Come: Psalm 9:1-2: "I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will TELL of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High."
Hear: David was never ashamed to give credit (praise) to God for any number of things. He makes a bold declaration and is not intimidated by lack of Godly respect and honor from those around him. He is so happy with God and in God that nothing else matters!
Do: There's a real and intentional push in the world today for believers to shut their mouths and keep it to themselves. This is, make no mistake, a tactic of Satan himself. The Gospel is VERBAL. Faith comes by HEARING (Rom. 10:17). It must must must be spoken (2 Cor. 4:13). Satan realizes that if he can get Christians to cease "putting it out there" then he's won untold billions of people because the Church (that's you) is silent. David would say, "NO!" (Ps. 34:1) Jesus said that if He commanded those who praised Him to be silent (at the request of the hard-hearted, unbelieving Pharisees) on that Palm Sunday, that the rocks would cry out (Luke 19:37-40). We must give God more credit in our daily affairs. When speaking of something that blessed us, we must say things like, "Yes, I'm just so thankful to God for getting me that job. God's good like that, you know?!" Will it make some people uncomfortable? Yep! Is that ok? Yes, indeed. We go way to far out of our way in the country to make sure that no one is ever offended (even if they are unreasonably looking for ways TO be offended). Jesus said, "blessed is He who is not offended at Me." (Mt. 11:6) Did Jesus offend? Yes. (Mt. 13:57; 15:12) Those who were not offended at Him experienced the fullness of His salvation and a new power residing in their lives to shake off the temporary comforts of this world for a weight of eternal glory! (John 1:10-12; 2 Cor. 4:17)
Prayer: Let me never, never, NEVER be ashamed to speak Your praise, O my God. You have been so incredibly good to us and I must never be poor in my praise, in my worship, in my expressions of gratitude to my great God and Savior!.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Handle Your Business
Come: 1 Kings 2:1-2; 9: Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man…. Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
Hear: David is speaking his final words and he is advising Solomon as to current and lingering issues regarding the Kingdom. He recounts some unfinished business; business that he was unwilling to handle on his own watch. David, for all his faithfulness and zeal for God, was one who let some things go unhandled, most especially when it related to personal relationships. He did not handle the issue of his own wife, which led to Bathsheba/Uriah and the death of a son of David. He did not handle the issue with Tamar being raped and that produced a problem with Absalom. He did not handle the issue with Adonijah trying to ascend the throne without proper authorization. In many times of David’s life he let things go under the heading of “mercy” or “humility.” For instance, when he was leaving the city, fleeing from another problem with Absalom, a man met him on the way and cursed him with great vigor. David did not take appropriate action with that man at that time and so it is left to Solomon to defend his father’s honor, the honor of the kingship by not allowing a citizen under this monarchy to speak so insolently to the king of Israel. Joab executed some men of renown with prejudice and David never dealt with Joab’s inpropriety; it was left to Solomon.
Do: Handle your business. Do not let it go unaddressed. This does not mean to handle it right away or in the heat of passion. Consider it before the Lord, but ACT. Remember David’s command to Solomon: “be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man”. Do not sin in your own heart, a “feeling sorry for yourself” emotional state or fear cause you to draw back from handling people business. Collect yourself. Present yourself and your case before the Lord. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Act according to what you heard and the principles set forth in God’s Word.
Prayer: Lord may I not be slothful in handling the issues that are before me. Let me be found faithful in every aspect of life. Help me be just and equitable, always with a heart of love for people, but decisive and resolute nonetheless. Forgive me for times when I have fallen short and flat out blown it. Give me Your wisdom to discern the battle that it may bring profit to all in Your Name.
Hear: David is speaking his final words and he is advising Solomon as to current and lingering issues regarding the Kingdom. He recounts some unfinished business; business that he was unwilling to handle on his own watch. David, for all his faithfulness and zeal for God, was one who let some things go unhandled, most especially when it related to personal relationships. He did not handle the issue of his own wife, which led to Bathsheba/Uriah and the death of a son of David. He did not handle the issue with Tamar being raped and that produced a problem with Absalom. He did not handle the issue with Adonijah trying to ascend the throne without proper authorization. In many times of David’s life he let things go under the heading of “mercy” or “humility.” For instance, when he was leaving the city, fleeing from another problem with Absalom, a man met him on the way and cursed him with great vigor. David did not take appropriate action with that man at that time and so it is left to Solomon to defend his father’s honor, the honor of the kingship by not allowing a citizen under this monarchy to speak so insolently to the king of Israel. Joab executed some men of renown with prejudice and David never dealt with Joab’s inpropriety; it was left to Solomon.
