1 Corinthians 6:18 "Run from sexual sin."
Sometimes after reading this scripture, I focus on the SIN I'm running from. AHH, SEXUAL SIN, RUN!
The unfortuante result is I'm so focused on what's behind me that I forget where I'm going. It's like all of a sudden, I transform my life with Jesus into a list of DON'TS.
Don't lust
Don't lie
Don't cheat
Don't watch Jersey Shore (lol)
And if I DON'T DO all these things, then I'm called a Christian. In other words, I'm defined by who I'm not...
This is certainly NOT what God intends.
Purity isn't about WHAT you're running FROM - It's about WHO you're running TO
Listen - It's less about running FROM sin, and more about running TO Jesus. That's literally what "Repentance" is, turning to Jesus.
The incredible truth is, it is IMPOSSIBLE to follow Jesus and sin at the same time. As I run into the presence of God, I simultaneously reject the sin that tries to hold me back. When I run TO Jesus, I finally discover my life's greater purpose.
Instead of being defined by what I'm NOT, I'm defined by who I am - A child of the Most High God. A carrier of the current of the power of Christ. A world changer because of who Jesus is in me.
And thus - the purpose of Purity. To guard your identity. To protect your purpose. To give you intimacy with the only being in this universe who can truly define you.
Jesus.
K.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sex in September Part 1 (re-cap + freebies)
Hey everyone,
I wanted to RE-CAP the message from this week at Wildfire + give some freebies for those who missed out. If you don't know, we're preaching a series called SEX in SEPTEMBER - it's all about what the Bible has to say about sex, relationships and why we are the way we are:
*For all the haters* - I'm a firm believer that the Church needs to be the PRIMARY source for Sex Education - partnered, of course, with a healthy family. If we're not teaching young people what the Bible says about sex, you better believe that MTV is. And that is NOT cool with me.
Your calling is BETTER than your Booty Call
1. If you know what Sex is you'll know what to do with it
You're going to think God is awesome after reading this next statement:
God created Sex. Boom.
Guess what - everything God creates is good and everything He creates has a purpose - and God created Sex. Hallelujah, Glory to God, Amen!
So what is the purpose of Sex? The Bible is actually CRYSTAL CLEAR about this topic - God created Sex to develop INTIMACY between a man and a woman in Marriage. Many scriptures support that fact but the clearest is in the second chapter of the Bible. God creates Eve so her and Adam can have a flourishing marriage relationship. After God gives His daughter Eve into marriage with Adam, the Bible says:
Genesis 2:24-25 "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the TWO are united into ONE. Now the man and his wife were both NAKED and knew NO SHAME.
God's purpose for sex is:"To unite a married man and woman into ONE". And listen up: When we use sex in this context, it is beautiful, powerful and spiritual - no shame is involved. Can I get an AMEN?
And don't get me wrong - in it's intended context - it's for so much more than just pro-creation! It's fun, it's intamate, it's BEAUTIFUL and it's AWESOME. (see Song of Solomon. Glory.)
So why is sex such a controversial topic in our society? Why has it caused so much pain?
Sin.
Since the devil hates us, he PERVERTS what God intends for good.
Most of us don't understand sin - we simply think sin means "bad". That might be true, but it's not a helpful explanation.
Sin literally means "Missing the Mark"
When we sin - we miss the mark of God's intended purpose, and God's purpose is always the BEST for us and for others.
God hates sin because sin hurts us.
So sexual sin is sex used outside of the context of it's purpose. God hates sexual sin because he knows it hurts us and MISSES His intended purpose for sex .
The Bible speaks clearly about sexual sin. Here are a few of the many scriptures to help clarify:
Proverbs 5:17-23 | Matthew 5:27-30 | Romans 1:26-27 | 1 Corinthians 6:9-20
The Bible also gives us incredible advice on what to do when face to face with sexual sin:
1 Corinthians 6:18 "Run form sexual Sin!"
Are you dealing with sexual sin? God gives us great advice. RUN! When it raises it's ugly head in your life GET OUT, GET AWAY! RUN!
