So ~ how do we go about becoming God's Mrs. Right?
God loves us ~ so much that He sent His son to die for us.
It takes US falling in love with HIM!
How do we do that? This chapter goes through six levels of our relationship with God ~ the ultimate being the bride/groom relationship. As we go along in our relationship with God and draw closer to Him, He draws closer to us. That's what He has wanted all along!
Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you.
Psalm 37:4 tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our hearts.
Just as a girlfriend may sit by the phone waiting for that boyfriend to call, God is waiting on us to call out to Him ~ to fall in love with Him ~ to be consumed with Him .... He wants to be your first love.
Here comes the tough part ~
* have you really invested time in getting to know God on a deeper level?
* do you read the Bible and dig in to find out what it's really saying?
* have you given God a chance to show you His love or are you focusing on young men ... fantasies & dreams ... chat rooms?
* have you chosen to focus on God when you feel lonely ... praying, listening to worship music or reading His Word?
* are there things done in private when you hope God isn't watching or you choose to ignore His presence?
* do you believe that God can satisfy all your needs?
Are you willing to set aside everything, everyone and yourself and become totally dependant on God?
We can't let guilt from past relationships or past mistakes keep us from God. He is waiting there to forgive and help us learn His paths. Remember God created you. He knows your inmost parts ~ your inmost thoughts and desires. Who better to help you?
Matthew 7: 7 - 8 tells us to ask God and seek God ~ to knock and He will open the door to us. The door of a greater love relationship with Him!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
CH 24: Becoming Mrs. Right
No matter where you are in your teenage or young adult years, this chapter is worthwhile reading! Becoming Mrs. Right may not be a job you are applying for next week, but these characteristics can also relate to becoming a Godly young woman ... one that God can use!
Having a personal relationship with Christ should be our first priority. This makes us beautiful on the inside! This requires digging in to God's Word, spending time with Him and getting to know Him better.
Taking care of yourself on the outside is also important. As a Christian, our body is God's temple. Keeping ourselves clean and neatly dressed goes a long way in our testimony. This isn't about drawing attention to our bodies .... remember guys are stimulated by what they see ~ and our goal shouldn't be to cause them to be tempted.
Nobody likes to be around someone who grumbles and complains all the time .... thinking "if I just found Mr. Right, all my problems would go away and I'd be happy" is NOT true! If our focus is on Christ and what He desires to do in our lives, we can be content right where He has us. One of the Fruits of the Spirit is Joy!
Another part of becoming Mrs. Right is being able to exercise self-control. We demonstrate this first by being fully devoted to Christ. If we can't do this, we are going to really struggle with being devoted to a husband some day. Are you exercising self-control around guy friends now? Your future husband may be watching!
The next point talks about being wise with money and planning wisely. Financial stress is one of the BIGGEST causes of tension within a marriage. You can go a long way towards becoming Mrs. Right by learning now how to handle money wisely. Proverbs 14:1 says "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands." While you may not be physically hammering nails and wood together to build your house, you can tear it down by foolish spending.
How is your relationship with your parents? your siblings? God put us in families to teach us how to work with others. Each person in a family has a different personality. How do you handle those day to day differences? Practicing getting along, admitting when you are wrong, forgiving and serving are all important characteristics of Mrs. Right.
Will you make a good mother? One of God's first commands to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. Children are a natural product of marriage. How can you prepare now to become a good mother?
What do you feel God's plan for your life is? When Mr. Right comes along, your life plans need to mesh together. He needs your full support to become the man God intends for him to be. If he is truly the Mr. Right that God has for you, you will be able to whole heartedly be his biggest cheerleader! This doesn't necessarily mean that you have no other purpose in life ~ however ~ your purpose and his will complement each other. What kind of training or learning can you get now that may help your future?
First and foremost right now, you need to work on becoming God's Mrs. Right. The Bible refers to Christians many times as the bride of Christ. God wants to use you ~ He has a plan for your life. Partnering with God will be your greatest reward and the only way you will feel truly fulfilled in life.
Having a personal relationship with Christ should be our first priority. This makes us beautiful on the inside! This requires digging in to God's Word, spending time with Him and getting to know Him better.
Taking care of yourself on the outside is also important. As a Christian, our body is God's temple. Keeping ourselves clean and neatly dressed goes a long way in our testimony. This isn't about drawing attention to our bodies .... remember guys are stimulated by what they see ~ and our goal shouldn't be to cause them to be tempted.
Nobody likes to be around someone who grumbles and complains all the time .... thinking "if I just found Mr. Right, all my problems would go away and I'd be happy" is NOT true! If our focus is on Christ and what He desires to do in our lives, we can be content right where He has us. One of the Fruits of the Spirit is Joy!
Another part of becoming Mrs. Right is being able to exercise self-control. We demonstrate this first by being fully devoted to Christ. If we can't do this, we are going to really struggle with being devoted to a husband some day. Are you exercising self-control around guy friends now? Your future husband may be watching!
The next point talks about being wise with money and planning wisely. Financial stress is one of the BIGGEST causes of tension within a marriage. You can go a long way towards becoming Mrs. Right by learning now how to handle money wisely. Proverbs 14:1 says "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands." While you may not be physically hammering nails and wood together to build your house, you can tear it down by foolish spending.
How is your relationship with your parents? your siblings? God put us in families to teach us how to work with others. Each person in a family has a different personality. How do you handle those day to day differences? Practicing getting along, admitting when you are wrong, forgiving and serving are all important characteristics of Mrs. Right.
Will you make a good mother? One of God's first commands to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. Children are a natural product of marriage. How can you prepare now to become a good mother?
