What? Me Lascivious?

Lasciviousness! It is a Bible Word- appearing in the New Testament six times. It was mentioned by Christ, Paul, Peter, and Jude.
It is a Big Word- 14 letters long. It is a Bad Word- spoken of with great condemnation in the Word of God.
Today many women professing to be believers in the Lord are carrying themselves in a lascivious way, mostly by ignorance. Over two thousand years ago, believing women fell into the same trap.
Notice what happened, as described in I Timothy 2:9-10- In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
These ladies were professing godliness, but not practicing it. Their clothing and jewelry was not pleasing to God. The ways of the women of the world were slowly infiltrating the church.
What is lasciviousness? According to Webster's Dictionary, Lascivious means loose, wanton, lewd, lustful, a tendency to excite lust and promote irregular indulgences. According to the Barnhart & Thorndike Dictionary, it is simply defined feeling lust, showing lust, causing lust.
Today I could shorten these definitions down to one four-letter word: sexy.
Being sexy or trying to be sexy is a sin. We are not taught to be sexy, but to be holy both in body [physically] and in spirit [emotionally and mentally]. Read I Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:34- What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not our own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
Marriage is the place for physical intimacy. Showing or causing lust outside of marriage is wrong. It is lascivious.
Women and teen ladies must realize that their anatomy can cause lust in men. By dressing incorrectly, or immodestly, a woman can trigger lustful thoughts in a man.
Consider David's sin. II Samuel 11:2-5- And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
What's the big deal? Since the sexual revolution blossomed in the 1960's, our country has slid down a deep decline into a moral abyss characterized by nakedness and nudity. Immodest clothing and a sexy demeanor have become the normal of women today.
In 1960 the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta reported five major Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's) in America. In 1999 they reported thirty. Some of these are incurable and fatal. No one can tell outwardly who has these diseases. A very handsome, muscular young man could be diseased. A very attractive, young lady could be diseased.
Sixty percent of all teens say they have fornicated by the age of 18. Almost 1.5 million teen girls become pregnant every year. Half of these teen girls abort their babies. Ninety seven percent of single mothers live in poverty the rest of their lives. Not many of them find a good man who wants to marry them.
Here is one of the saddest facts: one out of three teen girls who becomes pregnant is impregnated by an adult man. What does this teach us? Adult men can be stimulated by teen girls.
It is atrocious the way teen girls dress today. It is not uncommon to see them with tight shorts, bare legs, bare mid-rifts, bare shoulders, and low cut tops. This causes lust. This is lasciviousness. Most teen girls do not have a clue of what today's fashions do to men.
Men are instructed in Proverbs 6:25- Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Matthew 5:28- But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
This is a difficult command for men to obey today. Men are over-stimulated today by lasciviousness. It seems that everywhere a man turns there is an improperly dressed woman or a picture of an improperly dressed woman. No Christian woman should dress, look, or act in a lascivious way.
Consider these Scriptures:
Mark 7:20-23- And he [Jesus] said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, Lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Ephesians 4:19- Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Lascivious people are described as being past feeling. Some ladies who say they are believers in the Lord have no shame, guilt, or conviction about dressing or acting improperly. Are they past feeling?
Galatians 5:19-21- Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Lasciviousness is a work of the flesh that could cause a person to lose some or all of their eternal inheritance.
I Peter 4:2-3- That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
Lasciviousness may have been something we did in our past, but we should not in our present.
II Corinthians 12:21- And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
Lasciviousness should be repented of. It is sin. It shows lust and causes lust. It causes people to be carnal, fleshly, and worldly minded. Life is too short to waste it on lust. Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Romans 8:8- So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
How should a Christian lady act? Consider these instructions:
Titus 2:4-5- That they may teach the young women to be sober, to live their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Proverbs 31:30- Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

