Tie Me Up?

Mostly what God does is influence us instead of force us to change. Yet a lot of times conversely we try to change our spouses, family, friends and others by tying them up with ropes of intimidation, shame, blame, etc. Let's look at four ways God exerted influence recorded in John 8:1-11.

1) Some people will try to tie us up with the intimidation of screaming and/or drama. We can keep our influence -- our peace and wisdom -- in the midst of arguments. More than 2,000 years ago some religious leaders crashed Jesus Christ's class dragging in a woman caught in adultery and displaying her in plain view of the class. Jesus didn't display emotional upset or immediately speak. It's not that Jesus doesn't experience emotions -- He's the same one whose eyes flash like a flame of fire -- Jesus manages His emotions. He sought to slow down and cool down the exchange by stooping down to write on the ground. This gave Him and others time to contemplate what's happening. Then He could talk to God the Father for the resolution while allowing God the Holy Ghost to empower Him to implement it.

Jesus' pause models respect for people. It communicates, "I am smart. You are smart. We don't need to hurry up and make needless mistakes. Instead we recognize problems and are responsible enough to find ways to fix them." When we speak too fast we often say things that harm us and harm our relationships.

It's natural to think about the negative. It's spiritual to pause and meditate on the positive. A lot of arguments among spouses, family, friends and others are really about people not feeling valued or respected and not so much about the issues being argued about.

Twitter.com is a neat social networking website where participants must whittle their wonderful words to a maximum of 140 characters. Those who "follow" you receive your writing posts on their smartphone or computer. So value and respect your spouse, family, friends and others with posts like, "U R so GR8 that God gave up His life, so that U could have the best life forever!" Let's tweet via my Twitter name "Michelelove30," or we may chat through the social networking site Google's G+, or you may leave a comment at the bottom of this article.

If our attempts at frequent, fun, filling marital sex are frequently being met with, "I'm tired," or "I don't feel well," then perhaps we are saying and doing things to our spouse that communicate, "You aren't that important to me," "I really don't want to share my time by cultivating an intimate relationship with you and each of our children," "I just want to get my needs met," "I want to look good at all costs," etc.  All arguments are not hot. Some are cool or cold. Even comfortably numb marital connections are ripe for infidelity. Arguments need resolution. If we can't, someone else will!

Jesus' stooping pause is not incidental or accidental, but essential. Indian Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar sought rahi aql (the path of reason) in the late sixteenth century, but it can only be found effectively in Jesus. One of the ways Jesus changes people is by using reasoning to convince them that they are valuable people who have veered away from right reasoning, but through Him can veer into the best way of living. No matter what we have done, God doesn't disapprove of us. He loves us. He's tattooed a picture of us on the palm of His hand. He has pure motives in trying to persuade us to follow Him. James 3:17 Amplified Bible says, "But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity)."

2) Persistent pestering is a tactic of those trying to tie us up with intimidation. Refuse to be abused; influence grows by keeping on doing good. The religious leaders were hoping that by trying to force Jesus to say something, He would flub.

Some act like a dragnet of dullness. If someone refuses to come to the truth with subtle modeling, then make it plain with respect. "They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!"" (John 8:7 New Living Translation Bible).

The source of all arguments is sin. We all have sinned, are sinning and will sin. Some sins are deliberate; for believers as we grow in intimacy with God our sins are less deliberate and more unintentional. When we see sin, God designed believers to model Him humbly, not haughtily like the religious leaders, in seeking to assist someone in receiving a greater revelation of God.

If we never committed sexual adultery, it is not because we are so smart and strong; it is because God kept us out of situations that would have caused us to fall into sexual adultery. Cooperate with God to wipe off any smug sneers on our face when we catch someone in sin of any type. Galatians 6:1 New Living Translation Bible says, "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself."

3) When someone zealously attempts to tie someone else up with shame, the attacker is more interested in punishing people than allowing God to work through them to point people to the path of life which is love, truth, joy, all that is good. Compassion is influence.

Many of the religious people of Jesus' day do not come across as compassionate or confident people. They seemed to unknowingly have a mindset of, "I can't do anything right because I'm a bad person. So to make myself feel better I need to put down someone else. I need a lot of attention and patting on my back and places of honor to mask who I am."

