Women aren't super heroes, but you know what? They DO have super powers.
Ladies & Gentlemen, let me explain.
Men are VISUAL creatures;
so with what we Ladies wear & how we conduct ourselves--we can CONTROL A MAN'S MIND.
" They tune in visually to the allure of specific physical attributes and respond more immediately to the sexual stimulation of their senses" (soul virgins)
Gentlemen, how does that make you feel? When a woman (or a "girl", in my opinion) walks back scantily clad and you begin to undress her with your thoughts, you feel as if you are merely "admiring the view". But guess what? She actually has control of your mind, you've GIVEN her that control.
Ladies, let me be frank. (or mary catherine, bahahaha...i had to) As a woman, we like to feel empowered. It can be alluring & intoxicating to know that we have a man's attention, that he is thinking of us.
But the truth is this, if we truly care for & respect a man, we will help him guard his mind.
"So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace." (romans 8:6)
So here's the deal regarding the men around us, as women we can either be a road that leads to death or a beacon of life & peace.
Now let me be honest with you, I know as a woman, it can be affirming to our self esteem to know that a man is attracted to us. And i'm NOT saying that you can't be attractive! (geez la weez! i'm all for looking & feeling phenomenal!) But we've got to realize that to TRULY care for our brothers around us, is to not do anything that could compromise their minds.
(fyi: i'm NOT letting guys off the hook as far as guarding their own minds, but i'll get to that soon)
"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Instead, make up your mind not to put
any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."
(romans 14:13)
My dear sweet Ladies, protect & guards the minds of the brothers around you, because lust is a beast. And once let out of it's "cage", it can be a destroyer of relationships and cross ground that is hard to recover.
"Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love,
and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust." (Ez 23:17)
"Many men take their cues on how to treat you from the clothing (or how little of it) you choose to wear." (soul virgin)
Another version says that she was "polluted". Lust, a pollutant. Sweet Ladies, do you want a man to pollute you? Do you want a man to defile you? A man lusting after you, is not the same thing as a man loving you or being committed to you. A man after God's own heart is going to fight to keep you safe and to protect you & your beauty.
Love within the covenant of marriage is intended to be intimate ("Adam knew Eve") to our cores, not an act based on the lust & attraction of the moment. I want a man to love me, not defile or pollute me based on his attraction to my outfit.
Ladies, protect your beauty. Keep the beast in it's cage. Be beautiful, be fabulous and be mindful of the eyes around you. [ you will have all of marriage to dress for your husband :) ]
And Gentlemen, I understand that you live in a world that is barely dressed, but you are not powerless in this fight to guard your mind. As my Dad says, "you may not be able to stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can keep it from making a nest on our head"
--And by the way, one of the most honoring things my highschool sweetheart said to me one day was, " please don't wear that top again". You know why? Because my top was causing him to focus on something other than what would be honoring to the Lord, and he was honest & honoring to me. THAT is precious.
Ladies, dress to honor your Future Love. Dress to keep the beast in its cage.
Gentlemen, please be more aware of the media around you. Guard your eyes, honor your Future Love.
Lust is a beast, and if you can't control it while you are single, who says you can control it from wandering while you are married?
I have class from 8:00 until 5:00 pm on Tuesdays. That's a long and intense day. But this morning, I was awoken at 5:32 am, wide awake and feeling prompted by the Father to start my quiet time.
(side note: last night before going to bed, I felt like I was supposed to start my quiet time at 5:30 instead of 6:00 this morning, but set my alarm for 5:45. I was awoken at 5:30. LISTEN to the spirit leading you when He does. He won't relent.)
This morning my devotional brought me to Matthew 13, where the disciples inquire as to why Jesus speaks in "parables". I can understand why the disciples were wondering about this, because frankly, some of the parables (ok so MANY of the parables) are seriously confusing.
The disciples were concerning about the METHOD, Jesus however, was concerned about the MESSAGE. Jesus made himself aware of the climate of the people, " For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them" (verse 15)
He realized that because of what the people had been through, and the culture they had been living in (of religious, stuck up Pharisees) that these people were unable to hear or see the truth of freedom being presented to them. Even their hearts were too hardened and calloused to feel.
Jesus desired that the freedom He had been called to bring, be available & accessible to everyone. NOT just those who could understand it in the way the disciples could. " The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." (verse 11)
"He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it."