Do: Handle your business. Do not let it go unaddressed. This does not mean to handle it right away or in the heat of passion. Consider it before the Lord, but ACT. Remember David’s command to Solomon: “be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man”. Do not sin in your own heart, a “feeling sorry for yourself” emotional state or fear cause you to draw back from handling people business. Collect yourself. Present yourself and your case before the Lord. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Act according to what you heard and the principles set forth in God’s Word.
Prayer: Lord may I not be slothful in handling the issues that are before me. Let me be found faithful in every aspect of life. Help me be just and equitable, always with a heart of love for people, but decisive and resolute nonetheless. Forgive me for times when I have fallen short and flat out blown it. Give me Your wisdom to discern the battle that it may bring profit to all in Your Name.
Friday, July 6, 2012
An Evil Heart Defined
COME: Hebrews 3:6b, 12-14; 19: "... but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end... (12) Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end... (19) So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
HEAR: Notice the holding fast of confidence and rejoicing of hope FIRM to the end. This is faith. Faith is believing God. But that term, "believing God" is too ambiguous. Let's dig deeper. Believing God is believing, having unwavering confidence in what He said. All we know about God is what He said about Himself in His Word. All other data about God is subject to error.
DO: So, believing God is believing what He said, which is to be found in His Word, the Bible. This "believing" is the proof that we are in Christ's "house." Note He also says that it is a confession. Homo-logeo in Greek. Homo = same. Logeo - Word. The Same Word. We say the same thing God says. In other words, my words to not waver or depart the content of God's Words.
I MUST speak what God speaks. I must believe what God said. I must hold this confession FIRM to the end.
Notice that the definition of an evil heart is defined as UNBELIEF. Note the effect of unbelief: "departing from the Living God." Is it any wonder that Satan's first tactic with Eve was to question what God said? He's been using that trick for 6000 years. He doesn't even need another trick because that one is still as effective today on humanity as it was back then!
Then, a sad reality: "So, we see they could not enter in because of unbelief." Remember, it's not just about believing there is a God and He's good and all that other ethereal data. No. This is about believing what God said and that confession... that fact... produced the price of admission into the Promised Land. Remember again, this passage is directly tied to the Book of Numbers where millions of Israelites refused to believe what God SAID and they all died in the wilderness (save two).
Refusing to believe what God said (steadfastly, to the end vv.6, 14) will cost us every blessing and ultimately could cause us to be shut out of Heaven itself. Recall what Jesus said to Jairus when someone told him it was all over and to give up: "Do NOT be afraid. ONLY BELIEVE." Jesus spoke about believing a lot!
Make no mistake: an evil heart is one that doubts what God said. As "believers" we are expected to hold fast our confession of faith, steadfast and firm to the end." What is the end? The fulfillment of the promises of God... ALL OF THEM. And guess what the Bible says about the promises of God?
1 Cor. 1:20: For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Prayer: Today God, let my words be Your Words. Let my speech match Yours. Instead of having an evil heart of unbelief that departs, let an evil heart in me depart! Create in me a clean heart, O God! Let it live and breath and rejoice in the firm, sure and abundant promises that You said! You delight to fulfill Your Word to me. So today I say, "Yes and Amen" to Your every word. Let Your words always be steadfast and firm to the end in me! Amen!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Hello Fear
Fear. Blech! That word brings up all sorts of gut-wrenching feelings and sensations. Fear captivates our thinking, holding us hostage - holding us in bondage. Fear involves the unknown. The Bible says, "fear has torment." Torment comes in terms of two little words: "what" and "if."
What if I lose my job? What if I make the wrong decision? What if I choose the wrong profession? What if I choose the wrong person? What if the doctor's report comes back with a bad prognosis? Two little words, yet so powerful: "what if."
