Recreational Dating

Ten Biblical Reasons Why Recreational Dating is WRONG!

1. Recreational Dating does not glorify GOD. Instead, recreational dating is all about glorifying and uplifting yourself and your partner, many times even to a status that is above God. Would you rather glorify God or mankind?

1 Corinthians 10:31 - Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.

2. Christians are to be different and set apart from this world. The world does not love or honor God. Rather it loves sin and wickedness. So, if everybody in the world seems to be doing something and enjoying it, then it’s probably best for Christians not to get involved with it. Everyone is dating for fun. But, God calls us to be different! Are you willing to be different for God?

1 John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world— the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle— is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever.

3. It distorts the true meaning of the word ‘LOVE’. True love is that selfless sacrifice that Christ showed for us by dying on the cross even though we didn’t deserve it. The ‘love’ you find in typical dating relationships is love that involves no sacrifice or commitment and only lasts around three weeks. Don’t you think that God has more in store for you than just random three week-long relationships with different partners?

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

4. It takes your mind off of God. Your mind should be focused on Christ. When you begin to let useless things clutter your mind, then Christ can easily become un-important to you. It is very difficult to do the will of God when you don’t have the mind of Christ. What thoughts do you want to occupy your mind?

1 Corinthians 2:16 - "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

5. You begin to uplift another person higher than God (which means you are committing idolatry). God takes idolatry very seriously. It is very easy to fall into idolatry when you practice recreational dating. You can quickly begin to value and adore your partner more than you value and adore GOD. Are you worshiping the Creator or the creation?

1 Corinthians 10:14 - Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

Exodus 20:2-5 - “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

6. You begin to desire your partner more than you desire GOD. God deserves all the honor, praise, glory and desires of your heart. We serve a merciful, great, loving, true God who is worthy of all our attention. We shouldn’t desire anyone or anything above God. How evil would it be for us to put God on hold to spend time with someone else?

Psalm 42:1-2 - As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Psalm 73:25-26 - Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

7. Your emotions can easily become controlled by your partner. If your partner acts nice to you, then you are happy and full of joy. If your partner is mean to you, then you are sad to the point of depression. If you don’t get to see your partner for a while then you become angry and depressed. But, our emotions should not be controlled by our partner. Instead we should always be joyful because of what Christ has done for us! Are you joyful because of what Christ has done for you?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

8. Christians are called to present their bodies as a living sacrifice! This means that we are to give up our bodies for God’s use. So, the misuse of our bodies such as kissing random partners and touching inappropriate places is a violation of this call. If we give our bodies up to God as a living sacrifice, then we can’t take them back and pollute them all we want. Are you willing to give up your body as a living sacrifice for God?

Romans 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

9. We are called to RUN away from youthful lusts and avoid sexual temptation! Getting involved with various romances is not exactly running from temptation. Actually, by dating recreation-ally you are doing the exact opposite! You are running into youthful lust on purpose! If you really want to follow Jesus, then why put yourself in the position to sin?

2 Timothy 2:22 - Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

10. God calls us to be pure in marriage and our preparation for marriage. It’s not just about ‘not having sex’. Purity in marriage is more than that. It includes the romantic acts that you have with people before your marriage. It includes the number of people you have ‘hooked up with’ before your marriage. If I were to fix a glass of clean pure water and then drop one dead fly in it and ask people to drink it… most everyone would say ‘NO!’. In the same way that the water must be perfectly pure and spotless, so must we. How pure would you want your wife or husband to be?

Hebrews 13:4 - Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

+ Jakab +

Prayer: Lord, I pray that people would flee from their sinful ways. I pray that they wouldn't even submit to a yoke of slavery! I pray that they would remove any and every object or practice in their lives that takes their main focus off of you. I pray for strength and encouragement for those who are actually following you faithfully. Amen.

My Burden

I feel burdened to reach the lost for Christ. I feel as if I always should be doing more. When compared to others, I seem to do much more than most of those who claim to be Christians. However, it is not of my own effort. Some of the things that I have grown to realize and come to trust are the following.

1. Living for the glory of God is more important than doing for the glory of God.

The main goal is not to work myself to death in ministry, but to grow closer and closer to God. I don't need to be a Christian superstar, I need to be like Jesus Christ. The church activities, the vacation bible schools, the sunday schools, the youth activities are all minor things compared to my personal relationship to Christ. I need to be constantly examining myself and growing in conformity to Jesus Christ.

2. The small things matter. The Bible reading, the time in prayer, the kind words I speak, the time spent with my lil' cousin are all very important.

I will become physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted if I am always seeking to do the big things. I have noticed recently how much my time spent in Prayer and Bible reading effects my life. I am more at peace when I spend more time with God. Recently, I have begun to recognize my priorities in life. I have grown to value my time with my lil' cousin more than anything else. I am beginning to realize more and more how my life when fully submitted to God can impact his own life. But, it isn't me. It's God being gracious enough to use little ol' me.

