Now that we have talked about having convictions, and sticking to them, the question many of you may have is: What should my standards be?\u00a0 How do I figure this all out?\u00a0 So let\u2019s try to figure this out together.\u00a0 First of all, what IS a conviction?\u00a0 According to the authors a conviction is a standard that serves as a springboard for your choices.\u00a0 OK, it\u2019s a standard, but where do your standards come from?<\/p>\n
If we were to believe the media, movies, TV, etc., our set of standards may include rushing into situations that are not meant for Jesus girls.\u00a0 Skimpy clothes, risky behavior and premarital sex are the norm.\u00a0 Everyone is happy, and when they eventually stop being happy, they just move on to the next situation that they think will make everything better.\u00a0 We need to separate ourselves from these lies and turn to God\u2019s Word to find our truth.<\/p>\n
In Romans 12:2 we are told, \u201cDo not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.\u00a0 Then you will be able to test and approve what God\u2019s will is \u2013 His good, pleasing and perfect will.\u201d<\/i> When we renew our minds, switching from society\u2019s standards to God\u2019s standards, we will receive His best.<\/p>\n
This is not easy by any means.\u00a0 We will be called things like unrealistic, stubborn, judgmental, and that isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 I may have shared this story before, but it sticks in my head and rears up every time I struggle, but a \u201cfriend\u201d has told me I that I will never get married because I won\u2019t have pre-marital sex.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t easy to hear.\u00a0 It haunts me.\u00a0 But I have committed to having loftier goals for myself.\u00a0 I know by living in God\u2019s strength I will be given the grace needed to resist the temptations before me.\u00a0 Does that mean I live a perfect single life?\u00a0 I can\u2019t claim that.\u00a0 But I can say that I continually strive to live by a higher standard than what is present in today\u2019s society.\u00a0 Despite what friends may think, I know that not having premarital sex will not prevent me from finding the man of my dreams.\u00a0 On the contrary, it will bring me the godly man I have been waiting for.<\/p>\n
This of course is not the only standard involved in dating and meeting men in the Christian world.\u00a0 It may be what you wear, things you say, places you go.\u00a0 Whenever you aren\u2019t sure if your actions are aligned with God\u2019s will, all you need to do is turn to your Bible.\u00a0 As it says in the scripture above, we can use His Word to \u201ctest\u201d and \u201capprove\u201d our actions to see if it is what is right and good.<\/p>\n
I will leave you today with a reminder from the end of this section of the book.\u00a0 Carry this truth with you whenever you feel like it is so hard to keep up your standards, or when it seems so hard not to give into the temptations of this world:<\/p>\n
\u00a0There are men breathing on this planet today who can handle such scrutiny and be found \u201cworth waiting for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ______________________<\/p>\n LET\u2019S PRAY<\/strong><\/p>\n Lord I ask you to come along side of us this week.\u00a0 We know you have high standards.\u00a0 With these standards comes a life more amazing than we can ever imagine.\u00a0 Give us the grace needed to turn to your word when we are unsure or feel as if we are faltering.\u00a0 We want to live confidently and fearlessly under your guardianship.\u00a0 Thank you for always being by our side.\u00a0 In your holy name we pray.\u00a0 Amen<\/p>\n YOUR ASSIGNMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n What are some scriptures you turn to when looking for guidance in your dating life?\u00a0 Share any struggles or successes associated with the scriptures.<\/p>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n For the \u201cLady in Waiting\u201d Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the \u201csign-up here\u201d button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Now that we have talked about having convictions, and sticking to them, the question many of you may have is: What should my standards be?\u00a0 How do I figure this all out?\u00a0 So let\u2019s try to figure this out together.\u00a0 First of all, what IS a conviction?\u00a0 According to the authors a conviction is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20],"tags":[144,147,218,259,283,293,425,436,545,554,593,686,723,910,968],"class_list":["post-4480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-singles","tag-bible","tag-bible-study","tag-christianity","tag-conviction","tag-dating","tag-debby-jones","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-god","tag-jackie-kendall","tag-jesus","tag-lady-in-waiting","tag-michelle-graziano","tag-online-bible-studies","tag-romans-122","tag-singles-bible-study","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-1ag","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8373,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4480\/revisions\/8373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}