Psalm 27:14-Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
This is one of my favorite verses. Are you willing to wait on the Lord? One aspect of purity involves waiting. Virginity isn't something to be ashamed of or something to be awkward about, it is a treasure to be valued and protected. It is not something to be carelessly thrown away. It is something to be guarded. Saving yourself is not easy, it goes against everything that today's culture shouts at us. In order to save yourself you have to see the value of your virginity yourself. If you don't see the real value of waiting then you won't be able to stand against the pressure. If you are around guys who do not see the value, but rather are encouraging you to give it up then they are NOT the guys that you should be surrounding yourself with. Wait, wait for your prince who will respect you and who will value and treasure your virginity and purity. Waiting is not just a matter of holding something back either....waiting on the Lord is focusing on Him and centering your life around Him. Surround yourself with girls who have a desire to wait on the Lord and who pursue Him above all else. Surround yourself with brothers in Christ who see you as a sister and as a treasure to be protected. Also go to your parents and discuss the matter of purity and waiting and ask for accountability. Even if your parents aren't Christians you can still share what's on your heart. You can also pray that God will bring a godly man or a godly woman who will fill that role if your parents are not believers.
God will not ask you to do something that is impossible. Anything He asks you to do is possible with His help! He is not asking you to not have sex before marriage because He is the "cosmic kill-joy", He sets that standard because He has a better plan for you. His plan may not involve one night stands and yearly flings, but His plan is worth waiting for. I have never talked to a couple who have done things His way and then regretted it. As a girl, by giving yourself to someone you are giving them a piece of you that you can never get back. You are giving them a piece of you that you can never give to your husband someday. God is asking you to wait for marriage, but He also gives us a promise; He shall strengthen thine heart. Waiting is possible because your focus will be on Him and your relationship with Him.
When God leads you into a relationship with the man He has for you, don't think "well, how far can I go without crossing the line?". That is dangerous territory, don't go down that road. Rather think "how Christ centered can I keep this relationship, and how can we bring God glory with this relationship?". Maybe you are reading this and you already lost your virginity, you will never be able to gain your virginity back, but you can gain your purity back. The Bible says, If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You can make a decision right here and right now to wait for the man God has for you and to wait to be physical until you are married. You can start living a life of purity and allow God to write your love story. In the meantime you can focus on your best love story of all, your relationship with the Savor Jesus Christ. Will you wait on the Lord? Will you put all your trust and confidence in Him and wait on Him? Can you say on your wedding day, "this was worth waiting for!".
Always in my prayers,
Jessica
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
30 Day Challenge!!!!
2 Corinthians 10:5-Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
I want to share something with you that made a huge impact in my life and my walk with Christ. When I was in 10th grade I went to Bible camp for a week in the summer. During that week God used the preaching, the music, and the godly people to convict me. I had been living life passively as a Christian. I wasn't sold out for Christ. I wasn't focused on my walk and my relationship with my Prince, instead I was focused on guys and the things of the world. I knew I needed to make a change. So I looked at my life to figure out what I should change. God convicted me about my choice of music. I had been primarily listening to country, although there are some country songs that are good the majority are about (or at least refer to) drinking, relationships, etc. As a genre, it certainly isn't focused on Christ. So I decided to make a change. I gave up the country music (even the "good" songs), I didn't watch any movies that had any inappropriate scenes in it, and I told those around me what I was doing so that they would be respectful and not be playing or watching that stuff when I was around. I stopped listening to and watching all of those things and I only listened to Praise and Worship music, Hymns, and other good solid Christian music. As for movies I only watched things that were family friendly and appropriate. So my first goal was to make it to 30 days with my new standard. After the 30 days when I watched some of the old movies and TV shows that I used to watch, I was horrified and threw a lot of movies out! After that, any time I was around country music I realized what some of those lyrics were actually about and I can't stand country now.
So many times people think music and just music and is harmless. But that is such a lie! What we watch and listen to becomes a part of who we are. Once I got rid of all of my old music and movies I can't tell you how much easier it was to keep my focus on God. After I did that, music was no longer just background noise to me, it was powerful and holy. When I had my music on, I was worshipping my Savior! Talk about a transformation!! I also realized my thought life was a lot better. I wasn't focused on guys or relationships, I was focused on my Prince and just totally and completely in awe of Him. All I wanted to do was spend more time with Him and spend more time worshipping Him!
