Do Christians have the best sex life?

“What’s up with Christians and believing Jesus is real?” One atheist man said to his other atheist friend.  “I don’t know, I think they are all nuts!” said the other male friend. “I do know a Christian that I work with and he says he has the best sex life in his marriage because of Jesus.” “Really?” Long pause and silence…. “Where did he say he goes to church?” – (Mark Gungor, Laugh your way to a better marriage)

Since the launch of our church, over 5 years ago, hundreds have been led to Jesus for the first time. Many leaders would be the most excited that they were a part of the new, born again process to lead people to Jesus. My favorite and most exciting thing to be a part of is to watch Jesus heal a person’s home life and marriage. Over the past 8 years, we have witnessed Jesus heal dozens of marriages on the brink of divorce. Ultimately each couple would admit that self-righteousness was the greatest enemy of their marriage. Self-righteousness is self- focused and keeps score and yet when we are Christ-focused and what He did for us, we can’t help but lay our lives down because when we were still sinners He died for us.

Many have witnessed this next generation uneasy to lay their lives down to marriage. Young men and women want the benefits of marriage but can choose to live together and often refuse the life long vow and commitment. This has been happening for years. Did you know the institution of marriage is God’s idea for us to have the best sex life ever?  When young people have been impacted by being raised in an environment of a bad marriage then we can’t be surprised when they are reluctant to marry. People often reject God’s institutions because they have seen an unhealthy environment. We don’t heal from what we reject and the absence of something, we heal from who we accept and the presence of someone (2 Corinthians 3:17). His name is Jesus and he wants to heal our sex life!

Can marriage be unhealthy in a Christian home? Absolutely! I have met atheists that have better marriages than some believers. I can promise you that this is not what Jesus intended. I also know that this is not the majority of marriages. The majority of Christian marriages have a way better sex life than singles or celebrities that trade their partners every six months. I have heard experts say, “Single people don’t even know what they are doing.”   Jesus desires His people to have the best sex life under His idea of marriage and what if the world knew the truth? It may be time for the church to rise up and the redeemed of the Lord to say so!

Equipping Disciples of Jesus to Receive, Give & Serve in Grace,

Brandon Pollard

http://www.graceforeternity.com

Giving Grace Often Looks Like Songs?

Often music touches both sides of our brain. We can remember music over oral teaching more often than not because it impacts our brain’s right side of emotions and the left side of logic and information. There is probably a jingle from your childhood that you remember and haven’t heard in years. Paul told the early Christians to sing songs to one another. Could he have known that songs were more powerful to the brain than oral information? He wrote to believers to encourage one another with words and songs.

Songs? You might be thinking, “Really Paul, am I supposed to stop what I’m doing at work and step up on my desk and sing to encourage my fellow believers?” This is where many believe the Bible can be inspirational,  yet not really literal. The Holy Spirit really wanted to remind believers to gather together and sing over one another.

^{Ephesians 5:18-21}

¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰ giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Maybe you meet every day at work with believers and even have time to speak encouragement to them. Our brains are wired to remember musical songs. Both sides of the brain are activated. May the word of God encourage you to gather with other believers and sing spiritual songs.  Don’t get mad at Paul and don’t get mad at me. This is an opportunity to not just be a hearer of the word but a doer as well.

Colossians 3:16

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

 

In His grace,

Brandon Pollard

http://www.graceforeternity.com

Investing For The Benefits Vs Investing From the Benefits

Jesus told the story of a father having two sons. The majority of sermons and teachings focus on the “prodigal son”. The older brother could possibly be the main illustration Jesus was trying to make. Jesus tells us the inheritance of the father was given to the two sons. It doesn’t tell us it was given equally. Some Biblical and historical scholars believe that men in that time period gave the first-born male up to two-thirds of the inheritance and one third to the youngest male. If this is the case, it drives home the point that the older son was bitter with no leg to stand on when he complained that the younger brother had special treatment.

^{Luke 15:12} The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

The father went looking for the older son to beg him to come to the party. Remember the parables Jesus told before this was about a shepherd leaving the ninety-nine to look for one and the lost coin becoming found. Now Jesus tells the story of a son that won’t go into the house to party with family because of bitterness.

Hebrews 12:15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

The writer of Hebrews believes that the root of bitterness can be uprooted if we look after each other. What he doesn’t say, is grace is for you and you only. The enemy wants to isolate us so that we can’t be a part of being someone’s miracle of receiving grace or protecting them from bitterness.

Proverbs 18:1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;

    he breaks out against all sound judgment.

A tactic of the enemy when someone gets free from law and religion is to become a slave to pride. Satan loves to isolate and convince us no one knows grace like we do. To become the judge and jury of what hearts are sincere and which ones are simply religious.  The older brother stood outside the house and wouldn’t party with the church family. He had worked so hard and forgot all His inheritance was paid up-front. Now he was responsible for stewarding his father’s land (notice the father in the parable wasn’t in the fields working, he was looking and relating with sons). Was the older son working and investing FOR the benefits and not working and investing FROM the benefits? The parable doesn’t tell us the older brother’s decision to join the house party or the family dynamics going forward. Is it possible that in the future both brothers just party and sit and sunbathe near their father’s land.  I mean they are under grace, right?  If they do they would still  be sons in the family but I wouldn’t be surprised if they both learned to steward their father’s fields and property.

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

In His grace,

Brandon Pollard

http://www.graceforeternity.com

 

 

Let God Sing Over You!

Ever woken up with a song on your heart? Did you know that God loves to sing praises over you even while you are sleeping? The prophet Isaiah wrote about Jesus some 500 years before He arrived on the earth. Isaiah declared that the Lord would take your ashes and give you His beauty. Jesus can take your mourning and give you His joy. Jesus can take your heaviness and give you His praise. You may be thinking, “Wait a minute, isn’t God wanting our praise?” Let me ask you this, is God asking us to do something He is not willing or good at doing? Jesus said He only does what He sees His Father doing. Do you see the Father singing praises over you?

Psalm 42:8 

⁸ By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.

^{ISAIAH 61:3}

³ To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.