Angelic Visitation Testimony

A friend of mine, who used to be cessationist, was visited by an angel. This is his testimony:

Before our youngest was born, we went for the 21 week ultrasound and they were very concerned about some things they found, and referred us to UAB hospital. We got lots of bad news over the next several months until her birth. During that time we were so scared and unsure about everything. It was a faith crisis because every time we would go back for more scans it seemed our prayers weren’t being answered. One night during that time, my wife and I both had separate dreams on the same night. We’re both not really sure if we were dreaming or if we were awake and in a sleepy stuper and seeing in the spirit. She dreamed that a large snake slithered into our room and up on the bed, headed to her womb. We had gotten a word about the baby early in the pregnancy and really felt that the medical issues were an attack on her life, so she woke up in so much fear that she even went to check on the other kids. I was oblivious to what happened with her until the next morning when we talked about it. I told her that same night I had a dream where I “woke up” and saw a huge shining figure in the right corner of our bedroom, near the door. It was like the ceiling wasn’t there because he towered high above it. The clothing he wore was like shining armor except it flowed like fabric in the wind. The metallic fabric emitted the purest white light I’ve ever seen. I could never really see his face. I tried to look at it, but it was like I couldn’t focus on it. Almost like I wasn’t allowed to see it or something. He had a huge sword and held it in front of him at an angle. Then it was like it zoomed in on the sword and scanned it up and down so I’d get a really good look. Then it was all gone. We both woke up and began to tell each other of our experiences that night. We were blown away and so encouraged! What’s funny is, the morning prior I had a waking dream in the middle of the night and heard someone knocking at the door. Then heard the words, “You’re going to have a visitor.” I responded, “A bad visitor?” Then God chuckled and said, “Of course not!” Then we had the snake and angel the next night! About a month later, our youngest was born. The doctors were perplexed that they had “misdiagnosed” her so badly. She was perfectly healthy except for a minor kidney issue that was fixed with a minor procedure at 6 months old.

The visitation we had strengthened our faith and our worry went down a lot! We haven’t shared it with many people because it’s just weird to people, you know? Dreams were a huge part of my discovery of Holy Spirit and getting to know God as a Father. More than anything, His voice, via spoken prophecy and even dreaming, revealed His heart to me and the relationship became personal. This all started just a few years ago. I was kind of cessationist, and thought the gift of the Spirit just happened in the Bible, before I started having these encounters with God. There’s just something about EXPERIENCING God that is missing in the church. Encounter comes first, then identity, then purpose! We are doing our part to build that kind of church culture.

Natural Father vs Father God

notesWhile visiting friends at the beach, I went to a Sunday service that blew me away. Coast Community, in Gulf Breeze, FL, preached it much better, but since I used this for staff devo at my new job, I figured I’d share it with y’all too 🙂

Click here to download FREE, print ready, fill in the blank sermon notes. Preview:

 



1. God is
Our Father

What person on the planet got here without having a father?

– Mal. 2:10 – Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?

– Gen. 1:27 – God created mankind in his own image

God made the natural to explain the supernatural. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have a natural father, as we wouldn’t be here without God, our Father. Now, everyones fathers may have a different level of involvement; many people have a close relationship with their father, while others have an absent sperm donor, or worse–one that’s abusive. Our earthly fathers, whether for good or bad, shape our views of the heavenly father. Because of this, we must seek to see God, in truth, for who He really is; separating who He is from what sinful man has taught us about him. He’s not just father of Christians. He’s father of all mankind. We all have the ‘genetic’ nature; however, we don’t all have the nurtured character, which only comes from relationship with the father. Since there are so many broken homes in America, most of our views of relationships are skewed. One myth, we tend to believe, is that:

Myth: God is unreasonable

– Gen. 3:1 – Satan said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from ANY tree in the garden’?”