I want to encourage you with this 30 day challenge. Stop listening to all music and only listen to Praise and Worship, Hymns, and good solid Christian music. Stop watching movies and TV shows that are "questionable" and turn to family friendly and faith oriented films. There are some good ones out there. Or better yet, turn off the TV for 30 days and the time that you normally would spend watching TV, spend it with your Prince, your Savior. You will be amazed at what this does. After the 30 days I encourage you to go back through your music and movies with this new prospective and purge them. You will be completely amazed at the things that you used to watch and listen to that didn't bother you, and now it does. With society the way it is, drifting further and further from Christ, we become immune to a lot. As Christians that is wrong. We should never allow ourselves to become immune, but sadly many of us do. I know, I have been there. It isn't till you take that stuff out of your life for awhile then go back to it, you realize this. The time that you were away from it is like you are detoxing and then your eyes are open to it and you can now see all of the sin involved with it. So, as a sister I want to encourage all of you girls to take my 30 day challenge and allow the Lord to use it. See what He does. Allow Him to use this time to draw you back to Himself. You won't regret it!
I want to share something with you that made a huge impact in my life and my walk with Christ. When I was in 10th grade I went to Bible camp for a week in the summer. During that week God used the preaching, the music, and the godly people to convict me. I had been living life passively as a Christian. I wasn't sold out for Christ. I wasn't focused on my walk and my relationship with my Prince, instead I was focused on guys and the things of the world. I knew I needed to make a change. So I looked at my life to figure out what I should change. God convicted me about my choice of music. I had been primarily listening to country, although there are some country songs that are good the majority are about (or at least refer to) drinking, relationships, etc. As a genre, it certainly isn't focused on Christ. So I decided to make a change. I gave up the country music (even the "good" songs), I didn't watch any movies that had any inappropriate scenes in it, and I told those around me what I was doing so that they would be respectful and not be playing or watching that stuff when I was around. I stopped listening to and watching all of those things and I only listened to Praise and Worship music, Hymns, and other good solid Christian music. As for movies I only watched things that were family friendly and appropriate. So my first goal was to make it to 30 days with my new standard. After the 30 days when I watched some of the old movies and TV shows that I used to watch, I was horrified and threw a lot of movies out! After that, any time I was around country music I realized what some of those lyrics were actually about and I can't stand country now.
So many times people think music and just music and is harmless. But that is such a lie! What we watch and listen to becomes a part of who we are. Once I got rid of all of my old music and movies I can't tell you how much easier it was to keep my focus on God. After I did that, music was no longer just background noise to me, it was powerful and holy. When I had my music on, I was worshipping my Savior! Talk about a transformation!! I also realized my thought life was a lot better. I wasn't focused on guys or relationships, I was focused on my Prince and just totally and completely in awe of Him. All I wanted to do was spend more time with Him and spend more time worshipping Him!
I want to encourage you with this 30 day challenge. Stop listening to all music and only listen to Praise and Worship, Hymns, and good solid Christian music. Stop watching movies and TV shows that are "questionable" and turn to family friendly and faith oriented films. There are some good ones out there. Or better yet, turn off the TV for 30 days and the time that you normally would spend watching TV, spend it with your Prince, your Savior. You will be amazed at what this does. After the 30 days I encourage you to go back through your music and movies with this new prospective and purge them. You will be completely amazed at the things that you used to watch and listen to that didn't bother you, and now it does. With society the way it is, drifting further and further from Christ, we become immune to a lot. As Christians that is wrong. We should never allow ourselves to become immune, but sadly many of us do. I know, I have been there. It isn't till you take that stuff out of your life for awhile then go back to it, you realize this. The time that you were away from it is like you are detoxing and then your eyes are open to it and you can now see all of the sin involved with it. So, as a sister I want to encourage all of you girls to take my 30 day challenge and allow the Lord to use it. See what He does. Allow Him to use this time to draw you back to Himself. You won't regret it!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Hannah...A Woman of Faith..part 2 :)
I want us to look at Hannah again. There is so much we have to learn from her that I decided to post another blog about her. For this one we are still in 1 Samuel but now we are in chapter 2. I want to specifically look at verses 1-11.
I love how this starts out by telling us that Hannah rejoiced in God's salvation. We see that despite her circumstances Hannah found a reason to rejoice and be thankful; she rejoiced in the Lord. God was her strength and her rock. She didn't look for people to solve her problems, she went to the Almighty God, her Father. She realized that anything was possible with God. She gave Him all the glory.
So what can we learn from all of this? When you are going through a situation, instead of focusing on it, be like Hannah, give it over to the Lord and the find something to rejoice in. There is always something to be thankful for! For one, if you are saved, thank God for His salvation, that is something we always have to be thankful for! We need to remember that ultimately God is always in control. Sometimes He chooses to change our circumstances in our favor and sometimes He doesn't. Sometimes He gives us our hearts desire and sometimes He doesn't. Sometimes He asks us to walk through a valley so He can grow us. Will you praise Him today despite your circumstances? Will you give Him glory no matter what? Often times if we pray about something or for something specific and if we don't get the answer we want, we tend to think that God didn't answer us or that He doesn't care. That is a lie from the pit of hell. God always answers us, it just may not be in the way we want. Sometimes He says yes, sometimes no, and sometimes He is just saying wait. No matter what the answer or the outcome will you still praise Him? It's easy to praise Him when things are good, the hard part is praising Him when we are going through a storm. But will you be like Hannah? Will you pour your heart out to God, give everything over to Him, and praise Him despite the outcome? Will you trust Him to know what's best?
