No, i’m not talking about the Chris De Burgh song, that one is actually Lady in Red(1986).I’m referring to a minor character from a scene from the 99 hit “pop culture affecting, trendsetter”, movie THE MATRIX. (there’s only one Matrix, the others are Fa(ke)trix,Wa(ck)trix)
There is a scene where Morpheous(Lawrence Fishburne) is guiding Neo(Keanu Reeves) through the rush hour streets in matrix.
He talks as he walks , revealing to him(Neo) the world they are in;how it functions, the dangers ahead. Struggling to keep up Neo is suddenly takes his eyes off Morpheous as he’s distracted by a beautiful woman in a red dress, that walks by with a sweet smile. Morpheous , notices and queries
MORPHEOUS:Were you paying
attention,or were looking at the woman in the red dress
NEO:Huh
MORPHEOUS:Look again
Neospins around to find Agent Smith at point blank range with a Glock
22,the room freezes
It turned out to be a training sequence, just a simulation of The Matrix , the agent wasn’t real,but Neo had learned a vital lesson that day,much like Lot’s wife , when you take your eyes off the goal, very bad things are likely to happen to you.
While this is not an endorsement for the movie,one can take a vital lesson from it. Neo got distracted, by what seemingly looked amazing, (which she actually did). He took his eyes off his leader and if it had been a real situation, that would have been “bye bye Neo”.
No, this not a rant against beautiful women that wear red dresses,lol , this analogy applies both to males and females, we all have our points of temptation,disillusion and distraction. Morpheus also said something very striking in that scene
“If you are not one of us,you are one of them”
the “them” refered to those still plugged into the system of “The Matrix” and could be used by agents at any point in time to bring down the resistance. In spiritual terms , that refers to “children of this world” those that live by the constantly changing declining and fickle philosophy, standards and ideals of a God denying and often God hating world.
They are still plugged into the system of what is culturally or socially acceptable,but against the will of God, whether that be pre marital or casual sex, abortion ,drunkenness, lewd behavior and language, hedonism, cultural “christianity”, alternative lifestyles and other lifestyle to that effect as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9 .
Some people actually think they are unplugged,attend the services, speak the slang, wear the t-shirts, but their lives show no evidence that they are free
“by their fruits you shall know them grapes do not grow on thistles”
They intellectually acknowledge God, but their hearts and consequently their lifestyles are far from any acknowledgment him.
Others have no idea of the system they are trapped in and don’t realize what lies ahead if they stay in this system. Unlike the movie, we aren’t in a simulation, we are in the real world, where “we wrestle not against flesh and blood”, if we get distracted the room won’t freeze to give us a chance recompose and change strategy and keep in mind, the enemy does not take prisoners.
We have to keep our eyes on the Cross , which is our GPS(Sat Nav) in our journey through this world. It’s our obligation to unplug as many friends, family ,colleagues from the system of this world just like we were once unplugged; but we also have to remember that anyone not unplugged posses a danger to our spiritual progression if we get distracted by them.
Many of us would already have had an “i should have known” moment ,at least once or even several times in our life already from distractions we have experienced.
This may be a crush,love interest, relationship, career pursuit or passion for anything else that can take us off tangent; it would vary with each person, we all have to search ourselves using the scripture as a compass and find out,what is our “Lady in the red dress” could possibly be,before sashays into our line of sight.
“The prudent see danger and take refuge,but the simple keep going and suffer for it -PROVERBS 27:12
A COUPLE OF SAYING AND QUOTES,TEACHINGS I’VE HEARD HERE AND THERE IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS ,AND A FEW OF MY OWN
1-Good people don’t go to heaven ,forgiven people do.
2-God takes full responsibility for the life fully devoted to him.
3-DIRECTION, not intention ,determines your destination.
4-Never judge a relationship by where it is now, but by where it is going .
5-The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
6-Purity in your single days , paves the way for intimacy in your marriage days.
7-If you can see as God sees, you will do as God says.
8-People never take purity seriously because we have given them the WHAT and not the WHY.
9-Jesus is not a little thing you add on to your life, he IS your life, or is nothing to you.
10-You don’t have to experience being bitten by a snake, to know not to walk into a snake pit, because you see a glimmer of a gold nugget.
11-What you use to enter a relationship , would most likely be what you have to use to sustain it.
12-Come on!!!, This is a worship service , not an interview/auditon for Hooters!!!
13-Ladies ,What would be going through your mind,if while trying to worship , the dude “worshiping” across you at church service, wore a t-shirt , with the words JOYSTICK and an arrow pointing towards his crotch. Probably the same thing a dude thinks when a girl shows up to worship and her cleavage is showing.
14-Can two walk together unless they agree?, Watch who you associate with, watch what you put in your mind.
15-The gospel is not a condemning gospel, if it is preached right.
16-We can’t fulfill God’s will on one side, by breaking it on the other.
17-Sometimes God has to destroy things in our lives, so we can raise our eyes to heaven.
18-The Bible is a set meal and not a buffet, we can not select only the promises and reject the chastisement , take what works for us and is sweet, and reject what is “inconvenient” to our lives.
19-It’s funny how we want God to work miracles for us, but we ask him not to interfere with our lives, or mess with our default settings.
20- When we begin to demand a scripture, in defense of a questionable lifestyle we have chosen, we are walking a dangerous path.
21- The prudent person forsees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences Prov 22:3
22- The excuses and logic that we hide behind instead of admitting our bad choices, will continue to be the foil, to achieving goals and dreams.
23- Not every mutual attraction, is necessarily a wise relationship choice.
24- In light of what you want in the future ,for marriage, career, family, finance, the choice you are about to make, it’s not a matter of right or wrong, but whether it is the WISE thing to do.
