Tag: love

Ask Yourself – Is It The Right Time?

Posted on by vestella

We are responsible for our actions. Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Are you ready for the consequences of your actions? What if an accident happens and you get pregnant? Are you ready for the responsibility of being a mom? Are you prepared emotionally, physically, financially, mentally and spiritually? When you think of these, these questions may warn you to wait for the right time – your marriage.

Indeed, God has made everything beautiful in its time. We need to trust His word. We need not to lose hope in His promises. The Maker knows our very purpose.

The Right Time

The right time according to the word of God is when you get married. Sex should happen inside marriage. Not outside marriage. This is the standard of God. It is a sin against God and against you to do sex outside marriage as it written in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “Flee fornicating. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”

It is God’s desires for us to have a successful marriage. He has given us His standards. And it is our choice if we will follow and obey His word. Indeed, it will always be a choice. Always remember that it is all about His time and not ours.

There is always a right time for everything. Be patient and obey the standard of God’s timing. There will be a reward at the end of the process. We have a faithful God who is true to His word. Learn to trust His timing.

Respond in obedience

Let’s not be a slave of our selfish desires. The greatest enemy that we could ever have is ourselves. There will be moments where we will need to choose between our bodies crave and the instruction of God. God says, there must never be a hint of sexual immorality. Whether it is just kissing for you or any seemingly innocent, the internal struggle is the same.

God desires for His children to respond in obedience. We have the freedom of choices. But we don’t have the freedom of consequences. God is the source of wisdom. He knows very well what is good from what is not. He is expert in knowing what may hurt us from what is not. Have you seen a parent who loves a child so much and gives instruction to jump on a cliff? Would you think a parent who loves his/her child would do that? What more our God? Our God’s greatest pleasure is to enjoy the fullness of life. Jesus came to save us to live our lives to the full. And if there is the best person to follow, it’s Jesus our Lord.

Ask yourself, is this really the right time? Is this the time where I have the blessings of God? Is everything around you gives you peace of mind and assurance? The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing. Even if you feel it is so right but you know that it’s not the right time according to God’s standards, then think first before you end up losing your virginity.

Be Content While You Wait for the Right Time

Enjoy your season. Be content with what you have now. Be grateful to what is given to you for now. Anyone who is faithful with little will be blessed with much.

Fill yourself with God’s love. It’s the best way to experience contentment and satisfaction. When we start to secure our lives with the word of God, it will serve as our weapon every time we are weak with our own desires.

Why Waiting Is A Virtue

Posted on by vestella

Waiting is one virtue that we all have to learn to receive what God planned for us…

What season does God bring you to? It is important to know the season you are in now. If you’re in the season of singlehood and not ready for marriage, learn to wait. I know that it’s hard to wait. It takes self-control. But one thing we should always remind ourselves is to not depend on our own strength because we may fail. But with God’s strength, we become overcomers.

It takes humility to ask God to give us the grace in waiting (believe me, His grace works). Good things happen to those who wait. Nothing can compare to the joy and fulfillment for those who wait.

Know Your Priorities While Waiting

When you don’t know your priority in this season, you will end up confused to where you are going because you don’t know exactly what you need to prioritize. Set your priorities while waiting. What does God want you to do in this season?

I believe one of those is for you to enjoy your relationship with your family and friends. Our time on Earth is limited. And while God is giving you and opportunity to spend time with your family and friends, do it. It is something we will enjoy anyway. This will help you set your focus on the right track.

True Love Waits!

Indeed, true love waits! If you are in a relationship now and your partner truly loves you, then he/she will respect you to wait until it is the right time. Hold on to your virginity. Man, take the lead. If you really love the woman, you will not initiate or influence her to lose her virginity. You will act in faith, trust, and love.

Be the man God called you to be. Woman, guard the heart of your man. One of their greatest struggles is lust. So, be careful how you carry yourself. We need to help our man in guarding their hearts. If you love your partner, you will preserve his/her virginity until the time of marriage. And both of you will surely enjoy it.

