Walking in Purity with God.

It's blessing be obedient to God and walk in 'sexual' purity and to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.Walking the path of purity is not always easy but it is the ONLY way for any Christian who seeks to obey God and receive His blessings and rewards both now and for eternity. I will admit that I like the journey that I'm on right now. I will also be the first to admit that I'm not a virgin. I've had sex before, but I have decided that celibacy has been the best decision for me. However, I'm going to keep it real with you, although I'm a Christian woman, the fleshly desire to have sex doesn't just go away, but God calls us to be pure. In regards to sexual purity, look at what God says about it.

"It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

If I can be more honest with you, I have to let you know that while in the course of being celibate, I have fallen short, but even the Bible tells us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23), but the Bible also advises us to flee sexual immorality. "1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

I fell short was because of sexual temptation. I was putting myself in compromising situations. I will be transparent with you all, it was one night I had sex with my then boyfriend and in the process, I felt guilty and stopped him and just started crying. I was ashamed with myself for compromising. He was someone I loved, but I got tired of hurting the one I loved most. It was then that I became tired; tired of the guilt, shame, spiritual death, and pain that came afterwards. I was crying out under the conviction of sexual sin. Sexual temptations can be dangerous, but the best way to resist temptation is to stay away from it. Its easy to be celibate when there's no temptation, but that's why there's a need for self-control. Self-control is the fruit of the Spirit. But I Corinthians 7:9 tells us "if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For its better to marry than to burn with passions." Generally, we think that if we've already had sex, we can’t make the choice to be celibate, but we can...with self-discipline, prayer, and patience. Since that relationship, being celibate has changed my life for the better! I have freedom. I have freedom from the emotional, mental, and physical pain! I have freedom to focus on God. I have freedom to trust God for my mate and not have to rely on being sexually active in order to get one.

On the subject of being single, celibate and trying to date, you can ask a man to accept and respect your decisions when it comes to abstaining from sex, and he can either respect you and wait, or he can respect you and move on. In my journey with celibacy and dating, I've dated guys who will say they respected my decision...but as time goes by, and they realize I wasn't giving it up, they move on. I guess some men don't expect you to really mean that you're celibate. About four months ago, I dated a guy and after several dates, I told him I was I abstaining from sex, it was deal breaker for him. Then I dated another guy who wanted me to compromise on sex. However, I never compromised and we both agreed to go our separate ways. I would like to also add, while I didn't compromise on the sex, I had already compromised Gods standard by dating a non-believer. This last guy was a Muslim. Note: When you go out with someone who is not right with God, you've already compromised Gods standard. God set his standard for us when he said, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  (2 Corinthians 6:14) 

As you can see, not many guys want to wait, but we must be reminded me of our significance in God and that we are worth waiting for His best. While we often hear that relationships are about negotiation and compromise, we shouldn't compromise on sex. If our highest commitment is to God, then we won't compromise our convictions in this area. Now, there was a relationship where another guy never tried to have sex with me, and it was during that relationship, he helped me see what I wanted. However, that relationship didn't work out because I wanted more from the relationship (not sex, lol). While others might have viewed him as suspect, I viewed him a saved. Having said all that, the choice to be celibate can be a wonderful thing if you're doing it for the right reasons. I personally decided to abstain from sex for both personal and religious reasons. For a Christian, there's only one celibate commitment and that is from God, and for God. For me, its both a challenge and a deep desire to live as Jesus did. Of course, Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are, but He didn't compromise. Hebrews 4:15 reads, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin".

In conclusion, being celibate isn't an easy lifestyle, but by God's grace I have been able to remain celibate. If you are in a sexual relationship, all you need to do is confess your sin to God and repent of it. Repent means you stop doing it. God will forgive you! God loves you and he's always loved you! He's giving you a chance to start over.Remember, you're called by God to purity, not to sexual immorality ! To all of you out there who is celibate, I encourage you to stay faithful to God and to your decision! You can do it! Be encouraged!  

Are You Tired Yet?

