Sex & Superglue Illustration

SEX RidgeHere’s an analogy for the power of sex—one we can use with our kids.

Imagine that you’re a sheet of cardboard.  Sex is like superglue that glues 2 pieces of cardboard together—very helpful if your hope and goal is to be bonded to one person in marriage for the rest of your life.

Now imagine what happens when you rip 2 super-glued sheets apart.  Chunks of my cardboard are stuck on the other sheet, leaving holes, wrinkles, and tears, while chunks of the other person’s cardboard are now permanently stuck on me.  Then imagine super-gluing your wrinkled sheet of cardboard repeatedly with various other pieces of cardboard.

One study of college seniors found that 75% of students hooked up or had sex an average of 7.9 times.   After 7.9 of those sticks and rips, how’s your cardboard going to look?

I firmly believe that Jesus can and does heal the worst of emotional and spiritual damage–that even if your cardboard has been through 79 sticks and rips, God can heal and make whole what’s been broken.

If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

But I’d rather my kids not have to go through the pain of being ripped apart.    I’d rather them go through as much of life as possible whole.  Then when they get married they can be bonded for life to one person.

How about you?

For more about the Sex series or to sign up for a Sexperiment Growth Group go to www.RidgeFellowship.com

Adapted from: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whatshesaid/2012/09/sex-and-superglue-talking-with-kids-in-a-hook-up-culture/
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God’s Super Glue

SEX RidgeThe God of the Bible places His nature in you and I. The God who had been one, breathed His life in a non-living thing and it became a living being.

God would spend the rest of the Bible wooing the man back to Himself, so that the two would one day be one again. God wants us to understand this aspect of Himself not just by study but by experience.

God began with Adam who was complete in himself and contained all of God’s nature but gave Adam a lesson in one-becoming-two. God put Adam to sleep and began the most unusual surgery in human history. He began to sift out perfectly complimentary features and created the perfect balance so that the one man, could become two, and remain a perfect fit, so that one day the two could become one.

And man would spend the rest of his story trying to figure out how to woo back to himself the woman.

Separate minds. Separate hearts. Separate wills. Separate bodies and separate Spirits. All these were once one. And God creates us to hunger in such a way that we crave one-ness. He makes both to desire deeply that these differences and the separateness be returned again to one.

What are the odds? More importantly what is the mechanism? What kind of glue would it take for all of these attributes, body mind emotion, and spirit would return again and be joined as one? What kind of glue indeed. God is a genius, and a generous genius at that.

He gave us the greatest glue imaginable; God gave us sex.

The drive for sex and connectedness, pulls us together. The act of sex, the only human act that connects body, mind, emotion and spirit, re-connects the separated parts and two are again made one. Genius!! Genius and generous. Not just glue, but fun, joyful, tender and exuberant glue.

At least that is how it is supposed to work. That is the design. But,oh, the number of possible things that could go wrong. Think with me for a minute. The beauty of super glue, is that it works so well. At the same time the problem with super glue is, that it works so well. Used rightly it works. Used in any wrong way, it still works!  All manner of things can be stuck together. I  heard of a woman who used super glue to put on her eyelashes and had to go to the emergency room, with her eyelids glued shut. Super glue works. Fingers stuck together, people stuck to objects, the number of options are only limited by the creativity of the human soul.

If you really want to see how super glue can be used wrongly, give a tube of it to a four year old. Or a fourteen year old. Let their undeveloped, wonder-filled, immature minds work with a substance with this kind of power. Just be sure you have good insurance.

If you really want to see how sex can be used wrongly give it to an undeveloped, disconnected, immature human race and see just how many things we can stick together. Things that don’t belong stuck together. But just like super glue, sex still works. Used rightly, it works. Used wrongly … it works.

The human heart can be stuck to person after person after person, until the man or woman is torn into pieces and carrying around pieces of strangers. Or attached to slick, lifeless images or writhing images on a video. And this kind of sticky-ness is just the building block of all manner of cultural shift. Soon, we as a race begin to believe that our appetites and urges are our identity, and it is a terrifying slippery slope from there to our destruction as a society.

Sex is God’s super glue, and it works. Used in the protected boundaries of a monogamous, covenant relationship man and woman can bring the one-become-two back together again, over a lifetime of bring our whole self into such a relationship. It is a brilliant, beautiful and powerful plan.

But because it works so powerfully, every brilliant plan with power can also go powerfully wrong.

Did I mention that Jesus lived and died to make wrong things right? Did I mention that the power of the resurrection can overpower all of our mistakes? Jesus has for us all the solvent that can gently yet cleanly break the most powerful of ties and separate those things that do not belong together.

Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you WERE. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.   1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Use the super glue God has given us wisely. However if you have used it in a way that has left you stuck or broken, do not despair. The God who invented this super glue knows how to work with it. Bring Him things that have gone wrong. Bring Him the things that you want to go right. God can wash you, sanctify and justify you because of Jesus Christ.

For more about the Sex series or to sign up for a Sexperiment Growth Group go to www.RidgeFellowship.com

 

 Adapted from http://destinyinbloom.com/gods-super-glue/
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Sexperiment Day 4 Devotional – Singles

sexperimentDay 4 – Priority

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

“Stop Making Sexcuses…”

We love to go retro these days. From cars to clothes, from music to makeup—retro is the way to go. But you can’t go retro without talking about time. And you can’t talk about time without thinking about priorities.

There seems to be a lot of hype about setting priorities, but God has already given us the blueprints on where we need to spend our time. It’s not about setting our priorities. It’s about agreeing with God on what our priorities already are.

Priorities are simply saying yes to the best. But for many of us, there is a huge gap between our priorities and our commitments. Instead of saying yes to the best, we say yes to the good or just good enough. And over time, the good crowds out the best.

Do you ever get to the end of your day and wonder, “Where did the time go? Did I accomplish anything I set out to do?” One of the best ways to ensure that you set your days on the right path is to spend some time with the Author of time.

This week, make it a point to spend some quiet, personal time with God. Give him the first few moments of each day. When you do, the gap between your priorities and commitments will begin to close and you will begin to see that God’s priorities will give you freedom.

Answer the following

  • How do you determine your priorities?
  • How well do you think your priorities line up with God’s priorities for your life?
  • Do your current commitments support God’s priorities for you?
  • What “good” commitments do you have in your life that you need to let go of in  order to say “yes to the best”?

 Take Action

Commit to spending 5-10 minutes of each morning with God this week. Seek His guidance in aligning your priorities with His.

 Go Further

Read the section The Yoke is Not a Joke on pages 113-114 of Sexperiment book.

To download the PDF, click beow:

Day_4-Priority-Singles

SEX RidgeFor more about the Sex series or to sign up for a Sexperiment Growth Group go to www.RidgeFellowship.com

Source:  www.TheSexperiment.com

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Sexperiment Day 4 Devotional – Married

sexperimentDay 4 – Priority

 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:5

“Stop Making Sexcuses… and Start Making Love”

The Bible never says how often a husband and wife should have sex. It does, though, tell us that it is unhealthy for a couple to abstain from sex for an extended period of time. The break in physical intimacy only allows Satan to infiltrate the marriage with temptation.

This passage does give one specific reason to abstain for a time, but both husband and wife must agree. The one reason is an extended season of prayer. But you don’t have stop having sex in order to enjoy the incredible benefits of praying together and for each other. Praying with your spouse takes vulnerability that will accelerate your bond emotionally and spiritually. This emotional and spiritual connection will, in turn, lead you back to a time of physical connection.

Prayer coupled with an obedient life will give you God’s perspective on what you should be saying “yes” and “no” to together. Get ready to say “yes” to the best and “yes” to sex with your spouse when you prioritize with God’s help.

If you are consistently too tired or too busy for sex with your spouse, consider the words from the passage above. They are still applicable today.

After this week of the Sexperiment, maintain your connection with your spouse—intentionally and regularly. Continue using these seven days as a model of intimacy for your marriage 365 days a year.

 Discuss The Following

  • Ask your spouse, “Do you feel your needs and desires are being met often enough on a weekly or monthly basis?”
  • Ask your spouse, “Would you say our love making is a priority to me in respect to the time and creativity I invest into it?”
  • Answer this together, “What are actions we could take together to remove the obstacles that keep us from having sex more often with each other?”

 Take Action

  • Make a list of the “sexcuses” that have blocked intimacy in your marriage.
  • Discuss your feelings about them and make a firm commitment that none of them will bereasons for not completing the sexperiment.

Go Further

  • Read the introductory section on pages 35-51 of Sexperiment book.
  • Read about additional action steps in this area of your marriage on page 53 of Sexperiment.book

To download the PDF, click beow:

Day_4-Priority-Married

SEX Ridge For more about the Sex series or to sign up for a Sexperiment Growth Group go to www.RidgeFellowship.com

Source:  www.TheSexperiment.com

 

 

 

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