Satan wants us to believe that God doesn’t want us to have ANYthing, but that’s not true. Most of our earthly fathers gave us gifts, but one Christmas, did you have something you desired that you didn’t find under the tree? Are we grateful for the things our Father has given us, or do we let that one thing drive us away from him? Is it unreasonable to give us an ENTIRE garden, and yet ask us not to eat from a single tree? Is it unreasonable to create sex for our enjoyment, and ask us to not have sex outside of marriage? No. His laws are for OUR benefit, not His. He knows that sex can damage us, cause deep grief, that many people would commit suicide over the loss of relationship, and many would not be able to connect whole heartedly to their spouse after having sex before marriage. Remember that:

2. God is A Compassionate Father

– 2 Cor. 1:3-4 – Blessed be… the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction

Is God only good to Christians? No, He’s good to EVERYONE.

– Ps. 145:9 – The Lord is good to ALL: and his tender mercies are over ALL His works.

We just saw that God created everyone, so you understand that you’re a work of God, right? This verse tells us that his tender mercies are over ALL of His works. Now, sometimes we don’t feel like we’ve had much of that tender mercy. When you’re seperated from the Father, it’s easy to misconstrue who He is. When we decide we’re tired of being seperated from our Father, and we seek His face, we find out that:

– Lam. 3:22 – His compassions never fail

– 1 Tim. 6:17 – God… richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment

But the child who is away from the Father believes the myth that:

Myth: God is unreliable

– Jam. 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or change.

How can God be unreliable if he never changes?

– Ps. 59:10 (TLB) – My God is CHANGELESS in his love for me

Changeless in His love for me? I thought if I messed up it meant I’d be abused, beaten, and called ‘worthless’? I thought if I asked a question it’d be seen as challenging his authority, worthy of the cat of 9 tails? You mean even if my earthly father was a gracious one, those few times he didn’t tend to my wounds doesn’t even portray God? My God is changeless in His love and His compassion never fails? Do my beliefs line up with that?

– Gen. 3:4 (TLB) – “That’s a lie!” the serpent hissed.

– Ps. 33:4 – the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

– Rom. 11:29 – God NEVER changes His mind about the people He calls and the things He gives them.

His decisions aren’t based on our ability to do right or wrong. And God doesn’t do things without reason; if he gave you life, it’s because you have a purpose. This verse promises us that we can’t mess it up. He will always fulfill and redeem the purpose on our lives.

– Rom. 12:2 – Don’t conform to the world’s way or beliefs. Instead, renew your mind, so you know what God’s will is and what His character is like.

His will is always good, pleasing and perfect; giving us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11).

Instability in children’s lives causes insecurity. We should all be secure children, since our heavenly Father is changeless. He won’t turn on the winds of emotion. The only way to renew your mind is to hear, study, believe, and apply the word of God. We must renew our mind, to believe that:

God is an Attentive Father

– Luke 12:7 – even all the hairs on your head have been counted!

– Ps. 139:16 – Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be

He wrote down every second, of every day, of my life?! That sounds attentive!

– Ps. 56:8 – You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

So God wrote the book on my life, before I was ever born, and knew all the tears I would shed? God is love and love only exists in freedom. Our freewill causes us much sorrow, as we chose to go the wrong way–a rebellious life away from our Father and his rules. Maybe it wasn’t us that made the wrong choice? Maybe it was our family members who were choosing to do wrong. God doesn’t take away our freedom, in fear that we’ll make the wrong choice. He allows us to make wrong choices, but He’s grieved right along side us. But your tears are so important to Him that he saves every single one. We can’t believe the myth that:

Myth: God is unconcerned with me

– Jer. 17:9-10 – The heart is… desperately sick; Who can understand it? “Yet I, the Lord, search it out

– David said in Ps. 139:1 – you have examined my heart, God, and know everything about me

– Paul stated in Rom. 8:27 (MSG) – He knows us FAR BETTER than we even know ourselves

God calls us his beloved. While human infatuation statistically lasts 12-18 months, God has a sleepless and lasting infatuation lasting through eternity. While we sleep, He’s up all night thinking of us:

– Ps. 139:17-18 (MSG) – How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me CONSTANTLY! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!