Shame-based people will try to shoot others with shame attacks. Shame attacks are ineffective against shielded minds that simply shake them off with loving truth. Ephesians 4:15 Amplified Bible says, "Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
 
An illiterate, white student called black, Chicago, Illinois, teacher Marva Collins a "jungle bunny." Collins had not internalized shame about being black, a woman or a teacher. She responded to this sexist, racial slur with tender, humorous truth by saying she would take offense when her sweetheart learned to read, write and spell jungle bunny.

Jesus did not take offense to the attacks of the religious leaders. He did not internalize any shame about who He is as the Son of God or His competence in understanding and applying the Mosaic Law. Jesus was not an adulterer. He didn't want to be one. He didn't envy adulterers. With simplicity, expertise and authority He pointed out the principal problem of all those involved, and offered the solution to adultery. ". . . And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more" (John 8:11 Amplified Bible).

The woman caught in adultery was impressed, surprised and delighted that Jesus was not going to punish her, look down on her or harm her in any way. She was likely willing to leave adultery because someone really cares for her. The way we are wired is, "If you care for me, then I'll care for you, and the things you want me to do." The spiritual maturity of loving the unlovable is something we have to cooperate with God to display with the unlovable.

All sin ties us down. Loves cuts the ropes and releases us into the responsibility of following Jesus' enjoyable life engaged in love with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, God the Holy Ghost and all people.

4) Some want to tie us up in blame for our sin while taking little or no responsibility for their sin. Influence is available by receiving God's blameless view of us and His power to resist sin forever. The religious leaders attacked the woman without having first dealt with their own sin, and they discriminated against her by trying to pin all the fault for adultery on her instead of equally on the man also involved who is totally missing from this drama. When Jesus encouraged the woman to sin no more Jesus is engaging her not only with Himself but also with the man she had sex with, the religious leaders and others. Jesus wants everyone to learn to have frequent, fun, filling sex inside of marriage and to learn to celebrate single sexuality without sexual sin. No matter how much some may try to present sexual sin as beautiful, sexual sin is the advocacy of loveless sex. Jesus is about marrying as many people as possible into God's family of love. Romans 12:5 Amplified Bible describes the family of love, "So we, numerous as we are; are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another]."

Since God designed us to help each other, harmful ropes like blame need to be taken off our lives. Jesus Christ has already paid the price for all the blame, shame, false fear, adultery and sin we have ever done, are doing and will ever do. His death and resurrection in three days took care of this. If we receive Him, then we need not continue to receive harmful things like blame, shame, false fear, adultery that hurt us and our relationships now and if not dealt with will leave eternal damage. Romans 6:23 New Living Translation Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Tie me up? No thanks. Free in love forever is better. Please share an on-line comment about how Christ has set you free and/or participate in my relationship group by contacting me via email at michefrancesjackson@gmail.com.

6 Ways to Forgive for Real

We can hear messages teaching us to forgive people year after year and still refuse to forgive. Why? We are unwilling and/or unable to stop making excuses. Many excuses exist. Let's look at six excuses. Then let's look at the truth and receive the truth to break free of the excuses sabotaging our lifestyle of forgiveness.

1) EXCUSE: "If they would treat me nice, then I would forgive them." TRUTH: No matter what someone does, we can forgive them. Jesus Christ did; He forgave those who were killing Him! Luke 23:33-34 Amplified Bible says, "And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Latin: Calvary; Hebrew: Golgotha], there they crucified Him, and [along with] the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them."

Forgiveness helps many people including ourselves. Forgiveness gives the offending person over to God the Father and frees our mind from grudges and other negativity toward the person, toward ourselves and toward God. If we have grudges, then our mind is filled with hate instead of love.

We cannot give what we have not received. If we have a grudge instead of love in our mind, then we will give out the grudge instead of love further damaging our relationships with God, self and other people.

Every day someone will probably do something that we will need to forgive. We may respond like the Yiddish saying, "I complain, and I keep going." We may also respond by training ourselves to think thoughts like: "I keep chatting with God instead of spewing poisonous complaining;" "I keep chatting with God. He will teach me how to think, talk and act." Then chat away with God about our specific thoughts and relationships.

