To the Adult Children - A series of Blogs for parents -- A Gift - Blog #3

This series of   blogs-   continues.   

This series is being   written for children -- adult children.  This series is not necessarily written for my children and yet it may be. And it is being written for the parents of adult children.  

So with that -- here is the 3rd one. 

 I am thanking God  this early morning  - as I edit   and publish this 3rd blog in this series.  I wrote this blog back in May -- but again, the Holy Spirit has not given me the OK to publish it, until today.  

I am thinking I must be careful to  allow the Holy Spirit ---to not only give me the right words but also that the parent reading this or the adult child reading this -- has the most open heart to what God is telling him or her at this moment.  

This  past week has been a LONG one.  If you follow this blog, it started with  last Monday and a written blog  that was still claiming  a miracle in the life of a dear daughter in Christ and  for her husband  -- and then the  week  ended  with a life celebration --for that loved one.  For her husband,   the 'celebration' ended as  her body was placed  in the ground but as she was dearly remembered all over FB this past weeked -the legacy of her life is indeed alive! 

And as God wastes nothing, I believe God gave me a word  to remind me -- we move forward. So Michelle, get writing as "it's a gift".  

Her life and the entire Prescott /Bischop Family is a gift to many of us - their steadfast faith and walk in this journey was a testimony to us all.  But Pookie's life is not a cancer story -- it is a faith story.  And she would not want to be remembered for her struggle with cancer but for her faith, her love of her husband, and her purpose!     A gift!    That was clearly displayed within the letters written to her and about her read at the service. 


This   story of  Jared and Rebekah has 'undone' me several  times this week.   And I believe he has only started -- there was a purpose God choose Jared for Rebekah   and I believe he will have more to say and do for His Kingdom through his - God wins!   And, if you listened to the letter he wrote to his bride last Friday - you probably became UNDONE as well.  Jared's testimony has set a bar for many men and marriages and I believe his words cemented the understanding .....do we have faith in God for what He does or for Whom God is? 

You see, I knew Pookie as a KID -- Taylor 's pal -- but I didn't really get to know her until she became Taylor's prayer warrior  as they grew in wisdom  while in high school and college.  And then I was privileged to meet   Jared at their wedding  some 4 years ago.   Furthermore,   the Lord orchestrated a deeper friendship  with Rebekah when her cancer returned a several  years ago,   and I truly got to soak in and  learn about Jared's  faith  through Pookie ---  their married life -- impacted my heart.   

As I woke this am, the Lord gave me the words ..."it was a gift".   

I could write and write more RIGHT here about their marriage.  

 The gift it was to him --to be the husband of her; but also how it was a gift to her -- that God selected Jared for His purpose and Rebekah's heart ---but that is not what God wants to communicate  in this series today.  And I believe it will be for Jared to write.  

God multi-tasks and when He gives a word or speaks....it is usually,  not just for that ONE occasion but for so much more.  And it should be scriptural .....it is.  I know that God gave gifts.  

So, let me get back to the intent there was for THIS 3rd blog in THIS series. 

 You see -- I have  been struggling with the laizzes-faire  attitude of this generation.    Those presently 15-25 and their attitude toward sex.   I just am.  

Sex is a gift. Everything God created with intention and purpose - Satan can counterfeit.  Adult Children all around me are being robbed.  Robbed. 

 With this, you can think I am a prude, or perhaps you don't believe I understand what the world is like in 2017.  

 Because of course...   I have heard these:  

"we don't buy a car without test driving it first!" 

  Or, "I have seen how you have lived being married --  it did not work too well -- I won't do that to myself, this way we will try it out and if it does not work we can break up and we are none - the wiser!"  

"This is different-- I don't plan on marrying her -- this is not serious".  


Right?  

First off, God's instructions for cars and whether to buy them is not in His Word.  But, whom we give our hearts too -- is.  
God's Instructions clearly show us whom we should seek for a marriage partner -- His Word does not say that we can try something out to see if we like it. 

And Furthermore, if you have had sex with him or her -- it is a BIG deal. There are soul ties and a spiritual connection that the enemy will use to destroy the relationship and it can hinder your future besides the consequences of unprotected sex.   

 This  culture and this present generation is so different than when I was a kid or a young adult.   Oh  wait -- THAT is what I said to my own mother.....but simply.    It's the same.  We were doing what we wanted back in the 70's  ...the 80's and the 90's....    