3. My talents are worthless. God's grace is what matters.

Sometimes I feel as if I really don't impact others, because I don't have some outstanding talent. I sometimes think that perhaps if I could sing or rap or write, then more people would be impacted by what I say. While I don't want any glory for myself, I still think that I could impact more people for Christ if I had some outrageous talent. But, God says otherwise. Talent will not save anyone whom God does not use it to save. Salvation is of the Lord. It is God and His grace that I should trust in to impact others, not my own talents.

4. Believing in Christ is not just a one time decision.

I must believe in Christ for my finances, my jobs, my family, my friends, my happiness, my life, everything! Now, I am not some Joel Osteen follower who would dare to believe in God for a 'Mercedes Benz' or anything like that. But, what I am speaking of is fully trusting in Christ for everything. I can not trust in myself for anything. I must deny myself and kill my flesh daily. In addition I must turn my trust to Christ daily to provide for all my needs. He is able. He cares for the birds.

Prayer: God help me to be less so that you can use me more. I don't want glory. I don't want fame. My main desire is to glorify you. If I falter and that does not remain my main desire, please humble me until it is. I want to be like Christ. I don't care to be a superstar. Lord, all I ask is that you would be gracious enough to use me. Soli Deo Gloria.

+ Jakab +

The Gospel

1. God is Holy Righteous and Just. He requires complete righteousness to enter Heaven.

2. Man is Sinful, Wretched, and Carnal. We have all broken God's Law and thus fall short of His Glory. We don't deserve Heaven. We deserve the wrath of God. We deserve hell.

3. God has recognized our problem and in His Love and Mercy has provided a solution. The solution provided is Jesus Christ. Christ lived a perfect sinless holy life. Then He took our sins upon Himself and suffered under the wrath of God. Christ was crucified and then resurrected. Christ took our punishment upon Himself, so that we could be justified before God through His righteous work.

4. God has extended the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ to all men, women and children. He promises to save them if they repent of their sins (turn from them, hate them) and truly believe (completely place their trust) in Jesus Christ.

5. If mankind repents and believes unto Salvation, God changes their hearts and makes them new creations in Christ, who no longer desire to sin and break His law, but rather desire to love and honor Him by living holy lives.

So... what are you waiting for? Repent and believe while there is still time left.

Mark 1:15 - "The time has come," he said. "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent and Believe the GOSPEL!"

Prayer: Lord, my prayer is that people would receive salvation. The gospel that you have offered us is such 'good news'. I pray that people would turn from their sins and place their entire trust in you for salvation. Let your will be done.

+ Jakab +

Ignoring Death

Why is it that we never speak about death seriously?

There is one connecting fact for every human being on this planet.

Fact: you will die.

The ultimate statistic: 10 out of 10 people DIE.

Ever since conception we are all heading on a pace towards death. This is inevitable. There is no way out. We are all going to die. We are mortals. Why is it that we try to silence death when there is such clear evidence presented towards us of our own mortality? Could it possibly be because we are so afraid of what lies ahead?

A friend I ate lunch with recently alerted my mind to one problem with this culture. She was explaining the difference between the understanding of pain and death when she was little as compared to how the culture understands it today. She told a story of how her cow died and she cried for weeks. Nowadays, she exclaimed kids see death on television and video games all the time. Could it be that this culture has become immune to the reality of death?

I remember at basically every funeral I went to there was little respect paid for the dead. Most of the people outside the funeral home were joking and laughing. Many of them were in conversations that had nothing to do with the dead. Some of them were even talking about such worthless things as football games and television shows. WHY?

Someone had just died! Someone's family was in the funeral home in complete pain and anguish! Yet, the world of friends this man had were outside laughing about a football game! Hopefully, I am not the only one who sees something horribly wrong with this situation!

My father and mother ever since I was young, have basically taught me to ignore death and bad things. I can remember times where I would say something like 'this car could crash into that ditch' and my mother or father would respond 'man, don't say things like that'. I remember other times when I said something about death or people dying and they basically shushed me up again. WHY? Why were even my parents trying to ignore the ultimate fate of every human's life?

Just as their is a serious financial problem for people who live their lives without planning for tomorrow... there is also a serious spiritual problem for people who live their lives without realizing one day they will die.

Prayer: Father, I pray that I will never lose sight of the time I have left on this planet. I pray that I will always use this time you've allotted me wisely and for your glory. I pray that people will recognize their own mortality and run to the cross of Christ. Amen.

+ Jakab +

Testimony - EX Atheist

The Following is a testimony I wrote to one of my atheist friends on Youtube. He didn't understand how I could have once been an atheist and now am a Biblical Christian without some sort of 'Brainwashing' by either my parents or some church. But, somehow without all of that God graciously came and got me... opened my eyes to the truth and made me a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Message Sent: September 1st, 2009.
Sender: BonzaiJakab
Recipient: WWE09FAN

Maybe this won't make much sense to you. Maybe it wont even help you at all. It could be a complete waste of my time. But, hopefully by the end of it, you will recognize that I only do this in the hope that you will come to the truth as well.

