AB Ministries FEB 2017 1 | Page 12

As a believer, being single can be definitely be a challenge. Especially in these days and times. Sex ranges anywhere from meaningless to something "nice" at best, for most. However, this was NEVER God's intention for love and the greatest form of intimacy two individuals could share.

When you look at the Old Testament, you will sometimes see the word covenant. Today we would liken it to a contract although it had a deeper and more significant meaning to it.

God, Himself made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12. David and Jonathan cut a covenant. This was the standard way of making a binding promise to one another or from one person to the other. And just like these covenants were made between "parties" there was also the marital covenant.

Now whenever you read about covenants taking place, you also see some form of sacrifice. You see some type of shedding of blood. Even Jesus who establishes our New Testament or New Covenant sheds His blood to "seal the deal"; and likewise God embedded this step into the marital covenant. The reason a woman is born with a hymen (besides to protect her insides until she begins to have sex) is so that when the covenant is formed, or consummation takes place, once again there is the shedding of blood.

This only happens once. And in the Old Testament it was the seal and proof that she was still indeed of virgin, forming only 1 sexual covenant with her husband.

When I first saved, I learned early on from my Pastor that the man controls the level of committment and that the woman controls the level of intimacy. It is only for the highest form of committment, Marriage or the Marital Covenant, should the female exchange the highest form of intimacy, which is sex.

Yet today ladies shell out the highest form of intimacy for as little as a wink and slow dance at a club with absolutely nothing in return or promised to be

Single & Love- God's Way