Don't think, "how far is too far?" Instead think, "how pure is too pure?" or "How close to Jesus is too close?"
Sex can so quickly become an Idol in our life - something that we get our value, purpose + significance from - and God wants us to get our value, purpose and significance from Him. Listen - God can satisfy you more than sex can. Times infinity.
If you're confused. If you're hurt. If you have feelings you don't understand - here's my personal advice for you. Take this season of your life to seek God instead of seeking boys and/or girls. Go to the creator of the universe - he loves you, cares for you and created you. Find your purpose in Him.
2. Your calling is BETTER than your booty call
If you know who you are, you'll know what to do
You are a Child of God. You were created by God on purpose for a purpose.
I believe Matthew 22 gives us one of the clearest glimpses into OUR eternal purpose:
Matthew 22:36-40 (read it): I'll paraphrase it: "Love God with all your heart, and love people. These two commands sum up the whole Bible"
Did you catch that? Our purpose is to Love God, and allow that love to overflow into the people in our life.
Love can transform your family
Love can transform your school
Love is why you were created.
Love is your calling. And your calling is BETTER than your booty call.
God created us to LOVE people, not USE people.
When we live in sexual sin - we USE people as objects instead of LOVING them with the love of Jesus.
Only in the life-long commitment of marriage can sex be used to LOVE the way God intends. Even when our society says different, the creator of the universe understands us better than we understand ourselves.
Let's let our lives glorify God, let's obey and trust Him. He want's good for us and not evil.
If you have dealt with sexual sin, if you've been abused, hurt or confused - know that Jesus loves you, he loves you like CRAZY. He died so you could be pure and have a relationship with a holy God. I want to encourage you to seek God instead of relationships that won't satisfy you. He's got the perfect mate for you anyways. He has grace, forgiveness and love for you in Jesus. Trust Him, love Him and he will guide you.
Hope this helps some people. Love y'all.
K.
I wanted to RE-CAP the message from this week at Wildfire + give some freebies for those who missed out. If you don't know, we're preaching a series called SEX in SEPTEMBER - it's all about what the Bible has to say about sex, relationships and why we are the way we are:
*For all the haters* - I'm a firm believer that the Church needs to be the PRIMARY source for Sex Education - partnered, of course, with a healthy family. If we're not teaching young people what the Bible says about sex, you better believe that MTV is. And that is NOT cool with me.
Your calling is BETTER than your Booty Call
1. If you know what Sex is you'll know what to do with it
You're going to think God is awesome after reading this next statement:
God created Sex. Boom.
Guess what - everything God creates is good and everything He creates has a purpose - and God created Sex. Hallelujah, Glory to God, Amen!
So what is the purpose of Sex? The Bible is actually CRYSTAL CLEAR about this topic - God created Sex to develop INTIMACY between a man and a woman in Marriage. Many scriptures support that fact but the clearest is in the second chapter of the Bible. God creates Eve so her and Adam can have a flourishing marriage relationship. After God gives His daughter Eve into marriage with Adam, the Bible says:
Genesis 2:24-25 "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the TWO are united into ONE. Now the man and his wife were both NAKED and knew NO SHAME.
God's purpose for sex is:"To unite a married man and woman into ONE". And listen up: When we use sex in this context, it is beautiful, powerful and spiritual - no shame is involved. Can I get an AMEN?
And don't get me wrong - in it's intended context - it's for so much more than just pro-creation! It's fun, it's intamate, it's BEAUTIFUL and it's AWESOME. (see Song of Solomon. Glory.)
So why is sex such a controversial topic in our society? Why has it caused so much pain?
Sin.
Since the devil hates us, he PERVERTS what God intends for good.
Most of us don't understand sin - we simply think sin means "bad". That might be true, but it's not a helpful explanation.
Sin literally means "Missing the Mark"
When we sin - we miss the mark of God's intended purpose, and God's purpose is always the BEST for us and for others.
God hates sin because sin hurts us.
So sexual sin is sex used outside of the context of it's purpose. God hates sexual sin because he knows it hurts us and MISSES His intended purpose for sex .