 I don't believe much has changed over the past 50 years....   Sex outside of marriage is wrong and  was more preached and expected back in the 50's and 60's and God's Word has not changed.   However, maybe there was more shaming back then -- which just led to oppression.   Now days, there seems to be "no shame" as it is widely accepted.  The old saying, "why buy the milk when you get the cow for free" is an awful saying that I heard so often as a teen -- but in reality, I believe our culture -- even the 'church' of this generation has avoided this issue -- do we understand that we are breaking God's heart when we disobey Him?  He has set forth a very simple concept that avoids MUCH heartache and consequences, if we wait and allow God to move. 

  God's Word clearly states that sex outside of marriage is not God's plan.  That also  includes  any type of sexual pleasure, gratification, with or without intercourse ---outside of the marriage bed.   Period.   This concept goes far beyond our younger generation but with each and every one of us -- as many commit adultery now and think nothing of it.  And please, the actual act is not the only sin -- if you think it - in your heart -- you have committed the sin as well. 

And with that -- I am PRETTY sure that several will stop reading this.  Guilt.  Conviction.  Or they are completely ticked off because maybe, perhaps we really don't want to accept that God's Word is what it is.  We either believe it all and allow it to be ....

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

Now honestly -- as I spoke to God this am,  and I laughed cause I could picture  a  gathering of some of my favorite people -- namely Pookie and Taylor right here in my living area as I type.  And  I would be telling both of them that this blog has been written for over two months and yet I have tried to avoid this subject and then WHAM - BAM - here it is --- today of all days!   

And I would share with them what God told me this morning at 5:03am and how I began to type and then how I had reservations and wanted to quit again when a sweet godly woman who is fighting for her marriage texted and we started a separate conversation.     And I would not share names, but I would tell both girls that the enemy hates marriage -- so much that he takes pleasure in destroying each and every one of them and that, this particular marriage is being destroyed because the husband does not want to face his past -- and deal with some sexual sins

I could see Pook-- sitting here in her jeans, UF shirt,  and hat,  sitting on her legs in the chair opposite of me and Taylor would be sitting with Bella on her lap - talking with her hands.  Here -- right now -- and she and Taylor would be bantering back and forth --  as I was ranting about the topic of this blog and why it has been so hard to write.   And Pookie would be saying, "You go Mrs. Pritchard, I love you" and Tay would be saying, "mom- calm down!".   And I heard God so sweetly remind me -- "it's a gift".  Our sexual pleasure was a gift from God - intended to be fully realized and complete through the covenant of marriage. 

So before I go on -- please -- I lived with guilt and shame because I choose to disobey God so many years ago before I was married  -- the conviction is real and from the Holy Spirit -- the shame and guilt, is the enemy's whispers.  We serve and praise a God who forgives and I would not want this blog to make one think, "oh well -- I must just continue to sin cause I am already lost".... 

This blog is being posted today because I am being obedient.  The Holy Spirit gave me the topics in which I am to share.  And Holy Spirit wakes me, impresses upon me, and speaks as to when and what!   Holy Spirit began writing this  blog several months ago, so I believe the timing is His.   And  I will add -- I have FOUGHT and FOUGHT against publishing this.  I had this ready to 'publish' last Friday and again, I waivered and asked God for ONE final fleece to confirm to me  to actually hit the PUBLISH button today!   I had to go and fix some verb tenses -- as I delayed this a few days again.  But today -- Monday, July 17th...I will be faithful and courageous.  

I would pray that whomever reads this today is  aware --that TODAY -- you can choose to ask God to help you today -- to be more like Christ and obey our Father.  

  There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus -- there is life, but Jesus reminds us all..."then go and sin no more".  He asks us to take up our Cross and walk - with him and when we do that -- He can meet every need and keep us pure until a marriage is conceived.  He can help us stay celibate until He meets us face to face if marriage is something that is not right around the corner.   

But this blog is "just" not for young adults or the parents of  -- it maybe be written for a sweet child of God who has struggled with purity and self worth for ages.  Maybe it is for her - to encourage her that she can remain pure until God moves. 

 Maybe this blog will encourage a young man, who has a girl pregnant at the moment and he is trying to do the right thing by God as he awaits the birth of a baby and wants to be obedient to God. 