25-When asking yourself, “How far, is too far”, How far do you want your future spouse to have gone with other people.
26- If in our Christian life , we are propelled forward, by the current of the world’s standards, rather than swimming against the current, back to God’s will, we know not God.
27-We truly can judge a book by it’s cover , because the Bible says “By their fruits, you shall know them” and “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh” . The things that manifest in a person’s continuous lifestyle are a testament to their character and who they truly are.
When we think of the term fish,it’s a natural assumption that tends to take the mind to all the creatures in the ocean. It encompasses so much. There are clown fish, star fish, sword fish scaled, non scaled and so much more. There are different conditions for the fish to live in fresh water and salt water fish. Within this same ocean, there are dolphins,sharks , whales , and at some level many of them are called fish. Within this term, there are plankton , there are bottom feeders , there are scavengers and there are the predators all in the fish family. There are fish that swim in schools, those that follow the trails, others have left behind. There are the hunters, those that are disguised in as sea weed or in the sand, lying in wait to strike the unassuming approaching.
However, elementary school science, will remind us , that not all that dwell in the sea are fish. even if they look like fish. Dolphins are mammals,turtles are amphibians as well as platypus. Yet sometimes we assume and use the term “plenty of fish in the sea”. To refresh our memory, an amphibian is a cold blooded vertebrate animal, that shuttles between the land and sea to live.
In the past years , the fish symbol, t shirts and bumper stickers have become very popular amongst church attendants. I say church attendants because sometimes we just attend to mark weekly register to fulfil all righteousness or procedure. We carry the tag or title of scripture , speak the talk, and swagger the walk, but just a creature lives in the sea and has fins ,does not make it a fish.
If going to church made us Christians, half of North America’s population would be Hamburgers and the UK’s kebabs.
Unfortunately , the world can not distinct between the real fish that live in the sea of God’s will, and the amphibians that leave the sea, back to the world in search of this that or the other. The thing is , though fish and amphibians can co-exist in the sea, the fish can not exist outside the sea, and can not follow the amphibian to where it goes outside the sea.
The question is , which are we ? Are we the real fish that dwells only in the sea, dependent on it for our existence and life , or are we the spiritual amphibian, that shuttles back and forth between the land and the sea ,never really deciding where it wants to be.
Do we pose as Christians but constantly leave the will of God, to go back and “do our thing” , “have fun” or “live life” in the world. Does the world see us as “Christians” and at the same time “one of them”?
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;…” II Cor. 6:17).
King James Bible
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
In a world where we are told to “follow your heart” . Or do what our heart tells us, and what feels right in our hearts, this is a very disturbing revelation , the musicians and the messages shown here.
How often have our hearts led us astray into wrong relationships. How often have our hearts caused us to do things that we turn around and are appalled at ourselves. How often have we vowed with our “hearts” and a few weeks, months years down the line , we turn our nose up at the very same thing?
A certain singer in the clip below calls her heart the ruler of her being, but it is also public knowledge how many failed marriages that same heart has led her into.
The statements from the satanists here just goes to show how subtle these messages are fed to us through those celebrities that we so admire, and particularly for me the last few seconds of the clip were a shock, particularly as it has been endorsed by the high priests of the Occult.
The age old question that atheist, agnostics and some that consider themselves the “i don’t believe in a “bearded guy in the sky” intellectuals .Some others genuinely ask, If there is a God, why is there suffering ?
Now i am not a Pastor,preacher,philosopher or theologian, so i am going to answer the best way i know how. Some of you may disagree with my references to the Bible and GOD himself, but the fact is that i am a Christian. My Christianity is not a religion , and is not about “Thou Shalt” and “Thou Shalt not”, but it is a faith that is about relationship, a one on one relationship with GOD and a lifestyle that i choose to live. You cannot separate me from my lifestyle, like you cannot separate a fish from water. With that said, let’s get to why you are reading this, SO SIT BACK, THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE.
In the beginning God said “Let us create man in our own image after our own likeness .
What this meant was that man was to be in the likeness of God. Just like many of us are in the likeness of our fathers and mothers, we are in the likeness of God. Like twins are the likeness of each other, but are different from each other, So we are in God’s image, but not God himself.
Just like we share genetic codes with our parents, or for some of us our grand parents ,and we look like them and sometimes even act, exactly the same way they did when they were our age. We have many of their features , yet we are very distinct individuals.
When God made us like himself, he gave us many of his features, the power to think and create, as is shown in Adams’ naming of the animals in the garden. The power to have a relationship, as Adam had a many conversations with God. He gave us the admire , as God made Eve and presented her to Adam, Adam was speechless. Above all GOD gave man free will and the power of choice,
GENESIS 2 vs 16- 17 ;You may freely eat ANY fruit in the garden, except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of it’s fruit you will surely die.
Did you notice the key word ANY. Any by definition, means some of a thing or number of things, no matter how much or many. This implies that there were many trees in the Garden, It is my belief that the garden must have gone on for several millions of acres. We know the wide range of fruit that we see in the supermarket. And what we see is what is limited, to the geographical area or climate we live in. The garden must have had every fruit that is known to man, including those that are if there is such a fruit extinct. That is a choice of well over 1,000 fruits. So why on earth , did they choose to eat the fruit that was forbidden ?
I am sure that the majority of those reading this article would admit to doing something that our parents or some form of authority told us not to do. Whether it , eating snacks before dinner, going over to a friends after school instead of coming home straight. Taking the car out despite the fact that you don’t have a learners permit much more a drivers permit. I think you catch my drift .
They were given the choice of life and death, choose another fruit and live, Eat this one and die. It all boils down to choice, and we all know what choice that they took.