It’s All Worth It

God says everything is beautiful in His time. Have you ever tried to eat a strawberry that is not yet ripe? How does it taste? Yes, you may eat it. But it tastes best when it is ripe. Have you ever tried wearing a sweater on a sunny day? Will you be comfortable with that? Everything has its time. All we need to do is wait on God and trust God that He knows best. Do what God is asking you to do in this season of waiting. And when the harvest comes, you will surely enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s worth the wait.

Preserve Your Virginity

Posted on by vestella

Preserving your virginity is not only a form of self-love and self-respect, but it is also a way of pleasing God.  Teenagers and adults today are greatly influenced by the media. Most of the time, they offer a different standard of sex. Some practice the “collect-and-select” process to check whom they are compatible with.

Some are just affected by what they see and hear from other people and they do sex just for the fun or experience of it. Sad to say, some do it out of marriage, regardless of whatever the life-long effect or possible consequences it may bring them. But don’t settle for something temporary. You deserve much more.

Set Your Standard

God’s standard is much more different than the world. God made sex to be enjoyed by His creation. He designed it beautifully inside marriage. And your virginity matters before our God. If you are the person who felt like you have lost it already, I am telling you it’s not too late. Virginity is much more than the physical. It also involves mental, spiritual and emotional aspects.

You may regain your virginity. Yes! You may. God says, “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.”  If you have decided to accept Christ in your life and believe that in your heart, then you are a new person. You can start again with a new life. And as you start now, let’s do some rearrangement of your standards. Not any more of the world’s, but of the Lord’s standards.

Remember, when you are in Christ now, you are turning away from your old self and turning to Him. That means you are no longer a slave of your own desires because you have surrendered yourself to the Lordship of Christ.

Therefore, you may ask the Lord what standards He wants you to set for yourself. But I believe that God’s standard for sex is to be inside the bond of marriage.

The Importance of God’s Standard

People settle for what is available and temporary because they don’t have boundaries for themselves. Even in having sex. Having a set of standards gives you restraint and focus. If you stand for something, you won’t fall for anything. What do you really want? Ask yourself.

Do you really want to lose your virginity outside marriage? Think of the possible consequences that you may face. Again, sex is a gift from God. When not used properly, it may destroy you and the people who are important to you.

Sex, when not used according to God’s standard, may affect not just your relationship with other people, but even your lifestyle. There was a study about young people who engaged in premarital sex. It was observed in the study that it declined their academic performance and destroyed their relationship with their family and friends.

Is that what you think God wants for you? Did God promise to harm you? No. God wants us to enjoy our relationship with Him and with other people. That is why He is serious in telling us to obey Him because He knows fully well the consequences of our sins. Going outside of God’s standards will hurt us. Set your standard in alignment with God’s and it will help you to experience the goodness of sex in His time. Start making a stand now.

Love a Man Who Will Treat You like a Queen

Posted on by vestella

Choosing a man to love reflects your personal walk with God. As a woman of faith, protecting your body is one of the things that gives delight to the Lord. The right man will honor your dignity. All others will use your body and tell you that it is an act of love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This verse on the scripture is a good way to know whether a man is right for you or not. Some parents advice their daughters to replace the first word of every sentence with the name of the man they want. Does it sound fitting? Do you agree with every sentence? God wants you to spend your life with that man if he fits into the description.

Do Not Love A Married Man

You will meet a lot of people along your journey in this life. You may even meet a man who is married. Do not make the mistake of getting close to him. Guard your heart all the time so you don’t end up being deceived. The sad truth about this world is that adultery and fornication are justified in our society. It is very easy for others to throw away their marriage vows. They abandon their spouse when they are no longer happy. Worse, they have the heart to deceive their spouse. But having a relationship with a married man is not the only thing that single women must avoid. You also must not engage in sexual relations with a man outside of marriage. Remember, God has a commandment on this. God tells us something about sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 6:18. He says “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”

God Will Give You The Right Man to Love At The Right Time

There is no need to hurry in love. Everyone goes through the seasons of life at different paces. Do not compare your journey with your friends, relatives, or colleagues. God has prepared your own unique love story. He will give you the right man to love in His own time. You just have to stay faithful and continue to live the kind of life that is pleasing to the Lord. Protect your body from anyone who will try to stain your dignity. The right man who will come at the right time will walk side-by-side with you in serving God. This is going to be the best gift you’ll ever receive – a God-fearing husband who will love you gently and treat you like a queen!

