Not Of This World

It would be awesome to hear from a Mormon perspective, because I really want to start going to the Church again and building my relationship with Christ. 

But I feel like I’ve dug myself a hole too deep to get out of.
Since I was baptized into the Church, I’ve done just about everything wrong. VERY wrong.

I don’t really want to go into details out in the open, but if you are truly willing to listen to what I have to say and give me advice, I would appreciate it more than anything. 

Thanks. 

I’m here to offer my insight (as much as that may be worth).

Also, I would love it if you guys came to me with prayer requests. 
:D 

     I have encountered several people, over time, that have approached me rather aggressively about the subject of salvation through works. Most of these individuals have argued with me that salvation is not through works, but through a belief and a love of God. And I agree completely. It is by God’s GRACE that we are saved: there is no possible way we could earn or deserve our salvation.
      However, too many people take advantage of the idea that faith alone saves us, because they don’t understand the meaning of faith here. They think that faith means simply believing in Jesus Christ and repenting when you are able to accept that you’re in the wrong, and you’re good. You go to heaven. This is FALSE. And I genuinely feel for these individuals who think that belief alone will save them, because they’ve been fed this and only this for so long, that all other spiritual sustenance is rejected by their spiritual body. 

     Here’s the thing.
     Faith is not just believing. It is loving Him with EVERY FIBER of your being. It is being obedient, and trying to be LIKE CHRIST. That’s what being a CHRISTIAN means! 
     No, salvation is not works based. But, James 2:17 says this:”[…] faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.” 
     So, yes! You must believe in Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Father with all your heart! Yes, you must love Him! But in believing in Him and TRULY loving Him, you won’t need to worry about doing works, because they will just happen naturally! If you are giving 100% to God and are in love with Him SINCERELY, IN YOUR HEART, then every singly one of your actions will reflect His glory and you will not have to constantly worry about whether or not you are serving Him.
     I do not mean to say that you will not mess up or lose faith from time to time. I do not mean to say that you will not suffer and that you will not someday take everything that Jesus has done for you and spit it back in His face. Maybe you already have. But if you truly love God now, in this very moment, and you live life obediently according to the Gospel, then there shouldn’t even be a question in your mind about works of faith vs. salvation. 

I’ve probably said this before, but we need to have glory for God in EVERYTHING we do. 
And part of the reason for this is so that we can reflect His glory at all times so people will look past us and see Him always. 

Think about it this way: Do your friends know for a fact that you’re a Christian—ALL your friends, not just the ones from youth group? Do the people you have class with know that you know God, even if they don’t go to your church? People should know God through you and your deeds. 

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on it’s stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.”  — Matthew 5:14-16

     I’m sure you’ve heard warnings agains sexual promiscuity and impurity from many people, including God. At least, I hope you have. But why is this kind of behavior bad?
     Because, by engaging in sexual activity with someone when it is outside of marriage, you are defiling an act that God reserved for a specific setting. You are subjecting your body and your mind to something that you are not ready for yet mentally or spiritually. And you are connecting yourself FOR LIFE to the person that you do this with. These are just a few reasons, mind you. And being emotionally promiscuous is wrong, for all the same reasons, and more. 

     Wait. Huh? What’s emotional promiscuity? How can you be promiscuous with feelings? What in the world am I talking about?

     Emotional promiscuity is letting someone in emotionally when you are not mentally or spiritually prepared (sound familiar?). This can include things like dating at a young age when you are not prepared for marriage, disclosing personal issues to someone you don’t know personally online, and treating friends as “more than friends” when you are not dating or shouldn’t be. 
     Why, specifically are these bad? What can we do to keep ourselves from feeling like these things are okay, or even a necessity? It is very important to know what constitutes as emotional promiscuity, and even more important to know how to guard your heart against it and put that knowledge into action.

     I will post part 2 tomorrow night. I plan to do a post on Emotional Promiscuity every day until Friday, so keep checking for more! 

