Jim McClain

There is only one true God, and His greatness is beyond anything we can imagine! His power is unmatched, His wisdom is perfect, and His love never fails. When we recognize who God truly is, our worries become smaller and our faith grows stronger. Today, take a moment to praise Him, trust His promises, and share His goodness with others. Our God is worthy of all our praise! Read 2 Samuel 7:22 below.

Psalm 139:10 reminds us that no place is beyond God’s presence. David describes traveling to the farthest reaches and finding God already there. His “right hand” represents His strength and sustaining care. This verse doesn’t promise an easy path or an immediate answer to every question. It assures us that distance, darkness, and difficult circumstances cannot put us beyond God’s reach. Even when we cannot see the way ahead, we can trust Him to guide us and sustain us as we walk in faith. Read Psalm 139:10 below.

Through Jesus, sin no longer has the final say over our lives. God gives us a new identity, a new direction, and a lasting hope. Live today as someone who belongs to Christ. Read Colossians 1:13 Below.

God’s people can turn to Him with confidence, asking for help and restoration. Our prayers should also look beyond our needs toward His glory. As we seek His care, let’s remember to thank Him and celebrate His goodness together. Read 1 Chronicles 16:35 below.

The living miracle still unfolding

Hebrews 4:16 reminds us that we come before a gracious Father who offers mercy for our failures and help in our struggles. Read Hebrews 4:16 below.

Every sunrise reminds us that yesterday’s struggles don’t have the final word. God meets us with mercy, sustains us through hardship, and gives us hope to begin again. Whatever today brings, you can trust His unfailing love. Read Lamentations 3:22–23 Below.

Peace doesn’t depend on everything going right. Jesus can steady our hearts even when life feels uncertain. Bring Him your worries today, trust His presence, and share His peace with those around you. Read 2 Thessalonians 3:16 below.

Sex, Sin, and the Gospel Part 4: Forgiveness, Sanctification, and Living Pure The Bible’s teaching on sexual sin is clear and uncompromising. Yet the same Scriptures that define immortality also proclaim the power of the gospel to forgive, cleanse, and transform. No one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy, and no believer is left without the resources to walk in purity. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 lists sexual immorality, adultery, and homosexual practice among the sins that characterize those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then it add the decisive word—“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”. The past tense is intentional. What a person once was does not determine what they can become in Christ. The gospel does not merely improve behavior—it creates a new identity. Forgiveness is available to everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Jesus. 1 John 1:9 promises, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. This includes sexual sin. Whether the failure was premarital sex, adultery, pornography, same-sex behavior, or something else, sincere repentance and faith in Christ bring full forgiveness. God does not grade sins by public opinion. He forgives completely on the basis of Christ’s finished work. Forgiveness, however, is not permission to continue in sin. God’s will for His people is sanctification—being set apart for Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 7 states it plainly, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God…for God has not called us to impurity, but in holiness”. Sanctification is not optional. It is an essential evidence of genuine salvation. A person who persistently and unrepentantly practices sexual immorality has legitimate reason to question whether he or she has ever truly been born again. The Holy Spirit convicts believers of sin and produces a growing desire to please God. The practical command is straightforward, “Flee from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18). Sexual sin is unique in that it is a sin against one’s own body. Believers’ bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit—they are not their own. This truth applies to both the unmarried and the married. Singles honor God by reserving sexual intimacy for marriage. Married couples honor God by keeping the marriage bed pure and exclusive. In both cases, self-control is the fruit of walking in the Spirit rather than gratifying the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Those who have already engaged in sexual sin before or after coming to Christ are not disqualified from a pure life going forward. The same Spirit who convicts also cleanses and empowers. Confession, repentance, and ongoing dependence on Christ are the path. Many who have lost their virginity or who carry the scars of past relationships discover that God’s forgiveness is real and that purity is still possible. The goal is not to erase history but to walk faithfully from this point onward. Divorce, which often follows sexual sin or relational failure, carries lasting consequences. It frequently leaves both partners emotionally wounded and financially strained, and it deprives children of the stability of an intact family. Adult children of divorce are statistically more likely to struggle with their own relationships, educational attainment, and overall well-being. These realities underscore why God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) and why Scripture calls believers to protect and honor marriage. Even so, the gospel remains sufficient for those who have experienced divorce. Forgiveness and a new beginning are available, though the consequences of past choices may still be felt. The cultural pressure to treat sex as a casual right is intense, and the delay of marriage in many societies increases temptation. Yet the Bible consistently calls for self-control rather than self-indulgence. The privilege of sexual intimacy is tied to the commitment of marriage. Abstinence until marriage is not outdated—it honors God, protects people from many forms of harm, and preserves the unique value of the one-flesh union. In the end, the issue is not merely behavior modification. It is a matter of the heart and of new life in Christ. Those who have never trusted Jesus are invited to turn from their old ways, confess their sin, and receive Him as Lord and Savior. Those who already belong to Him are called to keep in step with the Spirit, flee immorality, and pursue the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). God’s design for sex is good. His forgiveness is complete. His power to sanctify is real. The question is whether we will receive both the gift and the boundaries He has given. If you have further questions or want additional information please go to isjesusrightforme.com.

