Today is a full day, followed by a full week, Father. May I keep it all together in a way that would please You and impact others for Your Kingdom. Amen.
1 Corinthians 7:1-11 (<<click here to read the passage)
Today’s text is most definitely a thorny one! It deals with our sexual relationships. Already, some of you are probably squirming in your seats. Some talk about sex with great freedom and way too much detail for many around them. While to others, it is a taboo subject that is difficult even in private marital relationships.
Regardless of how we feel about it, we are all touched by it. Our world is replete with sex in all of its many forms, both pure and perverted. We live in a hyper-sex-driven world, and it is nigh impossible not to be impacted by it. TV, the internet, magazines, email, music, Facebook, movies, our attire – most things, if not everything, are laden with sex in all of its many facets! Innuendo and winks of suggestion are all around us.
How in the world can we avoid being impacted in a negative way? We can’t very well curl ourselves up into a ball and avoid it all and still have an impact for You, Lord Jesus, in the world we live in daily.
The battle and determined goal, then, is to be holy as You are holy. Being holy means to be set apart. Being “like You” means being “different from the world.” (biblehub.com) Your Word clearly calls us to sexual purity. I am called to love You with all of my heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love others as I love myself (Luke 10:27). To be very clear here, this is to be Your definition of love, not the world’s. So, if I am to fulfill the command to love, I will not do anything that would make me hurt someone else from a sexual perspective. Not taking physical action sexually is probably the easy part for most of us, but even thinking sexual thoughts is harmful outside the context of marital relationships. It is detrimental to us, and if it became known to our spouses or any other party to whom we are having sexual thoughts, it would be detrimental to them as well. Those kinds of thoughts and actions do not bring about love.
We must protect ourselves and, as we are well aware, this is impossible without the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to get ourselves into the habit of praying without ceasing to seek the Lord’s protection in this area of our lives. It’s not that He won’t protect us if we neglect to pray, but a big part of it is by praying about it, it keeps our hearts and minds focused in the right direction – toward God and not the world.
Lord Jesus, help us set ourselves apart from the world’s ways. May we influence the world, and stand firm in not letting the world influence us!
Oct 30th, 2023, Mon, 12:55 pm
