Just 10 Seconds

10 – We were kissing and touching, and now he has dropped his pants. 

 

9 – This will make my body feel good.

 

8 – What about herpes, HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and other STDs?

 

7 – He looks fine, but I don’t know if he has a STD.

 

6 – What if I get pregnant?

 

5 – Are these few minutes of pleasure worth a possible lifetime of consequences?

 

4 – But my flesh is weak. I want to feel good.  I don’t want to him to think I don’t like him.

 

3 – If this guy loves and respects me so much, then he would respect my values and not try to score.

 

2 –Is my relationship with God worth a few minutes of pleasure with this dude?

 

1 – If I do this, I am giving him a precious gift and allowing him inside of me.

 

0 – STOP!!

 

            You have allowed him to move past first and second base with you.  He is on third base now. He is looking at the home plate and ready to score.  Do you want him to make a score on you?  Do you want to be another girl in his game? He is on your turf.  This is your body. You make the calls.  You determine the plays. You can stop him from scoring.  Don’t just let him slide onto home plate. Take 10 seconds to think. During these 10 seconds, ask yourself are these few minutes of pleasure worth STDs, pregnancy or emotional distress.  Is he worthy of getting something so precious and valuable when he has not made a covenant before God to be with you for a lifetime for better or worse?

 

            There are many reasons why God does not want His children to have sex outside of marriage (premarital sex and extramarital affairs). He is not trying to prevent us from experiencing pleasure or having fun, he is protecting us from the consequences. (Read my blog “Let’s Talk about Sex: Part 1” for more.) Although every child is a blessing from the Lord (Psalms 139:13-16), unplanned pregnancy means you have to make major life changes.  STDs negatively affect your health.  You become one, physically and spiritually, with your sexual partner each time you engage in sex (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).  Are you ready to for these results?

 

             Our bodies belong to God, for he is our creator.  Our bodies are also the Temple for God’s Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  King Solomon built a Temple for the Lord which was mighty, beautiful and adorned with gold and precious jewels.  The people came to the Temple to worship and bring their sacrifices for the Lord (1 Kings 6-8).  Since God sent his son, Jesus, as a Holy Sacrifice for all, those of us who believe and accept Jesus are Temples for God’s Holy Spirit. Our bodies are also living sacrifices to the Lord. (Romans 12:1). When you have sex outside of marriage, you are defiling God’s Temple.  What happened when the Kings chose to defile the Temple of the Lord by worshipping idol gods and doing evil? God allowed the kingdoms to be destroyed if they did not turn from their wicked ways (1 Kings 9:2-9, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles). Don’t set yourself up for eternal damnation in hell.  Make a choice today to keep your Temple sacred and pleasing to the Lord. 

 

              You are beautiful because you are God’s Temple.  You are worthy, for God loved you so much that He brought you for a high price. If you find yourself in a moment of weakness, take 10 seconds to think about your actions and the consequences. As my mom once told me, God always provides a way out of temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Take the way out.  Prevent him from scoring. Stop the game. Your body is sacred, precious and valuable because you belong to Christ.

 

"Where Have You Been?"

      It has been a year since I wrote a blog.  As I began my journey with Eloise Ministries, I entered a state of confusion.  Many questions went through my head. What should I really be doing as a career?  Where should I take Eloise Ministries?  Can I have a career in ministry?  How will I make a living?  Then I felt that I was unable to execute the ideas that I had for the ministry at the time.  I secretly sought help from others.  I believed that by watching and learning from others in ministry, I will be better prepared to lead Eloise Ministries.  There were a couple problems with my actions. 1. People are imperfect beings.  As long as I continue to depend on people, then I will continue in a state of confusion. 2. The ministry God gave me has been given to me and not anyone else.  What I failed to do was to let God guide me.  If I had let God guide me, I would have not entered the state of confusion. God is not a God of confusion, but a God of order and peace.

    During the past year, I have grown spiritually and emotionally.  I have learned to put into practice to seek God's face first on any decision and wait for Him to answer.  An answer may appear in unexpected places or people.  Many times the answer is a sense of peace in a situation.  No fear. No worry.  Peace.  The devil likes for us to be in the state of confusion so that we can be knocked off the path that God has for us.  The devil knows that God's path leads to greatness and an increase in His kingdom.  My goal is to continue on God's path for me even though I know it will not be easy.  I am expecting people to discourage me.  I am expecting people to hate on me.  I am expecting hardships in executing ideas.  I am also expecting to defeat all the discouragement, hate and hardships because I have God on my side.  If God is for me, then who can be against me (Romans 8:31).  All things are possible because of my belief in God.  (Mark 9:23)

   Because we are human, you may get into this state of confusion and delusion as I did.  Please do not stay in that state.  God can bring you out it if you just seek Him.   You can seek God by bringing your cares and concerns to Him in prayer.  Then read and meditate on the Word of God.  You will get your answers.  You will begin to see your next step.  You will no longer be confused, but will have joy.  Your joy will change your perspective, your outlook, and your situation.  Ultimately, you will have peace.

