Being in a relationship with someone you like can be exciting. The first time you hold hands, the first kiss. When you care for a person, kissing is not always enough. After a while it becomes old, and your body craves new excitement. Many times you find yourself in a predicament you later regret.
I had a friend who believed he could spend the night at a girlfriend’s house, sleep in her bed, and remain a virgin. He never could forgive himself for going too far. He’s not a drinker, but he ordered an alcoholic daiquiri the next time we went out. He said, “Well, it doesn’t matter. Why order a virgin? I’m no longer one any more.”
I remember I once dated a guy who was called to pastoral ministry. I was fond of him, and he often shared spiritual truths with me. He truly had a zeal for God but struggled with promiscuity. We were at his apartment, which was a big mistake! We began to kiss and fondle. He wanted to go all the way, so he pleaded with me to consent just this one time. I said, “No.”
“We could use a condom and go to
the altar to repent,” he said.
But I did not allow my physical cravings and his persistence to persuade me into becoming intimate. I did learn a valuable lesson: our sex drives cannot be taken lightly. A condom and asking for forgiveness does not excuse your sin against God. True repentance is confessing your faults, asking God to forgive you, and then turning from your sins. It’s not saying you’re sorry and the next month committing the same sin. This is not true repentance.
TEMPTATIONS Poem by Aaron Slaton Jr.
Temptations come and temptations go;
if I resist the bait I will stand tall and grow. If I fall prey to temptations then shame greets me; an unwanted guest here to humiliate me.
But I’m the one to blame if I mingle with temptations, hanging out in dark places time being wasted. Temptations come to get me off track; they tell me I’m missing out so I look back.
They tell me to hang out just for a little while. But if I go a couple of feet, it could turn to a couple of miles. If I hang for a few days it can turn into a few years, causing me to lose my focus and put GOD to the rear.
Selah: “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path” (Proverbs 4:25-26).
Words of the wise: “Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell.” -Leo Buscaglia”
This is an excerpt from Launch Out Into The Deep!
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