(13:11-15. THE MESSAGE version)
I challenge you to consider the following:
are you more concerned with the method or the message ?
Do you get sweaty palms and anxiety when your church attempts a new approach?
Do changes in worship style and a lack-of-a-3-piece-suit on your pastor cause raised blood pressure and anger?
Do the words "different" or "change" cause the hairs on the back of your neck to raise?
If you've answered yes to any or all of these, then you could be missing out on being apart of a precious aspect of the heart of the Lord. He desires that ALL could be set free. But in order that all can know the freedom that is found in Christ, we have to be willing to meet people where they are. JUST as Christ did.
What works for some, doesn't work for all.
What worked in 1987, does not work today.
What works in Southern California, doesn't necessarily work in Wisconsin.
As the world evolves, so should our way that we reach & love the world.
I challenge you today to examine your own heart and life to answer the question: am I more focused on the method or the message?
I challenge you to ask the Lord to help you be in tune to the climate and the-state-of-heart-and-mind that those around you are in.
I challenge you to ask the Lord to reveal to you innovative (which doesn't necessarily mean complicated) ways to share His love & freedom to those around you.
I challenge you to pray that the ministy you are involved in, would always be in tune to the climate of the times, and focused on the freedom that has come for all people.
"otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and i would heal them"
(matthew 13:15)
"I am God. I have called you to live right and well.
I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me,
and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations,
To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light:
opening blind eyes,
releasing prisoners from dungeons,
emptying the dark prisons."
[Isaiah 42:6]
How will you love
and wash the feet of those around you today?
"if you want a STALLION, treat your DONKEY like a STALLION"
when i was growing up, my parents stressed this concept often. the idea that if you want the Lord to give you more, you take care of what you have.
want God to increase your territory? take care of your little garden patch that you have now!
(Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea. )
So DILIGENCE is something that the Lord has been hammering on my heart as of late.
Webster's defines DILIGENCE as a "steady, earnest, and energetic effort : painstaking"
are we a diligent people?
How is it that we ask the Lord for a companion to love & care for, and yet we aren't diligent in caring for ourselves? I don't think that we need to be perfect, but I do believe that taking care of your body is honoring to the Lord. We can't ask for someone to care for, when we don't care for ourselves. I believe that taking care of our bodies (exercising 3-4 times a week for 30 to 40 minutes; eating wisely) is honoring what the Lord created out of love.
So often I hear (especially) young adults wondering about the the time when they will meet their "soul mate" and yet here are some things to consider:
HOW diligent are you with your time with the Lord.
Why would He place a companion in your life, when He sees that you can't spend quality t time with Him each day?
HOW diligent are you with your finances?
You want more, but can't manage what you have? What kind of sense does that make? (this means having to set budgets and saying "no" to things you may want to do) This may be making wise, but hard choices like taking your lunch, making your own coffee, and eating leftovers.
HOW diligent are you with family relationships?
you can't wait for a family of your own, but are you working to restore & maintain relationships with your mother/father/siblings/etc?
HOW diligent are you with your job?
you have big career dreams, but how faithful are you to your fast food job? I heard a Pastor say once; "if you work at McDonald's, then YOU be the one who puts the ketchup & the mustard on the burger in a smiley face"---the moral? be the BEST worker at your current job, so that the Lord will be able to move you to where your heart desires.
Think of David: " So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." (1Samuel 16:11)
David. A "Man after God's own Heart". God didn't call a SHEPHERD to be a KING, but rather He created a KING and made Him into a SHEPHERD. Because the Lord wanted to see how David would treat the sheep, who most people see as insignificant. And David was diligent to care for & protect those seemingly insignificant animals. And as a result, David became a King and the MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART.
David not only protected the sheep, but he also used his gifts & talents while with the sheep. (not "reserving" them for more deserving beings) He sang for them.
And lastly, consider the parable of the talents. take what you've been given, and do your BEST!
"The man with two bags of gold also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (matthew 25:22-23)
Honor the Lord with your body!
Rest, Exercise, Eat well!
Honor the Lord with your finances!
Give Him the FIRST 10% percent, and budget so you can save for the future and pay for the past!
Honor the Lord in your job!
Work where you ARE, as if it were where you WANTED to be!
"don't just PRAY for rain, PREPARE your fields!" (Steven Furtick--Elevation Church)
Here's to our steady, earnest, energetic and painstaking efforts in all things!
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