POP 393 - Connected to the Vine
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
Release Date: 01/09/2024
POP 406 - Tony's Heart Attack
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this episode Tony shares the story of his recent heart attack. On a Monday morning Tony began to feel a tightness and uncomfortable feeling in his chest, which then escalated to his throat and jaw. He eventually drove himself to the hospital, and as the day unfolded, it was confirmed that he had a heart attack. This led to a heart catheterization and the placement of a stent in Tony's heart. Because of this situation Tony was not able to publish an episode of The Power of Purity Podcast for the past two weeks, and in today's episode he shares his story along with 3 key...
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POP 405 - 4 Easter Observations
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this episode Tony shares 4 important observations from the resurrection of Christ that inspire great hope in our hearts. No matter what's going on in our lives or situations, we do not have to be afraid, because of the resurrection. We can both see and experience God's fingerprints and work in our own hearts and lives, and then, based upon what the Lord has allowed us to "see", we can then "go and tell" others. Sometimes we're afraid because of the difficult situations or circumsances of our lives, but God always makes his joy available to us, and this is really good news, because it's so...
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POP 404 - A Donkey, a Colt, a Foal
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this episode, which was recorded during Holy Week, Tony shares some reflections from Matthew chapter 21 concerning Palm Sunday. This was the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and as he did the people shouted exclamations of praise, adoration, and joy! "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" Among other key thoughts, Tony focuses on one intriguing observation from the passage, which is the prophetic quote that was written by the prophet Zechariah 500 years before the actual triumphal entry of Jesus into...
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POP 403 - The Temptation of Jesus
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
Jesus was fully God, and fully human, both at the same time. Jesus, as a human being, lived in this broken and fallen world. And in his humanity, Jesus experienced temptation just like us. Because of this, we have a Savior who understands us. When Jesus was in the wilderness he fasted for 40 days. At the end of the fast he was hungry, and the devil came to him to tempt hm. The devil tempted his to "turn these stones into bread". Or said another way, the essence of the temtptation was for Jesus to take care of the legitimate needs of his physical body in his own way. As if the devil was saying,...
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POP 402 - 5 Options for Dealing with the "X"
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
Just like a coin has 2 sides - heads and tails - there are 2 different components that are virutally inseperable, which are sex and relationship. Or, said another, sex is intended to occur within the context of relaitonship, and this leads to a very important and undeniable reality, which implicates the importance of healthy relaitonship. Or, said another way, the healthier and more funcitonal the relationship is , the healthier and more funcitonal the sex will be that occurs within the context of that relationship. But there's another very important and undenial reality, which is the truth...
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POP 401 - Watch & Pray
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this weeks short episode Tony reflects on a very interesting scripture found in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane. He's very sad and he's struggling because he knows what's about to happen. He leaves most of the disciples at a particular place in garden, and then takes Peter, James, and John with him a little further into the garden. As the following scene then unfolds, he asks these three disciples, three different times, to "watch" and to "pray" so they would not fall into temptation. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is...
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POP 400 - The Blood Arrow
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
This is Episode 400 of The Power of Purity Podcast! The Blood Arrow! If you were an Indian and you went hunting, you'd probably take more than one arrow in your quiver. In fact, you'd probably want a whole quiver full of arrows, so you'd have plenty of shots ready if you needed them. In much the same way, people need many different "arrows" in their metaphorical quiver that they can draw upon in their struggle/battle agaisnt temptations. We need to have a battle plan in place, before the temptation arises, so that when the moment of truth arrives we have some resources, concepts,...
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POP 399 - The Second Greatest Gift You Could Ever Give To God
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this episode Tony shares the SECOND greatest gift you could ever give to God, which is the submission of your will to his will. When God decided to create human beings, he did most amazing and remarkable thing when he decided to give us free will. God did not make us robots. He did not program us so we would have to love him and obey him. Instead, he gave us free will so we would have the choice, and we could then choose to love him and obey him or we could choose not to. In this way, when we do choose to love God and obey him, and when we do choose to surrender and submit our will to him,...
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POP 398 - The Power of Music
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this episode Tony shares a concept / idea / strategy that has helped him tremendously in his personal life... in his walk with God... in his purity walk... in his mental and emotional equilibrium for at least the past year. The Power of Music! God made us, and gave us a heart. And God made music, and music, in a mystical way, is a powerful language of the human heart. There's music in heaven, and there will be music for eternity. It's almost as if we wouldn't know how to be human if we didn't have music. From the earliest days of humanity, humans intuitivly discovered the importance of...
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POP 397 - Checkmate
Power of Purity | Helping Men to Honor God with their Sexual Gift
In this episode Tony shares 2 important metaphors. The first one concerns the game of chess. When you're playing chess, the objective is to get your opponent in "checkmate". This means he doesn't have any moves left. In this metaphor Tony compares our relationship with God to the game of chess. In one sense God is attmepting to get us in "checkmate", which means we surrender completely to his will, plan, and Lordship for our life. God's was is better than my way. And in an interesting turn of events, it can often be the sexual area of a man's life that God uses to finally get that man in...
info_outlineOur connection to God in the process of change, healing, and recovery is of supreme importance.
It’s hard enough to overcome sexual compulsion, sexual addiction, or addiction to pornography with the Lord, let alone without the Lord.
Even secular recovery programs such as Alcoholics Annoymous affrim the importance of your relationship to a "higher power" to the process of recovery, and at least 6 of the 12 steps directly mention this reality.
Step 2: accept that a higher power, in whatever form, will restore your sanity
Step 3: make a decision to turn your will and life over to a higher power
Step 5: admit to a higher power, another human, and yourself the nature of your wrongdoings
Step 6: accept that a higher power will remove your character defects
Step 7: humbly request the higher power remove your shortcomings
Step 11: use prayer and meditation to connect with the higher power
If we're serious about being better men, we must have a relationship thing going on with God, and not just a religion thing.
Tony asks a critiically important question at the end of this episode, and the way you answer the question has profound implications for your life!
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. I John 5:12
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20