Sharing a lot about everything, every day with God helps us to get comfortable with God. God wants us to seek a relationship with Him that includes our true selves. Phoniness is painful and blocks openness, loving truth and intimacy. Matthew 6:7-13 the Message Bible says, "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what's best— as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes."

2) EXCUSE: "They cut out my heart; I can't let go of what they did and are still doing." TRUTH: Love lets go of harmful thoughts, speech and behaviors. God says to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). Love includes spiritual and mental health. Sick people saturate their mind with passive, pessimistic, putrid unforgiving thoughts. A ministry friend of mine says, ". . . forgiveness is fertilizer for a crop of love." Proverbs 23:7 Amplified Bible says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." If we think unforgiving thoughts, then we will act in the hostility of unforgiving behaviors. Hostility is not the hallmark of believers; love is. God the Son Jesus Christ says in John 13:34-35 the Message Bible, "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

People will hurt us frequently. God is able to heal the hurt each time, so that we keep on loving people. Healing can begin by talking to God about it. We can cooperate with God to cleanse our minds of wrong thinking. The past dynamics of a relationship do not stop us from doing good in the present. Learn from the past; don't live in it. Every day is new; we have a new opportunity to forgive. When we are not thinking, talking and acting in love, we are not like God, we are not being His agents of love in the earth realm. Love is central and essential to everyone and to everything at all times.

We like Jesus Christ may talk to God the Father and say, "Father, I place my life in your hands" (Luke 23:46 Message Bible). Our life is not our own. Hold back nothing. Release all control of our life into our loving and capable God. We don't know it all; God does. We can't do it all; God can. Cooperate with God to kill our unforgiving thoughts and behaviors, so that the love of God in us can arise and overflow onto others.

3) EXCUSE: Saying "We need to talk," or "Let's talk" while meaning "You did me wrong. I'm totally innocent. Now I'm going to straighten you out." TRUTH: Discussion grows with diversity of conversational topics shared delightfully while continuously doing the work with God and self to operate in forgiveness. Come out of the roles of stiff bore, bum, bitch, etc. Acknowledge, accept and admit our bad behavior while engaging in frequent conversation that contains more than correction. Examine ourselves against the Word of God: Are we irresistible or repulsive? Allow others to examine us to obtain the most objective truth. Receive the truth.

Many of the people crucifying Jesus Christ had no idea that He is God. While many hurt us intentionally, there are also many who hurt us and have no idea that they are hurting us. Everyone does not think alike. Everyone does not have the same understanding and approach to life.

Sometimes we want people to talk to us in a way that they are not currently capable of doing. To facilitate understanding we may try to operate like Krishna Menon who delivered a nine hour, non-stop speech at the United Nations.

Speak less. Listen and try to understand more. We may think we know the motivation behind a person's speech and behavior, but what we think we know may be false, and if not, then listening and trying to understand people shows we care about them and are loving. Proverbs 18:13 Amplified Bible says, "He who answers a matter before he hears the facts--it is folly and shame to him."

We are not always right. Presume competence in people. Empathy is essential to good relationships. Everyone has feelings even those who seem incapable of tenderness. Genghis Khan said about his divorce from Queen Ibaka completed for political reasons, "You have entered into my heart and limbs."

4) EXCUSE: "I can be and do good all by myself. I am strong enough. I don't need God to regularly forgive people." TRUTH: Anyone and anything has the potential to wear us out causing us to stop practicing forgiveness. Good relationships require continuous cooperation with God to implement continuous change. Sadly some people will only change a little because they are only willing to do a little work with God and others will not change at all because they refuse to cooperate with God, but we don't have to be one of them! Roman Empress Theodora I, wife of Emperor Justinian I, did not start out life as royalty. She spent time selling her sexual skills, became a Christian, and instead of sinking in remorse over sexual sin went on with her husband to grant extensive rights for women and to bring the Gospel to Africa. Theodora, which is Greek for "God's gift," had laws passed that prohibited forced prostitution and closed brothels. She created a convent where former prostitutes could support themselves and expanded the rights of women in divorce and property ownership, instituted the death penalty for rape, forbade exposure of unwanted infants and the killing of wives who committed adultery and gave mothers some guardianship rights over their children. Theodora and Justinian sent missionaries to sixth century Nubia which became a Christian African kingdom.

