Self-Control

Hola mi amigos!

Today has been a wonderful and blessed day and I pray it has been the same for you.

Living life as a single woman is hard, especially in today's culture. I have a constant fight with my flesh because of the temptation I face --MEN. I mean, I am a woman and I have needs, right? Yes, of course I do, however, first and foremost as a follower of Jesus I must practice abstinence. Abstinence is not only for young people, but it is also for us adults who are not married. We must still obey God's word and not engage in premarital sex. Secondly, I am trusting the Lord that He is preparing a man for me, and remember, I am trying to live a life of obedience, so I must be patient, be still, and wait on the Lord until He is ready to send me that man that He has been preparing for me. Thank you Lord. But, just to keep it real with you, let me tell you, abstinence is hard, especially when the hormones get all out of whack around that time of the month. However, I have great news friends! I find that when I get in God's Word, the whacky feelings start to wither away, the "school-girl" behavior starts dissipating. Yes, you know, when I see that fine brother, I get all tingly inside and then these ideas of just wanting to jump him, and then that "wicked, but oh so sweet" smile starts to creep up on my face, and then I stop--- ohoh--no, no, no, this is not right. So, I start to say a silent prayer, "Lord, forgive me of my sins, please come into my heart and make me live for you." I begin to praise God for forgiving me and for having that husband-to-be lined up already for me.

In 1 Corinthians 13, I read that "...but you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, He will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it." Friends, I am a living witness to this scripture of how God provided an escape for me when I was battling self-control. Thank you Lord.

Last year, July 27, 2008 was Men's Day at my church. Now ladies, you know I was so anxious to reach church this day because all I could think about were the fine men that would be in attendance. I told myself for sure there will be a brother who will notice me. I am not kidding, I spent hours looking in my closet for that perfect outift. But see, God had other plans for me. Yes, He surely did. On July 27, 2008, here is my personal and intimate journal entry, "Today is Men's Day at church. I did not attend because I felt I was going for the wrong reason, i.e., to see if any good-looking brothers would be there. I don't believe I once stopped and thought about God or the Word that Pastor would preach. God please forgive me of my sins. Please forgive me for thinking thoughts not of You. Thank you Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen."

See friends, temptation is rooted in our own selfish desires and God always has a plan for us as christians. So, how do we get from temptation to self-control? Well, let me tell you, that Sunday morning, God kept me at home and I turned my television on and Pastor Jon Weese, the senior pastor at Southland Christian Church, was just getting ready to start his sermon. I mean I turned on the television just as he was starting to do his introduction to his sermon. Pastor Weese's sermon was taken from James 1:1-25 --he was preaching about suffering leads to joy; poverty leads to wealth; temptation leads to holiness; listening leads to faith. He asked the question, how do you get from temptation to holiness? Pastor Weese's response to his question was "you expose yourself to the truth --read at least 30 minutes from the Bible." He went on to preach that we should read and reflect on God's Word. Now, if that is not from God, then I don't know what is.

Paul, in Galatians 6:16, wrote that we must live by following the spirit then we will not do what our sinful selves want. The Lord knows I am trying. I am just grateful that I am smart enough to know that I need to get in God's Word when I am losing self-control. Friends, please get into God's Word every time you are losing self-control.

Hope you have been blessed.

Ta ta,

Therese from Belize