{"id":20,"date":"2013-01-31T21:51:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-31T21:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/2013\/01\/31\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/"},"modified":"2013-03-07T16:51:04","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T16:51:04","slug":"the-40-day-challenge-day-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/","title":{"rendered":"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 9"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cNow in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin\u2019s name was Mary.\u201d<\/i> (Luke 1:26,27)<\/b><\/p>\n

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The angel was sent to a virgin who was pure not only physically (as she had never had sexual intercourse with a man), but also in the heart\u2026 Her eyes were not evil and she would never allow herself to be influenced by circumstances.<\/p>\n

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We are living in times where the Internet and technology, used in an uncontrolled manner, have corrupted the society in all levels, affecting also the family. <\/p>\n

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Many people have been influenced by the bad example of so-called Christians, whose moral principles have been corrupted.<\/span><\/p>\n

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They have allowed the circumstances to dictate the rules of their faith.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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They do not live according to what the Word of God says, but according to the circumstances.<\/p>\n

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When we begin to look at things in a negative way, we lose our purity, our virginity, and we embrace malice.<\/p>\n

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It was not only Mary\u2019s physical virginity that drew God\u2019s attention, but above all, her inner purity. She did not allow herself to be contaminated.<\/p>\n

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But there are many people who are negatively influenced by the circumstances and the voices of the world, and so they lose their purity. We need to be careful with everything that can contaminate us.<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s more important: God or the people around you?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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If no one lives according to Christian faith, is it a reason for me to stop being a \u2018virgin\u2019, pure? Not at all!<\/p>\n

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However, this is exactly what many people do in order to justify their failure. They use this as an excuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our failure is a result of what is inside of us.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s very important that I see myself the way I truly am \u2014 a soul, with mistakes and flaws. When I do this, I am able to understand why people make mistakes or behave in a certain way.<\/p>\n

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If I am not perfect, how can I demand perfection from others?<\/p>\n

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For example, women like to compare themselves to other women. As a result, they either feel inferior or judge the others. And this is nothing but a sign that their relationship with God is not doing well. <\/p>\n

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If they compare themselves to what is written, they will prioritise God; but because they prioritise people, they end up losing\u2026 They are selfish. They can\u2019t see their imperfections.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mary lived in Nazareth, a humble place\u2026<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Many people want to live in palaces, but God is looking for people who cherish their spiritual virginity.<\/p>\n

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We keep our physical bodies pure by sacrificing and denying our fleshly desires, and the same applies to our spiritual purity. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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We are put to the test as well: we go through difficult moments; we have to fight against negative thoughts, evil eyes, doubts, insecurities, etc. But when we take care of our \u2018virginity\u2019, nothing can stop us!<\/p>\n

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We keep our salvation under lock and key, with much fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What makes all the difference is the one I prioritise: God, my will, or other people.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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We have free will \u2014 the right to decide! We can choose whatever we want. But remember one thing: we will reap whatever we sow!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Who will God invest in, like He did with Mary?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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He will invest in those who deny their own will. Though they are apparently losing out, they are actually drawing the attention of God.<\/p>\n

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Examine yourself: What\u2019s your priority? Have you kept your \u2018virginity\u2019 in a world whose prince is the devil, and where everything makes you sin and is contrary to faith? <\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThose who make themselves chosen by God will always stand out!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Vivi Freitas<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNow in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin\u2019s name was Mary.\u201d (Luke 1:26,27) The angel was sent to a virgin who was pure not only physically<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-40-day-challenge"],"better_featured_image":null,"yoast_head":"\nThe 40-Day Challenge: Day 9 - Viviane Freitas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 9 - Viviane Freitas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cNow in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin\u2019s name was Mary.\u201d (Luke 1:26,27) The angel was sent to a virgin who was pure not only physicallyRead more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Viviane Freitas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-31T21:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-03-07T16:51:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-FoHrAZNy5dU\/UQw2pnvCKKI\/AAAAAAAAHqo\/fjuWCtKtBJE\/s400\/timthumb.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Silvia Alvarenga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Silvia Alvarenga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/\",\"name\":\"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 9 - Viviane Freitas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-FoHrAZNy5dU\/UQw2pnvCKKI\/AAAAAAAAHqo\/fjuWCtKtBJE\/s400\/timthumb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-31T21:51:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-07T16:51:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0067f6a62f06cbd9c4777b925b44e14a\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-FoHrAZNy5dU\/UQw2pnvCKKI\/AAAAAAAAHqo\/fjuWCtKtBJE\/s400\/timthumb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-FoHrAZNy5dU\/UQw2pnvCKKI\/AAAAAAAAHqo\/fjuWCtKtBJE\/s400\/timthumb.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Viviane Freitas\",\"description\":\"Welcome to my blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0067f6a62f06cbd9c4777b925b44e14a\",\"name\":\"Silvia Alvarenga\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7a1f23c440407aa73786057a8a1ed13c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7a1f23c440407aa73786057a8a1ed13c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Silvia Alvarenga\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/author\/silvia-alvarenga\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 9 - Viviane Freitas","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-9\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The 40-Day Challenge: Day 9 - Viviane Freitas","og_description":"\u201cNow in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. 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