Theodora I helped women without hating men. Better than the love affair and marriage between celebrities Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher which ended in divorce is the love affair and marriage of Christians Justinian and Theodora, who is 20 years his senior, that ended in her death and his profuse weeping.

 

5) EXCUSE: "I am smart. I am informed. I know to forgive." TRUTH: Knowing and doing are separate. I haven't admitted to God and myself that I know to forgive, but I don't do it. Forgiveness is a lifestyle not an intellectual pursuit or a practice to be used selectively. Matthew 18:21-22 the Message Bible says, "At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven."

We even need to forgive those we do not like. Why let their behavior occupy our mind? South African political prisoner against apartheid who became the first democratically-elected South African president Nelson Mandela says, "It always seems impossible, until it is done."

6) EXCUSE: "I know to forgive, but this situation is too hard for me." TRUTH: While some things are too difficult for us by ourselves, we can receive God and His power to do the difficult. Receive and nurture a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. A relationship with God comes with the benefit of having the ability/power to forgive anyone and anything. Acts 1:6-8 the Message Bible says, "When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?" He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world." Forgiveness is part of a Christian's witness. If we have God, we have the ability and power to forgive. God in us has to be cultivated. Don't be like Solomon who had Wisdom, but didn't always use it in his relationships with women.

Like God is Love, God is Forgiveness. God is who and what He is with everyone and everything. How good or how bad people are does not control God's person and behavior. It doesn't have to control ours either. Romans 5:7-11 New Living Translation Bible says, "Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God."

They cut my heart out or any other excuse to not forgive someone can be replaced by the Truth. God is able to give us a new heart filled with love for the lovable and unlovable. We have no excuses. Let go of a static, sinful view of our relationship with God and others. Clinging to excuses exposes a hard heart. Changing hearts is not a one-time event but a continuous relationship with God that overflows to people and every thing. Ezekiel 11:19 Amplified Bible says, "And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God]." 

Please leave a comment sharing stories of forgiveness.

How Gross Can Be Good

Often we think of bowel production as gross, but it is really good because God created it. Where would we be if we could not rid our bodies of bowel movements?

Sometimes bowel movements are called "waste." Yet beauty products like mascara and lipstick may contain bat guano, which is bat bowel movements!

One of the top sexual fantasies is to make love in plain view of a large mirror or multiple mirrors. Sounds gross to some, but God gave us eyes and made these along with the rest of our bodies both of which God says are good.

Why not consider different, creative ways of lovemaking? Perhaps our spouses would enjoy a full moon with finding a way to combine privacy, open curtains and sessions of fiery lovemaking. Or spouses may go the bathroom; turn down the lights; light up the scented candles; turn up the music; lock the door; relax as no one is likely to disturb us during steamy sex. Or what can we think of and act out to express ecstatic lovemaking with our spouses? The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior reports that the more sexual positions a woman engages in with a man during a lovemaking session the greater the potential for orgasms. A spouse who asks us to try something new in sex is not necessarily influenced by Satan. The inspiration may be from God! God the Son Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows.)"

We only live this earthly life once. Live it well. When was the last time we praised and worshiped God for bowel movements and for creative lovemaking? If we have received God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost, God has already given us permission to enjoy this life with Him and with people in eager anticipation of life with Him and with His people in heaven. Hebrews 9:27-28 New Living Translation Bible says, "And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."

When we don't treat our sexuality and all of our body well we are disrespecting our Maker;  we are not recognizing God for the genius He is; we are calling God a liar for He said that all He created was good, very good. Why not say and act out the belief that bowel production is good and not gross; creative marital lovemaking is good and not nasty or sinful? Perhaps a vacation is needed to spark some new marital creativity? -- sex under a natural waterfall, sex in a field of daisies, sex at a bed-and-breakfast, sex in a hotel skyscraper overlooking a city, sex etc.

