Being Single Well

"There are different reasons why some men don’t marry. Some were born without the ability to produce children. Others were made that way later in life. And others have given up marriage because of God’s kingdom. This is for anyone who is able to accept it.” (Matthew 19:12 ERV) It is possible to be single and do it well! "Now for those [believers] who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for you to stay single like me. But if you cannot control your body, then you should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire. ... I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work. He is trying to please the Lord. ... A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants to give herself fully—body and spirit—to the Lord. ... I am saying this to help you. I am not trying to limit you, but I want you to live in the right way. And I want you to give yourselves fully to the Lord without giving your time to other things." (1 Corinthians 7:8-9, 32, 34-35 ERV)

 

Listen to: Paul Sheppard "Getting Married, Staying Married" (November 2017 archives tab):

https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/destined-for-victory/listen/

Sexual Morality

“Your own members are aware that there is sexual sin going on among them. This kind of sin is not even heard of among unbelievers…” (1 Corinthians 5:1 GW) “Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:18 GW) “Surely you must know that people who practice evil cannot possess God’s kingdom realm. Stop being deceived! People who continue to engage in sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, sexual perversion, homosexuality, fraud, greed, drunkenness, verbal abuse, or extortion—these will not inherit God’s kingdom realm. It’s true that some of you once lived in those lifestyles, BUT now you have been purified from sin, made holy, and given a perfect standing before God—all because of the power of the name of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and through our union with the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 TPT) We have to decide if what we want to do is more important than what God has called us to be! “Here is the reason: I am the Lord your God. You must live holy lives. Be holy because I am holy. …” (Leviticus 11:44, 45, 19:2, 20:7, 26; 1 Peter 1:16 GW)

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_pQ7qafQcA

 

 

Listen to: Paul Sheppard "Grace or Disgrace" (November 2017 archives tab):

https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/destined-for-victory/listen/

 

Labor That Earns Time Off

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing. On the seventh day, he stopped the work he had been doing. Then God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on that day he stopped all his work of creation. … Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it.” (Genesis 2:2-3,15 GW) Daysoff/weekends/holidays/vacations are a temporary break from our labor; but, “… If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) Let’s be thankful we have a job/school that we’re able to go to; and, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. Remember that the Lord will give you as a reward what he has kept for his people. For Christ is the real Master you serve.” (Colossians 3:23-24 GNT)

Happy to Give Thanks!

"Don’t drink wine excessively. The drunken path is a reckless path. It leads nowhere. Instead, let God fill you with the Holy Spirit.When you are filled with the Spirit, you are empowered to speak to each other in the soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs; to sing and make music with your hearts attuned to God; and to give thanks to God the Father every day through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed for all He has done." (Ephesians 5:18-20 VCE) "And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." (Colossians 5:15-17 NLT) HAPPY TO GIVE THANKS!

 

 

God Speaks, Our Hearts Hear

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2) God’s Word spoke from the beginning of time, before words were written on paper; God convicts man’s conscience, even without the written word! “God’s anger is revealed from heaven against every ungodly and immoral thing people do as they try to suppress the truth by their immoral living. What can be known about God is clear to them because he has made it clear to them.” (Romans 1:18-19 GW) “The heavens declare the glory of God; … There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4) God isn’t silent if the Bible is closed!

God's Seal vs. Satan's Mark

“You must not cut your body for the dead [a pagan sign of mourning; Deut. 14:1; Jer. 16:6; 41:5] or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:28 EXB) We must be careful of the marks we choose to bear, especially if we are sealed! Satan will mark man physically; “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark [Rev. 13:17-18, 14:9-11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4]…” (Revelations 13:16) But, God seals man Spiritually; “…in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,…” (Ephesians 1:13) “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

The Just Died for the Unjust

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited…” (1 Peter 3:18-20) “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) If we grieve over the loss of a mortal body, how much more does God grieve over the loss of an immortal soul!

Wise and Faithful Stewards

“Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2) We must be wise stewards, managers of our God given time, treasures, and talents. We must use our temporal gifts in a way that will benefit us eternally. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) “If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32 MSG)

Judge Not, or Judge Righteously

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1; Luke 6:37) BUT, do practice “…speaking the truth in love, …” (Ephesians 4:15) What is the “truth”? “[God’s] WORD is truth.” (John 17:17) “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) Christ Jesus said, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the WORD that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) God loved us too much to lie to us; we should have that same love one to another!