Hello and welcome back and glad you've join me again today. Some temptations don't crash in through the front door. They slip in quietly through the back. A glance, a thought. What if. That's how it started for David. Late one afternoon after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace, and he looked out over the city. He noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was. Second Samuel chapter 11, verses two and three. It was such a small moment, but David didn't look away. He looked longer. He asked questions. He took action. That's how it begins. Lust doesn't explode. It seeps in. Now let's pause for a moment. Desire in itself isn't wrong. God gave us desire for intimacy, for connection, for beauty. Even. But when we stop guarding, our heart's desire turns inward, turns selfish. It starts to twist. In that moment, David forgot who he was. Not a man entitled to anything he wanted, but a shepherd king. Deeply shaped by God's heart. And when lust took hold, everything else unraveled. His judgment, his courage, his conscience. Maybe you've never stood on a palace roof. But you have stood at the edge of a decision. The message that lingers, the image on your phone being a narrative that no one else sees. That's where the battle begins. Sin whispers to us. Just one look. Just one moment. No one will ever know. But it never stays small. It grows. It costs us. It shames us. I've heard it said that sin will take you further than you want to go. Keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. And that's so true. It promises intimacy, but it delivers emptiness. But here's the good news. Grace is stronger than shame. Yes, David fell, but he also returned. He confessed. He humbled himself. He ran back to God, and God restored him. In the Salvation Army, we see this journey so often. We walk with those wounded by lust, those wounded by addiction, those wounded by secrecy. And we watch Grace rebuild lives. I've seen hope springing from the ashes of failure. I've seen purity rise in people who thought they were beyond redemption. You are not your worst choice. You are not the look that lingered. You are not the sin you thought would define you. So what now? Bring your heart into the light. Ask God to help you see where desire has gone wrong. Ask him to cleanse it. To realign it. To remind you who you are. His child made for more. As we close, I want you to think this through today. Where might I be letting desire linger. Where it shouldn't? And what does it mean to me to guard my heart today? Let's pray together. Lord, you see the battles that no one else sees. You know the thoughts that I don't dare say out loud. Help me turn away from what leads me to harm and turn towards your truth. Give me the courage to walk in purity and the strength to say no. Thank you. That your grace is stronger than my shame. In Jesus name, Amen.