Some ways to enjoy the good in what might be falsely considered gross, nasty and/or sinful are:

• Receive the love of God.
• Give the love of God to ourselves and our spouse.
• While living by Biblical principles is liberating, refuse to live rigidly by a set of human-made rules.
• Seek to aggressively see the benefit in all of God and God's creation.
• Be continuously willing to try new things. Keep the good. Turkish-American Mehmet Cengiz Oz, MD, MBA, surgeon, writer, television and radio personality, among other things says in "My Best Life Lesson" for Woman's Day magazine, "Life is a balance between change and constancy."
• Learn to empathize with others who are not like us. Distinguish between style and substance. Some things are not sins, but style issues.
• Learn about as many ways of doing things as possible.
• While it is true that believers will receive new bodies in the heavenly life, Jesus Christ also nourished His earthly body, and counsels us to love others as we love ourselves. Shed all thinking contrary to the truth that God designed our bodies for good not evil.
• Think frequently in a garden of thought patterns that cultivate, cherish and celebrate sexuality and marital sex. Weed out those thoughts that don't cultivate, cherish and celebrate sexuality and marital sex.

Talk With God Throughout Today: God, You are a Genius and a Lover. Help me to see Your good, creativity, joy, love, brilliance in things that I think are gross.

Please leave a comment sharing something that is a foretaste of heaven that may be in disguise.

Why Small Is a Great Start

Whether we have an intimate or distant relationship with God, God has created each human being in His image. Sadly, many of us think in terms of our limitations instead of the infinite capacity of God. Gladly, some recognize the small-minded, limited thinking of Satan as big lies.

Sameena Mehmood's four-year-old daughter was often sick and missed many classes at school. To punish her, the principal refused to promote her to the next grade despite mom's discussion with the principal to find positive solutions.

Mehmood refused to accept the barrier to her daughter's progress erected by the principal. Mehmood used her Montessori teacher training, and on July 4, 1984, opened her own Montessori school in her garage with three children enrolled.

Some may have mocked and belittled Mehmood for her small beginnings, but God praises boldness birthed in lowly circumstances. Zechariah 4:10 New Living Translation Bible says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin . . . "

We have almost 10,000 taste buds. Mehmood may have been tempted to taste and to eat a variety of fears like the fear of people's opinions, the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, the fear of being the pioneer of a new school, the fear of a wrong vision, the fear of being wrong, the fear of failing, the fear of responsibility, the fear of not being loved by spouse, parents, other family and friends, the fear of losing the people one loves, the fear of having a bad reputation, etc.

Mehmood could have also allowed worry over her new garage school's small beginnings to grow across her mind fast and furious like an ivy and strangle her faith and commitment to her daughter's and other people's good. "Worry" is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to strangle" or "to choke."

How many people do you really think believed her garage school with only three students would be successful and a good place to educate her daughter and other people? It's likely that in small and big ways people tormented her and her family for a long time for defying the social norm of public school education.

What nervous habits were magnified or developed in Mehmood during this experience? Maybe she bit hers nails, popped her joints, rocked, etc. to release the anxiety conquered in the conscious mind but crawling around in the unconscious mind.

Anyway, if we really love someone as ourselves, we will treat him or her with multifaceted excellence even when many others don't; we will help the person to live by faith in the God-given ability to pull off what people consider improbable and even impossible no matter how long it takes. Mehmood chose love, faith and commitment over fear, worry, anxiety and submission to evil.

God especially rejoices to see good overcome evil. Romans 12:21 New Living Translation Bible counsels us, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."

Mehmood had the wisdom and love to know that her daughter would not flourish in a school with a principal against her. View rejection as redirection and preparation to possess something better.  

Seek environments where we can grow. Because Mehmood loved her daughter, she didn't force her to fit into a hostile environment. Mehmood shook off the enemy and created an environment for success. 1 Corinthians 13:6 Amplified Bible says about love, "It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail."

Today Mehmood's garage school has grown into Headstart school of Montessori Education with almost 1,000 children enrolled and is one of the most-sought-after schools in Bangalore, India.

Good does overcome evil.

That doesn't mean everything in life will feel good or change for the good immediately. David Walker lived from 1785 to 1830, was born free from slavery, was a Christian and African American, owned a profitable secondhand clothing business started in his middle ages in Boston, Massachusetts, published an appeal against slavery, but died before the end of American slavery.