I still struggle with some areas of fear. I'm generally pretty good about burying those fears under the veneer of my public persona, but there are still things that grind in my guts and affect my ability to focus and can even manifest in physical feelings like an upset stomach. What if...
Let's go a bit deeper. What if God had my back? What if the plans He has for me were to prosper me, to give me a future and a hope? What if I made a decision (not a sinful one) and knew that God would synergize ALL of it together for my good? What if I knew that because the Spirit of God is in me, that the majority of my faith-based decisions were destined for success and not failure? What if I knew I would have God's strength to not only face, but flourish in the situations in front of me that I know will be difficult?
What if GOD? We fear when we lack faith. We fear when we lack trust in the God who birthed us, sent His Son to die for us and pay for every blessing that will certainly sustain us every single day of our lives. Joan and I have faced many fear-increasing situations in our lives - so many that God has brought us through and yet it begs the question: why do you still get fearful? Because I'm still in process.
There are situations that used to send us into a frenzy of fear that do not sway us. Why? We've seen God's faithfulness. We KNOW that He's got it! I sometimes get fearful in "new" situations; circumstances where I haven't seen God's faithfulness: our kids growing up and moving out, new levels of church leadership and dynamics, some newer areas of finances that some of us have had to deal with in this new economy. Still begs the question, though: if God has been faithful in all the others, why would He not be in this one? The answer is obvious. "I've got this," God says. "You can trust Me. There's not a single instance (even a sinful one) where I will not be with you to guide you and even deliver you."
Two little words: "what if" can bring terror, bondage and at worst being frozen in fear to the point of doing nothing or running from His plan. Do you know what's beautiful? Two little words that Jesus spoke: "Fear" and "not." Fear not. It's a command. It's also a confession. Fear... NOT! I love the tender words Jesus spoke right after them. "Fear not, little flock."
Oh Jesus, You know me so well! How I'm inclined to fear and be tormented with all the what-if's of life. It affects how I think, how I act, how I treat others, how I make decisions, how I live! That's not abundant life. Abundant life trusts the God Who gave us everything and is trying to convince us that He will not ever leave us and, as the old song says, "He's got the whole world, in His hands." I'm in there, too and there's no safer place in the universe than in the hollow of His hands. So, fear? NOT!
What if I lose my job? What if I make the wrong decision? What if I choose the wrong profession? What if I choose the wrong person? What if the doctor's report comes back with a bad prognosis? Two little words, yet so powerful: "what if."
I still struggle with some areas of fear. I'm generally pretty good about burying those fears under the veneer of my public persona, but there are still things that grind in my guts and affect my ability to focus and can even manifest in physical feelings like an upset stomach. What if...
Let's go a bit deeper. What if God had my back? What if the plans He has for me were to prosper me, to give me a future and a hope? What if I made a decision (not a sinful one) and knew that God would synergize ALL of it together for my good? What if I knew that because the Spirit of God is in me, that the majority of my faith-based decisions were destined for success and not failure? What if I knew I would have God's strength to not only face, but flourish in the situations in front of me that I know will be difficult?
What if GOD? We fear when we lack faith. We fear when we lack trust in the God who birthed us, sent His Son to die for us and pay for every blessing that will certainly sustain us every single day of our lives. Joan and I have faced many fear-increasing situations in our lives - so many that God has brought us through and yet it begs the question: why do you still get fearful? Because I'm still in process.
There are situations that used to send us into a frenzy of fear that do not sway us. Why? We've seen God's faithfulness. We KNOW that He's got it! I sometimes get fearful in "new" situations; circumstances where I haven't seen God's faithfulness: our kids growing up and moving out, new levels of church leadership and dynamics, some newer areas of finances that some of us have had to deal with in this new economy. Still begs the question, though: if God has been faithful in all the others, why would He not be in this one? The answer is obvious. "I've got this," God says. "You can trust Me. There's not a single instance (even a sinful one) where I will not be with you to guide you and even deliver you."
Two little words: "what if" can bring terror, bondage and at worst being frozen in fear to the point of doing nothing or running from His plan. Do you know what's beautiful? Two little words that Jesus spoke: "Fear" and "not." Fear not. It's a command. It's also a confession. Fear... NOT! I love the tender words Jesus spoke right after them. "Fear not, little flock."