The Bible speaks clearly about sexual sin. Here are a few of the many scriptures to help clarify:
Proverbs 5:17-23 | Matthew 5:27-30 | Romans 1:26-27 | 1 Corinthians 6:9-20
The Bible also gives us incredible advice on what to do when face to face with sexual sin:
1 Corinthians 6:18 "Run form sexual Sin!"
Are you dealing with sexual sin? God gives us great advice. RUN! When it raises it's ugly head in your life GET OUT, GET AWAY! RUN!
Don't think, "how far is too far?" Instead think, "how pure is too pure?" or "How close to Jesus is too close?"
Sex can so quickly become an Idol in our life - something that we get our value, purpose + significance from - and God wants us to get our value, purpose and significance from Him. Listen - God can satisfy you more than sex can. Times infinity.
If you're confused. If you're hurt. If you have feelings you don't understand - here's my personal advice for you. Take this season of your life to seek God instead of seeking boys and/or girls. Go to the creator of the universe - he loves you, cares for you and created you. Find your purpose in Him.
2. Your calling is BETTER than your booty call
If you know who you are, you'll know what to do
You are a Child of God. You were created by God on purpose for a purpose.
I believe Matthew 22 gives us one of the clearest glimpses into OUR eternal purpose:
Matthew 22:36-40 (read it): I'll paraphrase it: "Love God with all your heart, and love people. These two commands sum up the whole Bible"
Did you catch that? Our purpose is to Love God, and allow that love to overflow into the people in our life.
Love can transform your family
Love can transform your school
Love is why you were created.
Love is your calling. And your calling is BETTER than your booty call.
God created us to LOVE people, not USE people.
When we live in sexual sin - we USE people as objects instead of LOVING them with the love of Jesus.
Only in the life-long commitment of marriage can sex be used to LOVE the way God intends. Even when our society says different, the creator of the universe understands us better than we understand ourselves.
Let's let our lives glorify God, let's obey and trust Him. He want's good for us and not evil.
If you have dealt with sexual sin, if you've been abused, hurt or confused - know that Jesus loves you, he loves you like CRAZY. He died so you could be pure and have a relationship with a holy God. I want to encourage you to seek God instead of relationships that won't satisfy you. He's got the perfect mate for you anyways. He has grace, forgiveness and love for you in Jesus. Trust Him, love Him and he will guide you.
Hope this helps some people. Love y'all.
K.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Live a "Luke 15" kind of life
I'll never forget that moment of desperation when I thought God hated me.
I had made LOTS of mistakes. I had DELIBERATELY lived a lifestyle that I knew wasn't God's best and I found myself in a place that was very far from Him. To say I felt hopeless would be an understatement.
And then God used Luke 15 to change my life. Read it, you'll know why.
In that scripture I realized that the price of the cross was enough to bridge the gap between me and God. I discovered HOPE in Jesus. It was an incredible moment I will never forget.
Here's the point: Let's live a Luke 15 kind of life.
When I reflect on these verses, I realize that if we're not about brining hope to people, then we're not about much. If we don't understand God's passion for those far from him, have we missed the point?
What an awesome calling we have to personify and preach Jesus to this world who is in such desperate need of Him! My prayer is that others like me could discover the hope I found and experience the faith I know.
Let's live a Luke 15 kind of life.
K.
I had made LOTS of mistakes. I had DELIBERATELY lived a lifestyle that I knew wasn't God's best and I found myself in a place that was very far from Him. To say I felt hopeless would be an understatement.
And then God used Luke 15 to change my life. Read it, you'll know why.
In that scripture I realized that the price of the cross was enough to bridge the gap between me and God. I discovered HOPE in Jesus. It was an incredible moment I will never forget.
Here's the point: Let's live a Luke 15 kind of life.
When I reflect on these verses, I realize that if we're not about brining hope to people, then we're not about much. If we don't understand God's passion for those far from him, have we missed the point?
What an awesome calling we have to personify and preach Jesus to this world who is in such desperate need of Him! My prayer is that others like me could discover the hope I found and experience the faith I know.
Let's live a Luke 15 kind of life.
K.
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