Passionate Dating: Are You Ready?

   Are you ready to date? Is your teen or single ready to date? Here are some practical thoughts on dating from the perspective of grace for you to consider before you answer.

   Dating is really not discussed in the Bible. It is a modern invention of the western world.   In the time of the Bible, parents chose who you were going to marry. That may sound totally crazy to us today. However, we parents know our kids better than anyone else and have a good idea of the type of person who would be a good fit for them.

   I'm not suggesting that we go back to parents arranging who their kids marry. But I am saying that people who are dating would be very wise to ask their parents what they think about the person they are dating. Most parents are good at discerning the character of a person fairly quickly. Are you willing to do that?

   How is your love relationship with Jesus?   In other words, is your heart already filled with God's personal love for you? If so, you are prepared to date if God leads you to do so. Jesus' love for you will be a deterrent against you trying to suck the life out of the other person to meet your God-given need for love. This can be a major stumbling block in dating and in marriage.

    Depending on Jesus to live his life through you is the only way to mature as a person and a Christian. Nothing can better prepare you for dating than this. Jesus says in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing" which includes dating.

   Learning that your identity is in Christ is important too. Otherwise you will attempt to derive your identity from the person you are dating. That's one of those things that can sabotage your relationship quicker than playing a game of Call to Duty.

   Have you decided on your non-negotiables in dating? I covered this very extensively in my blog/devotion two weeks ago. I hope you have at least decided that you are only going to date someone who loves Jesus as much as you do.

   When you do decide to get engaged, believing God has brought that special person into your life, do yourself a favor and get some quality Christ-centered counseling. We offer great pre-marital counseling in our office and through Skype but we also know of other ministries around the country who can help as well.

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 
www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Do You Know God Cares about How You Smell!

Did you know God likes perfume? And you are going to see that you are that perfume!

When God was giving instructions to Moses in what to put in the Old Testament tabernacle, surprisingly, He tells him in Exodus 30 to make a small alter to burn incense on it, just in front of the entrance to the Holy of Holies. As I read that passage recently, I prayed and asked the Lord, why He wanted incense burned in front of the door to where His presence lived among Israel.

It reminded me of the "hippy" days when it seemed like everybody burned incense. I think back on this time and thought it was probably just for fun and it could have made you feel cool. But then again, some people burned it to cover the smell of other things they smoked. I was not a part of that, but I do remember lots of people burning incense.

So, I was prayerfully wondering why God would want sweet smelling incense to be burning in front of the Holy of Holies. Immediately my mind went to 2 Corinthians 2:15, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." As we depend on Jesus Christ to live through us, we exude the aroma of Christ.

One of our staff had surgery a few months ago. He told me that the nurses and assistants just seemed to like to come in his room. Why? Because he was relying upon Jesus in him during his recovery and they could "smell" it. They did not know what it was but it was Jesus Christ they smelled.

Ellen (my wife) and I were recently in a city where we had to ride the bus quite a bit. It was amazing that almost every time we got on the bus, women who sat beside her wanted to engage her in conversations. She would look for an opportunity to talk with them about the One who lives in her, Jesus. Some times she shared the gospel with those without Christ. Sometimes, she explained the grace of God to those who were in Christ. Other times, she just listened and talked. It got to be a joke that every time we got on the bus, some lady would end up talking with her. Why? They smelled Jesus as He was expressing Himself through her, whether she was talking or just sitting.

Wherever you go, to work, to run, to the kid's games, to worship, to your neighbor, you can be the aroma of Christ if you will ask Him to live His life through you. This is a sweet spiritual perfume to God just as the incense in the tabernacle was a sweet physical perfume to God. Part of my daily prayer each day is, "Jesus fill me with Your love for me and live Your life through me today." I encourage you to make this request a part of your daily prayers too

Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding