Titania Paige
Hey, sis. I’m Titania. Around here I help the Christian woman live from joy & peace as she surrenders her soul & sexuality to God. On this blog, I write Bible studies & practical articles on living a lifestyle of faith, just like this one. So if you’re new here, please consider downloading my free 5-day Bible plan. And if you’re returning here for more, welcome back!
You don’t know the joy it gives me that you found your way here with me. My soul is leaping at the thought of you experiencing new life with Christ. This is what’s changed my life and my prayer is that you’ll experience the same freedom and love that I have. Stay a while and we’re going to talk about exploring personal relationship with Jesus, especially as a woman who’s struggling with sexual sin.
Where God Met Me
If the thought of surrendering your sexuality causes you to hesitate or even ignore Jesus’ invitation to know Him, you’re not alone. That’s exactly where God met me. A confused, college-girl that didn’t want to begin a relationship with Jesus at the expense of her relationship with her boyfriend. For me, that relationship and specifically chasing the “perfect sex” was my way of fulfiling my need for intimacy. So for me, the thought of cutting off that relationship was like cutting off my lifeline.
Perhaps, you feel that way about a member of the same sex?
Maybe you’re just not sure that you can quit your habits of watching porn and masturbation?
When you contemplate your past, you may even feel like you’re too far gone to receive Christ’s forgiveness and grace.
I can relate to all of that, sis, and my soul sings because I get to tell you that none of those things can separate you from God’s love. I would know because I completely rejected God, and devoted myself completely to the life I craved for myself, but ultimately was unsatisfying and enslaving. It’s only by God’s compassion toward me that I’ve come to know His unmatched love. And it’s not too late for you to experience the same. Let me paint a picture of what life with Christ might look like for you.
A Picture of Life with Jesus
In John 8, you’ll find this convicting, yet grace-filled picture of Jesus’ invitation to us to know Him. As Jesus is teaching one morning, a group of religious leaders of His day bring forth a woman who was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Jesus is pressured to condemn her to be stoned to death, but here’s what Jesus does instead:
…Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 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!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:6b-11, NLT)
This passage resonated with me so much when I was wrestling with whether I should follow Christ. Mainly, because I could see myself in that woman. I felt Jesus’ loving concern for this woman’s life and dignity, but I also felt convicted by His words, “go and sin no more.”
And maybe that’s where you’re getting hung up.
You want to begin living life with Jesus, but you’re also afraid of the unknown. What will happen to your life if you really surrender everything to Jesus? Will you feel deprived of what you’re longing for? Or will you constantly feel like a failure for being unable to live “perfectly?” These were real fears I had when I considered beginning a relationship with Christ. But as I got to know Christ through His word, I realized I had it all wrong.
I love the way, Danny Gokey sums the Christian life up in His song “Love God and Love People:
I’ve been running in circles
Gotta keep it real simple, keep it real simple
Bring everything right back to ground zero
‘Cause it all comes down to this
Love God and love people.
God desires our love above all things. When we love God, making the right decisions and loving others is just a natural outcome of that. God knows we’re flawed and that we can’t live a life that pleases Him without His help. That’s why He gives us His Spirit to help us grow in love for Him and look more like Jesus day-by-day.
Come As You Are, But Don’t Leave the Same Way
Having spent over a decade as a Christian now, I can look back and say that Jesus’ last words to the woman caught in adultery really sum up the journey I’ve experienced with Him. Jesus didn’t condemn her, but He also told her clearly to leave her sinful lifestyle. Jesus showed mercy, love, and compassion, while simultaneously commanding her to pursue a new way of life with God.
Becoming a Christian is not just about following a long list of spiritual rules. In fact, when we focus too much on “doing good deeds” or “doing the right thing,” we often miss the point. We end up toeing the line and soon we find ourselves obsessing over ways to work around God’s law and eventually forget about cultivating a relationship with God altogether.
God wants you to know Him intimately, because it’s only in relationship with Him that we can be changed. It’s only in relationship with Him that we can experience His love for us and that we are changed by our love for Him.
To keep learning about how you can start a relationship with Christ, please stick around because I’m releasing more videos about this, as well as how to grow in love for Jesus. If you’re ready to surrender your life to Jesus, I invite you to become a Christian (click here to learn more).
I hope you see now that you don’t have to clean yourself up first or even commit to being “perfect” to begin a relationship with God. It’s enough to surrender yourself to Him – to trust in Christ, and turn away from your old way of doing things– so that you can come to experience His love for yourself. Everything else will fall into place as you prioritize this one thing: loving God.
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What did you think of this episode of the Purpose in Purity Podcast? Are there any questions you want us to answer? Any topics you want to hear discussed? Leave a comment below or email me at hey@TitaniaPaige.com. See you in the next episode!
