THE PURPOSE of SEX

 

I remember pacing in the nervous-fathers’ room at the hospital those many years ago. Hospitals were just starting to allow fathers into delivery rooms, but our hospital was not that up-to-date. Finally the nurse stepped in to say our baby had come and I could see her in a little while with my wife in the room. As soon as she slipped out I was out the door. I knew the hall they would take to the room. They rolled my wife’s bed around a corner right in front of me. Before anyone could stop me I had our beautiful blond headed daughter in my arms. 

Despite modern notions, immediate physical pleasure is not the purpose of sexual relations. Sexual intimacy was given us for the blessing of procreation? Actually, we are talking here about two kinds of pleasure. This is not unlike the pleasure of eating. If the purpose of your eating is simply sweetness, the pleasure will ultimately be ruined in the deficiency of nutrition. The sugar will become like a poison in your system.

The goodness of intimacy includes both the immediate pleasure of glandular release, and the long term fulfillment of generations. These two are closely related. There is glandular release at the beginning as a couple seeks to procreate. This is often one sided. Many women do not enjoy the sex act. It is also true that pregnancy brings months of discomfort followed by the intense pain of child bearing. But her pain is quickly forgotten at the joy of a babe in her arms. 

When the pleasure of sexual release is the only purpose, the blessing of in depth relationships will be lost. Sex becomes the selfish act of using another human being merely as a source of pleasure. 

Parenting is difficult, but parent child relationships can be unbelievably fulfilling. Devoting time and energy to our children gives richness to life. Of course, this requires long-term discipline. The purposes of a parent need to be unselfish. This is usually a long term work of God in our lives. Children also bring hope for the future of humanity. And while there will be some pain, possibly all of your life, you can also pass your highest and best traits along in their lives. 

I am aware that I am saying some things that will be controversial to many of you. There are a number of aspects to this upon which I have not touched. And frankly, I would like to hear from you, especially if you disagree with me as most of society and possibly most Christians do in these days.

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LIGHTNING ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP

LIGHTNING ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP

Standing on the thundering alp, 

Drenched in heaven's driving tears 

With bending knees and tingling scalp

My glasses whining in my ears;

 

He's drawn me to this holy place.

Shying from His glorious essence, 

I'm wincing from His gleaming face,

Trembling in His holy presence.

  

Streamers reaching from my heart 

Do not draw the heavens there. 

Though I do my trembling part

Heaven draws and meets my prayer.

This poem was published in the book Take Me To The Garden.

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WRITING

I thank God for the privilege of  writing all these years. Early in my ministry, I attended The Billy Graham School of Christian Writing. It was a great boost, especially in writing for magazines. Through my years of pastoring, I regularly contributed to Christian periodicals. In those days there were three or four times as many Christian Periodicals, and magazines in general, than those that have managed to stay in business to this day. I really miss some of them as a writer, a preacher, a Christian, and as a thinking human being. 

When it became obvious that I would have to retire from pastoring having been diagnosed with cancer, I worried that I would go crazy if I had no place to preach. I automatically shifted my energy to writing. It has been quite as fulfilling. I am now drawing near the end of my ability to write coherently. And yet I find peace in looking back on what God has allowed me to do.  

I have written a little about my writing over the years. One of my blogs targets other writers and is called Writing Prayerfully, http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/. In it I wrote many articles. One was entitled, The Foundation of Writing. I began the piece by saying, “It stretches metaphor to say that the foundation of writing is from above, but you get the point.” I wrote another titled, The Marvel of Stories. Another was called, Why Do I Write? In it I said I write as a ministry, and I featured my book AGAPE on the love of God. One of my blog posts was on Writing for The Future. Another was titled, Writing In Your Weakness. I wrote one called, Writing Your Highest Values, and another was, You Are What You Write.

What I have written I wrote because God loves you. And I pray that He will meet needs in your life that I would never know how to address.

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REDEEMING TIME

 

We are at the starting line of a new year. In Ephesians 5:15-17 we read,

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

This version of Scripture interprets rather than directly translating the metaphor in Ephesians 5:16, calling us to make the best use of our time. The wording of the metaphor is “Redeeming the time.” The word translated, “redeeming,” can mean to buy something back like redeeming something that has been pawned. We must redeem or make the most of every minute of our lives.