Spiritual Amnesia

Posted on by Elna

My understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High. – Daniel 4:34 nkjv

As we all know, amnesia is a condition that involves the loss of memories. It can make us forget about who we are, where we are from, and everything else. Amnesia is indeed something serious; it could hurt our loved ones for not knowing who they are and could lead to difficulty in forming new memories.  

However, it is different when it comes to having an amnesia spiritually. What is Spiritual Amnesia? I’ve met a lot of people saying that they are lost; they don’t know where to head to anymore because they’ve lost faith in God. They don’t know what to do, nor do they know who they really are. Some tell me it’s because God seems to not hear their prayers, and there’s no blessings coming to them.

I always tell them that everything that’s happening in our life is already a blessing in itself. Every second that we’re alive is already a blessing from the Lord. If you’re asking something from the Lord and He still hasn’t delivered your blessings, don’t think that He’s already forgotten you. The Lord only wants you to be strong and prepared for the time when He has already given you what you have been asking for. What you need to do is to wait, be patient and trust Him.

He truly loves you and He will never forget about you. Keep praying and keep your faith in God, and all of the blessings you are asking for will be delivered. Don’t feel lost. The direction of your being should be focused in and directed towards our Lord God.

Let us pray together…

Dear Lord God, help us remember your divine promises. There are times when we question everything, times when we almost lose our faith in you. Please forgive us for our sins. We don’t want to lose you, we want you to always be by our side; because if you’re not, our Lord God, we would be lost. We wouldn’t know which direction to follow, for you are our guardian. Please help us and look after us everyday. Amen.

God Is Moving

Posted on by Elna

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Every step in our life, God had already planned out everything for us even before we were born. God does not reveal His plans to us all at once because we could not handle them. He gives us just a glimpse through visions and dreams, but He plans for us to all live a prosperous life. If you think that God is not listening to any of your prayers because you’re not receiving the blessings you are asking Him for, don’t lose trust and faith in God. Let Him make a move and be patient.

God will never forget about you, just wait for Him. He does the work in His own time, and He doesn’t want to give it to you just yet because you are not ready. Everything would take time because God wants us to be fully prepared for everything before He reveals it to us one by one. Never stop praying to God.

Let’s take our time and be patient while we continue to pray to God. Do not pray only in times of trouble and when you’re asking Him for something; pray also to thank Him and be grateful that you are part of Him.

Let’s pray together…

Dear Lord God, I pray that you do not forget about us, your beloved children. We will continue praying to you and doing your will, Father. We will always be patient and lay all our problems onto you. Please help us in times of hardship. Amen.

Giving The Gift Of Prayer

Posted on by Elna

We all know how powerful prayers can be and how it has definitely helped us in a lot of ways and in every situation we’ve been in. But praying doesn’t have to be only just for what we need for ourselves; it can also be for our loved ones.

Some of you may not yet understand what “Giving The Gift Of Prayer” means, but it’s basically praying for the ones you love and care for.

Let’s say, you don’t know what to do in a situation where someone you care about is really sick, and you wanted to do something for that person. If you pray for that person, that’s considered as giving a gift to him or her. Because you really care about that person and you wanted him or her to get well as soon as possible, you gave the gift of prayer.

Giving a gift doesn’t always have to involve something physical in order for you to show appreciation or for you to make someone happy. Prayer is very powerful, and it is our way of communicating with God. And we know God won’t let us down, so He will be giving us what we ask for.