   I am looking forward to writing more blogs and letting God use me as he pleases to do His work.

Let's Talk About Sex Baby: Part 1

"It feels so good, but I know I shouldn't." 

"Maybe I will get attention from that fine boy in school if I wear the short skirt today." 

"We are just kissing.  It won't lead to anything." 

"He can't have an STD. He seems so smart, and he goes to church."

"I am not sleeping with many men, just my boyfriend.  We have been together for a long time, and he loves me.  So I am not sinning." 

I heard an alarming statistic recently that made me want to address this topic.  One of three teenage girls get pregnant. That means that more than 33% of teenage girls are sexually active.  We all know there are several consequences to having sex (protected or unprotected): pregnancy, stds, emotional changes and self-esteem issues. When I was growing up, sex was a taboo topic within the church.  The church just said sex is wrong and that was it.  The truth is that God created sex for reproduction (Genesis 1:28) and pleasure in marriage (Song of Solomon).  Sex is not bad when used within the purpose given by our creator. Yet fornication, illicit sexual intercourse, is in the Bible 26 times. Why does the Bible talk so much about fornication? (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)  God is not trying to deny us from pleasures, he wants to protect us from the consequences that he knows will happen if we indulge in sex outside of its created purpose. 

The quotations at the beginning of the article are thoughts that can lead to fornication or continously indulging in premarital sex.  I believe that these thoughts can be changed.  I believe that young people can be abstinant.  Even if you are not a virgin, you can practice abstinence. You may be thinking, I tried abstinence before and it didn't work or how can I practice celibacy when I already know how good sex makes me feel.  Megan Good is a great celebrity example of someone who became celibate (View article through link below).  You have to decide what is more important: your body and your relationship with Christ or the few moments of pleasure.  The few moments of pleasure can lead to consequences that can change the rest of your life.

Self-control, one of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), is an answer to avoiding fornication.  Believe or not, you have control over your thoughts and actions.  Remember the WWJD bracelets that were so popular a few years ago? Well, when you start thinking about that fine man that you want so bad, think WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?)  When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus said "Be gone Satan." (Matthew 4:10 ESV).  Remember if you have God's Holy Spirit in you, you have the power of God in you.  So you can say "Be gone Satan," and he will flee.

I know it may seem easier said than done because we are constantly in war with our fleshly desires.    You have to make up in your mind that you want to please God more than you want to please your momentary desire or your boyfriend.  You have to make a decision that your body is worthy of someone who loves you and will make a covenant of marriage before the Lord. When I made the decision to obey God and become a minister, I knew that I had to also take a vow of celibacy.  I definitely do not want to be a minister of the Gospel while struggling with controlling sexual desires. It is more important for me to be in right relationship with Christ than to fulfill my fleshly desires.  I am fortunate to date a man of God who also feels the same way.  There are several things you can do to apply self-control.  Some of the things we do are (1) not spend nights at each other's place and (2) no kissing (other than a peck) and feeling each other.  Basically we avoid situations that will lead to sex.   If Megan Good, myself, and others can do it, you can do it too.  Please feel free to share your story of celibacy or how to apply self-contol.


Megan Good Article
(http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/2012/05/meagan-good-swears-off-sex-until-marriage/)

Welcome!!

Welcome to Phenomenal Destinies blog.  My name is Angel Lee, and I am the Founder of Eloise Ministries, Inc.  Eloise Ministries, Inc. is an outreach ministry with a mission to serve the community through ministering the Word of God to all people and providing assistance to those who have little or no access to shelter and food to survive.  Phenomenal Destinies is a program under the ministry whose mission is to increase the number of successful women leaders globally.  In order to become a successful leader of others, one must first be a leader of herself.  This means that she should know how to deal with issues that life brings her way. Fortunately the Bible instructs us on how to deal with every issue. Thus the purpose of this blog is to discuss real world situations that women face and how to deal with them in a Godly manner.  My wish is that we discuss and learn how to deal with relationships, bullying, domestic violence, drugs, sex, health, fitness, careers, time management, money and other life situations that affect women today.  I don't claim to be an expert in any topic. However, I plan to introduce each topic using personal experiences, research and the Bible.  You will have the opportunity to continue the discussion by adding your comment.  I ask that each person be respectful when commenting, for the goal is to help one another grow in the Lord.   Look forward to all the things God has in store for the readers and those who participate in this blog.