God gave us all free will, the power to make choices, without which, we would not be like him. He could have decided to program us all; downloading into us whatever he wanted us to do, or make us into puppets that did his will, but he decided to give us free will and with that free will, that is why the world is in the state it is in.
Free will, ultimately translates to freedom. Freedom is the power or right to act ,speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Journalists love to claim, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Americans love to plead their various amendments and declarations of independence, oh how much they love it. Many from all around the world run to the United States because of this “freedom” .
But exactly how free is Freedom?
There is no freedom without restrictions, there is no freedom without discipline. We are free to eat what we want , but eat too many sweets and we rot our teeth. Eat too much cholesterol and we risk a lifetime of health complications.
It’s all about choice. We are free to date who we choose, but some ladies can testify what they have suffered at some of the men they have allowed into their lives. Some of the men paying alimony, to women you took their hearts and put it through the grinder can testify to it, but it was their choice to get involved with that person.
Some times in this life, we sit down and wonder why we are in the situations
that we find our selves in. Often times we are the architects of our
own demise and we don’t even realize it .
We pray and pray expecting “manna” to fall from heaven in some miraculous way
when the power to change our situations has already been given to us.
All the devil needs, is a crack to get in ,
a chink in the Armour to sink his claws and tear apart our defenses
One minute opening, for him to enter into our lives, and it may be in one moment of weakness
when we let our guard down.He knows he needs only a little pressure on our lives for us to fall.
Living a life of purity, if one has chosen to do so
means that you have got to obey the rules,You have got to set boundaries, restrictions,barriers and no go areas.
Like a castle that has a crocodile filled moat and a drawbridge, and archers on the tower.
You have got to have defenses,that are unreachable by those things that tempt us.
Defenses that only you, absolutely control and nobody can breach those defenses.
Boundaries that you do not cross, and situations you foresee and do not get yourself into.
(The prudent see danger and avoid it).
If sexual purity is your decision ,what do you do to keep that?
Well for one thing , dating people that believe, sex is an essential part of a dating relationship, is out of the question, counter productive and frankly FOOLISH. You are only setting yourself up for a fall, and when you fall, you will fall hard. Their belief does not make them bad people ,it just means that you are tuned into a different frequency of understand and perception from the one, that you are tuned into.
If you allow yourself to be all alone in the bedroom with that person you have a strong attraction to,where you know, you have no chance of being disturbed do not act surprised when you wake up to find yourself to the person naked.
NOTHING JUST HAPPENS, it’s a situation you allowed yourself to handle
David and Samson, two of the strongest and directly anointed
men in the Bible, put themselves in wrong situations and landed in sexual sin,
as a result of bad judgment , that did not exercise restraint.
DO NOT THINK YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO STAY IN IT’S MIDST AND RESIST
If you decide that alcohol is no longer a part of your life, hanging out at a bar,pub or club certainly won’t help you keep a strong stance on that decision.
You got to realize that your flesh is your slave and not the other way around,
you tell your flesh what to do ,not it telling you what to do. It should obey you, and not you obeying it.
Whether that applies to food, sex,credit card purchases which you know you can’t afford.
By flesh, i mean, those natural human desires, that can be hazardous if not kept in check
In order to live up to God’s desire for our lives you exercise
so much control over your body that it is your slave .
Like an athlete that discards certain food and habits
we have to discipline the desires of our body
This means that when your flesh craves sexual satisfaction
You tell it NO,When it craves revenge you tell it NO .When you have a
dodgy heart and it craves a Big Mac, you tell it a resounding NO.
Giving in to temptation does not begin with the act it’s self
it begins with it’s conception in our minds
when you dwell on the pleasure and possibilities of a certain act
your mind like an understudy will carry it out immediately it gets a chance
What images are you feeding your mind?
What thoughts do you constantly dwell on?
Because of lack of self control many believers have become worthless. They are just as promiscuous as those that have never stepped into a church.
They are just as “liberal” with a moral compass that is ever encompassing to whatever whim society decides to adopt.
They start rationalizing the word of God and make excuses for their unrepentant yielding into carnality . Demanding a verse in the Bible that proves to them that something they are doing is wrong, when it is simply a wisdom issue. Once we begin to demand scripture for a questionable issue in our lives, we should know we are treading a very dangerous path ,leading to a destination that holds nothing good.
The Kingdom of God is NOT a democracy. We can not choose what laws we want to obey and which ones are not convenient for us. The word of God is not a buffet, we can’t pick from it, ONLY the parts we like, and ignore the rest, that does not leave a sweet taste in our mouth or us feeling good about ourselves.
Without self control there is no difference between a Christian and those that reject, deny or detest God, who answer only to themselves .If we yield to whatever our flesh desires place before us;then we might as well put down the cross and be on our way.
The devil’s intention is to slap God in the face, by having his Kid’s yield to every desire of the flesh, doing the same things that the world does.
These days more than ever ,safe ain’t safe at all today.
Quit your jibber jabber ,Don’t be a statistic, DARE TO BE DIFFERENT.
MISCONCEPTION: GOD WILL GIVE YOU……IF YOU COME TO HIM
BUST: Becoming a Christian is not about the benefits (material things) that you can get from God in prayer. This is not a master and genie relationship, you do not rub your Bible and get your wishes, nor does God become your cosmic bellhop jumping through hoops to please you.
This is a father /child relationship; and like any LOVING father/child relationship you have no need to worry anymore, cause your father will provide; like wise there are times that your father will chastise you. You may not understand why at the time but eventually you will; and there will be rules you have to live by to remain under your father’s roof and good graces. This does not mean that he is a morose egomaniac . He is a loving father who knows what is best for us, even though we do not understand it or see it at the time.