Oh Jesus, You know me so well! How I'm inclined to fear and be tormented with all the what-if's of life. It affects how I think, how I act, how I treat others, how I make decisions, how I live! That's not abundant life. Abundant life trusts the God Who gave us everything and is trying to convince us that He will not ever leave us and, as the old song says, "He's got the whole world, in His hands." I'm in there, too and there's no safer place in the universe than in the hollow of His hands. So, fear? NOT!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Set Your Mind
Psalm 84:5; 7a Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage... they go from strength to strength.
I don't know about you, but my heart gets set on many, many things. So many of those things produce stress, strife, anxiety and/or temporary fulfillment that never satisfies. In the 84th Psalm they are headed on a journey toward Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles to celebrate in worship.
Worthy of congratulations is the man whose heart is set on God. That's what the word "blessed" means - worthy of congratulations. Wow - can you see it? The person who SETS their hearts on pursuing God is never lacking in strength. In fact, it says that they go from "strength to strength." That's an unending, renewable power that the government and the green industry knows nothing about!
There's just something about pursuing God - HIM - not just the "stuff" of Him that powers our lives. Can I tell you something pretty cool? In Acts Chapter 2, they were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles; it coincided with Pentecost. The Jews of that day were descending upon Jerusalem with Psalm 84 in their mouths as they had their hearts set on the worship of God. Then came the sound of the rushing mighty wind! The power and strength they had before was incomparable to the strength that was now coming with the giving of The Promise of The Father - the Holy Spirit!
Now when we set our hearts toward the pilgrimage of worship, it manifests inside us according to the power of the Spirit. Consider this favorite Scripture of mine in Ephesians 3:20: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the POWER THAT WORKS IN US. Verse 20 began with acknowledging Him ("Now unto Him") - look at verse 21: to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. There's the praise given in the journey.
Set your heart on the journey of worshipping God. When you do, strength to strength is your new life's motto. When you do, the Spirit of God will empower you with unending, all-renewing, unstoppable strength. Now let's end with the final verses of Psalm 84:11b-12: The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Congratulations are in order for you today, my Christian friend. Blessed indeed!
I don't know about you, but my heart gets set on many, many things. So many of those things produce stress, strife, anxiety and/or temporary fulfillment that never satisfies. In the 84th Psalm they are headed on a journey toward Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles to celebrate in worship.
Worthy of congratulations is the man whose heart is set on God. That's what the word "blessed" means - worthy of congratulations. Wow - can you see it? The person who SETS their hearts on pursuing God is never lacking in strength. In fact, it says that they go from "strength to strength." That's an unending, renewable power that the government and the green industry knows nothing about!
There's just something about pursuing God - HIM - not just the "stuff" of Him that powers our lives. Can I tell you something pretty cool? In Acts Chapter 2, they were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles; it coincided with Pentecost. The Jews of that day were descending upon Jerusalem with Psalm 84 in their mouths as they had their hearts set on the worship of God. Then came the sound of the rushing mighty wind! The power and strength they had before was incomparable to the strength that was now coming with the giving of The Promise of The Father - the Holy Spirit!
Now when we set our hearts toward the pilgrimage of worship, it manifests inside us according to the power of the Spirit. Consider this favorite Scripture of mine in Ephesians 3:20: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the POWER THAT WORKS IN US. Verse 20 began with acknowledging Him ("Now unto Him") - look at verse 21: to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. There's the praise given in the journey.
Set your heart on the journey of worshipping God. When you do, strength to strength is your new life's motto. When you do, the Spirit of God will empower you with unending, all-renewing, unstoppable strength. Now let's end with the final verses of Psalm 84:11b-12: The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Congratulations are in order for you today, my Christian friend. Blessed indeed!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Spend-a-palooza; living like the Government
"The borrower is slave to the lender," so says the Book of Proverbs. We've all been there and done that some time. The only possible way to get out of that unenviable situation is to spend LESS than you earn. In other words, we cannot use money to buy things when we don't have enough to pay for it. I hear a collective, "DUH!"
