As you know, life can often be hard. This is especially true when you were battling a compulsion or addiction such as pornography. However, it is clear that God did not intend for us to fight these battles alone. Scripture reveals this in multiple places.
First and foremost, when Jesus is carrying his cross to his own crucifixion, all the gospels (Mark 15:21, Matthew 27:32, and Luke 23:26), reveal that a man Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross.
We all have crosses that we must bear. And brothers, pornography, or any sexual immorality are big ones. We are not to carry any of these alone! Our brothers (or sisters) in Christ Help us carry our crosses and we are called to help them carry theirs.
Connecting brothers to help each other
Very recently, Road to Purity has launched The Simon Community to help men battle sexual purity. Named after the man who helped Jesus carry his cross, this community is designed to help men carry their cross, as they march toward God and purify their bodies, minds, and souls.
Furthermore, when you reflect on Ephesians 6:10-18, we have a clear image from Saint Paul that we must wear the Full Armor of God to combat evil. In this armor, we find the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. All of these weapons are built for battle. The battle against the enemy, the devil.
When you take a closer look at all of these weapons, they all are for our front. What then protects our back? Who protects our back? Our brothers in Christ have our back. This is what God wants. He wants us to protect one another. We are not to enter the battle alone. Even with the Full Armor of God, we battle shoulder to shoulder with our brothers. God does not want us to carry our cross alone. He has designed mankind this way. Furthermore, we as mankind (and women of course), are in the image of God. Well, that is an entire topic on its own. To summarize, however, it represents us as part of the spiritual family. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the Blessed Trinity, the core family, and all the angels and Saints are the extended family. Mary, Joseph, and Incarnate Jesus Christ are the Holy Family.
This is the Earthly representation of the spiritual family of God. We are all the extended family or the Saints. And yes, we are all called to be saints.(Romans 1:7, 1 COR 1:2, Ephesians 5:3). We are all in the family of God In His Image, and nothing stands in the way of family.
Starting recovery
If you or someone close to you is battling pornography use, I invite you, or them, to have their brother’s back in this battle, as he has theirs, by joining The Simon Community. Help your brother carry his cross, as he helps you carry yours, Just as Simon did because we are The Simon Community.
As I mentioned above, as of this post The Simon Community had just been launched. I invite you to get in on the ground floor (so to speak) and be one of the founding community members and help us grow.
What are some of the features of The Simon Community?
1. A safe place to ask for prayers, check in with your brothers and share your struggles.
2. Ability to join a small group or create on of your own. Communicate with the entire community or just those in your group.
3. Create or participate in live events such as occasional or regular meetings via Zoom or similar platforms.
4. Real-time messaging/chat with anyone who is online.
5. Recovery resources to help in your recovery and battle with pornography
6. Participate in our weekly check-in.
7. Communicate with men in a similar state of life, married, single, college students, etc
…and so much more!
What does it cost?
Believe it or not, it’s free! Just like the Restoring God’s Foundation program, Road to Purity strives to remove all obstacles to recovery. A big part of that is the cost. So, by the grace of God, we have donors and grants to cover the cost of these programs.
I will say, however, to continue this practice we do need more people like you, sponsoring the work, to keep it free.
For now, the Simon community is for men. If you are a woman and desire a similar community please let us know.
What can you do?.
If you or someone you know is battling the scourge of sexual sin, pornography or other, I invite you to try for free, our unique recovery program – Restoring God’s Foundation.
If you would like to support the Road to Purity ministry or sponsor the cost of the program for someone, please donate today.