What do you feel God's plan for your life is? When Mr. Right comes along, your life plans need to mesh together. He needs your full support to become the man God intends for him to be. If he is truly the Mr. Right that God has for you, you will be able to whole heartedly be his biggest cheerleader! This doesn't necessarily mean that you have no other purpose in life ~ however ~ your purpose and his will complement each other. What kind of training or learning can you get now that may help your future?
First and foremost right now, you need to work on becoming God's Mrs. Right. The Bible refers to Christians many times as the bride of Christ. God wants to use you ~ He has a plan for your life. Partnering with God will be your greatest reward and the only way you will feel truly fulfilled in life.
CH 23: When the Time is Right for Mr. Right
This chapter makes many important points .... however, for where most of you are at in your lives, Chapter 24 & Chapter 25 hold more vital information.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
CH 22: "but we're in love!"
We talked a few chapters back about integrity and being women of sexual integrity. We are called by God to maintain that sexual integrity all through life, whether single or married, young or old. So, that said, does being "in love" change that you are called by God to demonstrate sexual integrity? No.
When we start talking about boyfriend / girlfriend relationships, my wholehearted first advice is take a step back and seek wise counsel. If you've never read "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris, I'd highly recommend it. Dating and boyfriend / girlfriend relationships in America today are encouraging "throw away" relationships .... think of someone who test drives a car off a car lot ~ you know "try before you buy" ~ relationships have become the same way. Many times dating relationships are looked at as a try before you buy (marry) situation. Each time we try out someone in a more serious relationship, we are giving them a part of ourselves {emotionally and sometimes physically}. I mentioned this in an earlier post in the example of getting to the marriage altar and a whole line of girls are on your future husband's other side.
Something else to consider in a dating or boyfriend / girlfriend relationship is what is the purpose in considering yourselves dating? Is it for social status ~ so you can tell all your friends you have a boyfriend? Is it for your self esteem ~ so you feel desirable to someone?
Well ~ we'll get into this more in coming chapters. But for now, you need to consider why getting into a more serious relationship is necessary.
The number line on page 193 makes an excellent point ~ take a minute and look at the timeline and get the big picture. I hope you'll see that it is worth the wait to enter your marriage pure .... without the baggage of past relationships and compromise.
When we start talking about boyfriend / girlfriend relationships, my wholehearted first advice is take a step back and seek wise counsel. If you've never read "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris, I'd highly recommend it. Dating and boyfriend / girlfriend relationships in America today are encouraging "throw away" relationships .... think of someone who test drives a car off a car lot ~ you know "try before you buy" ~ relationships have become the same way. Many times dating relationships are looked at as a try before you buy (marry) situation. Each time we try out someone in a more serious relationship, we are giving them a part of ourselves {emotionally and sometimes physically}. I mentioned this in an earlier post in the example of getting to the marriage altar and a whole line of girls are on your future husband's other side.
Something else to consider in a dating or boyfriend / girlfriend relationship is what is the purpose in considering yourselves dating? Is it for social status ~ so you can tell all your friends you have a boyfriend? Is it for your self esteem ~ so you feel desirable to someone?
Well ~ we'll get into this more in coming chapters. But for now, you need to consider why getting into a more serious relationship is necessary.
The number line on page 193 makes an excellent point ~ take a minute and look at the timeline and get the big picture. I hope you'll see that it is worth the wait to enter your marriage pure .... without the baggage of past relationships and compromise.
CH 21: Sex Without Strings
So, after all you've read so far in the book, do you really think there is such a thing as sex without strings?
I'd say a definate NO. God didn't intend it that way. He intended it to be a very intimate time with your spouse and involving your emotions as well as your body.
When you have sex outside of marriage, you are involving your emotions and body ~ while trying NOT to involve your emotions. We weren't created that way.
Romans 1:24-27 talks a little about how God feels about casual sexual relationships. Yes, God could have stopped them .... but remember He wants us to make good choices because we want to ~ they in turn had to live with the consequences of their choices.
Take a look at 1 Thessalonians 4: 3 - 8 ... it talks about how we are to control our bodies in a way that is holy and honorable ~ and when we reject this instruction, we reject God. Those are some pretty strong words!
So, how do we handle being friends with guys?? Is it possible?? It is with some clear boundaries. Page 186-187 talk about this further ..... "Friends care about protecting each other's mind, heart, body and soul and will make sacrifices to avoid causing each other to stumble and fall into compromising situations." How are you looking at him? How are you touching him? How are you acting in front of him to get his attention? How are you dressing to get his attention?
Spend some time considering 1 Corinthians 6: 18 - 20 ~ especially the end .... You are not your own; you were bought at a price {Jesus blood}. Therefore honor God with your body.
I'd say a definate NO. God didn't intend it that way. He intended it to be a very intimate time with your spouse and involving your emotions as well as your body.
When you have sex outside of marriage, you are involving your emotions and body ~ while trying NOT to involve your emotions. We weren't created that way.
Romans 1:24-27 talks a little about how God feels about casual sexual relationships. Yes, God could have stopped them .... but remember He wants us to make good choices because we want to ~ they in turn had to live with the consequences of their choices.
Take a look at 1 Thessalonians 4: 3 - 8 ... it talks about how we are to control our bodies in a way that is holy and honorable ~ and when we reject this instruction, we reject God. Those are some pretty strong words!
So, how do we handle being friends with guys?? Is it possible?? It is with some clear boundaries. Page 186-187 talk about this further ..... "Friends care about protecting each other's mind, heart, body and soul and will make sacrifices to avoid causing each other to stumble and fall into compromising situations." How are you looking at him? How are you touching him? How are you acting in front of him to get his attention? How are you dressing to get his attention?
Spend some time considering 1 Corinthians 6: 18 - 20 ~ especially the end .... You are not your own; you were bought at a price {Jesus blood}. Therefore honor God with your body.
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