Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas
No matter what the secular world keeps proclaiming, Jesus is still the reason for the season. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Homosexual agenda versus God's Word
A New Zealand church billboard with the image of Christ in the manger with a rainbow style halo and the caption "It's Christmas. It's time for Jesus to come out," has added to the homosexual controversy versus God's word. Reverend Glynn Cardy claimed the billboard is merely trying to uplift the "humanity of Jesus" (HuffingtonPost). And he is quoted as saying, "The fact is we don't know what his sexual orientation was" (Huffington Post). And Cardy then questions whether it would matter if Jesus was gay... and would that matter to us.
Additional emphasis to the gay agenda is brought forth in the content of Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly homosexual bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church. During an interview with Jon Stewart, Robinson -- who was promoting his book "God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage" -- side-stepped actually calling Jesus gay, but then put as much innuendo regarding the relationship Christ had with his male disciples as he could. And he is quoted as saying, "Now I'm not saying Jesus was gay, but let's be careful (not) to rope this guy in for a husband, wife and 2.2 children model for family" (Huffington Post).
It makes you wonder what is being taught in the seminaries these days; it cannot be the Word of God. The Word of God is very clear on homosexuality being considered a detestable act, such as the following:
"Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." -- Leviticus 18:22 (NLT)
"If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense." -- Leviticus 20:13 (NLT)
And you can find similar examples of homosexuality being condemned or shown as sinful in the following verses: Genesis 19:1-11, Judges 19:16-24, 1 Kings 14:24 and 15:12, 2 Kings 23:7, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:8-10, and Jude 7.
It would appear that Cardy and Robinson have not gotten to those areas of their bibles yet. And when both so-called religious leaders defend homosexuality in a biblical context, and even have the audacity to hint at Christ being "sinful" it clearly shows that they have not read the parts of the bible that specifically warn of not adding to or taking away from God's Word, such as the following:
"Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." -- Deuteronomy 4:2
"See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it." -- Deuteronomy 12:32
"Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar." -- Proverbs 30:6
And you can find similar verses in Revelations 22: 7, 9-10, and 18.
There really is no controversy over homosexuality in God's Word, it is very clear. The controversy is only in the minds of those who do not want to obey God because it condemns their sinful desires. And, like spoiled children, they will continue to throw their tantrums for all to hear and see in the hopes that they can get enough people frustrated so they will give them what they want just to shut them up. And, unfortunately, that tactic appears to be working since so many other groups want their sinful desires to be tolerated as well.
It appears that the majority of people no longer strive to be the best they can be; instead, they strive to see how much they can get away with. That is a poor example of human nature, and an even worse recipe for a happy life.
I pray they realize that true freedom comes through the grace and love of God and not through the chains of human addictions.
(Note: this is the same church that put up the scandalous Joseph sleeping with Mary billboard in 2009)
Additional emphasis to the gay agenda is brought forth in the content of Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly homosexual bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church. During an interview with Jon Stewart, Robinson -- who was promoting his book "God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage" -- side-stepped actually calling Jesus gay, but then put as much innuendo regarding the relationship Christ had with his male disciples as he could. And he is quoted as saying, "Now I'm not saying Jesus was gay, but let's be careful (not) to rope this guy in for a husband, wife and 2.2 children model for family" (Huffington Post).
It makes you wonder what is being taught in the seminaries these days; it cannot be the Word of God. The Word of God is very clear on homosexuality being considered a detestable act, such as the following:
"Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin." -- Leviticus 18:22 (NLT)
"If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense." -- Leviticus 20:13 (NLT)
And you can find similar examples of homosexuality being condemned or shown as sinful in the following verses: Genesis 19:1-11, Judges 19:16-24, 1 Kings 14:24 and 15:12, 2 Kings 23:7, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:8-10, and Jude 7.
It would appear that Cardy and Robinson have not gotten to those areas of their bibles yet. And when both so-called religious leaders defend homosexuality in a biblical context, and even have the audacity to hint at Christ being "sinful" it clearly shows that they have not read the parts of the bible that specifically warn of not adding to or taking away from God's Word, such as the following:
"Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." -- Deuteronomy 4:2
"See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it." -- Deuteronomy 12:32
"Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar." -- Proverbs 30:6
And you can find similar verses in Revelations 22: 7, 9-10, and 18.
There really is no controversy over homosexuality in God's Word, it is very clear. The controversy is only in the minds of those who do not want to obey God because it condemns their sinful desires. And, like spoiled children, they will continue to throw their tantrums for all to hear and see in the hopes that they can get enough people frustrated so they will give them what they want just to shut them up. And, unfortunately, that tactic appears to be working since so many other groups want their sinful desires to be tolerated as well.