God isn’t using up all those thoughts condemning us or judging us… he is in love with us. Every thought is praising us, building us up, and watching our steps as His plan unfolds–insuring that the enemies plans are turned toward our favor

3. God is Gracious

– Eph. 1:4 – we are blameless in His sight

– Heb. 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Some of our fathers probably got mad at us during our time of need. They blamed us or left us to figure things out alone. Perhaps, in their eyes, we couldn’t do anything right. But it’s a myth that:

Myth: God is unpleasable

The truth is that God has accepted you (Rom. 15:7).

– Rom. 8:28-29 – GOD works all things together for the good of those who love Him

GOD works all things for our good, not you work all things out for your good… becuase if we try to work things out, Satan would be at the core of it, working all those things together for the bad. The Bible says, if you aren’t for God, you’re against Him (Luke 11:23). God has a plan for our lives, just as Satan does. Satan’s plan is to steal, kill, and destroy everything in our lives, while Jesus’ plan is to give us a future, hope, and work everything for our benefit. We can mess up a lot, but God never leaves us. It’s us that choose whether we are going to talk to the Father that’s right beside us, or if we are going to give Him the silent treatment. If we choose to return to the Father and get to know him for who he really is, He will work all our mess into something beautiful. But we have to surrender to His authority and allow Him to take control. His laws aren’t burdensome (1 John 5:3).

– Col. 1:22 – when you return to the Father, He reconciles you… without blemish and free from accusation

Luke 15:17-24 – When he came to his senses, he said… ‘I will set out and go back to my father’… But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.



Prayer:
God, thank you that your ways are higher than our ways; and that you don’t mimic or resemble the world. Instead you call us up to heavenly places, where peace and love reside. You know our pains, experienced our weaknesses, and always have us on your mind. Free us today of any lies or myths our parents and culture have burdened us with. Take us back to the places of pain, and let us see them with new eyes… asking you to show us where you were in that moment. Let your spirit show us, and set the captives free, loosing our hearts to love you and others in a greater measure. Continue to reveal your true nature to us and help us accept the fullness of your love, acceptance, and pleasure in us; knowing that every single thought, you have about us, is good.

The Kingdom of God – 7 Mountains

The Seven Mind Molders of Culture
The Seven Mountains

– Rev. 17:9,14 – This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules… They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.

The Kingdom of God - The 7 Mountains

1)Arts/Entertainment, 2)Government, 3)Media/News, 4)Education, 5)Religion, 6)Business, 7)Family

These 7 mountains make up the kingdom of God, but unfortunately the church has not claimed the kingdom yet. God is ruler of everything in heaven, and its our job to help lift Him up as king on earth. We need to disperse from our fortress on the religion mountain, and go take the others.


Peter casts the nets

As a whole, the church isn’t affecting cultural transformation like Jesus did. Why?

Jesus called us to make disciples of nations, but instead we are trying to make disciples of individuals. Our influence is severely limited through this method. If we, instead, went into the systems of the nations, we could win souls more abundantly. Jesus said, ‘follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ Jesus didn’t teach Peter to fish with a rod, but with a net. Peter brought in fish by the boat load. As long as we continue our current method, with a rod with a one fish capacity, we will not be able to claim the Kingdom that Christ gave to us.

So, how do we operate in the full extent of the Kingdom? How do we make disciples of nations?


– 1 Sam. 9:16 – Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines

– 1 Sam. 10:1,5 – Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?… Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is

Saul was told to go to the mountain of God to save God’s people from the Philistines on the mountain. Why were Philistines on God’s mountain? That’s what we should be asking ourselves. Christ came to preach the coming of The Kingdom; He made us kings, told us to go out and proclaim the kingdom, but we aren’t! There are Philistine giants on the mountain of God. They are ruling the mountain of Arts, Family, Religion, Government, Education, Media, & Business. These mountains are rightfully ours for the taking, but we have to go into ALL the world and claim these realms. Where the church used to go into territories, we now need to go into systems. At the moment we are stuck in the system of religion, and allowing Philistines to rule all the others…

You are a Royal Priesthood

You are the royal priesthood. We go before God’s presence for the world. We invite them in to see His face.

