This past Sunday after having a great time at Victorious Christian Church my team was blessed with attending a youth service. They set it up to have a time for questioning the Muzungus (“White People”). Some of the questions they asked involved the existence of parental punishment for religious beliefs in America, negative accusations on leaders in America vs. Uganda, what the enemies to true holiness are, why some of the girls said they were married and yet they had rings on their hands (they had not heard about purity rings), the meaning of the literal blood of Jesus Christ, and how to overcome the love of the world/sexual desires the Bible describes in 1 John 2:16-17. Highly thoughtful questions and very fun to engage in.
I had so much fun answering some of these questions because I was able to really use the knowledge God blessed me with in studying his Word in college. A common issue here in Uganda is sexual purity. The school that we are teaching at has signs around the campus that say “Virginity is Pride,” and “Be a Virgin!” They are trying to engrain in the minds of young ones to stay sexually pure before marriage. When the question was asked about overcoming sexual desires it was given to me. I was so excited to answer because it was such a huge issue that needed to be addressed and could potentially bring tremendous change to the society of Uganda.
Q.
“My question is in 1 John 2:16-17. How do I overcome the love of the world/sexual desires as a youth of this generation?” – Anonymous
(1 John 2:16-17 says, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.)
A.
My thoughts went to Romans 8:5-10 in which the author Paul talks about the different mindsets people have. He separates them into two categories; the mind set on the flesh and the mind set on the Spirit. I read these verses. Then my thoughts lead me to Romans 12:1-2 where Paul discusses the importance of renewing the mind daily. I read these verses. I then discussed my answer with the group of youth. As I looked around the room it was clear that thoughts were stirring. Afterwards some of the youth came up to me and we continued the conversations we’d started. It was really fun.
We are having a worship, prayer and fasting day with the youth on the 18th of this month where more conversations will be had, rooted in Jesus. It will be great. Thanks for all your prayers!