Today I took my dog Lucky out for a walk, and afterwards I took him to play a game of fetch because he loves to chase a ball and return it to me. My dog is constantly bringing me the ball. But then I noticed something as he was turning to run back to me, he went past me and didn't give me the ball. Now, there are some days my dog loves to pick up and carry the ball, and has no interest in sharing it, but this time he was still chasing the ball and bringing it back to me (after resting a while) LOL. While I praised him with each step he took toward catching the ball, I asked the question, are you tired yet? Because I was tired of throwing the ball. While I have become accustomed to having a high energy dog that likes to play a lot, I was tired but he wasn't.
 

Question, do you ever get tired? I don't know about you, but I do, and I know I'm not the only one. We all get tired. Some of you reading this post might feel this way right now. I'm not just talking mentally, physically, or emotionally. But if you are, Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

Being tired goes further than mentally, physically, or emotionally. Perhaps you are tired spiritually. You may get tired of reading your Bible daily, praying, defending your faith, or just trying to live right. But while there are times we experience being tired in our spiritual life, the apostle Paul says tells us in Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." This verse simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! But the only way to regain strength is to rest. Just like Lucky, after he rested, he regained his strength and returned to the game of fetch. FYI, just because we’re tired, doesn’t mean we’re finished. “Those who trust in the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

 

In conclusion, its not a bad thing to be tired, and we all get tired spiritually from time to time, but don't give up! That's what the enemy wants you to do. If there's one thing I know about my dog when playing the game of fetch, he tends to push himself more then he should, even after he's exhausted all his strength. But despite his exhaustion, he regains his strength. I said that to say, despite our exhaustion, the Lord continues to give us strength when we admit we are in need of His strength. We may be tired, but no matter how tired you are, let us not get spiritually tired. Hang in there!  

 

You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Philippians 4:13

Daring to try new things!

So yes, I've just checked my blog and was quite shocked to see that my last blog post was almost a year ago! Goodness me! What have I been doing? In my defense, I have been really busy with various responsibilities, working hard behind the scenes. But I'm back in the blogging game!

Yesterday I went to the salon to get my hair done. Before going, and while I was there, I was thinking about getting my hair cut because I was bored with my current style. However, I was reluctant to try something new, a haircut. While sitting in the chair, at some point, I was going to have to make a decision. Then I heard my hairdresser say how I need to move out of my comfort zone. But she wasn't just talking about me moving out of my comfort zone in my hair style journey. She was talking about the spiritual journey too. As I was at the salon, we were having a conversation, and I was telling her about a scripture I read in Genesis 12:1-2 where God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and go to the land of promise. Genesis 12:1-2: "The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing"

I confess, I'm a comfy girl at heart. I like my comfort zone.... and it's scary when you are told to get outside of your comfort zone, but leaving our comfort zones is a necessary part of life. God calls us to grow! Here's an example. At the age of 27, I finally moved out of my parents' house and got a place on my own. Moving out of my parents' house was a big step, and I must say, leaving out of the comfort zone of home and family wasn't easy, but by leaving, I was finally living the life I was meant to live. Another example was when I left Birmingham for a college away from home, a couple hours away in a different city. This was an opportunity to venture outside my comfort zone and find out who I really was and who I wanted to be. As you can see, there are times when God calls us to take a step of faith. Hebrews 11:1 reads, Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, the  conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

As you can see, Abraham left. Genesis 1:4 reads; “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.” We see here that Abraham stepped out on faith. And in order to follow God's leading, he had to move outside his comfort zone. He left the familiar and embraced the unfamiliar. He left the comfortable and embraced uncomfortable. When I told my hairdresser about my church, and the desire to start a ministry, and how I was led to Genesis 12, she told me I needed to pray and fast. In regards to my spiritual journey, I have to step out on faith and leave my comfort zone and go out and do what God has for me to do. Here's the thing, God will not keep us in the same place forever. He wants us to move on in our spiritual walk. He wants to educate us in His ways and use us where He leads us. As I stated earlier in this post, God calls us to grow...and with that being said, there comes a time in all our lives when we must grow up in the Lord.

In conclusion, leaving the comfort zone is never easy and if it was easy to leave, then it wasn't a comfort zone to begin with. God leaves us in the comfort zone only for a time so that we can prepare for the next season of growth. Unlike Abraham, you may not be going to a new place geographically, but it may be at a new place personally. Or maybe it could be something simpler than that.

As you can see, I left my comfort zone on the hairstyle journey, lol. But now its time to step out on faith in the spiritual journey.

 

So, what is your comfort zone?