– Matt. 10:7 – And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

– Rev. 5:10 – And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth

– 1 Peter 2:9 – you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation

We are God’s children and He gives us His authority to reign on the earth. We are royals, with His power, to go forth and claim the mountains of His kingdom. He gave us dominion. He gave us the gifts, abilities, wisdom of His Spirit (who is God Himself) to do so.

– Zech. 14:9 – And the Lord will be king over all the earth

– 1 Cor. 10:26 – The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it

– Rev. 4:10 – They lay their crowns before the throne and say:You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

The Earth is the Lords, and everything in it

Everything here belongs to our God, and He has made us kings. We are to take these 7 mountains and occupy them, giving God our crowns, our power, and allowing Him to lead what is rightfully His. We can only do this by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. As long as we reject the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we have no power to take the kingdom. A King puts forth the power to claim His own kingdom. The Spirit of God lives in every believer, but we have to yield to the power of it to see God move on the earth.

– Luke 19:12-13 (MSG&KJV) – There was once a man descended from a royal housewent to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then returnBut first he called ten servants together, gave them each a sum of money, and instructed them, ‘Occupy until I return.’

Jesus went to heaven to receive the kingdom. He left us in charge and told us to occupy the mountains until His return.


Christians haven’t left the ‘Religion’ mountain to go into all the world, and so Christians haven’t affected the world. Homosexuality, however, has successfully transcended in America because it took all 7 mountains. They put the right characters on tv, and in the arts to entertain us. Government leaders have now tailored their speeches around the topic to gain votes. They saturated the other mountains so heavily, that even some Christians, on the religion mountain, are succumbing to the gay agenda. Same sex advocates have discipled a nation in the same 20 years that Christians were seeking revival. They succeeded because they didn’t aim only at the church. We haven’t succeeded, but even Islam has discipled 7+ nations in the past 50 years. Muslims and Buddhist are modeling nations based on religion. America thankfully has separation of church and state, but we still need to do our part to help our nation. The church will never see revival unless they leave the church…

David plays harp as tending sheep

Many of us are not called to stay in the mountain of religion. Yes, believe in Christ and don’t ‘leave’ your church, but go into all the world! Jesus gave you gifts and talents to use to bring glory to Him. Your gifts are meant for all people, not just the church. It’s the sick that need a doctor, right?

Let’s look at David. He believed in God, but we also saw him in the:
– business mountain – managing sheep
– arts mountain – playing the harp for a king
– business mountain – as he took on Goliath
– media mountain – as his fame spread, and people glorified his expertise
– government mountain – as he became king
– arts mountain – using the arts to advance on the mountain of education

David was successful, because he understood the kingdom of God. He climbed the religion mountain, but he didn’t camp out there; he took God to the other mountains. If we want to be successful, we should learn from him. We need to figure out our purpose, and which mountain God has called us to. We need to climb to the top of that mountain and proclaim him. We can trust Him to get us to the top.


Marketing to the target audience (the unbeliever):
1.
 Nations instead of souls (souls come with nations)
2. Now instead of eternity
3. Natural (secular) instead of the spiritual
4. Teaching (covertly) instead of preaching (overtly)

This is the gospel of the kingdom as opposed to the gospel of only salvation. If you want to penetrate world systems, don’t advertise prematurely what your agenda is, because you have enough challenges without waving a red flag that makes people twice as upset with you about where you’re going. You need to establish preeminence in your field and then you can unveil your theology.

Well, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel’! Yes, but it is also written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ — the things God has prepared for those who love him (1Cor.2:9).’ 

Esther

1. God had a plan first. He prepared. No one saw, heard, or had the idea of it. He later revealed these things to those who fell in love with Him.

2. ‘Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. (Matt.7:6)’ No wise person reveals the depth of themselves to their enemies. If the enemy attacks your victories, they will definitely mock your failures. We are meant to reveal ourselves to those who we are in relationships with. It’s good to have friends in all walks of life. We don’t have to talk, strictly, only to Christians. Jesus talked to sinners, and to those that accepted Him, He shared with them who He was and taught them His ways.

