ARE YOUR TIMES PERILOUS?

By: Ceci Sullivan

In these last days...perilous times will come...MEN AND WOMEN WILL BE LOVERS OF THEIR OWN SELVES.  One thing I was telling today to a friend of mine is "perilous times don't come to those doing God's will."  You just don't get shaken by perilous times.  Mature people know, it's God who shakes all things.  If someone's carnality shakes me, I NEED TO GROW SPIRITUALLY...so why would I be offended that God gave me a free ticket into His workout gym, by using someone's carnality to make me grow stronger spiritually?

IN this day and age of rights, it is easy to lose sight of the rights we have as creatures made in the image of God. These are our birthrights. It is the right of every human being to look into the eyes of at least one other person and totally, absolutely trust him, to know that he would never deliberately do you harm and only seek your good...ARE YOU WILLING TO BE THAT PERSON TO OTHERS?

Every married person should be able to do this! This trust reflects the nature of God Himself and His heart towards man. There are ways this trust is established and there are ways it is broken down.  Virginity was once a sign of normal, wholesome goodness. It was seen as cheap and tawdry to trade it in for self-centered pleasure instead of reserving your whole being for your spouse. A woman bears a sign of virginity in her
flesh, a covering over her most private, intimate place. Behind that sign lies the essence of her identity in creation-she is the bearer of life. That was the name of the first woman, Havah, or Eve, the mother of all living.  

When a woman kept herself pure for her husband, it was a sign that she also was reserving for him her whole self, her whole life, her love for him alone.  All over the world this was once seen as a noble thing, that a young woman would so guard her heart. Today, of course, it is seen as a light, inconsequential thing to lose your virginity. Actually, it has grave consequences.
When a young man kept himself pure for the day of his wedding, he showed that he wasn't going to be "one of the boys." It showed he had become an adult. An adult is someone who has learned to see beyond his own desires and is capable of looking out for the good of others. Some people never grow up. Make no mistake about it, all sexual relationships outside of that of a husband and his wife are selfish and without foundation.

A man who keeps himself pure would only desire a woman who kept herself pure.  A man who keeps himself pure shows that he fears and honors his creator. The loss of the honorable and essential place of virginity in society today signals the loss of the birthright.

There is an inevitable cost to violating your conscience in such a fundamental matter...it does irreparable harm to your ability to form deep relationships.

Sexual intercourse before or outside of marriage, or not between a man and a woman, twists something in the very nature of a man or a woman. It damages the most godlike aspect of humanity- a person's ability to make and keep a covenant.

Men and women need friends. They need other human beings who don't fear the cost to being a true friend. There is a cost to being a true friend, because when you get involves in someone's life, you get the whole package. Casual friendships, casual sex, and living together all avoid the lifelong commitment of friendship.

The demands of friendship are too high for the selfish heart, but without such friendship, men and women do not fully develop and become whole. Their personalities and character remain fragmented and immature. You can see the sad results all around you in society. It is a tragedy.  People are unfaithful to the Lord.....and unfaithful to one another.  They hate the fact that others are so flighty in their commitment, covenant.  They fail to realize that's how they are towards Jesus, lukewarm in their commitment to Him.  They end up reaping what they sow.....but do they repent for their own unfaithfulness to God, and breaking their covenant to Him?

"And here is how to measure it_ the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends, and YOU are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you slaves, for a master does not confide in his slaves; now you are my friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told me." You can't be the MINISTER OF RECONCILIATION if you don't tame that little animal...the tongue!  Evil has to be overcome by good, and if you can't do good to those who don't good to you, what thank have you?  When we can genuinely bless those who curse us, pray for those who use us, bless and curse not....WE WILL BE THE CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH!

There is a proverb that says, those who hear....speak continually!

One thing that's helped me is to know I'm doing what I'm doing for the Lord and not the praises of men.  I think it's good to reach out and give as much as we can.  I also think our voluntary involvement, our choosing to give ourself...is what Jesus is coming back to reward us for...for the deeds we have done in our body.  To reward us according to what we have done, as an act of our own will in love and faith towards God and man.  Rev. even puts it something like this. "These are those dressed in white, and the garments they have on are the righteous acts of the saints."  What if our willingness to get involved in love and faith, to give ourselves, is the difference between standing before Jesus naked and ashamed...or dressed in fine linen?
Good thing to meditate on!

Thank you and God bless you for reading this.  If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.  You can also read my personal testimony titled, "He Sent A Man to Free Me" by clicking on this link.  

Ceci Sullivan