So, as many families are having to do, we seek ways to cut our monthly expenses. For my household, I don't drive the 11 minutes home for lunch; instead I stock the freezer with microwave dinners and bring a canned soda from home. We also cut cable and opted for Netflix instead.
If I may be so bold... and since I'm a duly authorized taxpayer... I think I shall be SO bold... I'd like to suggest a couple of areas the US Government could cut.
How about my tax dollars NOT being used to pay for abortions... in FOREIGN COUNTRIES. To be honest, I don't think they should be paid for here at home either. Planned Parenthood can raise funds for their operating expenses from the likes of Hollywood.
How about NOT sending tax dollars to countries that hate us... like Bolivia and some other communist/socialist leaning nations?
How about NOT paying for artists to create works of "art" the denigrate Christianity, like the infamous picture of a crucifix in a glass of urine. De-fund the National Endowment for the Arts.
I guess if I wanted to do business like the government, I could just print more money and spend it... wait... I think that's against the law for the private citizen. Ok, so that's counterfeiting. OH! I got it! I'll just write checks regardless of whether I have money in the bank to cover it... aw man... that's against the law, too!
So, if it's against the law (and implicitly, if not explicitly a moral evil) for a private citizen to do this... how's it legal for the government? It must be that the government just keeps getting loans to cover our inability to stop spending. Who exactly are they borrowing from? Well, not from us... we're actually being enslaved to debt for decades. Our children and perhaps even our grandchildren are saddled with it.
Maybe we won't have to worry about the guilt-factor, having saddled future generations with our debt. After all, we won't be able to understand our grandchildren or even communicate to them... because they'll be speaking CHINESE, the language of those who really own America being the holder of the largest portion of our debts.
And for my parting shot consider this scandalous thought: If the Chinese take over America maybe the Chinese churches could show us the way to a great revival in the churches of America like they are currently experiencing... just a thought
So, as many families are having to do, we seek ways to cut our monthly expenses. For my household, I don't drive the 11 minutes home for lunch; instead I stock the freezer with microwave dinners and bring a canned soda from home. We also cut cable and opted for Netflix instead.
If I may be so bold... and since I'm a duly authorized taxpayer... I think I shall be SO bold... I'd like to suggest a couple of areas the US Government could cut.
How about my tax dollars NOT being used to pay for abortions... in FOREIGN COUNTRIES. To be honest, I don't think they should be paid for here at home either. Planned Parenthood can raise funds for their operating expenses from the likes of Hollywood.
How about NOT sending tax dollars to countries that hate us... like Bolivia and some other communist/socialist leaning nations?
How about NOT paying for artists to create works of "art" the denigrate Christianity, like the infamous picture of a crucifix in a glass of urine. De-fund the National Endowment for the Arts.
I guess if I wanted to do business like the government, I could just print more money and spend it... wait... I think that's against the law for the private citizen. Ok, so that's counterfeiting. OH! I got it! I'll just write checks regardless of whether I have money in the bank to cover it... aw man... that's against the law, too!
So, if it's against the law (and implicitly, if not explicitly a moral evil) for a private citizen to do this... how's it legal for the government? It must be that the government just keeps getting loans to cover our inability to stop spending. Who exactly are they borrowing from? Well, not from us... we're actually being enslaved to debt for decades. Our children and perhaps even our grandchildren are saddled with it.
Maybe we won't have to worry about the guilt-factor, having saddled future generations with our debt. After all, we won't be able to understand our grandchildren or even communicate to them... because they'll be speaking CHINESE, the language of those who really own America being the holder of the largest portion of our debts.
And for my parting shot consider this scandalous thought: If the Chinese take over America maybe the Chinese churches could show us the way to a great revival in the churches of America like they are currently experiencing... just a thought
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
It's Legal... but is it Moral? Is it right?
Ponder this: "legal" and "moral" are not the same thing. If this were true, genocide under the Nazis, under Stalin, under Pol Pot, under Mao Tse Tung, in Rwanda, Somalia would not be immoral - it was legal. Thus, legal and moral are NOT equivalent. Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's right (moral). Corrupt people produce corrupt laws.