MYTH: ESCAPING THE ETERNAL DAMNATION OF HELL IS THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTIANITY
BUST: Becoming a Christian is not jumping out of the line going to hell and jump into the line going to Heaven. Yes, Heaven is a benefit of becoming a Christian, but that is not the essence; if so we’d all be caught in rapture immediately we made our decision for Christ. Christianity should not be see as fire insurance,or a fire escape; because when you view it this way, one day you would forget to pay your premium or simply ignore it because you no longer consider it essential.
MISCONCEPTION: CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT A LOT OF “THOU SHALT & THOU SHALT NOT”
BUST: For any society to function sanely there have to be rules as guidelines. These standards hold everyone, to a code of conduct, to prevent a state of anarchy. As a Christian you become a citizen of The Kingdom of Heaven. This Kingdom has God as King. As a citizen of the Kingdom you are entitled to certain benefits that comes, as a result of citizenship. Keeping that in mind, there are certain laws that enable the Kingdom to function the way that allows you get those benefits. The King is the supreme ruler and his word is law. A Kingdom is not a democracy; there is no deliberation about the law that a King makes. These laws are put in place so that the citizens can benefit from everything the Kingdom has to offer. You cannot expect to ignore, belittle, abuse or disobey those laws that are meant to protect you; and then expect to receive benefits of full citizenship. It does not happen in the physical world and should not happen in the spiritual.
MYTH:THE BIBLE IS AN ANCIENT BOOK THAT DOES NOT APPLY TODAY’S WORLD
BUST :Archaeologists, Futurists will tell you that the Bible has been precise in citing the past, exact on current events, and right about the future. Any person within “the church” that says this to you , you need to stay far away from.. ” a house divided against it’s self can not stand”. Many of the motivational speakers material, can be traced back to things written long ago in the Bible. Many business principles that moguls and tycoons practice today(such as giving to charity,philanthropy) have biblical origins. Many of the current events in the middle east were predicted in the Bible. Most of the civilized world obey the 10 commandments, and have them written into their law and constitution in one form or the other. The current moral decline of the world, with “alternative lifestyle” being embraced by the “church” was predicted in the bible “men shall leave desire for woman, and burn with LUST for one another”. Deny it as you may , the Bible is relevant Yesterday, today and FOREVER. THE BOTTOM LINE
MYTH CHRISTIANITY IS DULL AND STOPS ME FROM HAVING FUN ………………
The first question is What is your definition of fun. As a new Kingdom citizen , you have been renewed. You should no longer consider those things fun anymore. Yes, your flesh may still long them there is no denying the withdrawal syndrome, but you have a new perspective now.A paradigm shift and have an adversity towards sin or any lifestyle that contradicts the constitution.
Having said that, you may find yourself entering the tendency to living a religious life. Now, the difference between what Christianity is meant to be and what is practiced by many people is a relationship and a religious protocol. This is a relationship with God , which Yes you reverence him but it is still a relationship, like the loving ones you have here on earth ,albeit on a higher level.
Once you start practicing “religion” and get into a ritualistic way of approaching God you are missing the whole point of being a Christian .
The constitution say “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” , yes we have standards to live by but we are not meant to feel choked by them but guided to a better form of living. Do you feel that the constitution of the country you presently live in is stifling you with the constitution, or does the constitution protect you and let you know your rights.
If you are practicing your faith, in a manner that you feel is stifling or restricting you from having fun, that probably means you are being legalistic and are losing out on having a loving relationship with God. A relationship is uplifting and beneficial, a religion has you in a ritualistic cycle that rarely get you anywhere beneficial. Adopting the mindset of a Kingdom of being a good loyal citizen with personal access to the King, is the best way to live your Christian life.
BOTTOM LINE
If you choose to see Christianity through “guilt inducing tinted shades”, no matter what good there is , in the Bible , or in the Kingdom;those guilt inducing tinted shades, will taint every thing you see. If you see it as a set of laws that stops you from having fun, or living your life;instead of a guide line that enables you to maximize your life in abundance by enabling you beyond your own human strength;then you are becoming religious and legalistic and miss the whole point of having a father/child relationship with God, and not a judge/police to perp relationship. If you see it as something that “limits” your life, that is all you will get. As a man thinketh so is he. If you choose to think of Christianity and it’s constitution(The Bible) as something to induce guilt in your life , that is ALL you will get.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.HEB 4;12 ;this simply means it cuts the wielder of the sword, just as deeply as the person it it pointed at, everything here speaks to me just as anyone else.
Many people , when asked their religion they answer CHRISTIAN. But what is the true meaning of Christianity?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
Does going to church make you a Christian?
Does simply believing in God make you a Christian? Obviously not, The Devil believes in God , he just does everything contrary to God’s will. Knowing scripture does not make you a christian, the devil knows the scripture better than all of us combined, which is why he knows how to twist it to manipulate and confuse us.
Does the fact that you were born into a Christian home and raised by Christian parents make you a Christian? Some of us believe so , this is the Christianity of indoctrination or acclimatization , being around church so much that we feel it’s a part of us;this type usually fails the test when the said person leaves the environment(leaves home,goes to college) & parental coverage that so influenced him that way.
So to the above questions , the scripture(Kingdom constitution) says NO. If it works that way, That means a child automatically become a double masters graduate without the effort, because both his parents are masters holders. Being born on the campus of Harvard , does not automatically make one a student of Harvard.Neither does being born into a Christian home make one a Christian any more than going to MacDonalds everyday make you a hamburger. If a student wanted to enter Harvard they would have to make the conscious effort to commit myself into getting into Harvard. A man of God once put it this way “God has no grandchildren”.
