a few months and it felt good to have someone think the world of me . I was so used to being rejected . It felt nice to have someone who wanted me . He was a Christian and we were in love . So at the conference , the speaker was talking about relationships and how at our age we shouldn ’ t be in serious relationships ; it wasn ’ t necessary . My heart dropped and I immediately became defensive . This was something that I wanted for so long . What could have been wrong with it ? We weren ’ t having sex . Surely God wanted me to be happy .
The speaker continued by saying it could open doors . He went on to explain how at first it ’ s an innocent kiss , and then a longer kiss , then a passionate kiss . Then there is the touching . The touching will accompany the kissing , and then the touching will lead to other things and before you know it , sex .
After he said that I laughed to myself , and I felt better . I knew that this would not happen to us . Mark was not the typical 16-yearold boy ( insert naïve girl here ). We even talked about sex and had both decided that that was not even an option . So surely the speaker was not talking about me . Fast-forward three years , and kissing had turned to touching . I was a freshman in college on my way home to visit for the weekend . Of course , I would see Mark . I can ’ t remember if I was listening to music or not but I will never forget what happened next . It was the first time that I would audibly hear the voice of God . It was still , it was small , and it was His . He didn ’ t say much , but he said enough to warn me to make the right choice . “ Be careful ”. And that was it . I don ’ t know how I knew it was God ; I just did . And then I became afraid . Not afraid because He spoke to me , but afraid because of what He said . Was I going to get in a car accident ? What was I to be careful of ? I drove as carefully as I could and when I got home , I was so relieved . My eyes and my thoughts went straight to Mark and not to the fact that God had spoken . The next day I was guilt-ridden and upset . I couldn ’ t believe that I was no longer a virgin . I hadn ’ t listened to the warning I was given . We tried not to let it happen again , but it did , again and again and again . And then my excuse became that we were going to get married anyway , so it couldn ’ t be that bad … right ? And so I reasoned … until we broke up .
Proverbs 16:25 - “ There is a way that appears to be right , but in the end it leads to death .” This verse says it all . The word ‘ way ’ in Hebrew is “ Derek ” and means “ a course of life ” or “ of moral character ”. There is a course of life , a part of moral character that might seem right to us and to the world . For example : Homosexuality . It ’ s a hard one because people reason that you should be able to love whomever you want . They liken it to when people of different races were not able to marry and how that was wrong . There are slogans that say “ Love is Love ”. And that could seem right . In 1st Corinthians 6:9-11 it says that many people will not inherit the kingdom of God and in that list are those who practice homosexuality . There are more scriptures that confirm that God sees homosexuality as sin : Mark 10:6-9 , 1 Timothy 1:10-11 , Leviticus 20:13 , just to name a few . It may seem right to us , but in Proverbs it clearly tells us that in the end , it will lead to death . Abortion is another one that may seem right . There are always questions , what if the woman was raped ? What if it she can ’ t afford to take of it ? There are too many kids with bad parents , and the list goes on and on . But the Bible says in Proverbs 6:17 that He hates hands that shed innocent blood .
So what is a believer to do ? God is a just God . He requires that we take up our cross to follow Him . Matthew 16:24 reads “ Then said Jesus unto his disciples , ‘ If any man will come after me , let him deny himself , and take up his cross , and follow me .’” To be a disciple of Jesus is to be a follower of Him . And we have to make a decision to follow Him daily . It means to deny the world and to trust in His Ways and His Word , even if it doesn ’ t make sense to the world . He doesn ’ t call us to reason with His Word ; He calls us to obey it . Do you know who reasons with His word ? Satan . In Genesis 2:17 God tells Adam “ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat , for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die .” Now God made His commandment clear . There was not wiggle room . He said that if he ate of that tree , that he would surely die . But here comes Satan , in the form of a serpent , after Adam told Eve what God said