3. Esther didn’t reveal herself too soon. She was not ashamed, but she had a goal. She did not reveal her goal to her enemy. She revealed the thing at the moment that it would help the most people, and she revealed to the one who loved her (her husband, King Xerxes).

4. Duck Dynasty, the tv show, said they weren’t going to get religious on the show until they had a big following. They understand this principle. Love is most important–Love is God. After someone loves you, they begin to respect you. It is inside of respectful relationships that we start to unveil who we are.

5. Daniel didn’t ask Nebuchadnezzar to be circumcised or worship the jewish God. Daniel simply followed God, and Nebuchadnezzar followed suite. Neb pushed his nation to learn about this God, after Daniels God had proven himself true. Neb said, ‘There is no other god who can rescue like this! (Dan.3:29)’ 

6. Joseph was at the top of the family mountain, but he fell. His experience on the mountain of religion, and education, brought him up in the business & government mountains. Joseph helped Pharaoh first, then Pharaoh wanted to know more about his family. Because Joseph had spread out over all the mountains, when the family mountain fell, he was able to concentrate his efforts on the other mountains with God given success. Likewise, we don’t invest in just one thing, but many things, in case one fails. God never fails, but sometimes the church(religion) does.

Power In The Holy Spirit

Joseph was a prime example that: When you have established your credibility, people will start coming to you for wisdom. We don’t have to put a giant christian label on everything. We need to be strategic about how we can get to the unbeliever. A dog can be a loving creature, but once its stuck in a barbed wire fence it will be fierocous. You cannot approach a wounded animal head on or it will attack. The better option is to come up from behind it and gently break it free from the death trap. Our goal is to bring life, but they don’t yet trust us, so we need to be strategic about this interaction.

Joseph was doing dream interpretation, for scenario planning in an economic forecast, for a government. He wasn’t in the church interpreting peoples dreams. Get out of the church and go into all the world to use your gifts, which are given to you so you can walk in your God ordained destiny.


Covert: not openly acknowledged or displayed
Overt: done or shown openly; plainly or readily apparent, not secret or hidden

Many successful Bible people were on a covert operation. We need people in the music and arts who don’t slap a christian label on everything. We need them to use the arts to teach biblical principles covertly; and show people who God is once they start digging in to see who the musician/artist truly are. We reveal more about ourselves as people grow into a more intimate position.

– Mal. 3:10 – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

We should be brainstorming together as a community of believers. We should be funding covert operations, for the unbeliever, with tithes. To get the increase, we have to invest in those who are not already in the church.


For more on the 7 mountains, listen to Dr. Lance Wallnau’s powerful teaching

Here are some covert musicians:
Firework, by Katy Perry (turned down by the Christian music industry)
Re-Bel, by Head (former lead singer of Korn turned Christian)
Bring Me To Life, by Evanescence 

Remember who you are

Prayer: Lord, some have taken the mountains and fallen away. Don’t let them give up on you; bring Katy Perry back. Cause people who already sit on the mountain to see your power and turn to you; raise up more people like Head. Raise up Daniels, Josephs, and Esthers in government to take the kingdom. Raise up people willing to take the truth into news and media. Raise up journalist to seek out truth and fight to make it public. Give them the money needed to take truth to the nations. Cause the sinners wealth to pass to the godly. Release the gifts of the Spirit and bring words of wisdom (1Cor.12), words of knowledge, and strategic business plans to them. Give us wisdom beyond ourselves through the Spirit, the very mind of God. The same mind that created the universe lives inside of us. Activate new solutions, ideas, creativity, entertainment that brings you glory and shows all the world who you are. Position creatives in the movie industry to reach specific groups. Raise up people with a strategy to infiltrate the porn industry, bars, and gangs. Help Alabama come up with solutions to take down anger, immorality, and murder. Thank you for local farmer markets and grocery stores returning to natural, unadulterated foods. Cause more companies like TOMS to find creative solutions to help those in need. Make these companies the head and not the tail. Convert these mega companies who exploit. Cause justice and righteousness to rise. Cause people to get sick of the condition of their relationships and turn back to you and your ways. Set the family mountain in order again. Open the eyes of Christians to help us see the true you and tear down anything in the church that opposes you. Cause the body to rise up and take its rightful place again.

