We define ourselves as being consumed by Christ. Not controlled by sin.
I had lived the majority of my childhood and adolescence in bondage to masturbation. Shame and guilt burdened me. It’s lust controlled me even after I first surrendered my life to Christ. This was until someone in my church group shared their own testimony of the same struggle. In that very moment I felt something inside of me break. The shame and guilt was gone! I was no longer ashamed to admit my sin. That same night the Lord led me to confess it for the first time. Jesus had broken masturbation’s stronghold. But this would be the beginning of the healing process from years of repetitive sin. For the next year I didn’t have any inclination to masturbation again. Until suddenly, I did. After all of that I went back to the same sin. I was disgusted with myself! I thought something was wrong with me. And worse, I believed that I was no longer accepted or loved by God because of it.
Eventually I realized that though the stronghold was broken off of me, I was missing something. The root of my problem was not my sin but my relationship with Jesus. A hyperfocus on sin and how bad we are only makes us sick. A distorted malnourished relationship with the Savior makes us sicker. In my case, I viewed my relationship with Jesus as transactional and conditional. In my belief, Jesus only wanted to be my God if I was a “good person”. If I did good deeds, He would be happy and love me. But if I stumbled and sinned, He would be angry and cast me away. Fictional thinking like this can be caused by past hurts. The only way to heal them is to learn the truth.
The purpose of Pure and Lovely Ministries is to accompany you as we seek the truth of how Jesus defines Himself and let Him define us. How will this happen? We start by being equipped with the Word of God. The Bible tells us who Jesus is (Matthew 16:15-16), what He has done for us (Rom 3:24-26), and our new life in Him (2 Cor 5:17-19). By establishing a practice of reading the Bible daily we fill ourselves with more of Christ. Reading and listening to sound teachings helps us learn how to apply the Word of God. Fellowshipping with friends, accountability partners, and the church body is essential for this too.
Once equipped, the Word of God begins to edify (build us up) by the knowledge of Christ and the understanding of our new identity in Him. Edification is fostered by a relationship and a relationship is fostered by communion. Communion with the Lord is sacred time spent together. Like a husband with his wife. They talk. Listen. Rest. We can commune with God through prayer-journaling, reading a devotional, singing, worshiping, or even being intentionally silent before Him. Jesus came down from Heaven and dwelt among us that we may know Him and be close to Him. You can ask the Lord. He has wisdom on how you should spend your personal time with Him. As we continue seeking Jesus, knowing Jesus, and loving Jesus day by day, we start to become filled with Him. When we fill our eyes, minds, hearts, and souls with the fullness of Christ, there isn’t room for anything else. He becomes our everything. Our all in all. We define ourselves as being consumed by Christ. Not controlled by sin.
Naturally we will begin to shift our sight from our sin to our Savior. This is the exhortation of our souls. There’s nothing more uplifting than the ability to lose yourself in the One who you love and who loves you. 2 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that God “always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” God has spoken. In Christ we have the victory! I hope you’re just as excited as I am. We are embarking on a journey of being completely filled with the fullness of Christ! We are fully equipped, fully edified, and fully exhorted to triumph in Christ over sexual sin. Jesus leaves us fully satisfied yet fully ready for more of Him. Are you ready for more of Christ in your life?
Pure and Lovely Ministries 