God is good. God is able to end slavery and to turn a school rejection into a new school or something else for God's glory and our good in His time and season. Grieve the rejection and loss while moving forward in God's good destiny.

Talk With God Throughout Today: God, forgive me. Sometimes I feel timid and tiny. Yet You say I am Your beloved, bold as a lion. Lavish Your Love on me. Thank you. Inspire me to live as You created me.

Luke 1:37 New Living Translation Bible says, "For nothing is impossible with God." Remember and respond:

1) I can change whatever needs to be changed.

2) The person who wronged me needs to change, but I will not wait for him or her to change before I do.

3) I will take the initiative to change.

4) I can change enough to conquer my challenges. 

1 John 5:4 Amplified Bible says, "For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith."

Please leave an on-line comment regarding your small business, start-up story. Please also tweet with me via my Twitter name "Michelelove30" and/or chat via Google's G+.

Sex and the Disabled

God created love and sex not only to praise and worship Him, but also for the enjoyment and empowerment of the entire human race. Some try to stop it, but the bold and the disabled are not stopped from the joy of love, sex and children.

Disability rights activist Ed Roberts is paralyzed from the neck down. When he was a young person beginning to express interest in sex, some told him to give up on his dreams. But Ed turned his dreams into reality and now has a son conceived through sexual intercourse.

David Ring also did not listen to those who told him he wouldn't get married, have kids or preach because he has cerebral palsy. Ring got married, has four children and has preached to more than 6,000 churches internationally.

Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found people enjoy expanded physical prowess under the influence of sexual arousal. Kinsey discovered that a stutterer loses his stutter. A person with cerebral palsy gains greater control of their muscles.

Some do not have God-sized thinking when it comes to empowering the disabled and others to live their dreams. Margaret Sanger was the founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). As an activist in the birth control and population control movements she advocated for the reduction of births among blacks, other people of color, the disabled and those of limited financial means. Planned Parenthood today is the largest provider of abortions to blacks, other people of color, the disabled and those of limited financial means. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a July 2009 New York Times interview says, "Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then setup for Medicaid funding for abortion."

Snuffing out blacks, other people of color, the disabled or people from families of limited financial means is not the solution to challenges; the solution is to find ways to have all of the human race participating in society at each individual's highest capacity. If we care about people, then we will help them to live the best possible life. Abortion is the antithesis of compassion.
 
1) Love overcomes obstacles. Abortion is marketed as a cheap and easy solution to eliminate people who pose challenges to the quality of life whereas love is costly. Love is expensive, but it is also valuable and helpful for living the best possible life. 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 Amplified Bible says, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end] . . . . "

Anupa Iyer kept hope alive in spite of being placed in various voluntary and involuntary psychiatric institutions where anti-depressant medications left her unable to read, write or engage in conversations. Iyer finished law school and is currently working for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, D.C.
 
2) Disability is an opportunity to open up abilities. Miracles often start with people asking, seeking and insisting on help. Never, never give up on finding a way out of the barriers disability encounters. 

Our thinking can be the biggest barrier. Ask God to totally take over our thought process. Small-mindedness is a slippery slope to the status quo and to stagnancy. Cry out to God for the disabled like the father did in response to Jesus recorded in Mark 9:23-24 New Living Translation Bible, and expect to receive miracles: "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"" 

Christian, Former U.S. four-term President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was disabled, and he fought to have the technology necessary to live the best possible life. Since he could not use his legs due to paralysis from polio, Roosevelt used hand controls to drive.



3) An abundant, enjoyable, full, overflowing life is for whosoever is willing to live in the ways of God. Disability does not have to stop someone from living a delightful, dynamic life. God welcomes all people to delightful, dynamic life. We can too. Christian, African American Marian Wright Edelman says, "When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn't say only rich children, or White children, or children with two-parent families, or children who didn't have a mental or physical handicap. He said, "Let all children come unto me.""

If we are disabled or in a group some don't want too many if any of, God wants us all and gave us sexuality, sex and the right to life and reproduction for our joy and good. 

Talk With God Throughout Today: God, open opportunities for me and others to fully live the life You called us to live. Cause me to see the opportunities you have provided and to use them for your glory and the good of people.

Please leave a comment about the ways you or someone you know overcame disabilities.