“The greatest cause of atheism in the world today , is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus ,with their lips,and walk out the door, and deny him by their lifestyle, THAT is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
* Are we more concerned with getting high than the most high?
* Are we more concerned with being politically correct than standing for what we believe in ?
* Are we more comfortable with what is socially acceptable, than what is God acceptable?
* Are you more concerned about the Winehouse or the Church House?
* Do you justify your actions, turning everything to Grey, when you know you are blatantly out of line.Even locating “loophole” in scripture to back up living in sin?
* If Jesus went through your URL history, what sites would he find, what shows are we watching , and would we invite him to join in?
* If he walked into your room when you were with that special someone, would you be embarrassed?
* Do you squirm when you see a cute puppy being hurt, but shrug your shoulders at abortion, like it’s just one of those things.?
* How is your life any different from those who have never stepped into a church. Can anyone tell the difference?
Becoming a Christian is like joining the army.When you join the army, there are things in your life you can no longer do, if you want to be a successful soldier.
Discipline has to become part of your DNA. You can no longer eat deep fried chicken and ice cream every night.You can’t wake up at 11 pm or sleep in as much as you want . You can’t go out binging all night.You have to conform to an exercise regiment if you are going to survive the life of a soldier.
Christianity is a responsible lifestyle.
If you claim Christ, You cannot go to bed with a person you are not married to, claiming “we are in love and we aren’t hurting anybody”. No deliberating about it,no room for gray, pre-marital sex is OUT OF THE QUESTION for a Christian single no matter how “in love” you are, or even if you are going to get married, YOU ARE NOT MARRIED YET.
Once you tell people that you are Christian, the world is constantly watching your life to see how you conduct it. They are watching for you to make that mistake, so they can point fingers and say that you are no different from anyone else. More important than the world watching, as Christian, you are an ambassador to the Kingdom of God. Everything you do from hence forth is a representation and a reflection on the Kingdom of God.
You cannot live a life contrary to the Bible and expect everything to be in the sweet by and by. “A fountain can not produce both sweet and bitter water”.You can’t get stupid drunk every weekend and waltz around professing Christ when you manage to be sober.
And one thing that many Christian couples now do these days is shacking up. They move in together unmarried or “we are engaged so it’s ok” but, THAT is a NO ,NADA, there is absolutely no justification. You can not start living as if you are married(sleeping together and having kids), without actually getting married and expect God to honor it. You are giving the devil room to play and are adopting to a lifestyle no different from anyone else of the world that hates,despises or denies the existence of the God you serve. The constitution says Flee from all appearances of evil. Appearance, anything that looks like sin. So even if you are not sleeping together, no one else would believe your claim,and THAT does it look good on your testimony.
GUYS, you can not minister like TD Jakes, but in the same breath and stride treat women like a Hugh Hefner wannabe, disregard all integrity, and expect the glory of God to be manifested through you.
LADIES,you can’t let some man touch and handle you wrong, and claim “we were just dancing”, there are eyes watching and taking note of your actions. You can’t worship and prophesy like Juanita Bynum, but dress like you hired Paris Hilton’s stylist and expect the former to be the impression that remains with people. 1 Timothy 2:9 speaks on that issue. “And i want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves……”
The truth is , we all know these things. Life is all about choices,and deep down we know when we are going the wrong way through our inner compass. The difference is, what are we going to do about it now?
Now don’t get it twisted. CHRISTIAN ARE NOT PERFECT , though that should not be used as an excuse to constantly live in a lifestyle of sin.
We are going to face and even struggle with the same things that every body else in the world. We have the same desires to succeed in life and the same trials, we are not isolated from temptations, and it is not by our own strength we sometimes overcome them. The difference however, is about the commitment to change your life and strive for perfection.The determination that says “i’m not going to let my cravings rule my life” is what is important. Whether that craving be sexual, emotional,physical or any other appetite that is natural. Being dependent on God and Creating boundaries of what you can and cannot do,where you can and can not go, no matter how much fun it is.
Many of us think that we can walk on the fence, we can ping pong between the Kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God. Living by the constantly changing standards of the world, or the never changing ever solid word of God. Do we do what is socially acceptable by the world or follow the constitution that of the Kingdom of God you have claimed loyalty to.
Once again, i’m not suggesting that we become dull, or wet blankets. Or pack up and retreat to an Amish village or convent/monastery . Like the constitution of your country that is meant to protect you, so is the Bible and the laws and guidelines that it gives us. We should think of them as restricting or dictator like. Our definition of fun, is meant to have changed immediately we claimed Christ as our Lord and savior
If all of the above doesn’t suit your idea of living life. By all means,enjoy your “Not Religious” status, and do continue to do those things, that you love to do,but don’t claim Christianity while doing it all, you are misrepresenting Jesus, and will have to answer one day for slander.
The choices you make today affect your tomorrow.
When we call ourselves Christians, that means whatever actions the world sees from us, reflects on the body of Christ, the same way an ambassador represents his nation. We would all answer to him one day and account for our actions. The question we all should ask ourselves is when each one of us stands before the judgment seat of Christ, and he asks us
As Christians, we are not immune to temptation, in fact we probably face it more and are more aware of it because of our faith. How we overcome it is something else entirely. How do we win over those sins that so easily beset us? We need the help of other believers, and we need to learn from the mistakes of others. These are a few tips and guidelines that can help out.
When i say this I’m not referring to the Motown singing sensations of the 60’s, I’m talking about the desire and urge to do things we know we shouldn’t do. Temptation comes in different shapes sizes and forms. It is something that is inescapable as a Christian, as a matter of fact temptation is more of an issue for you than anyone else. Whether we like it or not, and no matter how much we pray, we are not going to stop experiencing temptation.
