. It's about me and God. Are we abiding in Him? Is His spirit in control of my thoughts, eyes and actions? Psalms 101:3 (Message) says "I refuse to take a second look at corrupting people and degrading things." When I live by this I honor God and I honor my wife.
(Ok, I will come back tomorrow and finish my thoughts, and also give some links that might help some who are dealing with these issues. I'll also share some very practical things that will help each of us to avoid the temptation, or when it comes how we can escape giving in)
Ok, Ladies, I knew you couldn't stand it and would peek. You are so nosy!!! So if you did, make sure you read tomorrow's blog post because you can be a help to your mate in this area.
NOW FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT WANT TO CRITICIZE ME FOR MY TITLE XXX. I FIGURE IF I COULD GET TRAPPED BY A PORNO SITE on a Google Search WITH The NAME OF A CHURCH MAYBE A MAN THAT IS TRAPPED BY PORNOGRAPHY MIGHT GOOGLE XXX AND GET THIS POST AND IT MIGHT HELP ONE MAN. WHO KNOWS!!!!!! GOT YOUR ATTENTION !!!!!.
Tuesdays at noon is our Regular Ministry Leaders Luncheon. This is approximately 13 men and women who oversee or lead the ministries of our church. We eat lunch together, laugh together, cry together, plan and update each other on our ministries. Most Tuesdays as we eat we only talk personal things. Catch up on families, hobbies and whatever comes up. It's a great place to bond and let our hair down. For some reason, almost every Tuesday somehow the conversation comes around to me. But usually they are laughing at me and not with me. How could I provide this mainly young generation of leaders so much to laugh at? How do they find so many crazy things I do? But they do. From my grammar, to my spelling, my hobbies, blog, family, hair, clothes, shoes...you name it, they Bust me on it!!!!
Well, a blog post by our Admin Pastor Kevin McCord really unleashed it this week. He had done a post that morning on "How Real Is Your Pastor?" . He pretty much exposed every area of my life, but used my blog posts over the last year to do it. He Busted me pretty good as only Kevin can do. He said it was a compliment. I'll let you decide when you read them. I'll believe him, since I want to!!!!! Well, this really set the team off. But one thing I am happy about, is that at least they are not afraid to laugh at the boss. Most of you laugh at your boss behind his/her back...they just do it to my face is all. Generally it's good natured and I love being around this mainly young staff. Some of them are younger than my boys. What a great group though. I Love them all and count it a privilege to serve with them. (BTW, my wife is usually the major instigator of the "pick on the ole guy" and then just sits there and watches!!!!!!!!!!)
Oh, well I usually tell them, I am glad I have given them something to laugh about !!!! Even if it's at me and not with me!!!!!!!!!! .