Look around around the "land of the free and the home of the brave" today. A judge struck down the "will of the people" as it relates to the "special rights" that the severely minority gay population seeks to secure. There are a variety of great articles written by smarter men than I on this topic, so I won't take the time to unpack it here today. (go to str.org for some great resources on this topic).
Infantcide - the murder for convenience of innocent, defenseless human persons - we call it abortion - justified as "choice."
The Homosexual Agenda - the absolute relentless assault against what is clearly "natural." I don't need to quote a single Scripture to demonstrate that this is an aberration and perversion of our clearly evident biological order.
Are there other moral issues? Yes there are. In my estimate, these are two of the most egregious issues off all time. Are they legal? Yes they are. In fact, living as a homosexual and even receiving the same "rights" as a married couple are ALREADY GIVEN to homosexual couples. What they are after is the name "marriage." It forces cultural acceptance. That's what they hope to accomplish - forcing their view on all the rest of us and then outlawing free expression to disagree. Freedom to disagree and publicly express it is a hallmark of the American nation. They are not concerned with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, however.
Let me be clear. I stand against the sin of homosexuality with the same fervor as I do against heterosexual adultery. I stand against abortion the same way I stand against gossip. Sin is sin. Sin always robs us of God's perfect plan - AND - in the process it rapes, pillages and plunders our own lives and the lives of those around us. I stand, as a prophet to a culture gone mad, shouting for them to turn around as they paddle their boats ever closer to the falls called Niagra. Don't kill yourselves - don't kill your children! You may like the luxuries of this cultural ship, but that which lies beneath will strike you down and all the splendors of sin will go down with you, O Titanic culture!
Love God - Love People - Reject that which ultimately ravages people...for the sake of people. All the unjust can rule, but they will rule unjustly. It is not moral to kill babies. It is not moral to commit adultery. It is not moral to commit sodomy (homosexuality). You can say it is legal, but your moral intuition tells you it's wrong and lamentable.
Here's some good news. If we confess (call "sin" what God calls "sin") our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We've all sinned even though it was "legal." Jesus joys to wash our immorality and issue us His own morality.
Look around around the "land of the free and the home of the brave" today. A judge struck down the "will of the people" as it relates to the "special rights" that the severely minority gay population seeks to secure. There are a variety of great articles written by smarter men than I on this topic, so I won't take the time to unpack it here today. (go to str.org for some great resources on this topic).
Infantcide - the murder for convenience of innocent, defenseless human persons - we call it abortion - justified as "choice."
The Homosexual Agenda - the absolute relentless assault against what is clearly "natural." I don't need to quote a single Scripture to demonstrate that this is an aberration and perversion of our clearly evident biological order.
Are there other moral issues? Yes there are. In my estimate, these are two of the most egregious issues off all time. Are they legal? Yes they are. In fact, living as a homosexual and even receiving the same "rights" as a married couple are ALREADY GIVEN to homosexual couples. What they are after is the name "marriage." It forces cultural acceptance. That's what they hope to accomplish - forcing their view on all the rest of us and then outlawing free expression to disagree. Freedom to disagree and publicly express it is a hallmark of the American nation. They are not concerned with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, however.
Let me be clear. I stand against the sin of homosexuality with the same fervor as I do against heterosexual adultery. I stand against abortion the same way I stand against gossip. Sin is sin. Sin always robs us of God's perfect plan - AND - in the process it rapes, pillages and plunders our own lives and the lives of those around us. I stand, as a prophet to a culture gone mad, shouting for them to turn around as they paddle their boats ever closer to the falls called Niagra. Don't kill yourselves - don't kill your children! You may like the luxuries of this cultural ship, but that which lies beneath will strike you down and all the splendors of sin will go down with you, O Titanic culture!
Love God - Love People - Reject that which ultimately ravages people...for the sake of people. All the unjust can rule, but they will rule unjustly. It is not moral to kill babies. It is not moral to commit adultery. It is not moral to commit sodomy (homosexuality). You can say it is legal, but your moral intuition tells you it's wrong and lamentable.
Here's some good news. If we confess (call "sin" what God calls "sin") our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We've all sinned even though it was "legal." Jesus joys to wash our immorality and issue us His own morality.
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