The Word of God commands us to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ:
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)
What does “in the name of the Lord Jesus” mean? The meaning is found in 1 Corinthians 10:31:
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
So, going to church has to be done for the glory of God, to bring glory and fame to God. The moment we lose this focus, we tend to attach going to church with our feelings and emotions. The problem with that is, our unstable feelings and emotions won’t always encourage us to go to church but to stay home and watch sermon on TV. ///
I heard about the wedding of a virgin couple the same week they got married here in the city I live in. Today one of my Facebook friends sent me the interview they gave to “Good Day” Fox 5 and I want to share it with you all.
What shook the social media was not their virginity but “the certificate of virginity” the bride presented to her father, Pastor Mike Freeman, on her wedding day.
This is just to reiterate on my latest post, “My Wedding Date is set.”
But, first, let me say this: You have no idea how delighted I was when I opened up the page and read all the comments on my last post.
Your respectful tone and candid way of expressing your agreements/disagreements with the post are unparalleled and I applaud you all. Your spiritual and mental maturity was on a display for all to see. I learn a great deal from each comment; thank you!
I believe with all my heart that this is the only way we, the body of Christ, can learn from one another and grow into the fullness of Him who called us into His Kingdom. Continue reading Cast Your Bread on What?→
A4P Guest: I’m 30 years old. I’m originally from Ethiopia. I moved to the U.S. 15 years ago. I became a born again Christ when I was 13. I’m now dating an African American man, 38 years old. He is a born again Christian too. I am going to his church since I met him. We’ve been together since May of 2013. Since day one, we have been doing everything we are not supposed to do as an unmarried couple and all my best friends who are from Ethiopia seem to know but none of them have said anything about it. We are now about to get married and his pastor didn’t ask us about our sexual integrity or anything related to that when we went to him to set our wedding day. But me, I go to bed crying knowing that I’m sinning against my God and that for sure my sin will soon find me out. My wedding date is set for March. What do you advise me to do?
A4P: If I were you, knowing what I know today about sexual sin and the consequences of it all, I would call everything off, including the wedding date until I get my life straight before God.
First, let me define the word masturbation. From all the “colorful” dictionary definitions given to the word masturbation, I chose one word, i.e. self-gratification, which helps me make my point easy and clear.
In most study results, from Christian and secular research works, it’s known that closer to 95 to 97% of young boys go through a stage where they touch and explore their private part and in the process find a good sensation. This experience, which is one of the developmental stages of “puberty”, may occur between 9 and 12 years of age. I don’t think this innocent act of exploring and finding good sensation deserves a punishment. Locking a nine year old boy in his bedroom for the whole day because he was found exploring and playing with his private part won’t result in anything except putting the boy in a dangerous emotional distress that may encourage (or even force) him to explore more to find what his parents are afraid of.
When we are found sinning against God and our spouses, it is good for us to deal with our sin according to the Bible.
The Bible says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
But in many cases, confessing our sins to our spouses won’t be good enough. We need to invite others into our mess so that they can help us rebuild our marriages. ///
Before I write anything, I would like to leave a quick “Thank you” note to all who dropped off your nice comments on my latest post. I read each one of your comments. Thank you! I’m sure you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day. My family and I did, and I thank God for it.
Well, I’m back to my message of appealing for sexual purity.
These days I’m receiving many inquiries regarding the morality of an online opposite gender relationship for married people.
If you are married and one or all of the following statements describe your online relationship with the opposite sex, you may need to end your relationship because it may lead you into an extramarital relationship: Continue reading Back to the Message→
Have you ever given a book to someone special as a Christmas gift before? Well, this year, add “Beyond the Fairy Tale” as one of the gifts you are going to wrap up for that special young and single person you know and you’ll never regret you did. Why? Because this book will forever change their life for the best.
Order your copy at: www.appealforpurity.org/storefront/
“Beyond the Fairy Tale” is not in Ethiopia yet. When and if it gets there, we will announce on this page. Thank you for your patience. ///
A wife has to be wise when she rejects her husband’s sexual advances.
Healthy and good communication is key here! If a couple has good communication, a wife can wisely tell her husband her reasons why she doesn’t want sex for that specific day.
However, if a husband is mentally, emotionally and physically abusing his wife, he shouldn’t expect any positive response from her because sex is something a wife can’t welcome in the presence of abuse. The abuse has to first stop because where there is any form of abuse, not only the sex but the marriage itself can’t thrive. If there is any form of abuse in the marriage or unresolved conflicts, the couple has to seek counseling from their own local church marriage counselors, ministers and pastors.
If there is no abuse in the marriage, rejecting husband’s sexual advances can be a very risky business that can be the cause for the disintegration of a beautiful marriage. That is why the Bible says:
“Do not deprive each other except perhaps 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.” (1 Corinthians 7:5)
Here, “Do not deprive each other” is not a suggestion but a command and disobeying this command can rob us of our joy and fulfillment in our lives and marriages. ///
P.S. Make Note: This same biblical principle applies to where a husband rejects his wife’s sexual advances; however that is not a commonly seen problem.
“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”(James 1:26)
A tight rein on the tongue shows a tight love of Christ in the heart. Without Christ’s love taking over the heart, the tongue becomes a venomous snake, “- – – a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:6 ///