- Pastor Kohl

Healthy Minute- Balancing Your Body

There are three different states that your body can be in- alkaline, acidic, and neutral. Knowing how each of these states affect your health can help you to understand why certain things are happening in your body.
In an acidic body, the balance of the intestinal flora can become tipped in the bad bacteria's favor. Candida can easily thrive and grow out of control. And your body is depleted of minerals very quickly. If the blood's PH gets too acidic, it can lead to central nervous system depression, and even death.
The blood requires a PH level of 7.35 to 7.45, which is just into the alkaline range. When the blood starts to get acidic, the body pulls phosphates from your teeth and bones to bring the alkalinity back to where it should be. This can lead to teeth prone to cavities, and weak bones.
In a severely alkaline body, the nerves can become hypersensitive. Muscle spasms and convulsions can occur, sometimes violent enough to cause death.
The body requires balance. The PH scale ranges from 0 to 14. We need to keep our body in the neutral, or 7 range. Anything that has a PH below 7 is considered acidic, and anything above 7 is considered alkaline. The acidic scale needs to be looked at as ten times for each one letter. So, soda has a PH of 3, which makes it ten thousand times more acidic than water.
Your body has three ways of keeping you in that perfect neutral setting: buffer systems, carbon dioxide release, and elimination of hydrogen ions. These three things occur without you even thinking about them (like pulling the phosphates from your bones as mentioned above).
We can help our body perform it's job and keep ourselves in optimal health by eating foods that help keep our body in the neutral zone.
The typical Western diet of animal foods (meat, dairy, etc) and highly processed grains leads to a very acidic body. The best way to help your body balance is to incorporate a good amount of alkalizing fruits and vegetables. You can have all the meat and dairy you like if you eat just a little more fruits and veggies to balance it out.
Drinking lemon water, or water with a little Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg's brand with the "mother") in it can help to bring your body back to the middle ground. Just please know that there is no "over night fix" that you can do. It's going to take time a dedication to bring your body to the neutral PH position and keep it there.
This is not an exhaustive study on this topic. If you want more information, please watch the video below. If you're interest is piqued, I encourage you to do more research on your own.

NOTE: I am not associated with PHion. It is just the best video I could find that explains PH.

Believer's Heritage- John Charles Ryle

John Charles Ryle was born in 1816 in Macclesfield, England. His father, John Ryle, was a private banker and he was raised among the wealthy of his time. He went to prep school at the age of seven. He said that he learned more evil in the next two years at that school that during the rest of his life.
After prep school, he went to Eton. Another school where he learned that arguments were settled with fist fights. The only good that came was when he had to study the Articles of Religion in order to enter Oxford University. John wasn't raised with any type of religious doctrine, and this study is where he attained his doctrinal views.
While at Oxford, he played cricket, hockey, and rowed. These sports allowed him to gain an understanding of discipline, and he encouraged his own sons to play. It wasn't until his last year of schooling that he buckled down and studied in order to graduate.
It was during his time at Oxford that John Ryle asked Christ to save him. He arrived late to an evening prayer service in 1837. The Oxford Parish Church was having a lesson on Ephesians 2. When the reader read verse 8- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:- John knew what he had to do. He said this was when he accepted Christ's salvation for his soul.
After he graduated Oxford, Ryle went back home. He was a rich, single gentleman who seemed to have everything. At the age of 21, he suffered a lung infection. Then the banks collapsed and he found himself without anything in the course of one day. John was rather bitter about this loss. It was only time that taught him God could work His will through loss. It was because of these that John began to faithfully read his Bible.
John wanted to earn some money and this was his primary reason for entering the ministry. He was ordained a Bishop in 1841. He started his ministry in the poor area of Exbury, a place full of swamps and snakes. The people didn't see their need for anything spiritual. John dutifully worked this area for two years as preacher and doctor for the poor there. God was able to change John's heart so that his desire for money waned and his desire for the salvation of souls grew.
It was in 1844 in Suffolk that John took the time to read the Puritan and Reformer writings that gave him the basis for his ministry. He preached to rich and poor alike the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, pointing all to the "old paths" which lead to the Savior.
John learned that loss was part of life. He married his first wife in 1845, and lost her in 1847. He married again in 1850, only to have her become sick 6 months later. He nursed her for 10 years, often taking an open carriage ride for 30 miles just so he could be home with her at night. But, she passed away in 1860 leaving him with 5 children; one from his first wife.
His third wife, Henriette, married him in 1861. She had good health and was a musician. They were married until 1889.
He pastored throughout rural England for 38 years. He was not only a pastor, but a writer and an evangelist. He preached at conventions and gave lectures under the Church Association in Picadilly. It was here that he preached "Why were our reformers burned?" I believe that it was partly his experience with loss that enabled him to understand why God would allow such things to happen.
His writings started with tracts, then went on to include books, hymns, and commentaries. His first pamphlet was prompted by the death of 100 people caused by a bridge collapse. Again, God used loss to encourage John along in His will. He wrote around 300 messages in pamphlet form. He said, "My chief desire in all my writings, is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and make Him beautiful and glorious in the eyes of men; and to promote the increase of repentance, faith, and holiness upon earth."
He became the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool in 1880. John was now 64 years old. At the age where most men were retiring, John started a new ministry that would span another 20 years! He died just a few months after retiring in 1900 at the age of 84 in Lowestoft, England.
He was known as a one-book man who was said to have bled the Bible. About the blessed, old Book, John Ryle said, "It is still the first book which fits the child's mind when he begins to learn religion, and the last to which the old man clings as he leaves the world."