Sex, Sin, and the Gospel Part 3: Sexual Sin and Immorality God’s design for sex is clear—it belongs inside the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Anything outside that design is sexual immorality. The Bible does not treat this as a minor preference or a private lifestyle choice. It treats it as sin. Scripture defines sexual immorality broadly as any sexual activity—whether thought, desire acted upon, or physical act—outside the marriage of one man and one woman. 1 Corinthians 7:2 states that “because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband”. The consistent biblical pattern is that the only legitimate context for sexual relations is marriage. Everything else falls under the category of immorality. Jesus, Himself, raised the standard beyond outward behavior. In the Sermon on the Mount He said, “You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Lust is not harmless. If is the seed of adultery. 1 John 2:16 identifies “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes” as part of the world that is passing away. Pornography, by design, feeds those desires and is therefore incompatible with God’s will. The New Testament lists sexual immorality among the works of the flesh that characterize those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19 includes “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality”. Ephesians 5:3 says these things “must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints”. Colossians 3:5 commands believers to put to death “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire”. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 is direct, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God”. Specific forms of sexual sin are addressed throughout Scripture. Premarital sex and casual sex are included under fornication and sexual immorality. Adultery—sexual relations with someone other than ones’s spouse—is repeatedly condemned. This remains true even if a spouse approves of or participates in outside sexual activity—consent does not change the nature of the act. Hebrews 13:4 warns that God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Homosexual behavior is also identified as sin. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 forbid a man lying with a male as with a woman lying with another woman. Romans 1:26-27 describes both male and female same-sex relations as contrary to nature and the result of exchanging the truth of God for a lie. 1 Corinthians 6:9 includes those who practice homosexuality among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. The Bible treats same-sex activity as sin in the same category as other forms of sexual immorality. Same-sex attraction, like other forms of temptation, is real and acting on it is sin. God’s standard does not change with cultural opinion. Other practices—incest, bestiality, prostitution, and the like—are likewise forbidden. The common thread is that they violate the one-man, one-woman covenant design established in creation. The consequences of sexual sin are both spiritual and practical. Spiritually, sexual sin is uniquely damaging because it is a sin against one’s own body (1 Corinthians 6:18). The body of a believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit and to give it over to immorality is to dishonor that temple. Unrepentant sexual sin is incompatible with a healthy relationship with God and raises serious questions about whether a person has truly been born again. Practically, the results are widely visible: sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, abortions, fatherless children, emotional pain, broken trust, and the weakening of families. While not every person who sins sexually experiences every consequence, and while not every social problem is caused solely by sexual sin, the pattern is clear enough that Scripture’s warnings are confirmed by experience. Modern culture has largely rejected these boundaries. Sexual behavior is often treated as a personal right to be exercised according to individual desire, with the only remaining standard being mutual consent or personal preference. The word “sin” has largely disappeared from public conversation. Yet man has never been given the authority to redefine what God created. The One who designed sexuality retains the right to set its limits. Sexual immorality is not a small matter. It is a direct contradiction of God’s will for His people and a distortion of the good gift He gave. At the same time, the Bible does not leave us without hope. The same passages that list sexual sins also declare that those who have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus can be changed (1 Corinthians 6:11). This is the subject of the next part of this series.

Sex, Sin, and the Gospel Part 2: God’s Design for Sex Sex is not a human invention. It is not a dirty secret the church is forced to tolerate, nor is it a modern discovery. From the beginning, God designed sex. He created human beings as male and female, joined them in marriage, and gave them the gift of sexual intimacy for both the continuation of the human race and the deepening of their covenant relationship. In Genesis 1 God made humankind in His image and then said, “Be fruitful and multiply”. The physical differences between male and female were part of that good creation, not an afterthought. Genesis 2 narrows the focus to the first marriage where God formed the woman from the man and brought her to him. Adam recognized her as bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Then Scripture records the foundational statement about marriage and sexuality—“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The “one flesh” union is physical, emotional, and covenantal. It is the joining of two lives in a lifelong bond that God Himself establishes. Jesus later affirmed this same passage when He taught that what God has joined together no one should separate (Matthew 19:4-6). The sexual act is the most intimate expression of that one-flesh reality. It is meant to be enjoyed inside the safety and permanence of marriage between one man and one woman. Hebrews 13:4 puts the matter simply, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous”. The marriage bed is not something to be ashamed of. Within the covenant of marriage it is pure, honorable, and good. God designed the bodies of husband and wife—with their complementary differences—for mutual pleasure, comfort, and the possibility of children. Sexuality is one of His sacred wedding gifts to the human race. The purposes are clear in Scripture. First, sex is for the intimate bonding of husband and wife. It is a unique way two people who have pledged themselves to each other for life can know and be known, give and receive, and celebrate the covenant they have made. Second, sex is the ordinary means by which God continues the human family. Both purposes are good. Neither is secondary or optional in God’s design. It is worth noting that the English word “sex” does not appear in the Bible, yet the realities of desire, marital intimacy, and sexual purity are addressed throughout Scripture. The Song of Solomon, for example, celebrates the beauty of marital love and physical desire without apology. Proverbs and the New Testament letters likewise assume that sexual intimacy belongs inside marriage and is a blessing there. God’s design is therefore both simple and profound—sex is a good gift when it is received and enjoyed according to the boundaries He has set—namely, the lifelong covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. Outside those boundaries it becomes something else. Inside them it remains what God intended—an expression of love, trust, unity, and the possibility of new life. This is the starting point. Before we examine how that design has been distorted, how Scripture defines sexual sin, or how the Gospel brings forgiveness and the power for purity, we must first see what God originally gave. Sex is His idea. Marriage is His institution. The one-flesh union is His gift. Everything else we say about sexuality must begin here.

