Digging Deeper

Looking Forward “Now that you have purified yourselves….love one another deeply” I Peter 1: 22 (emphasis is mine)

In our scripture, Peter was giving instructions to the young church for looking forward in their Eternal life. He was looking way out there into eternity. This is the deal. If we can purify ourselves in such a way to bring 1) Glory to Christ and 2) lead us to a deeper love and understanding then our eternal life has started and our leaving this world and passing into the next will be more of a transition into more and wonderful experiences for us all. My dear friend and mentor, Dr. Ronald Fowler, pastor of a mega church in Akron Ohio shared at a marriage retreat that he believed that the relationship between a man and wife in marriage should be a precursor to that eternal life we will spend with Christ. Consequently, the feeling reached at the pinnacle of lovemaking between a husband and wife is just a taste of the joy we will feel in the presence of Christ. Intense, fulfilling, safe, kind of can’t get enough of that stuff feeling that we will share in heaven with Christ. I personally believe that is why Christ uses so many metaphors about marriage. So keep yourself pure and enjoy the relationships we have here in anticipation of what is to come. God gave us sex because he loves us and wants us to be complete people but always within the protection of His love and care.

Scripture Revelation 19: 5-9

Prayer Father, thank you for all the great gifts you give and help me to use them wisely. Purify me and my mind to be better used of you.

P.S. I will be taking a break from writing for a while. Thanks for all you kind comments and encouragement. Peace my friends! The Drake

Guilt by association “not to associate with sexually immoral people…anyone who calls himself a brother” I Corinthians 5:9, 11a

It is very easy to start reclassifying sins to, well justify our own behavior. That is why we do that to certain sins. You see, some sin among us is very acceptable. Pride is sometimes confused with confidence. Thinking higher of one’s self has long been a problem in the church. However, it undermines the very fabric of the Gospel. I fear that if we withdrew from all persons with all different kinds of sin, we would become Amish. Even though I respect and love them for some of the stances they take about the world, they have their own corporate sin that violates a higher law. We have been talking about sexual boundaries the past few weeks and trying to find a higher plane that God wants us to operate on as the people of God. Really that is the bottom line with sexual sin or any sin for that matter. The question is not What Would Jesus Do? The question is what do we do as we try to live like the children of God? We know what Jesus would do in these situations. Choose the world or choose life…that is the question.

Scripture I Corinthians 5: 6-13

Prayer Giver of all good and perfect gifts, help me to always keep you in the context of my life with others and with you….

The Biggest Sex Organ “They are darkened in their understanding”
Ephesians 4: 18

A young man walked into my office one day and wanted to talk. I had known him through playing football with my son and his very open confession of Christ and His kingdom. I knew his pastor and his parents. He began to weep uncontrollably. As he began to regain his composure, he began to share with me his dilemma. He wanted to share with someone the battle that he was waging in his own mind. He shared that he was extremely afraid that the things going on in his mind, would come to reality in his life. I explained that his hormones are raging and that is the way God made us. I also shared with him that the battle for his mind was just beginning. At times we cannot control what pops into our head but we can control whether we invited it in for a chat. Dr. Dobson has shared on several occasions that the biggest sex organ is our mind. I try always to take my grandmother’s advice that everyone is my brother and sister. You wouldn’t think of your sister that way, would you? It has changed my perspective on things. It has taken a lot of practice but I’m sure has kept me from many things I could have gotten involved in and caused a major problem. Practice your thought life. Quote scripture, remove yourself, get out of there, take a friend…it works.

Scripture Ephesians 5: 15-21

Prayer Father, help me to guard my mind and

Giving the pieces away “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified”
I Thessalonians 4: 3a

God wants us to be sanctified. The word sanctified in the Greek means “to be set aside for a purpose”. If you are designated for a purpose, it is reasonable to think that we cannot be giving pieces of our heart away to different other purposes when God has set us a side for his ministry and life in the kingdom. When we give ourselves to someone else whether it be for pleasure or love, physically or in the playground of our minds, we dilute what God is trying to do through us. Within the confines of a Godly relationship, His purpose is being sanctified through you and your partner. Bottom line, God knows the future and where you will be in it. Only our decisions that break that line of communication with our perfect future and our God stand between us and a healthy view of what God demands and following the perfect will for our lives in Christ Jesus.