Paula The Waldensian book review

This book is the story of a saved little girl in a family of unbelievers. Paula challenged us as we read this book to love the Lord more and think of others before we think of ourselves. It is a story of a young girl who is following the Lord Jesus, loving Him, and obeying Him despite the fact her parents are dead and she is living with her uncle’s family. She chooses to be kind and loving in every circumstances she finds herself in.
I can't tell you how many times I found myself crying through this book! Author Eva Lecomte has a way with words in the book Paula The Waldensian. It took me a few tries before I was able to read it out loud to my children without tearing up and having to stop and gather myself,
This book is very hard to find to buy, however, I did google it and found a pdf form that I downloaded to my desktop. Amazon sells it for around $12. Also, try reading it from the internet.

I Was the Thorn (song)

Apple Crisp Pie recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

6 cups Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

 

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

10 tablespoons quick cooking oats

6 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.

To make the crust, beat 1/2 cup of butter with cream cheese in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined; scrape the sides of mixing bowl occasionally to incorporate all the butter and cream cheese. Beat in 1 1/4 cups flour, the white sugar, and salt on medium-low speed until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about 20 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until the dough begins to clump together, about 30 more seconds.

Lay out a 24-inch piece of waxed paper on a work surface, and scoop the dough out onto the left half of the paper. Form it into a ball, and flatten it into a 6-inch disk; fold the right side of the paper over the dough disk, covering the dough. With the rolling pin on top of the paper, gently roll the dough out into a round crust about 1/8-inch thick; peel off the top half of the waxed paper, turn the dough out onto the prepared pie dish, and fit the dough into the dish. Peel of the remaining portion of waxed paper.

To make the filling, mix together the apples and lemon juice in a bowl. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger together until thoroughly combined, then mix the flour mixture with the apples. Pour the apple filling into the crust.

To make the topping, combine 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and the oats; with a pastry cutter, cut in 6 tablespoons of butter, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Spoon the topping evenly over the apple filling.

Bake in the preheated oven until the apple filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. If the crust begins to look brown after about 20 minutes of baking, cover the crust edge with a strip of aluminum foil.

Funny Happenings- Eating Bugs

Living in the South allows us a rather diverse palate. We enjoy a variety of ethnic foods, including Cajun. A lot of Cajun cooking incorporates seafood into the dishes, and because of this my children are use to eating a variety of fish and shellfish.
While over at my brother's-in-law house we were enjoying some of the local seafood. He and my husband were cracking open oysters to grill with butter, garlic, and parmesean cheese. Inside I had cut up some french bread, and was working on beheading, peeling, and deveining the shrimp. We were going to put them on some kabob poles and wrap them in bacon to grill.
My little nephew came in and watched me for a second and then asked, "What are you doing to those bugs?"
I chuckled a little and told him that I was getting them ready to cook. He had eaten shrimp before in many different dishes, but had never seen them in their original "fresh" state.
About 5 minutes later he walks up to me again with a puzzled look on his face and questioned, "What do bugs taste like?"

