1 Corinthians 7

I was reading 1 Corinthians 7 for a my daily Bible reading. I noticed Paul was not advocating the statement about not have sexual relations with a women.

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Corinthians 7:1-5, ESV)

Verse 1 says, "Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: 'It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.' " Paul received a letter where the people of Corinth must have said something about not having sex, married or unmarried. Paul will refute that statement over the next 4 verses.

I noticed that this because Paul says "but" to start verse 2. But is a contrasting word. What is really saying that it is better for husband and wife to have sex because it will help them to not have sexual sins. Paul starts this off with, "because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." Corinth would be like Las Vegas today. Sexual sin was a normal everyday event. The main temple was to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. There was lots of temple prostitution in Corinth. It seems that the Church in Corinth said for no one can have sex. So Paul said no, men needs one wife and women need only their husband.

Paul in verse 3 and 4 tells men and women to give to their spouse their conjugal rights. Basically they should fulfill their duties to have sex.  The reason is that they do not control their bodies but the other member does.

Verse 5 then tells us that there can be a small amount of time to have sexual relations with your spouse. That time should be a time of prayer lest the devil temps the members with sexual immorality. It also is based on an agreeable amount of time by both parties, not because one is mad at the other.

It seems to say that married people should have sex when there is a desire to be intimate with each other. The neglecting of this desire can cause one or both members to sin in sexual immorality.  When it is neglected, it should be done for a short period of time and there needs to be an agreement. 

Now, this does not include single people. They are not to engage in sex because it was designed by God for the use in marriage. If they have having problems with lust, they need to get married (1 Cor.7:9).

Only by God's Sovereign Will

This past week has been one that only God could have orchestrated. I went to Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC) in Washington D.C. for the morning service.  I got their at what I though was a good time and I was wrong. The only seats open were in the balcony and behind the pulpit. The service was amazing. There was lots of prayers and the songs were just Christ-centered. They were old hymns but there were some newer songs. The sermon was gospel-centered and the gospel was proclaimed. It was just a big encouragement to seat through.

After the service, the gentlemen seating next to me asked who I was. He saw my face and told me his name was Scott. I then said his full name and then he realized that we have meet before. We did meet the first time I was at CHBC in February. He asked if I had any plans for the day. I told him that my plans were to visit the National Mall and walk around (I thought about witnessing to people also). He invited me to lunch. We had lunch a the Eastern Market, which is only a couple of block from CHBC. We had a delightful time. We encouraged each other as I talked a little about what God had thought me through my deployment, especially James 4:6. We found out that we had lot in common with what we are dealing with in our lives.

After our talk, I would go on to the National Mall and he would meet with a member of CHBC. I would continue to think about the chat and the sermon. I would also attend the night service and be blessed with even more prayer and communion. It was just an amazing day in God's presence.

This happened because of God. CHBC is a larger church and I would have never seen Scott again unless God ordained the meeting, which he did. To God be all the glory.

Feeling empty? I am.

Why am I so empty. The preacher does not preach the word. I went to church yesterday and left feeling nothing. I was not glorifying God but questions the message. We are suppose to go to church to worship God with singing and preaching from his word. The word should be taught with principles which is theology. That was not the cause here at NSF Diego Gracia. The music seemed to be slammed together and the message was weak. The messages was about divorce. He started out good by exampling the what just happen before and about the people that was challenging him. He went off the deep end when he started to preach morality. It was a more do not do this but do this. This is not how we learn. The message just made me feel I was missing the food, the word of God. I think that God was not in the message. One thing I have found out about preaching is that the best preachers teach the word of God. Listen to Piper, MacArthur, Dever, Washer, Spurgeon, and many others and you see the difference. NSF Diego Gracia is a good place but the worship with other believers just is not there. Anyways, I am going to read now by the ocean and I will catch everyone on the flip side.

Where is the Love?