Scripture I Thessalonians 4: 3-8

Prayer Father, help us to understand that when we reject this teaching that we are rejecting you………..

Disclaimer: I do not pretend to know everything about fidelity and purity but will share what God’s word says with you about the subject and maybe we can find out something new together.

Top Ten reasons to follow God’s direction in the area of our sexuality.

#10  You don’t have to explain where you were and what you were doing.

#9     The problem  you now have won’t become a topic of discussion on “THE DOCTORS”.

#8     You can look yourself in the mirror without thinking “what are you doing?”

#7     Sex is better when you are married

#6     You won’t burn in hell for it  (Maria always wants to take someone to the woodshed)

#5      The emotional attachment you feel is there by design

#4      Unrestrained sexual desires will make you crazy!

#3      God wants the very best for you..the you he created you to be.

#2      Relationship should always build the person up and never tear them down.

#1      The number one reason is to be able to enjoy all of it within the confines that  it was designed to be enjoyed in.

Scripture reading     I Timothy 4

Prayer  Father, thank you for the way I am made and like everything other good thing  you have given, make me a good steward of this great thing called sex.

The following video is the story of Sarah. She is a member of Granger Community Church but her story, I fear, is a common one… Check it out.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Sarah the courage to share her story with others…

…You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. -1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

God is probably not surprised by the intensity of our sexual desire or of its fulfillment. Seeing us enjoy the passion and pleasure seems to fit with his creative nature. There are some definite boundaries, however, that were identified through his Word. These are established to protect and enhance the maximum enjoyment of the gift. It’s like giving your child a bicycle. We teach them the safety rules right away so they can delight in the ride without being run over by a car on a busy street.

Remember the study that showed children on a playground with no fence. They stayed close together and did not stray much from the group. The same group of children on the same playground with a fence, spread out more because they knew they were safer with the established boundaries. Likewise, God has established boundaries for us regarding sex and this creates enormous opportunities for couples to safely explore and develop mutual submissiveness in their relationship. Through this you will have ways to show respect and give a meaningful gift of love to your mate. Giving that respect to each other could be a huge way to guide your choices of sexual play in the direction of genuinely mature love.

Doing only what is mutually agreeable sexually means that each partner will make sacrifices for the sake of intimacy. A wife may give herself more frequently or try a variety of sexual experiences that go beyond her comfort zone. A husband may relinquish some sexual fantasy or adjust his demands for intercourse twice a day just to show love to his mate. Those exercises in personal restraint are not easy, but help build the oneness of intimacy Paul refers to in I Corinthians 7:5 “Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” This acknowledges the legitimacy of sexual desire and reinforces the boundary of sex within marriage. This will also help make sexual play more enjoyable, as it should be!

Lord, thank You for this precious gift You have given us and the safe boundaries within which we can enjoy it… Amen

- Rick Phillips

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” -Ephesians 5:31

Many couples suffer from the consequences of their early promiscuity. The “sexual freedom” of our time isn’t free and usually carries some pretty heavy costs. There’s the potential for diseases that could be passed on even leading to death. There’s the growing number of pregnancies out of marriage, now at 40% in the U.S.

There are also numerous issues to deal with already when starting a relationship without throwing sex or past sexual relations into the mix. It seems people think nothing of having sex on a first, second or third date any more. Couples who confine sex to their marriage partners face danger from disease. Further, we can safely conclude that abstinence does not impair one’s health. Sociologist Robert Bell quips, “There appear to be no records of males hospitalized because girls refused to provide sexual outlets.”

Of course there’s always the old argument “but I love him/her”. Then why not respect that love and nurture it? The time will come when that love comes to fruition through a courtship, proposal and marriage. It’s like the Tootsie Pop. You’ve got this treat in the center, the delicious surprise that you get to enjoy after you have worked your way through the layers on the outside. Of course you can just crunch your way to the center but then the experience is done and over with and you may have chipped a tooth in the process. Believe me, I’ve been through both and the crown I received on my tooth from crunching my way through life was not nearly as painful as the irreparable damage to the friendships, relationships and my marriage. You get to the “prize” but not the way the creators of the Tootsie Pop intended. Also, not the way our Creator intended.

