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You Don't Need a Man to Push the Play Button for Your Life to Begin By Sheri Rose Shepherd
I'm not sure what you've walked through or who holds the key to your heart, but if you will hand that key to the Lord, you will find the safe place you're longing for. Your security will no longer be based on others' actions. Even those who love you the most don't know how to love you the way your Lord does. Just listen to His promise in Revelation 21:4: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."
If you're married . . . I know it's hard to say "I do" and "I will" when you have stood in the gap for your marriage and believed God for restoration—and it hasn't happened.
The truth is, you are a beautiful chosen bride of Christ, and in this life there will be trouble. But you have a real Prince. His name is Jesus, and He has felt every pain you've ever experienced. He endured rejection and crucifixion so you would have the power to finish your life on earth and have everlasting life with Him in heaven.
Yes, we want to pray for our men, and we want to empower them with our words, our actions, our influence, and our prayers. But we cannot allow any man on this earth to keep us from the ultimate relationship with our Lord. There is such security for our hearts when we fall for the One who gave His life for ours.
Please know that I am not in any way encouraging you to divorce your husband to follow Christ. But you don't have to wait for your husband to change before you begin changing the world around you.
For more teaching videos from Sheri Rose, go to www.biblelifecoaching.com. |
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Fighting to Find the Benefits and Blessings of Purity
Run from sexual sin! No
other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual
immorality is a sin against your own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
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By Sheri Rose Shepherd
Bestselling Author and Bible Life Coach |
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When
I was a new Christian, it never occurred to me to change the way I
dressed or flirted; after all, I was single, so why shouldn't I dress
the way I wanted and get whatever attention I could? I had worked hard
to lose over fifty pounds and get in shape. I was finally thin for the
first time.
Then one day, about a year into my walk with God, my young singles
pastor came up to me after our church service and politely asked me if I
could come to church dressed more modestly. He told me I was
distracting him and some of the young men in our group from focusing on
God. I know it took every ounce of courage he had to confront me and
help me understand how men struggle, and even though I was a bit
embarrassed and slightly offended, I'm glad he took a chance and told me
the truth.
We have no idea the major internal battle that goes on inside our men
when it comes to women. The truth is, sex and women hold the key to
unlock a beast inside of them. Deep down inside, our men are screaming
for some relief from all the overstimulation and sensual battles that
war against their souls every day. Even those men who desire purity are
forced to fight for it because of all the women who flirt and flash
their flesh to get attention. Even our beloved King David, a warrior who
was strong enough to stand before a giant, could not withstand
temptation when he saw Bathsheba naked in the bathtub. The interesting
thing about this story is that Bathsheba was unaware she was even
tempting David. Bathsheba was in her own home, taking a bath in her own
yard, but when David's eyes saw her flesh, he lost his strength and
forgot who he was: a God-appointed king. Once he lost his moral compass,
he lost his senses. He caved to his craving for her and then set up her
husband to be killed on the battlefield so his own sin wouldn't be
exposed.
David's moment of weakness had tragic consequences as the baby conceived
by Bathsheba died. But even more tragic was that a piece of David's
soul died that day, and the passion he once had to be a heroic man never
did fully return.
Our hearts' desire is for men to know how to connect to our hearts, but
we make it difficult for them when we blind them with our bodies. We
know how to grab their attention, but in the process are we trading what
we want most, which is a real love relationship with them? Feeling sexy
is fun, but what is the cost when we force men to fight temptation?
Somehow it seems the price that we pay to get attention is not worth it.
And it's really out of control when a man cannot even attend church
because the women are distracting him from worshiping.
Look at the influence the first lady in the human race had. Her craving
led Adam to follow her into disobeying God. Eve saw something that was
pleasing to the eye, and she wanted it more than she wanted to obey God.
She ended up taking her husband down with her, and the Fall occurred.
Today the "fall of families" is an epidemic. We are losing our moral men
of faith by the masses while pornography and human trafficking are out
of control. Our men are forced to look at our flesh, whether they want
to or not. They don't even have to seek it on the Internet; all they
have to do is walk out their doors. Is it any wonder they are struggling
to remain pure? Something has to change, and it has to start with us.
How will our sons and daughters find the strength to remain pure and
experience a pure love if no one leads the way?
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