Maybe this blog will encourage a young man to look at his girlfriend and speak to her about Jesus and apologize to her for not being obedient and robbing her of her gift.  

Or maybe this blog will encourage a couple who were married for years, got divorced, and now are back together but are having sex outside of the union of marriage!   Indeed...it would seem that God could OK that... I mean, they WERE married.   I believe God asks us to be obedient and I do believe that He can't fully bless the union until there is a covenant.  

 Or maybe this blog will just encourage the parents of YOUNGER children to pray and begin to fight the future influences on their own younger children  through prayer and confession of God's Word over their lives.  Perhaps it is hard to truly teach a child  to want to remain pure -- to this may help a parent seek God for the right way to raise them up! 

   It is with faith that I post and believe there is hope within this -- not condemnation.  

The Lord showed me 1 John -- and God's Word says it best.  It is the Message version, but I believe His Words says  it best --

1 John 2The Message (MSG)

2 ^1-2 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.

I praise God -- we have a friend...Jesus...

The Only Way to Know We’re in Him

^2-3 Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.

^4-6 If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.
^7-8 My dear friends, I’m not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you’ve known it from day one. It’s always been implicit in the Message you’ve heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!
^9-11 Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.

Loving the World

^12-13 I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One.

^13-14 And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God’s word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.
^15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

Antichrists Everywhere You Look

¹⁸ Children, time is just about up. You heard that Antichrist is coming. Well, they’re all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look. That’s how we know that we’re close to the end.

¹⁹ They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.
^20-21 But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven’t been writing this to tell you something you don’t know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn’t breed lies.
^22-23 So who is lying here? It’s the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that’s who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.
^24-25 Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
^26-27 I’ve written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they’re no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ’s anointing, no less! You don’t need any of their so-called teaching. Christ’s anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.

Live Deeply in Christ

²⁸ And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.

²⁹ Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God’s true children.

Lord, I just pray that whomever reads this blog - that he or she  will just keep Your commandments.   Lord, I pray that if we love You first with all of our heart -- then we will WANT to please You, obey You, and walk with You.  Lord,  You will provide, You will meet needs, and You will help those that are convicted - to seek Your forgiveness and Your blood to wash their sins  clean, and then I pray they seek You to live purely before You until you bring them to a marriage.  

  I pray for the countless young woman  living close  - living in shame because they know that they know -- they are not obedient to Your Word.  Those I know and those that will read this and feel shame -- strangers.  But they are not strangers to You Lord.  I pray those believers around them will wake up and be used to speak life and truth.  

 I pray for the countless woman living close  that really don't know the truth of Your Word - that those believers around them would STEP up and share Your Word and be that example of Your hands and feet -- but I also pray for those believers around them that are weak -- that have allowed the enemy's lies to defeat them. 

I pray for the many young women totally confused as to what God has for them and how they were created in His image -- pure, feminine, and with no gender issues.  I pray the family and women around these beautiful ladies will stand on Your Word, love unconditionally but speak truth - the hard truth when You orchestrate it.  

  Please Lord,  for anyone reading this, remind them that You are the God of 2nd chances -- that they would seek YOUR counsel and YOUR Word instead of their feelings or the world's.  IN Jesus most holy name - AMEN.  

And PS Lord, I will personalize this prayer for my own little grandchild... the one within TP's tummy -- that he or she will grow in wisdom and stature and live a life worth of their calling but I also pray for Ava Lynne -- she is the one pulling the wagon -- I pray for her husband and his family, that wherever they are - they are raising a son to know and understand that his sexuality is a gift and that His calling will be first  -- and I pray for Ava that as she continues to grow and hear Your Word Lord, I pray she falls so intently in love with You -- that it won't be a temptation to do as her pals do or have the attitude that 'sex' is no big deal...I pray she will realize the gift she has been given -- these may be BIG blog prayers God -- but I know THIS is why I am her "Mimi"...as we battle and protect in Prayer -- and Use YOUR Words to fight!   So I pray and close with my favorite scripture which happened to be Pookie's as well -- I pray that Ava and anyone reading this will know and understand Exodus 14.14...You fight for US Lord...we need only be still!   IN Jesus name ...amen.  


If you are first finding this blog, here is a link to the previous two  - 


Unmet Expectations #2         First blog in the series #1