My parents are not Christian. I was not raised in a church. I was not raised up as a Christian by anyone. I was not converted by any man. I used to actually believe that there was no god. I was taught evolution in school. I researched a little and seen the lack of evidence and stupidity in it. Thus, I didn't have much faith in that garbage to begin with. But, when I looked at religion, I saw a bunch of people arguing and fighting about which god to serve... I seen so much hypocrisy in the American churches. People would 'love Jesus' on Sunday mornings but get drunk throughout the week and live sinfully in other ways.

I did not want God. I wished that there were no god. I based my belief on the assertion that 'there is no god', because he hasn't shown himself to anyone and there can't be a hell, that's too bad of a place and other assertions.

Clearly, I was athiestic. I even used to research different Bible verses (like you do) about slavery and women and murdering kids and laws about food etc. I had built up a very strong case against god. The other gods were foolish (hinduism over 3 million gods, Allah for muslims some vision in a cave, jehovahs witnesses and mormons only began 150 years ago).

I actually favored buddhism more than any of the others, because it seemed peaceful and knew answers to life. But, then I researched buddhism and realized that while Siddharta Guatama (Buddha) had some good quotes, he eventually died.

Somehow, soon after all of this. I was convinced that atheism was illogical and basically stupid. I looked around at atheists and realized that while it was fun to trick 'christians and muslims' on the internet, it was just a game. And while it was fun to live sinfully (which I was...), it leads to more harm than good and ultimately you die.

I began to look at the stars and the trees and the creation all around me, and I recognized that there was a creator. I didn't have a magical vision. I didn't hear a voice. I just logically thought it out and knew this stuff didn't 'just randomly happen'.

Then, I began to think... If there is a creator... then perhaps finding out who it is would be important. Perhaps the way we live here on earth had a greater purpose than just doing whatever feels right or whatever feels good at the moment (worldy lusts and pleasures).

(For a period of about 2 years, I sort of made up my own god... He allowed me to do what I wanted to... He was kind and loving to all people, especially me. He didn't have a hell. He was good... and didnt even care if I worshipped him).

The problem with this is clear. Hopefully you can see a dramatic problem! Just because I make some junk up and believe it even with all my heart doesn't make IT TRUE! It was a lie! I quickly knew it was a lie... and began to look for evidence for the true God, whoever he or she was or were...

If there is some sort of a god... and if he or she actually did require something from us... I'm sure he or she would have let us know somehow!!!!

So, ultimately... I looked back over the religions... and dismissed the newer one's because they were basically idiotic and based on nothing at all. I dismissed Buddhism, because it doesn't have a god, borrows most of it's junk from Hinduism (because Buddha was once a Hindu) and ultimately has no answers to life's big questions.

I wanted to look at other religions, I looked into cults, old myths, and roman godesses and gods... they are cute stories but basically nothing more. They died with the fall of rome.

Islam is founded by Mohammed someone who basically wrote a book received by an angel in a cave? That basically said, Judaism is somewhat true, Christianity is somewhat true, but This book will show you the real truth which is neither. Why would I believe in a god who inspired scriptures like the Torah and New Testament, but somehow didn't have the power to keep them without error? Because Islam teaches that the basics of the Bible and Torah are true, but they have been corrupted over the years... so basically God has given us a new book called the Quran. Are you kidding me? How can one base it's religion off of other religions?

So, by this same logic I wanted to dismiss Christianity. Because it's based off Judaism somewhat.

But, when I checked out Judaism and Christianity and discovered the relationship... Jews for over 2000 years had been waiting for a messiah to come. Christianity claims the same thing Judaism does except Christianity says Christ is the messiah. Where Judaism is still waiting on theirs... It's now been over 4000 years.

So, I looked into them both. Looked into Biblical Prophecy, Looked into some of the answers posed by intelligent individuals that I once questioned as an atheist, but now I seen that the Christians kinda did have an answer. But, then I kinda brushed them off, because there is no way some guy got all sorts of animals into a boat... theres no way Jesus was raised from the dead... etc.

But, ultimately I came to believe it all. Through logically examining the evidence, looking at the options, and then experiencing the reality by actually reading the Word of God and being changed as a result... I came to be made into a new creation in Christ Jesus.

I went from laughing about him on south park, to not watching south park because they blasphemed his name.

I went from sinning willfully and loving it, to now even hating being in predicaments that might lead to sin.

I went from denying the very existence of God, to recognizing His existence and submitting my life to His truths.

Still, I can not take any credit for my conversion. My heart was a stone rock. I could care less about this Jesus. But, I grew to absolutely be willing to die for Him, because of who He is (God) and what He has done for me (atoning sacrifice on cross). He desires to save you. Repent and Believe the Gospel. Or continue on in your unbelief. Either way, it won't change the truth. Christ will still be God. The evidence is clear.

Prayer: God, I pray that you alone will be glorified. Amen.

+ Jakab +