Temptations are the tiny little treats that the devil tantalizes us with. Just like your best friend eating all your favorite meals right in front of you just when she knows you’ve gone on a diet or are fasting. There is no temptation that doesn’t have an element of enjoyment, fun or pleasure, if they weren’t they wouldn’t be temptations and we wouldn’t desire them. Temptation is the exposure to the possibility of committing sin. Temptation comes in different forms to different people largely based on personality, desires, past history and weaknesses.
To the girl that is “in love” with her boyfriend, it may be the temptation to have sex with him, “after all, they are in love, and it’s nobody’s business what they do behind closed doors”. He says to her “if you love me you’ll do this” and she feels like she’s letting him down if she doesn’t . They are going to get married eventually, so what difference does a ring make!, it’s what’s in their hearts, isn’t it? To the young man whose friends keep on telling him the experience of being high and he begins to think of binging on liquor and smoking weed.
To the young executive who has the chance to divert funds, After all ,he is overworked and under paid, nobody is going to miss the money, and who’s going to find out anyway?
Temptation in it’s self is not sin, it is the yielding to that temptation, that is sin. There is hope for us
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful , he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can take”.
God knows exactly how much you can take and he loves you too much to let you break. Now the question is, if yielding to temptation is sin, and God will not let me receive more than I can take , why does he let me get tempted in the first place? Well for one thing, if there was no temptation we would not be able to demonstrate our love & loyalty to Jesus, which gives glory to him. We should also have in mind that ,when we are tempted God has the end in sight at the beginning of the temptation.
I know it’s not easy especially in the world we live in today, where 90% of the music videos are a few steps away from porn, the radio and tv talk shows are talking about sex all the time. The most talked about comedies , are sex related, just take a look at; the American Pie installments, Knocked Up,Juno, Super Bad. Everything from body lotion ,cereal, chocolate and bottled water is sold using good looking sexy individuals to catch your attention. It’s an on going battle, especially in an ever liberal world, that you must continue to fight . There will always be a means of escape, an exit. The way of escape may come only once, and you must take it immediately. Take that chance to walk away, if necessary, running is recommended. Remember , Joseph bolted, when sexual temptation came his way. Don’t try to sit down and be cool when you know you are about to burn.
Christ also experienced temptation while he was fasting, he was weak and vulnerable, and the devil came to him with the three most powerful temptations that humans face Appetite, satisfaction,Wealth and Power, but Christ didn’t give in, like wise we shouldn’t. So how does one
overcome temptation anyway?
Here’s a seven step plan
1. Firstly we should recognize it for what it is , and the possibility of it in your life. Never make the mistake of thinking that you are beyond yielding to a certain temptation.Some great men of God have fallen because they failed to guard themselves from temptation. David on the rooftop watching Bathsheba, Jimmy Swaggart and his secretary, men whom their legacy ,would have been flawless but for one action
2. Next pray that you do not fall prey to it. Nothing works like prayer
3.Submit to God and resist the devil
4. There are three sins we are to run away from
a. Idolatry(anything that takes exalts it self over God, could be the God of Me and do thing My way)
b. Immorality- Satisfying every sexual desire that beckons
c. Greed(buying stuff you don’t need with money you don’t have ,to impress people you don’t like)
5. Remove any forms of sin from around us(friends that put ideas into your head when telling you about how good they are getting it)
6. Control the kind of things we allow to enter our subconscious and our lives. Replace bad influences with good ones. Bad associations bring bad situations. That definitely means cutting off certain TVshows,movies, musical tastes.
We humans like to deceive ourselves about what we let into our consciousness, the music we listen to has a huge influence. Listening to songs that declare, “I am getting so hot, i want to take all my clothes off” and “i don’t see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind”, is not exactly healthy listening.
A few more things to ponder when it comes to the opposite sex:
Do not touch what you don’t have. When you see you are about to get caught in a compromising situation,don’t try and stay there and BE COOL, you have two feet,you know exactly what to do with them. Since you do not have an S emblazoned on your chest , it’s not going to be easy. So like a castle that has archers and a moat full of piranha’s , a draw bridge, create every form of barrier possible between you and temptation, and you should be all right. Instead of watching what would make your loins run and frustrated, watch shows that would lift and edify your spirit.
Abstinence is a word that a lot of people do not like, and amazingly some people may not even be able to tell you the meaning of the word because it’s not in their vocabulary or sphere of thinking.
To most teenagers and young people this word is almost synonymous with “being lame”,the equivalent of Leprosy ,some delibitating disease or simply ”having no game”. When you claim abstinence they view it as , just an excuse because you “can’t get any”.
It is something that a lot of people run away from cause it’s got some sort of stigma and when you say you are for abstinence, it makes you sound like a religious fanatic of the David Koresh, Jim Jones type.
The Dictionary defines Abstinence as self denial: restraint from indulging a desire for something e.g. Alcohol or sexual relations .
In recent years an organization called the Silver Ring Thing™ is helping teens realize that they are not on their own and that they have support. Just like those that want to give up smoking or loose weight have support groups. SRT is an organization that help teen realize that they do not have to go with the flow, of promiscuity and sleeping with that person you “love” outside the commitment of marriage.
This “protection education” teaches nothing about consequence,character and responsibility. It essentially says you have no self control or restraint so ,give in to every sexual whim, scratch whatever itch, just make sure you “protect yourself” . Heart breaking is all i can say.
There have been vindictive attacks against the program claiming that it doesn’t work and it’s unhealthy to promote it. What i want to know is ;
If you never drink ,can you get drunk? ,
If you never do drugs, can you become an addict ?
If you don’t discipline yourself change your diet and exercise can you ever lose weight.
