A poem

So last night I was watching Lord of the Rings and a line in the movie wouldn't stop going through my head and I ended up writing a poem. This poem has nothing to do with purity, at least not to me, but I felt I needed to share it.



Don't go were I can't follow,
Please don't leave me here alone.
All I want is to hear you again
To feel your touch
And to see you for the first time.
I need you here to guide me through my darkness.
To help me through my confusion.

I need you
The reasons are clear as black is white.
Will you still accept my ruined soul?

Don't go were I can't follow.
I don't want to be lonely anymore.
My eyes are blind,
To what you have in store.
I know I try to walk away from you
Which hammers your limbs once again.
Unfortunately nothing will take away the pain I've caused.

Don't go were I can't follow.
Please don't leave me behind.
I'm here begging for your forgiveness
Even though I don't deserve it.


So after I wrote this I read it over to see if it has anything to do with purity and I figured out it does. The first thing I realized is that many people when reading this would automatically think I was talking about a guy. Which this poem is not about a guy, it is about God. From this I noticed that many people in this generation, mainly girls turn everything into something about a guy. But this is the opposite of what God wants us to do. God doesn't want us to be like this, he wants our number one priority to be him. To me learning this is a big key to staying pure, because we have to get our minds off the world's perspective of love and keep our minds on God's path.

Dee Koester

Tonight I went to the City Wide Prayer Meeting. As I was sitting there I saw Dee, a lady in our church. This past week her husband died, but we know that he is in Heaven, right now. I don't know exactly how long they were married, but I know it was longer than I have been alive and that they loved each other very much. So Here is a woman that found the man she planned to spend the rest of her life with ( something I pray for), but now she has to be without him. As I was sitting there thinking about this, I was watching her. She was stretching her hand out praying for people, but it was the look in her eyes that got my attention. In her eyes you could see the sincere concern and compassion she had for people. So while I'm sitting here feeling horrible for Dee, she is overwhelmed with love and joy for others. I was both inspired and taken back by Dee, because I saw just how selfless her love for Don and God are. She rejoices knowing that her husband is in a far better place, and though she might be feeling loss she still reaches out to others. I think too many times, we think of love in a marriage as something we need to have and receive to be complete. This is selfishly seeking love, but, proven by Don and Dee, the love that lasts is selfless. I want to leave you with this thought..........Is it possible to seek for what is selfless, selfishly, and find it??

Her Name:PURITY

Her name and reputation are slandered and dragged through the gutter by those who have left her

She wanders the street hoping someone will pursue her.

Bruised an Battered,
She calls out to those she loves,
Her heart in pieces, caused by all the false lovers in her past.

The children that used to cling to her have left her behind in their adolescence.

Misinterpreted,
Misplaced,
Misunderstood

Stripped of her clothing,
She is forsaken.

Her Name: PURITY
Her Purpose:TO SEPARATE US FOR THE WILL OF GOD

Are You Willing To Stand?!

If we expect to be a generation that is pure and separate for the work of Christ, we are going to have to help each other out! Guys, your purity is directly affected by the purity of the girls that you come in contact with. Girls, same goes for us. We need to be guarding each other's purity! Guys, If a girl walks into church dressed all hoochie, that doesn't affect her purity. She is not lusting off herself. So you should be encouraging the young Christian ladies you know to practice modesty in our culture! Ladies if you are dressing like that and making your Christian brother lust, the last thing that is going to be on his mind is making sure he treats you with the respect you deserve! What we need is ladies who are going to go against everything that society tells us a girl should be and go to the word of God. Then, we need young men who are going to stand behind these ladies and support them, not only with words but with actions. If you know you do not have self control then stand up and tell her, " I don't think we should be alone!" We as brothers and sisters in Christ need to love each other enough to stand for truth in each others lives, so that none of us will fall away from all that God has called us to.

Ladies! You are Fearfuly and Wonderfuly Made!

Identity Crisis

via Pastor Steven Furtick by sf on 9/13/07

I heard somebody on TV the other day saying that Britney Spears has gotten too fat.
And my first reaction was: "I wish I could cover the ears of every 13 year old girl in America right now."
I seriously wanted to throw up.

As a young pastor who wants to see the next generation rise above surface level spirituality, nothing makes me sadder than to imagine what it must be like for all the young ladies who are being force fed the lies of the modern media.

Should we take care of our bodies? No doubt.
Is it okay to care about fashion and appearance? Go for it.
(I personally love the way my wife works hard to dress well and look good for her man. And I try to do the same for her. That means I wear what she tells me to wear. It's that simple.)

But I'm deeply concerned that this generation of gals is beholding the wrong standards.
So I'd like to offer a few pastoral observations to my wonderful female readership about the impending American female identity crisis.

1. Nicole Richie is too skinny. Make sure you're drawing your inspiration from reasonable and truly beautiful role models. You don't get a "pretty point" for every rib that I can count. In fact, I shouldn't be seeing your stomach at all. Put some clothes on.
2. The girls on My Super Sweet 16 are not normal. They are bratty and disgusting. You should not act like them. If you do act like them, your parents should beat you. Not put you on restriction. Beat you. Yeah, I said it.
3. If you will cultivate Christ like character and pursue God with your whole heart, you'll attract guys with the right stuff. Your identity has got to run deeper than your make up and new shoes. Make guys respect you for what's within you.

I am passionate about this. I want to exalt true and lasting beauty that doesn't fade for the young ladies who sit under my teaching every week. I want them to know who they are and who they belong to. I want them to hold themselves in high regard as women who are uniquely crafted and completely loved by God. And I want them to practice selective hearing, so that the next time some talking head tells them Britney is too fat, and it makes them feel inadequate, they'll turn off their TVs and fill their minds with the thoughts of God instead.

A Meaningless Piece of Metal

What is the deal with Christians and purity/promise rings?! We seem to think that as long as we have THE ring we're good. It's just a ring! I'm pretty sure God is more concerned with whether we actually practice purity rather than us wearing a ring that says we do. But people seem to think a dinky little ring makes you holy, "You don't have to actually be pure as long as you have a ring." I know most people don't think or say this, but their actions scream it!
And the people that actually get the rings are the people who push the limits.......you know what limits I'm talking about, " it's okay if I do A-Y as long as we don't touch Z." No WAY!!! We are supposed to be honoring God with our bodies! You are probably reading this thinking," Purity rings are a good thing," or, "She has no idea what she is talking about." Well, I have a friend who just paid roughly $100 for her purity ring, she is a "christian", and is constantly looking for ways to get around actually having sex, but still have "fun." The intentions behind purity/promise rings were good, but the symbol has been exalted over what it represents. If any one is reading this and they have a purity ring, use it for something other then showing hypocrisy, practice what you claim to practice, and show God's light through your actions.

This Is What We're About!

Have you ever heard the saying" You're preaching to the choir."? Well that's exactly what we're doing because the "choir" has compromised! Our Generation has stripped Purity of it's true meaning and purpose! The "modern" definition of Purity is not having sex. Purity is so much more than this. Its keeping ourselves separated and holy from the world. As Christians we need to Purify our minds, body, souls, and heart. This message isn't for unbelieving sinners, this is for all those Christians who say they have the love of Christ and yet they look act talk and dress just like the world. We need to wake up put on the mind of Christ and go back to the true purpose for Purity in our lives!!!