     I wanted to do a post on Emotional Promiscuity, because a lot of people take it for granted or don’t even know about it. 
     But I was thinking about just doing a week-long series of posts on different aspects of it based on what everyone wants to hear about it or understand about it.
     I may do this for other subjects you guys want me to cover at other times too. 
But I can’t do this if I don’t have any feed back. So PLEASE give me some answers and suggestions. Help me help you. 
     What are some questions you have about emotional promiscuity?
     What are other subjects or posts you would like to hear from me over time? 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE respond to this!!!!

I can only go so far with these posts if I don’t know what you guys need to hear! 

     Usually, when I get on tumblr or when I set out to do something to strengthen my connection with God, I’m pretty motivated about it; I’m just really passionate and ready to have at it. Other times I just feel so negative and unhappy that I make excuses and feel unfulfilled until I do a Godly post or read some scripture, or even listen to Godly music. 
      But then there’s times like today, when I feel absolutely neutral about the issue. I don’t necessarily feel like I want to do anything about it, but I don’t feel like NOT doing anything about it. 
      So, I went and grabbed my laptop, intent on making a post or reblogging a good amount of inspirational or thoughtful posts. I opened tumblr… and I felt nothing. Nothing came to mind when I started to write a post, and no images really caught my eye to where I felt like I needed to hit “reblog”. 
     However, I felt I needed to take some time today and put some effort into this. I had to physically remove myself from the room I was in (where the LOTR marathon I was enjoying was going on), even though I was perfectly content, and put myself in a situation where I could concentrate on the task at hand.
     My point (after that LONG and seemingly meaningless introduction) is that even if you are not driven to do anything specific for God, or you are not moved to put effort into what you are doing to further yourself spiritually, FORCE yourself. After I moved rooms and just started typing, I gained some steam. So, even if you don’t feel motivated or moved, just give it a chance. If no scripture is speaking to you, keep reading. You’ll find something, even if it’s the littlest feeling of positivity in your heart. If you are trying to pray, but don’t feel particularly thankful or in need of God, pray with everything in your heart anyway. You’ll find something that you really needed to give up to God, or something you are really really thankful for. Just give it a shot. What do you have to lose, other than negativity?

And now that I have your attention with that adorable baby turtle….

I would love to hear from you, my followers! 
Please, let me know if there is a certain topic you would like to hear more about. I try to do several original posts in a day, so let me know if there is something you would like see more of or to hear about at all.
Also, if you need help or are struggling in any way, feel free to leave asks in my box and I will help you to the best of my ability from a Christian perspective. Also, you never know what God has in mind. Maybe you’ll be able to help me just as much.
OR!
If you just really enjoy the blog or would like to add to or talk about something I have posted, please contact me! I would love to hear from you! 

     Not only in my own life, but in women of all ages, the want for a romantic or emotionally intimate relationship on this earth. And we don’t just want it, we really want it. Some of us desire it more than anything, to the point that it makes us upset or sad when God doesn’t fulfill our hopes and prayers for relationship to come along.
     But what are we really hoping for?
     We want an ideal relationship. The perfect husband. Yes, of course, the perfect husband with faults (because no one is perfect, after all). But the most ideal guy we can think of. Sometimes we want this ideal guy so badly, we start to see him in almost ANY guy! I know that sometimes I start to think I am fond of a guy just because I think he is fond of me… :b   But let me tell you something very important. THIS GUY DOESN’T EXIST. 
     Yes, God is preparing you for the love of a lifetime, and he knows you deserve the best. But, more often than not, the love of a lifetime isn’t with a man. Not a HU-man anyway. And the best can’t always be given by humans, either.
     My fellow followers of God…. STOP SEARCHING FOR LOVE HERE ON EARTH!!!
     Even if you are looking for a relationship, stop looking for one that is romantic or emotional. Start looking for a FRIENDSHIP, first and foremost. God will take it from there.

“Why are you looking for love?

Why are you still searching as if I’m not enough?”