This is why God set up these boundaries. He wants you to work through the layers of a relationship first. And those layers are so important. Just getting to know each other, meeting each others friends, learning likes and dislikes, the dreaded “meeting the parents”, the wedding. This can all be such an amazing and enjoyable journey and through obedience and patience you then receive the reward. Or you may discover you didn’t like this flavor and that’s ok too. But once you <crunch> then you’ve gone too far.

Lord, thank you for creating man and woman. Thank you for giving us our differences and for designing us to become “one flesh”. Father, guide us and lead us in our relationships now and forever…

- Rick Phillips

The boundaries that God has created for us are there for our own protection. He wants to keep us safe and happy. Sex is good and good for us when practiced inside these boundaries. This week we’ll look a little closer at some of these boundaries and why they are there.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:28

They say a picture paints a thousand words. What picture is being painted for you? Everywhere we look these days we see sexual content. Of course there’s actual pornography, magazines, movies and the Internet but there’s also the things we don’t always notice. Billboards, magazines, commercials, TV shows, R-rated or even PG rated films, contain so much “acceptable” sexual content that we tend to glaze over and get used to it.

One of my favorite TV shows is The Office. On more than one occasion they have gone a little too far with their sexual content. This years season finale may have been the last straw for me though. Two of the characters have been engaged and were planning their marriage. At the end of the episode we find out that she is pregnant which brought tears of joy and celebration to the couple. And I found myself happy for them (I know it’s just a TV show) but then it dawned on me that once again we are being shown that pre-marital sex ends in reward. Oh Yay, what a joyous occasion, it’s so wonderful… What about the message that has now been sent to the younger fans of this show? I’m sure these characters will get married and live happily ever after, it’s the role they are designed for. But what about the diseases these two could have brought into the relationship? Not only giving them to each other but to this child or others they may continue to have sex with. What about the dads that freak out and run? What about the moms that decide to have abortions instead? Or the couples that stay unmarried and raise the children “together” or in two separate homes? Or they do get married just because “it’s the right thing to do, now” and live in regret and hatred? Why don’t we see that on TV? Reality TV is such a big seller right now but I don’t see this one on any of the channels…

What picture is being painted in your home? For you? For your children? It’s certainly something to think about…

Father, help us to see through Your Sons eyes what is around us and the dangers it may bring us. And with this new sight not pass judgement or shut ourselves off but instead, through our behavior and actions of obedience and love shine Your light for them to see as an example of how things could be… Amen

- Rick Phillips

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. -Proverbs 31:30b

This week we have focused on mothers. Today I just wanted to say thank you to my mom and grandmothers who have gone on before me and for my step mom and mother in law for the differences they have made in my life. And thank you to all the mothers out there you have a God honoring job raising children for the Kingdom. I offer this tribute to you:

To all the mothers everywhere who held a child in tender prayer

Who shed her tears on bended knee who prayed her child from sin be free

To every heart that ever broke when harsh words from a child was spoke

To every gentle hand that touched a fevered brow that ached so much

To every mother whose arms are cold as death her child from her stole

And to every mother who’s ever let go and found how fast her babies grow

To everyone who knows the way of staying sane day to day

Who shuttles children here and there who settles fights and soothes their fear

To all the mothers who ever read a Bible story to her child in bed

I want to thank you oh so much for the difference you made for the lives you touch

Praise God for mothers everywhere for seeds they plant through the love they share

The woman who shares the Lord ‘tis true makes a difference in both me and you!

Becky Hutzel ©

God be praised for mothers! What an honor and a privilege we have been given!

Scripture Proverbs 31:10-31

Lord Jesus, help me be worthy of the name “Mother”. Help me live in a way that  what my children remember most, is Jesus in me. May Your name be praised forever! Amen

by Becky Hutzel