God is speaking to His people and the world at large...we gotta slow down, rest and turn our ears to what He's saying. often, He uses pastors and Bible teachers to share His truth, knowledge and understanding. He's passionate and adamant about reprogramming us from the pollution of lies and thorns of deception we've breathed in and stumbled through in this very fallen, tainted, sinful and broken world.
God desires us to know Him fully. one of the ways we can do this is by listening to Him fully. i've been listening quite a bit this week. mars hill church has an incredible online sermon library...probably everything you could think to want to learn about as it relates to God and life and faith and hardships and truth and love and sex and relationships and the Bible and more, you'll probably find it here.
the mars hill sermon series, "the peasant princess" by pastor mark driscoll is based on the song of solomon, and changed my life this week. as a single Christian woman who desires to be married to a godly Christian man in the near future, learning about marriage, husband-wife relationships, the importance of communication and the more important truth that service and a servant's heart must be a part of a healthy marriage has incredibly rocked my world. the truth i've gain from this sermon series has laid more positive layers of biblical truth and healthy theology in this area of my life about marriage.
and you know what? many of us, because of family history - dad not being there (whether physically or emotionally), or mom not being there (whether physically or emotionally) - didn't have the advantage of growing up in an environment where solid, Christian principles laid a healthy spiritual foundation for us in the areas of marriage, sex, male-female relationships and the like. i believe it's healthy to acknowledge that reality, see the hole that's there, even grieve for what you didn't get or missed out on. but at some point, as a healthy, growing adult, it's time to take responsibility for the years ahead that you do have and seek out, with intention, godly teaching, instruction and truth that can shape your spiritual and emotional life, especially in the area of male-female relationships and God's purpose for marriage and sex.
i'd encourage you to look at resources like "the peasant princess" as if they were Father-son or Father-daughter talks directly from God to you...let Him speak to you as He uses pastors and Bible teachers who love Him to deliver His truth to you. You may not have had a biological father or mother to share these truths with you. but you do have spiritual fathers, like pastor mark, your own pastor, and many others, pouring out their lives daily so that many would know what God's heart is about these things. they want to see the captives set free. but even more than that, you've got an incredible heavenly Father whose love for you is simply indescribable. i think that's just the hotness right there.
pastor mark driscoll is the teaching pastor for mars hill church, which is located on the west coast, near seattle, wa. today, i listened to message #2 in "the peasant princess" series, "sweet to my taste." it's really amazing. you gotta take a listen for yourself. there were several awesome quotes by pastor mark from that sermon message, here are a few:
"we studied this in the book of ruth. i always tell guys, 'pay attention to the women that God puts in front of you. boaz is out and ruth is right in front of him in the providence of God...she loved God and she was amazing and it's one of the great love stories in the Bible. pay attention to the woman or women God puts in front of you in His providence. so i'd say, if you're loving God and serving God and living your life for Him, look at the women who are doing the same around you...too many guys look over amazing women when they need to pay attention to the women in front of them."
"men, you don't pursue a woman unless you're wanting to seriously consider marriage with her. otherwise, you're violating a trust. men, you should not be looking for a girlfriend, you should be looking for a wife, geesh..."
"the issue is not where is the line (i.e. how far can we go?), the question is when is the time, and when is the time: MARRIAGE."
"the truth is there is no practice for covenant. co-habitation is not preparation for covenant. two people living two lives sharing one bed is not the same as one man, one woman coming together as one flesh. you don't practice for covenant (with other people)...(the only way is) you practice for covenant by living in covenant relationship with Jesus and that's the only preparation for covenant for marriage you need, not living and sleeping together...bottom line: satan's still a liar. bottom line: God still tells the truth."
whew. wow. and whoa. all of that is something to think about. i think what God's saying to us is that ultimately, in every area of our lives, He wants us to do life His way, which means not our way or the world's way or our desire's way, but God's way. His way is the best way because it protects us, safeguards us, prepares us and gives us His best, guaranteed, 10 times out of 10. When we do it God's way (no pun intended, but hey, it's true!) - life, love, relationships, sex, work, children, purpose, passion - we will always get His best.
the reality is none of us have always chosen His best in every area of our lives. but today's a great day to push the 're-start' button. we gotta say, in the words of one pastor "hell NO," to the lies, to the deception, to the counterfeits, and turn in a completely opposite way and head straight toward God and the best He so desires to give us. God's way is the best way because with His way we will always get His best.
this is where i'm living...a girl after God's own heart, seeking His very best. okay, i'm done and my eyes hurt from all this typing. i pray the read has been good for you, and i hope you do check out "the peasant princess" and please share this blog post with friends, young and older, who need to hear God's heart about these things. laters peeps.
~ m
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