God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.  Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor…  –  1 Thessalonians 4:3-4

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15 Drink water from your own well—
    share your love ONLY with your wife.
¹⁶ Why spill the water of your springs in the streets,
    having sex with just anyone?
¹⁷ You should reserve it for yourselves.
    Never share it with strangers.

¹⁸ Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.
    Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
¹⁹ She is a loving deer, a graceful doe.
    Let her breasts satisfy you always.
    May you always be captivated by her love.
²⁰ Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman,
    or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?

Solomon doesn’t hold anything back in these next few verses of Proverbs 5.  Can you believe this is God giving us these intimate/detailed guidelines?

That’s our Creator.   

He tells it like it is.  He keeps it real.  He knows our hearts, He knows all people, No one needs to tell him what mankind is really like. – John 2:24-25, He knows our weaknesses.  He warns us because He loves us and wants to protect us.

Although He doesn’t force us to choose His way, He gave people freewill. He doesn’t want us to feel hopeless and confused.                                                                                                                                                 

The promise God gave the Israelites, 3,000+ years ago, is true for us today, as well.  Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, (pleading, begging, my add) that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  –  Deuteronomy 30:19   

What a powerful and hopeful verse!!

God wants us to be aware that our actions have consequences, both positive and negative.

• Would I be a good parent if I didn’t tell my children that “doing” drugs is harmful to themselves and others?
• Would I be a good parent if I told my children that having sex outside of marriage is nothing more than a “good” time, with no physical or emotional repercussions?
• Would I be a “good” parent if I simply let the culture drive my children’s decisions, so they could experience “real life”?

If we, sinful people, know how to give good gifts (protection and warnings, my add) to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him (who follow Him, my add).  –  Matthew 7:11

We might not want to believe this, but we’ve all experienced the fact that we can’t change other people.  Even if the advice, support, and guidance we’re giving them is right on target, some people would rather touch the fire to be sure it’s hot, rather than listening and heeding the advice of those who have already been burned.

 As Solomon writes in the Book of Ecclesiastes, History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. There’s nothing new under the sun. –  Ecclesiastes. 1:9

I urge and remind myself, and others –

DON’T just listen to God’s word.  DO what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  –  James 1:22