Let me make a few applications of this verse.

Redeeming the meaning of our lives

How much time have you spent praying about God's purpose for your life? No success, no pleasure, nor impressive appearance will be as fulfilling as living in the will of God.

Redeeming the relationships of our lives 

What can you do today to improve or restore your relationships? Relationships take time and energy. Do you pray for family members with whom your relationship is strained or broken? 

Redeeming the completion of our lives

I used to run in Long distance races. Of course, describing those races as long distance is relative. To a marathon runner, a half-marathon is a medium distance race. So, from their point of view, 5 and 10Ks are shorter competitions. The most difficult race I ever ran was the Sound to Narrows 12K in Tacoma Washington. Many runners consider it to be twice as difficult as most 10K races. This is partly because of the hills and dips along the Puget Sound shoreline. And its final mile rises uphill all the way to the end. But however difficult your race, you have to run every step of it.

I remember running another race where I did not know the course before it began.  I topped a hill toward the end and saw the finish line hardly more than a hundred yards ahead of me. Had I known it was so close I would have begun my final kick earlier.

In Psalm 90:12 Moses wrote,

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

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KEEPING THE HONOR

 KEEPING THE HONOR

We have words in English that mean different things in different contexts. For instance, Is maroon the color of your sweater or what the pirates did to Ben Gunn in Treasure Island? Or, “You have to be nuts to be as nutty as I am about nuts.” And, “Watching the meet from his sports car, the dashing young man dashed his fist against the dashboard at the unwanted outcome of the hundred yard dash.” Such diverse word meanings are found in every language on Earth. It was true of the Greek of the New Testament. One of those Greek words is timi, (τιμή). It can mean honor and respect or it can be used for monetary profit. This word group is used repeatedly with both meanings in Acts.

I am not sure if Luke or his first century readers saw this, but there appears to be a play on this word in chapters 4 and 5. At the end of Acts 4 we read that some of the members of the early church sold their property and laid the proceeds at the Apostles’ feet to be distributed among the needy in their midst. The word for “proceeds” is timi, while in other contexts timi is rendered, honor or respect. 

Chapter 5 tells about Ananias and Sapphira who sold a piece of property and pretended to lay all of the proceeds at the Apostles’ feet while they actually kept part of it back. Of course the problem was not in the amount that they gave. They didn’t have to give any of the proceeds of the sale. The problem was in their pretense. 

Peter asked him, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds (timi) of the land?” Honor is what Ananias was keeping for himself. Ananias wanted the prestige (timi) of giving all the proceeds of the sale. The judgment of God upon Ananias and Sapphira brought a holy fear upon the entire church.

That brings us to the honor we seek in God's church. I will be honest I have often been willing to be respected as a prayer warrior or even a spiritual giant. I am pleased that God has not seen fit to make me an example of His judgment like He did Ananias and Sapphira. But God is no more pleased with such behavior in me than He was with Ananias. I want to work at pleasing God by giving Him the honor due to Him. I want God to change my heart and life to honor Him. Is that your desire? Do you long for it to be true in your heart and your life?

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THE ANGEL OF THE LORD

I love the Christmas Story from Luke. I memorized it as a small child. I still love the powerful wording from the King James Bible. “And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus—” “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night.”

Look with me at verses 8-16 of Luke Chapter 2.

 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest,    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 

Can you put yourself on that shepherd hillside? As night falls your family is keeping watch over the flocks. Who knows what might come in the night, but you never dreamed of The Angel of The Lord coming upon you. You are stunned by his appearance and the thunderous words that proceed from his mouth. The first thing the angel says is, “Fear not,” If you are not terrified by his visage, you are still asleep. But he explains that he is bringing you good news of great joy. For unto you is born a Savior.

Listen to what he says. To the shepherds the angel said, “Unto you.” He did not say, “Unto all mankind is born a savior.” He did not say to “men and women, boys and girls.” He did not say “to all generations from creation to the end of time.” Nor did he say “to every nation, tribe, people, and language.” He said, “unto you.”