Always in my prayers,
Jessica
I love how this starts out by telling us that Hannah rejoiced in God's salvation. We see that despite her circumstances Hannah found a reason to rejoice and be thankful; she rejoiced in the Lord. God was her strength and her rock. She didn't look for people to solve her problems, she went to the Almighty God, her Father. She realized that anything was possible with God. She gave Him all the glory.
So what can we learn from all of this? When you are going through a situation, instead of focusing on it, be like Hannah, give it over to the Lord and the find something to rejoice in. There is always something to be thankful for! For one, if you are saved, thank God for His salvation, that is something we always have to be thankful for! We need to remember that ultimately God is always in control. Sometimes He chooses to change our circumstances in our favor and sometimes He doesn't. Sometimes He gives us our hearts desire and sometimes He doesn't. Sometimes He asks us to walk through a valley so He can grow us. Will you praise Him today despite your circumstances? Will you give Him glory no matter what? Often times if we pray about something or for something specific and if we don't get the answer we want, we tend to think that God didn't answer us or that He doesn't care. That is a lie from the pit of hell. God always answers us, it just may not be in the way we want. Sometimes He says yes, sometimes no, and sometimes He is just saying wait. No matter what the answer or the outcome will you still praise Him? It's easy to praise Him when things are good, the hard part is praising Him when we are going through a storm. But will you be like Hannah? Will you pour your heart out to God, give everything over to Him, and praise Him despite the outcome? Will you trust Him to know what's best?
Always in my prayers,
Jessica
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Hannah...A Woman Of Faith
To become a woman after God's own heart one important thing that we can do is look at the women of faith mentioned in the Bible and learn from their lives....
Today I want us to take a look at Hannah. You can read about her in 1 Samuel. I want to specifically look at 1 Samuel 1:9-18. Hannah desperately wanted a child. She was married but could not have children; for whatever reason God did not open her womb for a very long time. What I want you to notice about Hannah was despite her circumstances, she went before the Lord. She put her faith in Him. She didn't care how people saw her-she poured out her heart to God. Then she put her faith in Him. "...Her countenance was no more sad.." (vs 18)-she no longer allowed her circumstances to dictate her attitude. God hadn't answered her prayers yet, but she had faith that He would. She started looking ahead and trusting God and no longer focused on her circumstances. She kept her focus on Him.
When her situation seemed impossible, her reaction was to turn to God and pour out her heart to Him. She knew He would listen. She knew He would be there for her. What is your reaction to impossible situations or bad circumstances? Do you get angry with God and blame Him for other people's selfish decisions that affect you? Do you look at your circumstances or do you look to your Savior? God knows what you need and what you want. He knows you better than you know yourself. He is omnipotent-He is all-knowing. Will you turn to Him? Will you trust Him? Will you run to Him rather than running away? Will you run to Him instead of running to someone or something else that will only cause temporary satisfaction? Like He was for Hannah, He is waiting for you to turn to Him. Will you turn to Him today?
Always in my prayers,
Jessica
Today I want us to take a look at Hannah. You can read about her in 1 Samuel. I want to specifically look at 1 Samuel 1:9-18. Hannah desperately wanted a child. She was married but could not have children; for whatever reason God did not open her womb for a very long time. What I want you to notice about Hannah was despite her circumstances, she went before the Lord. She put her faith in Him. She didn't care how people saw her-she poured out her heart to God. Then she put her faith in Him. "...Her countenance was no more sad.." (vs 18)-she no longer allowed her circumstances to dictate her attitude. God hadn't answered her prayers yet, but she had faith that He would. She started looking ahead and trusting God and no longer focused on her circumstances. She kept her focus on Him.
When her situation seemed impossible, her reaction was to turn to God and pour out her heart to Him. She knew He would listen. She knew He would be there for her. What is your reaction to impossible situations or bad circumstances? Do you get angry with God and blame Him for other people's selfish decisions that affect you? Do you look at your circumstances or do you look to your Savior? God knows what you need and what you want. He knows you better than you know yourself. He is omnipotent-He is all-knowing. Will you turn to Him? Will you trust Him? Will you run to Him rather than running away? Will you run to Him instead of running to someone or something else that will only cause temporary satisfaction? Like He was for Hannah, He is waiting for you to turn to Him. Will you turn to Him today?
Always in my prayers,
Jessica
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