I was out walking my dog on Saturday — no, this isn’t a repeat of last week’s column. I walk my dog a lot, so keep reading …. We came around a corner to find a young teenage boy throwing a football to himself in his front yard. He threw the ball into the air, missed catching it and went into some bushes to retrieve it. It stirred up some memories of many a pick-up game I had with my friends on fall days just like that one. When I was his age and when there were no friends around, I would do just what this young fellow was doing. When he emerged from the bushes, I called across the yard to him, Hey, would you like me to toss you a few passes?

The boy looked stunned, afraid, and he said (almost stammering), No, that’s okay. I’m good. As I walked away, it hit me that I am a stranger to this young man and had tempted him to violate a rule that has been drummed into every young person: never talk to strangers! It’s a good rule — a necessary rule — that wasn’t needed when I was his age. What’s changed? The tossing aside of Biblical morality.

They say sexuality is personal, that one person’s perversion has no effect on others or on society as a whole. Are you kidding me? It has stolen our innocence; it makes a loving grandpa feel guilty for having been friendly to a child; it has made our society a dangerous place to live!

If you are caught up in any of the sexual sins (including pornography), do whatever you need to do to get free. Repent today — confess your sins to someone you trust that will hold you accountable. If you need help, give me a call and I’ll find someone to partner with you. Judgment is coming and the Bible says it begins with the house of God. If you wait, God will see to it that your sins are made public. For the Word promises that there is nothing done in secret that will not be exposed. Get covered by forgiveness and cleansing today.

– Pastor Joel Everhart