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.