Those that say it doesn’t work , just don’t want to admit that they like sex too much to give it up. The sex education that has been taught for many years, teenagers are still getting pregnant, and contracting STD . Condoms are scientifically proved to have a failure rate and are not 100% guaranteed. If you were about to jump out of a plane, and you were told there was a chance your parachute wouldn’t open due it’s nature from manufacture, would you still jump out?, Or wait till it’s 100% safe?
Some couples do agree to take the vow of abstinence , but compromise. Engaging in long periods of heaving kissing ,fondling dry humping and sometimes even oral sex, giving themselves the excuse that “it’s not penetration” and we didn’t going “all the way” is just deceiving yourself.
There is a saying that goes “if you’re not going to cook , don’t go into the kitchen” .You can’t expect to play with fire and not get burnt. Kissing and petting are forms of foreplay which is meant to lead to sex, this is something that Lot’s of people fail, or rather refuse to understand. They think they can control themselves, and put on the brakes just before launching off from third base. But that’s like being handed the keys to a Porsche on the Auto Bahn, and telling your self that you are not going to speed, or staying on the start line of a Formula 1 race, you continuously rev your engine and take off, and just before you cross the finish line you jam on the brakes, do that enough times and one day your brakes will fail. Ever heard the expression “one thing led to another & “it just happened”. Nothing just happens!!!, Every thing in life is a consequence of a choice that leads to an action .
You may argue that kissing is not foreplay, and we should at least be allowed “some, privileges”.
Fred Stoeker co-author of Every Man’s Battle(good book for guys) defines it this way “Foreplay is anything that has as it’s natural result either sexual intercourse or false intercourse of masturbation. For instance oral sex,mutual masturbation,heavy petting, and kissing around the neck are foul territory”. In short anything the member of the opposite sex does to your body that prepares it for intercourse is foreplay.
Now, I’m not saying kissing is evil,nor am i saying it is a sin, but the question you should really ask, is “What fires is it fueling? “Do you really want those flames to be fanned,only to be extinguished just when heating up? Is it making your abstinence stance more difficult or even frustrating? OK, maybe YOU ,can handle kissing, but what if it lights the fire in your boyfriend/girlfriend? Will you be willing to give it up to help them hold the fort of purity? Are you?
It’s not easy as a Christian dealing with the fact that you can’t engage in the physical pleasure(yeah, that’s what it is) that is part of “normal” relationships as defined by society. If temptation didn’t involve pleasure or enjoyment it wouldn’t attract you, now would it?
So if I can’t caress and kiss my girlfriend/boyfriend, what else can we do? Just hold hands!!!, That’s boring!
Look, I don’t all or any of the answers cause I myself am still searching for them. However what I do have is a few suggestions.
1.
Don’t date someone that doesn’t share your belief in abstinence.
By doing this you are setting yourself up for a fall right from the get go. It may seem that none of the Christian girls/guys are hot or even fun. But “two can not walk unless they agree”. It’s harder for someone on the ground to pull down someone on a platform than the other way round.
There have been some girls that I have had a thing for, and I had a chance with them, if I made the move, but because I knew they didn’t share my stance on chastity ,and as much as it hurt( and boy did it hurt) I kept my relationship platonic. We can’t give into every attraction or desire we have .
GUYS, any girl that you date , if you do not end up together, she should be able to look back and smile that you honored her by not ravaging her body. She should be a better person as a result of crossing paths with you.
WARNING- Even when the person shares the same stance, you still have to keep your guard up. Things have a funny way of creeping up on you, when you think you are safe. So up front, set clear cut immovable barriers, that you both decided NEVER to cross.
The city of Troy fell, because they allowed into their gates what they thought was a gift. In other words, when it comes to purity , NEVER let your guard down, especially for a fellow believer, because you might be, inevitably be letting in a Trojan horse.
2.
Never let yourself be in a place that you have no chance of being disturbed.
The classic sexual invitation we see on television and in the movies, is “ my parents are out of town, we have the whole place to ourselves” that pretty much speaks for it’s self. Besides, something creepy like an axe wielding psychopath usually shows up anyway, so to be for warned is to be forearmed, lol.
3.
Be careful what you let in through your eye and ear gates.
Many of the songs we listen to a huge hindrance to the walk of purity, and if we do not want to face constant frustration we need to cut them off. Just like the person that goes on a diet for the sake of healthier living avoids junk food, so we must avoid putting sexually suggestive junk in our minds. Many of the artists disguise pure lust in the name of love and romance. Constant consumption of such material will warp our own ideas of sex. The music videos with scantily dresses women and lewdly suggestive dances/ gestures are like not exactly kosher for your abstinence diet.
When it comes to the visuals. Increasingly in the past few years , television is becoming more and more “liberal”. The most successful shows in recent years have a 87% sex premise, from “Sex and The City”, to the more recent “Shameless” and “Skins”. Sex has become an Olympics sport to which lead characters are competing for gold medals.
When we continuously watch shows like those it gives us the idea that it’s a normal part of life and behavior. Promiscuity is glorified and the consequences of such a life are never shown .
The songs and radio shows we also listen have the same great effect. Listening to shows were people are talking about how many people they’ve slept with in the last month , is definitely not healthy listening. Neither is it listening to artist who tell you “i don’t see nothing wrong, with a little bump and grind”. Point of note, that artist is still having court issues, because of a certain video of his that made its way to the Internet.
Think of your mind(your purity) as a fortress, or one of the Castles from Medieval times. They had several defenses protecting them from enemy attacks.
They had; a moat with crocodiles ,a draw bridge that had to be lowered after confirmation that it was not an enemy. Archers on the towers that acted as Snipers, taking down the enemy before they could approach. And watchmen, that kept a sharp look out for approaching danger from the distance.
