Thank you for your encouraging words. Since you spoke of Ann Rice's confession of becoming a Christian, I feel I should share a word of caution. We will know people by their fruit. The Pharisees and Jewish rulers claimed to be children of Abraham and offspring of God, but they crucified the Lord of glory.

There are great multitudes that proclaim themselves as Christians today, but as you suggested in another comment recently posted, many are apostate and walking after the flesh.

Many people hear of a celebrity making a profession of Christ, and they do not hold them to the same scrutiny as they would others. I read carefully the things Ann Rice was saying when she was interviewed concerning her new devotion to Christianity. The impression I came away with is that she does not yet know the Lord of glory, neither is she a partaker of the Holy Spirit. She is merely seeking to offer to God her fleshly efforts, as if He will have regard for them. Yet they will be despised like the offering of Cain.

I believe if you also look into the things she is saying about her new found faith, you will find that she is merely being religious, and has not yet come to the knowledge of Christ or the conviction of her own wretched sinfulness.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

On a slight tangent, it should be noted that G-d uses for His good purposes even the darkest of satan's work with vampire fiction.

E.g., "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" provides a fictional example of a young woman and her friends steadfastly opposing and doing battle *against* the forces of blood-sucking evil. As in Twilight she experiences many temptations, but AFAIK, she succumbs to none of them.

Also, well-known vampire writer Anne Rice not only came back to faith in Christ a few years ago after many years as an atheist, but has devoted the remainder of her life to writing solely about Christ, to G-d's glory. She's gotten a lot of puzzled responses and derision from the mainstream secular society but has stuck to her inspiring commitment.

A young woman doesn't even have to 'try' to be sexually alluring. She already is, by nature (just to be frank-everything is perky, no wrinkles and she is most fertile).
It really doesn't take much to turn a man on. What about when a woman is older? How is it that some couples seem very 'active' even in their older years?
1 Peter 3:3-5 (paraphrased) Women make themselves beautiful in how their spirits are with the Lord.
This is why it is of the utmost importance that your daughter be close to the Lord and for her spouse to be close to the Lord. Ultimately in all of lifes challenges we are to encourage each other to walk in obedience to the Lord. There are many times I ask my husband if what I am wearing is suitable. If he likes it too much (thinks its 'sexy') I change (if it turns him on, it will another man). My motto is 'sexy is as sexy does'. It's not what you wear that will ultimatly turn a husband on, its our behavior. Now if your husband desires to see you in something, that's between you, him and the Lord. However I tend to agree with Mr. Herrin: I personally do not want to be equated 'visually' with a prostitute, porn star or Entertainment Tonight hottie. There are beautiful, appealing pieces of lingerie out there for the wearing without compromising ones position in the Lord. Just my thoughts. Peace,

"God…man, life…death, birth…the grave, inner man…outer man, spirit, soul and body? soul is in the blood? How does this idea synchronize with: Genesis 2:7 Then Adonai Elohim formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of LIFE; and man BECAME a living being (soul.

1 Cor 15:45 – So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, BECAME a LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Here it seems clear that the SOUL is directly connected with BREATH rather than BLOOD…?"

This is an excellent question, and well worth considering. We should not be unwilling to test and examine all things closely, for if something is true then it will stand up under scrutiny.

The Scriptures do speak of God BREATHING into man's nostrils and this resulted in his becoming a living soul. How then is it that we read that the soul is in the blood?

Where does oxygen go when a person breathes it in? It enters the lungs where it is transferred to the blood stream. The blood is what carries oxygen to the entire body. If blood is cut off from any part of the body, it will die due to oxygen starvation.

This is why it is so important to revive someone quickly when they have a heart attack, and to not only seek to restore a heartbeat, but also to force air into the lungs. If a person does not have oxygen pumped to the brain, within five minutes the brain cells begin to die and this can result in permanent brain damage.

So the blood becomes the channel for the air we breathe in. I would also recommend the following post which builds on this idea.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/gospel-chemistry.html

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

"I do have one question on the portion of your blog that you wrote about a woman being sexually alluring. While it is clearly wrong for women to use our beauty to get the attention of men, or believe the lie that we will get love in that way. Is it wrong for a woman to be sexually alluring to her husband?"

This is another excellent question. I do believe it is very right and proper for a wife to desire to be as attractive as she can be for her husband. I would caution against using the world's standards of beauty, however. When the world wants to be sexually alluring they turn to Frederick's of Hollywood, or Victoria's Secret. Many of the outfits there would seem right at home on a prostitute. I do not think that a Christian woman should try to mimic the pattern of Jezebel in order to look appealing to a spouse. A Christian man should not confuse his bride with a harlot, nor treat her as one.

Sex within marriage is a beautiful thing. It was designed by God to be enjoyed. The Song of Songs written by Solomon will put away all doubt that a woman's body is to be enjoyed as a thing of great beauty.

Song of Solomon 4:1-7
"How beautiful you are, my darling,How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes which have come up from their washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost her young. Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. Your neck is like the tower of David built with rows of stones, on which are hung a thousand shields, all the round shields of the mighty men. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies. Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling…"

Is there a proper way for a woman to present herself as sexually attractive to her husband without dressing up like a prostitute? I think there is. Sexuality and purity are not antagonistic to one another. They are meant to walk hand in hand with one another.

Perhaps some who have received some insight from the Spirit of Christ in this matter might share those things they have received.

I do believe that the union of a man and woman should very much include the joy of sexual attraction. Yet, behind everything, the act of union should be a spiritual event where the soul of the man and woman are united even as are their bodies.

My personal opinion is that much of a man's attention should be drawn to the eyes of his wife, for the eyes are the mirror of the soul. It seems that God designed the man and the woman so that this is the natural position of the two as they become one. They are eye to eye with one another.

"Do you believe that the four instructions in Acts 15:20 is an exhaustive list for the Gentile converts? Doesn't verse 21 connect these instructions with the expectation that the rest of Moses teachings on living righteously would be imparted to the new believers as they continued in community on the Sabbath from week to week?"

That is an excellent question, but I believe a comment field is too limited of a format to sufficiently answer that question. Some things require much more than a sound-byte to properly explain.

I am anticipating doing a teaching on the role of the Law soon. It may be the next thing I do after I complete the current series. In the meantime, I would refer you to the small book I wrote some years back titled "Laying Down the Law."

http://www.heart4god.ws/id293.htm

"Just to clarify, are you saying that Christians should only eat meat that is properly slaughtered — i.e. with all the blood drained out?"

This is what the Scriptures teach. Nor does this have anything to do with the Law of Moses. This admonition was given to Noah, and it was repeated by the elders of the church in the book of Acts.

If you find a cut of meat at the store that is dripping with blood, chances are it was not butchered according to Yahweh's command. There are ways to remove blood from a piece of meat, including salting and soaking. In the Law, however, it was declared that the blood is to be drained onto the ground when the animal is slaughtered.