There's Good Things In The Fire (video sermon)

In Daniel 3, the heathen king, Nebuchadnezzar, threw the three Hebrew children into a fiery furnace. If you are familiar with the Bible, you know the story- God was with them in the fire and they weren't hurt. They came out having a testimony that they served the Living God.

Many times we want to find a way to avoid the fire. No one likes to go through the fire, but there are good things that can come from going through the fire.

First, the Hebrew children's shackles were burned off. They were bound before they went in, but God used the fire to free them from their bonds. We may not like the fire, but it may be the only way to remove what has us bound in our Spiritual lives.

The fire can also reveal the Son in our lives. The Hebrew children weren't sure that God was going to save them. They said they wouldn't bow either way. But once in the fire, they could see that God was with them. And, so could all those around them! God was revealed in a personal way to them and all those who watched them go through the fire.

It can release the sinner. Their time in the fire was the reason that Nebuchadnezzar passed the law that no one could speak against the Living God. They had to go through the fire for all nations to get the word of this powerful, saving God.

Fire can destroy, yes. But, it can also warm us, give light, reveal, and more. Just because you're going through a fire doesn't mean you're going to be destroyed. Just because you're going through the fire doesn't mean it's because of something you did wrong. Some times, God uses the fire to bring about some amazing things in our lives and the lives of those watching us.

Redemption (poem)

He died for my sins on a cross, so they say,
In His holy body He bore them away.
So cruel a death, such an innocent, He,
As the nails through His flesh were driven for me.
My sin, oh the shame, that He must have felt
As His back in the courtyard I beat with a belt.
The crime it was mine, but the sentence He paid.
As the lash I laid on, He entreatingly said,
"My Father, forgive. Don't remember his crime
For, Father, it's done in ignorance this time."
But so that this act my ne'er be diminished,
He lifted His eyes and said, "It is finished."

-CLT

The Value Of The Basics

1 Chronicles 15:2- Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

David learned a valuable lesson the hard way that every generation needs to learn. The lesson that David learned was that the basics work every time, even if they seem to be outdated. David wanted to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem so that he could experience God’s blessings to their fullest. The mistake David made was that he copied the Philistines way of moving the ark instead of following the basics that God gave in moving the ark. This mistake caused a man to lose his life. However, David learned from his mistake and went back to the basics and was successful in his attempt in bringing the ark of God to the city of David.
In our modern times, many have left the basics of God’s Word because they seem to think that the basics are outdated. In this day of technology, the basics may not seem to work as well as technology, but the basics will beat out the results of technology every time. The basics are the foundational principles of God’s Word that will bring the greatest blessings on your life if you will follow them. Here are some observations about the basics that will help you in your daily life.
First, the basics are always safe. The reason why the basics are always safe is because they have been tried and proven. When you try a new way, you don’t know what the new way will produce or where it will lead. If you want to be safe in life, then you would be wise to follow the basics.
Second, the basics are always relevant. Here is where many people make a mistake. Many people feel that the basics are outdated and won’t work in today’s technologically advanced world. That is where they are wrong. The basics are the foundation upon which everything is built. God is not saying not to use today’s advances, but only use today’s advances if they don’t take you away from the basics. The basics will always be relevant because Scriptural principles never change.
Third, the basics always produce good results. When David got back to the basics, that is when he experienced his desired results. The best results in life always come when following the basics. The basics may not be flashy, but they always give you the results you want. In the sports world, the team that follows the basics is the team that usually wins the championship. They may not always be fun to watch, but they win the championship that the team desired. Your greatest victories in life will come when you follow the basics.
Christian, have you been tempted to leave the basics? Don’t allow the new age temptations to pull you from the basics of the Word of God. The basics in business will make your business the best that it can be. Following the financial basics will help you to do the best with the money that you do have. The basics in Christianity will produce the best Christians. The basics in church building will always produce the strongest churches. The basics that made a nation strong will always keep that nation strong. Never leave the basics, for in them lies your greatest blessings.