It appears that the majority of people no longer strive to be the best they can be; instead, they strive to see how much they can get away with. That is a poor example of human nature, and an even worse recipe for a happy life.
I pray they realize that true freedom comes through the grace and love of God and not through the chains of human addictions.
(Note: this is the same church that put up the scandalous Joseph sleeping with Mary billboard in 2009)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
What lesson does it teach?
Did you see the story of the family evicted from section 8 housing because the 13-year-old son stole a pair of shoes from K-mart to keep his feet warm? A single-mother and her three children have been told to vacate their Grand Junction apartment in two weeks, right around Christmas, because of the incident that had nothing to do with the apartment complex.
By no means am I condoning the act of stealing, but what type of lesson has the system just taught this family (especially the young kids)? This boy, after being forced to wear tattered shoes because of the family's poverty, which kept his feet cold and hurting, was tempted (as any child would be) to find a way to relieve the pain. And he made a wrong choice. But the system that blindly and callously casts the entire family, including the boy's two younger siblings, out in the dead of winter is a far greater criminal act than what the child did.
The manager of the Garden Village Apartments in Grand Junction said in a statement to the media that "shoplifting violated the family's lease agreement" -- (Huffington Post). Any criminal activity, even off the premises, is grounds for immediate eviction. But what they fail to take into account is the extenuating circumstance. This was not a case of a hard-nosed delinquent trying to get over on the system; it was a poor child with hurting feet trying to ease the suffering. And now that child is riddled with guilt over his mother and siblings being cast out into the cold for something he did.
The act of shoplifting should not be condoned, but the manager missed a great opportunity to make a huge difference in the life of both this boy and his family. Instead of evicting them it would have been much better to let the boy see the error of his ways, and then give him the opportunity to make up for his mistake by working around the apartment complex (about two weeks), and then paying him enough to buy a pair of shoes. The boy would learn he had to take responsibility for his actions and that it is better to work for things you need instead of stealing. And his younger siblings would have seen the lesson as well, and their mother would have felt that someone in society actually cared about her circumstance and attempted to help instead of simply adding to her burden because it's easier for the manager and property owners to callously cast an adult and three children into the cold: hoping they can find a shelter that will take them.
The action taken by the manager and property owners has only reinforced the belief to this family, especially the children, that nobody cares for them so they need to look out for themselves. And that kind of belief will create the temptation for more bad choices.
The majority of Americans use to have compassion and think about others more than themselves, but those days appear to be long gone. That's what happens when you take a loving God out of a society's belief system.
By no means am I condoning the act of stealing, but what type of lesson has the system just taught this family (especially the young kids)? This boy, after being forced to wear tattered shoes because of the family's poverty, which kept his feet cold and hurting, was tempted (as any child would be) to find a way to relieve the pain. And he made a wrong choice. But the system that blindly and callously casts the entire family, including the boy's two younger siblings, out in the dead of winter is a far greater criminal act than what the child did.
The manager of the Garden Village Apartments in Grand Junction said in a statement to the media that "shoplifting violated the family's lease agreement" -- (Huffington Post). Any criminal activity, even off the premises, is grounds for immediate eviction. But what they fail to take into account is the extenuating circumstance. This was not a case of a hard-nosed delinquent trying to get over on the system; it was a poor child with hurting feet trying to ease the suffering. And now that child is riddled with guilt over his mother and siblings being cast out into the cold for something he did.
The act of shoplifting should not be condoned, but the manager missed a great opportunity to make a huge difference in the life of both this boy and his family. Instead of evicting them it would have been much better to let the boy see the error of his ways, and then give him the opportunity to make up for his mistake by working around the apartment complex (about two weeks), and then paying him enough to buy a pair of shoes. The boy would learn he had to take responsibility for his actions and that it is better to work for things you need instead of stealing. And his younger siblings would have seen the lesson as well, and their mother would have felt that someone in society actually cared about her circumstance and attempted to help instead of simply adding to her burden because it's easier for the manager and property owners to callously cast an adult and three children into the cold: hoping they can find a shelter that will take them.
The action taken by the manager and property owners has only reinforced the belief to this family, especially the children, that nobody cares for them so they need to look out for themselves. And that kind of belief will create the temptation for more bad choices.
The majority of Americans use to have compassion and think about others more than themselves, but those days appear to be long gone. That's what happens when you take a loving God out of a society's belief system.
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