Relevance to the 21C

He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:29-37

The story of the Good Samaritan could be retold as...

After a shoot out, a Blood saw a Crip had been hurt pretty bad. All his buddies had ditched the moment the cop sirens sounded, leaving him to die on the side walk. Even though the Crip was a sworn enemy and was more dead than alive, the Blood took him to the ICU, paid all his medical bills and his rent for the next few months, and went on.

A retired Al Qaeda operative saw that someone had been in a car wreck. Tons of cars slowed down to see what happened, but none had stopped to help. Despite the 'WWJD' stickers and American flags all over the back, he pulled over to help him, payed for the tow truck and all the damage to the car, and went on.

Or...
A Mac fanboy learns his monstrous ex's Windows laptop broken after her little brother spilled milk all over it. Even though they'd been fighting even before they broke up and hadn't spoken in months since she'd cheated on him, he pays to retrieve all her lost data and buys her a new one, and went on with his merry life.

We forget how RELEVANT the Bible can be. These parables Jesus told were given to the people in a way they would understand, same as I have humorously attempted to do here. The lessons He taught so long ago still have the power to make a huge impact on our lives today, if we learn to seek out the meaning and are willing to apply it to the choices we make everyday.

With my Love and His -

Cleanse

1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Notice this, we do not have to be free of sin to be 'living in the light' - we only have to do it, and through seeking God's light, His fellowship, Jesus' sacrifice will and has cleansed us. We have to be HUMBLE enough to admit to our faults, but have faith that if we are 'living in the light' - SEEKING GOD - that He is just to FORGIVE us and CLEANSE us from ALL wickedness.

Think about that. It doesn't say "If we have confessed everything we've ever done and stopped doing it and become perfect people, then we can live in the light and only then will God forgive us" ... NO! It says if we are living in the light and seeking fellowship that Jesus 'cleanses' - not 'cleansed' not 'will cleanse' but actively, this very moment, 'cleanses us from all sin'.

What does that mean, for Jesus to do this? Well, cleanse is a verb, an action, something that Jesus DOES for us. Definition, to MAKE CLEAN. Synonyms: absolve, clarify, clean, clear, depurgate, dispurge, purify, refine, restore.

All this, all this that he does, Restores us, cleans us, absolves for us our sins, and all he asks is that we seek Him and His Light. We do not have to go before Him perfect. We do not have to sacrifice for our past. He's provided sacrifice. There remains no sacrifice for willful sin, He was the only sacrifice we need, and if we will only confess Him to be that, and confess to Him our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and Cleanse us, from all that we fear has spoiled us forever, our Lord offers it to be resolved.

With my Love and His – LionessofGod

Bible + Sex

Now that I have your attention, take a minute to read just a bit of what the Bible has to say about this.

Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

(^ Wow. Did God just say our body is a temple? The fact God is in you not only sanctifies you but also requires of you to be sanctified. You want to honor God? Honor Him by taking care of His temple - YOU.)

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

(Ouch. The Bible just told us to FLEE - to RUN AWAY, to HIDE, to ESCAPE from it. We aren't even strong enough to be around the temptation, much less 'stand up to it'. If you don't get into situations where you can fall, you won't fall!)

Matthew 5:28
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

(Guard your mind. Hardest. Thing. Ever. I know. But God doesn't play around with this. If we are the temple of God we have to be careful what we expose ourselves to.)

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

I know this might hit home, you might be feeling guilty right now, you might hate this, but no matter how far you've gone God can forgive you. Wherever you are in this battle for purity, you are not alone.