Simba takes his rightful place as king

Because I Said So

'Because I said so'

‘Because I said so’

No child likes hearing the phrase: ‘Because I said so.’

This phrase can work with a child who knows, and trusts, their parents, but it is not a great response for a child who lacks relational connection to their parents.

‘Because God said so‘ can, occasionally, be an okay answer for a Christian who trusts God, but to an unbeliever it is like eating fire; likewise, to a disconnected child it is going to mean absolute rebellion.

Rules without Relationship = Rebellion

Rules without Relationship = Rebellion

Many children who have been abused, whether emotionally, physically, or sexually, have a hard time trusting authority. Something as simple as not spending quality time with your child (avoidance), can damage a child emotionally. If a child feels like you do not care about them, you are going to have a hard time with discipline. If you are already in this position, try to put quality time above the law for a little while and see if it makes a difference. Children who love their parents will automatically want to please them.

Understanding that, rules without relationship is a recipe for rebellion, we can start to see why unbelievers typically hate Christians. For years Christians have stated the ‘rules’ to God’s wayward children, instead of portraying His love to them. We need to rethink our outreach plans. Relationship is the most important thing to God.

A father gave his son his inheritance, to do what he wanted to with it. The son made some bad choices, and ended up remembering how good his father was. We need to be the people reminding the prodigal son how good and loving the Father is. The son already knew he was in a mess. When the son returned, the father didn’t get onto him for his bad choices, he hugged, accepted, loved, and celebrated his return.



The child without relational connection, or with damaged trust, will ask ‘Why?‘, so they can see if they can trust the reasoning. The unbeliever needs us to show God’s reasoning of why something is wrong or right. This is called teaching and gaining trust. The unbeliever is the prodigal son, and the mistrusting/damaged child. They need to know they can trust God’s rules. They need to be able to see that God’s plan for them is good. Thankfully, God tells us why. Instead of tweeting ‘Divorce is sin‘ or ‘Homosexuality is sin‘, realize that you are quoting rules to a disconnected child that will result in rebellion. Instead say ‘Divorce causes deep emotional trauma‘ or ‘Homosexuality results in disease and illness. God says it’s wrong because He doesn’t want you to be in pain.‘ God is concerned for you and deeply cares about you.

A ‘b/c I said so‘ message tells the child, I don’t care about our connection or teaching you how to make decisions for yourself. Why then are Christians still preaching sermons with a ‘b/c i said so‘ mentality toward the lost? God gives us His reasoning. He shows us why right is right, and why wrong is wrong. He wants to teach us and build relationship, not command/control us, and keep us ignorant. His first goal is to build relationships and trust. Once we trust him ‘b/c I said so‘ becomes an okay answer here and there.

Man in His Image

The Lord pursues us relentlessly, desiring relationship. He made man, in His image, to reflect this trait. Man pursues woman to no end for relationship. We can’t blame God for making man the way He did; this trait is beautiful. God was not the one who perverted it.

Jesus flipped the tables in the temple, in a moment of righteous anger. He made the money changers leave. Pornography has become a massive money making business. God calls our bodies the temple. The temple was made to host an intimate covenant relationship, not an act, outside of relationship, or something to be sold. The temple of Solomon was very beautiful, much like the body of a woman, but the real treasure was in what the temple held.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (1Peter3:3-4)

Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality (Eph.5:3)

Sexual immorality in its Greek form is porneia, meaning any sexual act outside of marriage connection. Porneia is a choice that leads to death; death not from God, but from your own choices. It will damage you and kill your relationships.

If your marriage connection is failing, check to see if you are making it a point to connect in a way that is greater than a physical act.

If you aren’t married, save it for marriage; otherwise you are stirring up grounds for pain, anger, rejection, addiction, pregnancy, shame, and a plethora of junk that will stick with you and mess up future connections.

‪#‎ProChoice‬ ‪#‎ProTeaching‬