Welcome to the final Watch – Spirituality!

I’m so excited about these last six weeks! This is my favorite Watch because God is the reason we are alive and even able to follow this campaign to test what’s in our hearts and minds. All the work we’ve done from January to now has led us to the most important part of this campaign – a personal relationship with the Most High God.

Think about the personal relationships in your life. I’m talking about the relationships you have with your parents, siblings, children, other family members, and friends. Are any of these relationships strained? If so…why? I’m sure the reasons vary. However, I imagine that some of the relationships are challenged or distant because of a lack of respect; no real connection other than blood; you grew apart; too busy with life to devote attention to anything other than what’s going on with you; and sometimes other people just don’t make your priority list.

By chance, does your relationship with God fall into either of these categories? Just like other loving relationships in our lives, our relationship with God requires attention, time spent, and consistency in order to grow.

So over the next 6 weeks, let’s allow God to calibrate our hearts, thoughts and behavior to align with His will and His word. In other words, let’s spend these final weeks being God conscious instead of self conscious. Let’s lay aside the things we want and focus on what God wants for us.

Now, for this week, I want to say a few things about sex and the single Christian woman. This may not seem like something to talk about during the topic of spirituality, but remember, sexuality is not separate from God’s care. He is concerned about our sexual habits. So let’s dig in and really digest the answer to the following questions:

How does a single Christian woman contend with the possibility of never having sex again unless she gets married? And what if she is unsure if she wants to be married/re-married…does this mean she can never have sex?

Ladies… I had these questions for many years; actually, most of my adult life. And just like many of you, I knew the answer in my heart, but I didn’t want to accept the truth. So here are some Scriptures that make it plain.

1 Thessalonians 4: 3-5, 7, 8
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;
7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

See also 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 and chapter 7: 8-9.

There are absolutely no gray areas in Scripture. Either it is or it’s not. The demands of God’s word require decisions...

Now, to answer the questions above, the decision you make whether to have premarital sex or not is solely up to you. Just know that to engage in sex unmarried is outside of God’s will.

For those who plan to go all the way with your vow of celibacy, living in the reality of sex being off-limits requires two things: 1) a renewing of the mind (thoughts of missing sex have to be replaced by a desire to please God and live for Him); and 2) a close walk with God (your faith and trust in God will grow). In this way, you will come to a place of peace with your decision.

I know this is not a popular answer but it is the truth. So what will you do after the campaign?

1. Are you willing to trust that God has someone just for you, but your timing for your mate may not be God’s timing? 
                                                             Or
2. Will you go with your urges and later have to deal with the guilt? Because if you have a relationship with God, the guilt or conviction always comes. 

Please put some thought into these questions over the next few weeks. The goal is to know what your plan is once the campaign is over.

My testimony: Over the course of my life, there have been three phases I’ve gone through with men, sex, and spirituality. 1st phase: 
In my 20s it was more important to have a man than to be obedient to God. I did exactly what I wanted to do. Besides my son, my only concern was enjoying my life and having fun. 2nd phase: Then somewhere around my 30s I started to feel like I was doing something wrong – I was convicted – but I still had sex anyway. A few times I asked my boyfriend if we stopped having sex would he still want to be in a relationship; and of course the answer was always, no. So I just accepted that if I was going to be in a relationship it meant having sex. 3rd phase: In my late 30s, after years of unhealthy relationships, trips to the GYN (truth), and a broken heart, God showed me that I was on a path of self destruction. So now, it’s more important to me to please God. I don’t want to have sex again unless it is ordained by God. I don’t know when that will be, but I believe and have faith that it will manifest. Now… do I get urges, you ask? Yes, because I’m human. But this is when I pray and press into God even more. It’s been two years for me now, so I know exactly what to do when a sensual thought crosses my mind. I rebuke it like rebuking the devil (LOL), and I put my thoughts on something higher. It works! 

Moving on, I know quite a few of you have been celibate for 5 or more years. (My heroes!) If you have time, please take a moment to share your story in terms of how you deal with celibacy and a desire for sex.  

We’re getting down to the wire. Let’s get deep with this last topic. Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions about anything or if you want to share how your life has been impacted by the work we’ve done here. I would love to hear from you.

Also, if there’s anyone unsure if they have a relationship with God, let’s talk. Send me an e-mail: icen@campaigntake6.com.

Until next week…
--Icen