Being Yoked: Friends, Dating, Relationships.

I've been encountering something that I never thought would be such a big deal to me. As a Christian in the dating world, I never thought that dating an unbeliever would be an issue. I can understand that some people have an issue with God or are angry at Him or haven't encountered God in a real way yet. The closer I get to  God, and I believe the closer anyone gets to God, the more important this detail becomes. The main verses people use when referring to this are 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. To sum it up, a believer cannot be yoked equally with a non believer. Light has no reason to fellowship with the darkness. When you aren't fully leaning on God, this doesn't seem to make a difference. The more you lean on Him, the more these words make sense.

Another verse I found that makes sense for the dating world of Christians as well as all kinds of friendships and relationships; 1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived, "Bad company ruins good morals."" Doing what is wrong or bad is always easier than doing what is right and good. Even being friends with or dating someone who goes to church but isn't saved can be a problem. 2 Timothy 3:5 addresses this. Having a form of godliness but denying the power is to be avoided. Being choosy about who we keep close is good. This isn't to say that you can't have friends that aren't saved or who believe differently, otherwise how would you show the world the light? But the emotional investment you make in people is important to pay attention to.

Lastly, and this is something I don't want to address, but that is so important it really needs it's own post, but I want to be able to dedicate more attention to it later. So in passing, 2 Timothy 2:22 "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." This is a call to both pursue the fruits of the spirit instead of your own desires and to look for people who do the same. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. We are to control our bodies and use them for honor. (Summing up here.) And lastly to address this. 1 Corinthians 6:18, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." This should hit home so hard for us. The harm is done to ourselves. Not to someone else. In a world and time where sex is everywhere we look, it is in the TV shows we watch, the movies we see, the music we hear on the radio, and in commercials, we are so numb to these verses. They seem almost irrelevant to us. What is the big deal? We don't take responsibility for our sexuality. We see it as something fun. We see it as something that is expected by society. Something that is part of being in a relationship with someone. It is seen as normal to not be married and be having sex. As children of God, it should bother us more than it does. 

I'm not claiming to be perfect or to have all the answers or to be any better than anyone reading these words. But I know that I want to change. When you love God, you want to please God. Not disappoint Him. I want to please my God.

(Adding this in) I will mention that I'm dating someone who is not a believer and have many friends who don't believe as well. It hasn't affected the fact that I'm madly in love with Christ. I can't say they are always the easiest relationships to have or that we always agree on everything. 

More Pearls and A Bit on Beauty

Fear is faith in a lie.

The World doesn't read the Word, they read Christians.

Being a Christian means you are set apart from the world (Ephesians 5:1-2)

It is foolish to you, it is possible to me. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

You can't move forward when you are looking back. A tightrope walker never looks down.

Man's love is of man's life a thing apart
'Tis a woman's whole existance ~(Don't remember!)

The bible is a love story between God and His people. Christianity changes dramatically when we discover that it is a great romance. ~Captivating

Nature is not primarily functional, it is primarily beautiful.

Addictions are lovers of the heart. They are what we turn to instead of God. (Cigs, alcohol, facebook, internet in general, TV, etc) Our lovers have so intertwined themselves with our identity that to give them up feels like a personal death... we wonder if it is possible to live without them (The Sacred Romance)

These words are razors to my wounded heart- Shakespeare

We are not living in the world our souls were made for.

You are passionately loved by the God of the universe. You are passionately hated by His enemy.

God and Jesus thwart our plans for self-redemption. Or else we'll never turn fully to Him for help. (Hosea 2:6-7)  Captivating

We don't need to defend ourselves anymore. That's God's job. He is our Defender and Advocate. ~Captivating

We have to ask Christ to come and heal places in our hearts. He is a gentleman. If we still have them locked away....

For all the root of holiness is Romance.

Our changing relationship with God
             Clay-Potter
             Sheep-Shephard
             Servant-Master
             Child-Father
             Friends
             Bride-Bridegroom

If there is a space in our heart that only God can fill, there is a space in God's heart only I can fill, only you can fill.

Women are a mystery. Not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to enjoy.

Forced, striving beauty is no beauty to behold.

To let your defenses down is to let beauty step forward.

Do not give way to fear. (1 Peter 3:6)

A garden's beauty doesn't diminish with age; rather it takes years for it to become all that it can become. Such is with a tree, and with a person. ~Captivating

Beauty is a quality of the soul that expresses itself in the visible world.

Restoration has begun.

True femininity calls forth true masculinity.

If you would be loved, be loveable. ~Ovid

It is one thing to suffer. It is far worse to walk alongside one you love who is suffering intensely and be unable to do anything about it.

The heart is deceitful above all things. Jeremiah 17:9

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col 3:2)

Ramblings of a Smoldering Believer: Jesus Wins!

I had a moment recently where I had to remind myself that Satan does not win. God triumphs. We have the end to read and when you read it, Jesus wins. It has been as though I've been fighting a battle for the last few weeks, one that I don't feel I have been winning. However, as a child of God; as a born again believer; as a person who is looking forward to an eternity in Heaven, I shouldn't have the concerns I do. Most believers shouldn't.

I'm not saying I'm perfect and that having this revelation means that I'll automatically be able to control the concerns I have and be able to just throw everything to God and press on. I'd love it if it was that easy, but it is something I'll have to work on and that believers everywhere have to work on. We have an amazing Father in Heaven who loves us so very dearly. So much so that He didn't want us to perish in the pits of Hell. He wants us to be able to come home to Heaven one day, so He defeated Satan through His Son. What greater way to show the love He has for us? Do we truly grasp that love? I don't believe we do . I know I don't. Writing this makes me have an awe of that love. I'm known as a loving person and I still don't grasp that love.

Knowing this, I really want to be able to walk in that love. To know the depth of that love and be able to express that love to other people. What a great feat that would be! To show the love of God to other people. People who don't know that love! It blows my mind.

It also blows my mind that people who go to church and are "Christians" can be so unexcited, so 'blah' about this! So unexcited about Christ in general! The believers are sleeping! Now this doesn't apply to EVERY believer. It isn't a catch all. I know there are people who are madly in love with Christ and who are on fire and see and have the passion for Christ, but where are they all hiding? Where are they scattered? They exist and they fight to be able to hold on to that fire in the company of so many lukewarm believers.

The ramblings of a smoldering believer.