It has been just over a year and 2 months since I wrote about who I was not saved. It has been a hard time since as I slide in and out of sin. I just got done watching "Fireproof." I think it is a little weird since I am not even close to know what marriage is about. I watched it to see the gospel. What I got was a glimpse of my single life. I have been dealing with a couple of sins that have taken a toll on my life. The first one, I want to talk about is this thing called love. If a recent debate, this post-modern Christian said that we love God first, then self, and finally the world/neighbors. I noticed that this is completely wrong. I was talking to a good friend about a group that I was part of. He said that everything has changed, they have lost the love. After reading "Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be" I told me to study Revelation 2:1-7. I also told someone else to study the same and present it. So I decided to study it also. What I found that I have also become the Church of Ephesus. What I found in my lonely life was a feeble man isolated from the world. A man that did love people enough to tell them the Gospel still afraid of men. I have become a very bright knowledge man about God but have not put the characteristics of God into practice. I have not loved. I get into debates with post-modern Christians and in my self-righteousness it seems that I am more-righteous then thou attitude. I loved myself and not God. I treated him as if he was not a Christian before knowing him. Even if his love God, then self, and finally neighbors is wrong, does not make him not in God. He just not understanding. God does not want you to love yourself. He wants to love your neighbors like you love yourself. When you are hungry, you feed yourself, so when your neighbors are hungry feed them. If you are out in the rain you find shelter, help you neighbors find shelter when rain falls on them. I can find someone that is wrong in their theology, like the Church of Ephesus, but like what Paul says if you do it and have not love, it is nothing (1st Corinthians 13:2-3). Utlmatly, it is love for God that is what the Ephesians were missing. That love for Christ is what allows us to love everyone else more than us. So as I try to find the love of God for my life, I will encourage everyone else to find the love of God in their life.

Cambridge, England and the Gospel

Today, Saturday, I went out to pass out tracts with a local church. The local church has a member that OAs so I am more there to make a crowd. One of these days, I will branch out and talk to some of the people instead of offering tracts. Anyways, it was a rough start to the day. I woke up and wanted to get back to bed but knowing that God has something good happening Cambridge, I got up and went. This has been 1st time in 2 weeks that I was able to go to Cambridge to pass tracts. SO I went in force with my 1 million pound notes and round tuits. I gave a lot of million pounds notes. I had one lady tell me to go back to America. I guess the days of Spurgeon and Wesley are gone in England. I guess there are still that OA near the Cambridge University. I did learn, so when I do jump on a box, to use a heckler to attract a crowd. I saw people’s faces change as the gospel was told. But God was faithful and we meet Joel. Joel is in the British Army and was in Afghanistan when a USAF Fighter dropped a bomb on a group of British Army personnel. The fighter was from a USAF base that is in the UK. He was asked what would he have done if he knew that the bomb was going to land there? He said that he would save himself. We used to show the need of Christ. We know that we are to be judged by Christ. So why not seek his protection from God’s judgment? So even if it was cold outside and a heckler tried to make the person OA look dumb, God was faithful provide us with Joel. Please pray for Joel that he will repent and trust in Christ.

It is hard to be Christian around non-Christians.

The title says it all. Yesterday, I was at Moron AB, Spain. Since I choose to not drink any type of alcohol, I was a DD. We went to Moron de la Frontera so they could drink. Then also decided to find a strip club. Since I was already with them and said that I would DD, I went along. I told them that I was going to say in the car and not enter. After a night of driving to find a blinky blinky, we finally found (to much of my disappointment). But being to true to my word, I remained in the car except to pee behind the building. Anyways, 3 hrs later and 1/4 tank of gas, they finally exited the building that is slowly destroying the moral fibers of our society, we went to base. I was back in my room at 4am just in to for my 515am show for breakfast. They are talking about going to the blinky blinky again tonight. I might hang with the crew instead. They are only going to grab a few beers here in the Azores. Tomorrow night is a bull fight, I might catch it. I will take my camera and get some pics. Also wait for some pics of the KC-10 we refueled that in turn refueled AV-8B Harriers.