Just keep praying; not only for yourself, but also for the people you love and care about. Praying is not limited. You can pray for everything, but also do not forget to say how thankful you are to God for everything He has done for you.

Let’s pray together:

Dear God, we pray to you to heal everyone we know and love who has an illness or disease. Please use your healing hands to help them, so that they may be able to serve you even better. We also thank you for everything you have done for us. You have never left our side in times of hardship, and you’re always there every time we need you. Please hear our prayers, Almighty God. Amen.

Unconditional Love

Posted on by Elna

Can we show unconditional love, just like Jesus?

Psalm 36:5 NIV

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

The best relationships are built on a foundation of love and trust. We feel stronger and more willing to give our all out love to the world if we feel secured and cherished.

As Morrie Schwartz said, “The most important thing in this world is to learn to give out love, and let it come in.” One of the best feelings ever is to love and be loved in return. There’s nothing greater than loving absolutely with no boundaries. Though pain is along the way, with unconditional love, it stays limitless and never changing.

When we talk about unconditional love, it’s not just the love you give to other people. It is also about having the strength of heart and mind in loving yourself first, so you can give the same amount of love to another person.

Loving yourself is not a loan that needs to be repaid, but a genuine gift of the heart – a gesture where only you benefit directly. It is imperative that we love and accept ourselves fully first. Only when you stop chasing changes in yourself can you begin to love others without their needing to change. It is then that love can be deemed unconditional.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

 

Overcome Temptation

Posted on by Elna

How to Overcome Temptation Through Faith

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 Corinthians 10:13

On today’s verse, we’re going to talk about man’s temptation. We sometimes hear a bad mysterious voice whispering in our ears to do bad deeds, but God will not let us be tempted to do such things. God is kind and merciful. He is always watching over His children and He will not let us fall easily into Satan’s evil hands.

If you feel like you are being tempted to do sinful things, do not forget to pray to overcome temptation. Let the Holy Father guard your heart from sin.

As Christians, we should always pray to God. We should pray to ask for forgiveness for our past sins, and ask God to strengthen us in a lot of ways, especially in overcoming Satan’s temptations.

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. – 1 Timothy 6:9-11

 

 

Read previous blog: What Matters

Why you deserve true love

Posted on by Admin VGC

One of the greatest teachings on love is spelled out beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4. The biblical verse reads, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (NIV). Love has been described a million ways, but this verse sums it up in one line. Certainly, searching the word “love” in Google will list a plethora of quotes, definitions, songs, movies, and art about love. There are just so many things that have been said about it.

For instance, when you say, “God is love”, people will see it as another cliché. But even so, if you want to know the true essence of love, my advice would be to look in the Bible. From cover to cover, you will find the greatest love story ever told; the love story between God and humanity.

Love is defined by what Jesus has done on the cross. If we want to know what love truly is, it’s important as a community to look back to the Author of love and see what He had to say about it.

Another similarly important bible verse is 1 Corinthians 13. It’s important to know this versus what the world tells us. The world tells us to “love yourself first” and the one who cares less has the greater power. General advice on love goes from “following your heart” to “saving some love for your self”. However, this is far from the biblical love that Jesus extended to us. The Bible tells us that you cannot follow your heart, because it is deceitful.1 Moreover, he poured out every bit of himself to the point of death on the cross because of how much he loves us.2 He cared more. Even when we were still sinners, he loved us first.3 The world tells us that love is conditional and divorce is always an option. But Jesus displays an unconditional love for us and that nothing can separate us from his love. 4 The biblical perspective of love seems so different from the way the world perceives it to be.

As a mother, wife, pastor and leader in the community, I often have to refer to these biblical verses to keep myself balanced. All the responsibilities of these roles can become overwhelming. And truthfully, every now and then I find myself straying away. If you’re feeling this way, know that you are loved. The love for your life far surpasses the worldly love plastered on social media and television screens. You are important because Jesus died on the cross for you.

For more on how to define true love, read the 10 Commandments of Love written by Bishop E. Bernard Jordan.