it's scandalous

So I guess I'm the weird one.
I've not jumped on board the Scandal train. I tried watching a little a couple of times. I got nothing. So my friends and relatives look at me funny. One of my cousins posted a picture on Facebook a few weeks ago with pictures of women being upset, and the caption read something about not liking infidelity. Then another picture from the TV show Scandal, where the husband is in the arms of a staffer, and that is seen as okay. Really? We want to celebrate infidelity on the altar of entertainment, but be upset if that doggish god shows up at our homes? Really?
For the believer of God, the disciple of Christ, that just won't work out for our good. Plain hypocrisy. Okay, I can hear some of you protesting that I am heavy-handed, and over the top on this, totally out of touch. I accept the out-of-touch part. If you are not a believer in God, to protest against that which you celebrate is still hypocritical. Dishonest.
For the believer, the disciple, hear what God says:
¹³ At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. 1 Timothy5:13
³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:3-4
One more
 ³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
Currently, I am reading gods at war by Kyle Idleman. Gripping reading. The subtitle is Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart. This book is so challenging. I shared the chapter on entertainment with Benjamin, my fourteen-year-old. He was gripped by the text. It has helped to change some behaviors for both of us. I bring it up because the text challenges us to examine how much time and energy do we give to things like Scandal? What are we willing to sacrifice for our next fix? How does it all compare to the amount of time and energy we spend pursuing God's heart? How does it affect our thinking and view of relationships? What are our first thoughts, however fleeting, when we look at people? It all betrays to us where our priorities really are, and where God is in the midst of all this. For me, the problem are shows with big. strong, handsome men rescuing people, or otherwise demonstrating lots of personal power. So it's no more CSI, Law and Order, or NCIS(sniffle). Until I can watch without going into naughty fantasies, I need to leave it alone. Right now it's brain clutter that neither glorifies God, nor edifies my righteous soul.
I am persuaded that God will accomplish holiness and purity in me. I know that I am not a failure in this regard because God has chosen not to leave me in my homemade mess. He just gave me more help to remove the idol so that He can take His rightful seat.

Revival in Process

Revival. It's more than a nice notion. It's more than a good religious idea. It's more than most of us understand it to be. It's certainly more than a good church activity or event. It is more than my mind was ready for. Fortunately, God was preparing my heart.
God is so loving that He began to turn over the soil of my heart quite a bit ago. He started by ridding the large stones of complacency and mediocrity. The cinder blocks of self-sufficiency and competency had to go. That was very dramatic work. Then the weeds of complaint and discontent needed work. The runner blades of a critical spirit took some digging until we got to the root: idolatry. Yep, idolatry. See, if you don't get at the roots and get them all out, the weeds will come back. Idolatry.
Recently, our church viewed a simulcast on idolatry. Titled gods at war, the pastor/teacher laid out some truths and insights that were heart rending. I was amazed to figure out what my idols are and what it really is that I really need. I need to get a really good grip on the fact that God loves me deeply. So easy to gloss over that. The example was  given of a man who went to the doctor with a cough. The doctor found it was lung cancer. Succumbing to his own fears, the doctor treated the cough and not the cancer. Never told the man he had cancer. The man thought that all was well as cancer ate him up from the inside. Sin is the cough, idolatry the cancer. Time to stop just treating the cough. Hence revival for the believer is necessary. 
Time to stop treating a list of symptoms. Time to get at the  true disease. I've been close to people that are being treated for cancer. It is not pretty. The medicine is harsh. The side-effects unseemly. There is fatigue, lost hair, marks for radiation, nausea. All part of the process. Fortunately, revival results in renewal and restoration. Holiness becomes us. There is re-energizing of our life in Christ. Peace is our treasured companion.
Revival is more than I ever imagined. I am so glad.