Those shepherds were nobodies. We do not know one of their names. We do not know anything substantial about them. But God knew and He said, “Unto you is born a Savior.” God sent His Savior to you as well. The Angel announced A Personal Savior.

 

The Angel of the Lord said, “Unto you is born This Day.” You might have said, “one who will become Savior.” But the Angel of The Lord said “Today.” Many people have a once upon a time savior. You may remember a time when you were serious about God. But you have pushed every thought of Him out of your life. 

I have met people who have a someday savior. Someday I will get serious about God, But your heart is getting harder and harder. This is certainly the easiest time you will ever have to hear the voice of God. Every day that you live without Him, your heart will grow harder. This may well be the last time you are able to  hear that God sent His Son to be your Savior. 

You can only come to Him as A Present Savior.

 

The Savior was not born in Rome, Alexandria, Ephesus, or even Jerusalem. He was born in the little town of Bethlehem. Do you know why? Because some 500 years before, Micah of Moresheth said, 

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

That is not the first time the coming of the Savior was prophesied. In Genesis 3 God told Satan who had tempted mankind to fall into our desperate need for a Savior.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring[e] and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

    and you shall bruise his heel.”

1 Peter 1:20 tells us,

“ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but made manifest in the last times for your sake.”

This is not a blink in the eye of history. From beyond time God knew you would be lost without Him. He foreordained that His Son would die on a cross for you.

He is A Prophesied Savior.

 

This is not government aid. This is not a political solution. This is not the bright idea of your broker or the latest expert. The Angel announced to the Shepherds on the hillside, “A Savior who is Christ the LORD!”

Peter said it in Acts 4:12.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

God sent A Powerful Savior! He is enough to forgive your sin, change your heart, and redeem you from the judgement that is to come.

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A CHRISTMAS NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN

My mother was a wonderful storyteller. Especially at Christmas time she would be asked to tell stories at church or community functions. Several weeks ago my sister sent me a file of Christmas stories Mother told. One of my favorites came out of her own childhood during a worldwide pandemic that took the lives of millions. And I wanted to share it with you as we seek to emerge from such a plague.

It was in the Spring of 1918 that my family sold everything at an auction and set out from Oklahoma to homestead in New Mexico. This was an exciting adventure for my brother and me, who were 7 and 5 years old.

Part of our journey was made by train and the rest in a covered wagon that Papa purchased along the way. In order for us to live until our house was built and our crops harvested, Papa worked with a road construction gang with all of the families living nearby in tents. This was just like a camping trip that lasted all summer.

Cold weather hit in the early fall. At the same time the flu epidemic struck our country. It was quite frightening because people were dying everywhere.

We moved into a house in Cimarron and managed to get one bed set up before we were stricken. My brother walked through deep snow for a doctor only to find when he arrived at the doctor’s office that his own temperature was 105°. 

The four of us were sick in only one bed. A kind Mexican man came every day to check on us and care for our needs. My aunt, who was a nurse and very dear to us, came to care for us and literally saved our lives.

When Christmas drew near Mama was still in bed recovering from pneumonia. Papa was too weak to return to work yet. More than anything else, Brother and I wanted a Christmas tree because the Swearingen family next door had an enormous one that turned round and round on a track playing Christmas music. We only needed to climb a mountain to get one, but Papa was not yet strong enough to cut and bring one home.

On Christmas Eve we hung our stockings near Mama’s bed so she could see us open them on Christmas morning. I can see them yet, long brown stockings like all the children wore in that cold country hanging from nails on the wall. We were not expecting much because everyone had been ill for so long.

Christmas morning we rushed into the room long before daylight. Our stockings hung there on the wall just like we had left them, flat and empty. Brother darted back to his room where no one would see him cry. I looked forlornly around the darkened room.

“Brother! Oh Brother!” I cried, “We’ve got a tree!” There in the corner stood the most beautiful tree we had ever seen. My doll and his skates were hanging on the tree, but for a long time we didn’t touch them. Kneeling down beside the tree, we folded our hands and gazed at it. 

Our neighbor had climbed a mountain and cut a tree just for us. Papa and my aunt had gone downtown after we were put to bed and brought decorations for the tree. Truly this was a Christmas never to be forgotten.

Mildred Young

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