Sex, Sin, and the Gospel Part 1: Introduction Sex is one of God’s good gifts, yet it is also one of the most distorted and debated subjects in our culture. Many treat it as a purely personal choice with no fixed boundaries. Others carry shame or confusion about what Scripture actually teaches. This short series seeks to present a clear straightforward account of what the Bible itself says. We will look at three connected themes. In Part 2 we examine God’s original design in which sex is a good gift given for the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Sex is for both intimate bonding and the continuation of the human family. In Part 3 we consider sexual sin and immorality—how Scripture defines those boundaries, what it says about specific forms of sexual behavior outside those boundaries, and the consequences that follow when God’s design is rejected. And finally in Part 4 we turn to the Gospel’s answer. Here we find the forgiveness available through Jesus Christ, the call to sanctification, and the practical path of living in purity by the power of the Holy Spirit. Throughout these articles the goal is simple—to let Scripture speak for itself. The words that follow are not personal opinions offered as equal to God’s Word. They are an attempt to summarize and apply what God has already said. Readers are encouraged to examine the passages cited and weigh them carefully. Whether you are a believer seeking to understand and obey Scripture more faithfully, or someone exploring what the Bible teaches, these four parts are offered as a starting point. God’s design is good. Sexual sin is real. And the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient for both forgiveness and a new way of life. Please check out isjesusrightforme.com and ask the Bible companion, Journey to Jesus, any questions you may have.

Our thoughts shape our attitudes, our actions, and ultimately our lives. In a world filled with negativity, fear, and distractions, God calls us to focus on what is good, true, and pleasing to Him. When we fill our minds with His Word and the goodness around us, we make room for greater peace, joy, and gratitude. Read Philippians 4:8 below.

Life will bring challenges, disappointments, and difficult days, but Jesus reminds us that we never face them alone. True peace doesn't come from a world without problems—it comes from trusting the One who has already overcome them. Whatever you're facing today, take courage, hold on to your faith, and remember that with Jesus, there is always hope! Read John 16:33 below 🙏✝️

True joy and lasting peace come from trusting God, not from the circumstances around us. When we place our faith in Him, the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with hope that carries us through life's challenges. No matter what today brings, remember that God's promises are greater than our worries. Let His hope fill your heart and overflow into the lives of those around you! Read Romans 15:13 below.

New podcast episode out now for our series on The Seven Churches. Part four "Pergamum." Listen here youandgodsword.libsyn.com/pe…

🇺🇸 Today, as we exercise our freedom to vote, let us remember that good leadership begins with integrity, honesty, wisdom, and reverence for God. The Bible reminds us that character matters in those entrusted with leadership. As we make our choices today, let us seek God's guidance, pray for our nation, and trust Him with the future. May God bless America and guide those who lead us! 🇺🇸🙏

Let’s encourage one another, choose kindness over conflict, and give thanks for the blessings God provides each day! Read Colossians 3:15 below.

Daniel 2:21 reminds us that God is in control of all things. Seasons change, leaders rise and fall, and the world around us is constantly changing, but God's authority never changes. Nothing happens beyond His knowledge or power. True wisdom comes from Him, and when we seek His guidance, He gives us the understanding we need to navigate life's challenges. No matter how uncertain the world becomes, we can find peace knowing that God is still on His throne!

Doing what is right isn't always easy, especially when others oppose us for our faith. But God reminds us that standing firm in His truth is never in vain. We should never allow fear, criticism, or threats to keep us from living as Christ taught us. Stay faithful, stand for what is right, and trust God through every challenge. His blessings are greater than any opposition we may face. Read 1 Peter 3:14 below.

Amen! 🙏