It’s one thing to know that we should flee sexual morality, but you may be wondering, “How do I do it?”
Here are seven ways that you can avoid the sin that can destroy you and your future:
- Sexual sin starts in the mind, so win the war there first by studying the Bible. Fill your mind with God’s Word.
- Stay in church. The more you hear the Word and stay close to other Christians, the better you will keep your focus on spiritual things.
- Don’t ever go out alone with a person you know will tempt you or easily give in to sexual sin.
- Don’t allow yourself to be alone with the opposite sex in a place where temptation is easily fostered.
- Stay away from sexually suggestive books, magazines, photos, or Web sites that will stir up sexual desires.
- Build relationships of accountability with parents and strong Christian friends. When going through a trying time, let them know and ask for their help.
- Make up your mind. Never retreat. Let every new friend you meet know you are committed to sexual purity.
by Blaine Bartel.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Blaine and Lori Bartel didn’t set out to build a place like this. They became it.
Blaine once lived at the top of the ministry world—national TV, a booming youth movement at Church on the Move, and a growing church in Dallas. But while the stage lights were bright, the darkness underneath was darker. A secret 23-year sexual addiction buried everything he valued—his marriage, ministry, finances, reputation, and identity.
Crushed and barely holding on to life, he spent over a year in deep therapy, wrestling with shame and fighting for healing. Then, somewhere on a windswept highway between Kansas City and Tulsa, he heard the voice that lifted him out of the soil:
“I am not going to give you a recovery. I am calling you into resurrection.”
Everything changed.
Blaine found complete freedom and began decoding a Jesus-centered path that leads men out of the grave and into new life. For more than a decade, he’s been guiding other men through that same resurrection.
Lori was walking her own road—rebuilding after 17 years married to a chronic alcoholic, carrying both the wounds and the courage of a woman who refused to stay broken. She was searching for purpose, for peace, for somewhere her heart could breathe again.
Then God crossed their paths.
They met over pasta at Ti Amo (“I love you”—God’s little wink).
A year later, in a simple wedding wrapped in hope, they said yes to each other and to a calling bigger than themselves.
Today—13 years in—they share one mission:
To pull men out of addiction and to rebuild the marriages addiction has shattered.
House of Resurrection is the fruit of the very ground that once tried to bury them—a sacred space for honesty, healing, and brand-new beginnings.
They are joyful parents of four grown kids, proud grandparents of two, and happiest anywhere with lakes, beaches, sunshine, and reminders that darkness never gets to write the final chapter.