Are you catching my drift?
4.
Realize that a relationship is a lot more than making out and knocking boots.
In other words DON’T TOUCH WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE.
A lot of relationships have a “strong” foundation based on their physical attraction and desire for each other,which in it’s self is natural. But if you take away all that what is left. If the physical aspect is taken away , is there anything left? What else draws you to that person except wanting to lock lips(and other parts) with them? Is there anything else that will keep you two going? I’ve always had the policy that no matter how hot a girl is , and no matter how much we dig each other, if there is no foreseeable future, other than I think “you’re cute, I know you think I’m cute too, let’s go out”. I don’t see the point in putting either one of us through what would turn out to be an inevitable emotional/psychological roller coaster crash.
5 MODESTY IN APPEARANCE(DRESS)
1 Tim 2:9(New Living Translation)
And i want women to be modest in their appearance.They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves………
Unfortunately some ladies that profess Christ, are church workers and are very vocal about their faith do one thing very wrong,i don’t know how aware they are of this. In the “modern church” ladies seem to come to church baring full view cleavage, ever plunging necklines that expose their breast . This is a contradiction for a Christian Ladies. If you preach like Juanita Bynum, but dress like you share a wardrobe with Lil Kim (ok ,may be an exaggeration ,but you get my point) you are not only acting as temptation on legs, but you are sending the wrong message about yourself, and your dressing has made irrelevant , any declaration for Christ you have made because they’ll see no difference between them and you.
Doing this you maybe unintentionally telling guys, “this is a season preview” and we all know after a teasing season preview we can’t wait to see the entire series in all it’s glory.
Immodest dressing places a bulls eye on yourself for those wolves in sheep’s clothing that come to church to “score”, and it may be too late before his fangs show.
Immodest dressing makes you act as a stumbling block, for those brothers who are battling in their stance for purity. A guy coming to church should not have to pull his eyes away from you because of your dressing.
A guy(s) talking to you should not have to struggle to keep eye contact because your “lovelies” are calling his attention. Cleavage revealing dressing basically says. “ignore me as a person and check out my body”
Now , don’t get it twisted!!
.I am not suggesting you dress like Reverend Mother Mary Francis.I’m not saying that you should dress up like an Amish lady covering every inch.I appreciate beauty and sexy, but there is a VAST difference, between being sexy and being sensual. Being sexy can be done(by some) while wearing a t shirt and jeans or even turtle neck,even without intent.But being sensual deliberately attracts attention to the body or certain parts of it, by how you dress.
You may be dressing for one particular person, or maybe not, but once they are on display, you can not select who looks. glares or stares, and to be frank, you would have thrown away the right to complain or call anyone a pervert if they do oggle at what is on public display.
So please you can wear what you want, as long as there is no INKLING not even a glimpse of your breasts or inner thighs. You should not make your fellow brothers walk of purity difficult, or attract the wrong attention to yourself.
Interesting fact. Sharks can smell a drop of blood at 1 par per million, “Score” seeking guys that have come to church for a challenge,can zero in on a girl whose revealing dressing say that they are no different from the girls stumbling out of the club at ungodly hours.
6. Pray ,Listen to songs and read books that encourage your stance
PRAY
This should have been Number 1, to put it plainly, you can not do this on your own. It is the POWER of God, guiding us to do this. Commit your stance unto God and ask for the wisdom and strength to do so,and start to take the steps to abstain.
Listen to music that edifies your soul, that supports your walk instead of music that mocks or belittles it ;or tries to tell you that you are missing out.
SONGS
Jermaine Stewart -We don’t have to take our clothes off
Rebbecca St James- Wait for me
DC Talk; I don’t want it, God sent , That kinda Girl
BOOKS
Joshua Harris: Sex is not the problem(Lust is), Boy Meets Girl, I Kissed Dating Goodbye,
Myles Munroe:Waiting and Dating
Every Young Man’s Battle: Fred Stoeker & Stephen Arterburn
7. LET EVERYONE KNOW YOUR STANCE- YELL IT FROM THE ROOF TOPS
Personally , writing this is one of the ways I’m keeping myself accountable. By putting this out there and letting people that know me, know my stance: i have become accountable to them. This puts me on high alert not to contradict anything that i have said here. It’s gonna be tough(no sneakies) , but these are high stakes we are dealing with and this makes it stronger than a lonesome inner decision or marker, that we can shift to allow ourselves a little pleasure.
You don’t have to go around tapping strangers on the shoulder and telling them “Hey,Guess What!!”. We have to be careful not to fall into pride. Being sexually pure is nothing if one is full of pride. Remember,Lucifer fell as a result of Pride. So, be careful, it’s only God’s grace that is keeping you.
If all else fails, you have legs, use them. It worked for Joseph , it will work for you. Don’t stay there and try to be cool. GUYS, don’t try and be “the man” cool calm and collected when you are about to get burnt.
I’m no expert when it comes to relationships, so you really don’t have to take anything I’m saying seriously, but I have come to learn, that we often know the truth deep down inside before anyone else ever tells us.
When we think of the term fish,it’s a natural assumption that tends to take the mind to all the creatures in the ocean. It encompasses so much. There are clown fish, star fish, sword fish scaled, non scaled and so much more. There are different conditions for the fish to live in fresh water and salt water fish. Within this same ocean, there are dolphins,sharks , whales , and at some level many of them are called fish. Within this term, there are plankton , there are bottom feeders , there are scavengers and there are the predators all in the fish family. There are fish that swim in schools, those that follow the trails, others have left behind. There are the hunters, those that are disguised in as sea weed or in the sand, lying in wait to strike the unassuming approaching. 
