Challenged in the most subtle things that I never knew could affect so much.
Convinced that we need to step up a standard living in this sex-saturated world.
Convicted to live a life that is Holy and pleasing to God – guarding my mind, heart and body.
Yup, thats right, I have finished reading Every Young Women’s battle by Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn. I kind of started this booked in the middle of my semester but never finished it because of my busyness, but within these 2 days, I finished about close to 20 chapters. I was so into completing the book! Many times as I was reading, I kinda wished I read this much earlier, but I guess its’ never too late. There were many things that God really spoke to me through this book. And discussing everything here might be just too much, if you haven’t read the book, I encourage you to, there is a men’s version too! I read it fast also because my housemate wants to read it too! And some of my girls…
One area I was really challenged in was the area of drama-ing. Although I can argue that Asian dramas are generally more tame compared to American sitcoms/dramas like Friends, Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights and One tree Hill, I cannot deny the fact that a lot of the dramas are promoting a lot of ungodly mindsets about relationships, marriage and sex. Moreover, dramas always have happy endings despite all the terrible happenings, sadly that doesn’t happen much in real life. The guilt, the shame, that bad memory, is something that people have to deal with. But thank God that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). I never knew that dramas could have that much effect on how you think about such things. Recently, with God’s help, I have reduced a lot of drama watching compared to previous times, but its still something I can continue to work on. Especially for American dramas.
I’m convinced that no matter how strong I think I am as a Christian, doesn’t protect me any more from these temptation than others, so stop trying to fight it and just flee from it. Sometimes as Christians we can just easily take for granted that we will never struggle with compromising in the area of relationships, sex or marriage. This is where I think we are so wrong, because many of the examples given by the authors in the books are from Christians. Also in the bible is clearly states: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Cor 10:13). So don’t be complacent, and never let your guard down. Because once you do, Satan will use this opportunity to cause you to fall into sin.
I’m convicted in guarding my mind, heart and body as well as my fellow brothers’ as well. Sometimes I realise I do a lot of subtle things unknowingly, either through the way I dress or through my joking statement. You just never know how much damage or hurt it can bring to a person. I have a bad habit of blaming it on the way I was brought up, growing up with heaps of guys, as such feeling very comfortable to interact with them. But I’m not a little girl anymore and everything I do has its consequences! So I am learning to be more aware and to not put myself in compromising situations that might cause my actions to be questionable.
There were many other things that God spoke to me specifically, but its really too much to go into detail, and I would definitely encourage you to read it if you haven’t! It’s a must! You will get reactions like “Oh my goodness! Amen! Yeah! I shouldn’t do that!” And don’t read it with a defensive mode, but really allow God to speak to you as you read it!
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