We have hope in JESUS

This blog was mainly posted because of certain things that I've come across in my day today. I've been reflecting on today's youth and it's so sad to see when young girls feel like they have to lower the bar of standards just to get some attention. Ultimately what happens is that they receive the worng attention and in their desperateness to not feel lonely, they settle for whatever and in the midst of things they end up being robbed of the virginity, self-respect, and any integrity they have.They also are left feeling used. I hear this story unfortunately more than I want to and it just sickens me. So with that being said I am going to blog about the tearing down of our bodies (our Holy Temples).

Can you imagine if we can supply our own license photos. Were am I going with this, let me explain further. If we could supply the Motor Vehicles Department with our own photo, I guarantee you all that almost everyone's license in the country would display a shot of a confident, well-dressed specimen on a good hair day. Then driver's license would no longer function merely as a visual proof of ID, your license would function as a proof that at one point in time you were thinner, younger, tanner, taller, etc... Aren't we funny when it comes to appearance? Regardless of what we may claim, on some level everyone is image conscious. That doesn't make us evil (THAT EVIL WORD AGAIN ARGHH!) it proves us human.
Stay with me, I'm leading into something. Appearance matters in modern society, Have you ever called a friend to see what they were wearing before you got dressed for a party? (I have). Do you ever were vertical stripes or black because they make you look slimmer? Have you ever tanned your body for a wedding, or gone on a diet before you go on a cruise, I know I have.

And now I ask why do we spend so much time making the exterior of our temples (which is our bodies - according to scripture) so attractive, while the interior is empty and in need of some serious renovation, maybe even demolition? How do we have time to go to a beauty salon and get our hair, nails and toes done but yet find excuses for not getting to church on a weekly basis? Where I am getting at is that our priorities dictate our practices. As Jesus said: " Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also"(Matthew 6:21) and most of our hearts are moved by the desire to look good when we are being looked at.

Somehow, we are never thin enough or alluring enough. We've been so inundated by images of an oversexed culture of thin and sleek that we have lost the sense of the sacredness of our bodies, the temples of the holy spirit. We desperately search in all the wrong places for the inner peace and love that only GOD can offer. Poor self image often gives way to self-hatred. Where does this overarching need to "fit the right image" come from? The disturbing truth is that we have become so desensitized to the reality of the human body that even a gorgeous body is no longer good enough.

What does JESUS have to do with all of this ? Let me explain Pontius Pilate was restless and he wrestled with his decision to have Jesus crucified. He knew the locals would judge his call. He resorted finally to the written word. He had an inscription placed on the cross above Jesus head. In hebrew, latin and Greek it read"Jesus of Nazareth" the king of the Jews"(John 19:19). So here was the son of God, he put God's will before his own in bodily sacrifice, in action. He laid it all on the line - for you and for me.

His sacrifice forces me to ask myself this question ? to whom do I belong ? am I my own? Does my body and life proclaim that I belong to God, or to the world? If I say I am my own, then I belong to myself, free and clear, although that means I deny the role of the creator, the author of my life. If I am my own, I can do what I want as long as I am a good person. It kind of sound then like Jesus Christ is not my Lord, and I do not need a savior. Hmmm something to think about.

However, if I proclaim that God is my God and I belong to him, does by bodily temple proclaim Christ's lordship ? Do I invite him in or leave him on the steps outside? Do I proclaim my christianity with words but deny that reality by the way I use my body?

okay Teens - this is the big question?
IS JESUS' CALL TO PURITY CONSISTENCE WITH YOUR LIFESTYLE . Tough questions often lead to uncomfortable answers.

Where do your talents and beauty, internal and external, come from? Who breathed life into whom here? When it comes to your life, God is the ultimate authority on the subject. Don't stifle his highly creative process. Let him keep writing an your life will be a page turner. If you accept that God is your "author" people will know his book by your cover, so to speak by your
inner spirit radiating through your physical appearance.

Last but not least, God is a God of details. Every detail about you, every talent, every physical attribute has a purpose. What is special about you ? Look in a mirror. Do you see God in the freckles, the wrinkles, the acne or the other "imperfections" ? Love is in the details. Look around. Who are the people that God has brought into your life? Who has influenced your identity for the better, drawing you closer to your God? Who has pulled you away? Your enviroment influences your identity. Is your enviroment a place where people encounter God? Where has God been present in your life?

After reading this I encourage you all to start a journal - ask yourselves these questions and write down your feeling about this issue and then go to a room and sit there by yourself and let our GOD speak to your heart.

My prayer for you is that you find hope, compassion and love in this message and that if anything, know that our awesome GOD loves you more than anything in this whole entire world and you do not have to lower your standards to receive that love, you already have it in JESUS.

Peace be with you this day. Blessings and hugs to everyone.