Archive for October, 2010

We All Cooperate With God

God is a God of order.  He makes everything right and appropriate.  He loves it when everything fits.

God has filled the earth with abundant resources.  For instance, crude oil from beneath the earth.  Where do we drill for it?  We drill in the exact place where He put it.  And where do we place those mammoth wind turbines?  We put them wherever He makes the wind blow. Fisherman fish certain waters at certain times of the year because they know that the precise fish, crab, shrimp or other sea life which they desire will be there.  These are just examples of how some people cooperate with God.

Whether you acknowledge God, go to church or not, your spiritual “handle,” is irrelevant.  From Atheist to Zen and everything in between, everybody acknowledges the earth’s  cycles, seasons as well as the meteorological and geological patterns that are all around us.  We respect these patterns and we use them to our benefit.  We have also learned that disrespecting “mother nature” can lead to disastrous results.

Think about it.  Is not science simply the discovery of the vast power which surrounds us on earth?  Every advancement in human history, from the wheel to the microchip has come from a discovery.   It is man harnessing the potential within a God-made substance.  Once a scientist discovers a “constant” in nature or in a compound they become 99.99%  certain that the same  results will occur every time the same conditions are present.  It is a constant. They are convinced.  And as a result of relying on these certainties, our world has become a much more glorious place to live.

If we can rely so heavily on the unchanging laws of nature and see the consistent benefits of doing so, we must not hesitate to take the same stance with God’s Word!  For God’s Word is the only constant on earth that is 100% reliable, 100% of the time, to 100% of those who believe it.  For it was His Word which created the world when He spoke by the breath of  His mouth (Psalm 33:6).  Once a person makes God’s Word their own, they will never lack any good thing in this life or the next!

When you and I begin to cooperate with God’s Word, we will  become more certain about God’s love and His promises toward us than those who rely on the Farmer’s Almanac.  We will experience blessing and multiplication upon all we put our hands to.  If we don’t doubt the seasons, how can we doubt the very Word that created them?  Let me challenge you to believe that the God who created the earth also created you to experience the abundant life JESUS promised.  Put God’s Word in your heart, then on your tongue.   Now release that Word with faith and watch what God does.  What YOU SAY will come to pass.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17

Homosexuality and Legit Racism

This is not an anti-gay diatribe by another “hate the sin, love the sinner” style preacher.  I want to begin by saying that I truly understand that many homosexuals have heard or sensed something very real within them which they sincerely believe was a signal that they were gay.

Yet it did happen again,  just a few weeks ago.  A young college student, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge in New York.  What a heartbreak.  Another bright kid, nothing but opportunities and fortune ahead of him, here no longer.   Life, just too complicated at eighteen.  And it’s not just Tyler.  But many other gay teens are choosing suicide, nationwide.  Did this young man jump off that bridge because his roommates dishonored him?  No.  He did it because he was confused, confounded, humiliated.  Why?  Let me explain it this way.

I have never met a member of any ethnic or “religious” group who had to warm up to who they really are.  In my case, I am an unapologetic Christian American.  I would never limit wearing JESUS to just my shirt sleeve.  I wear Him all over, especially on my attitude and my outlook on life.  I never had to get used to being a Christian.  And I have never had issue with anyone who does not understand or appreciate my devotion to Christ.  Nor am I offended when people scoff at my particular brand of Christianity   or deride my Savior.  I am just as confident and secure in who I am and who my God is as I am in being an American living in the USA.  I am happy, even eager to tell anyone that I am a flag-waving, Christian patriot, anywhere in the world.  And so would most reading this blog.  Why?  It’s like breathing.  It’s natural.  There is no shame in being who you know you are.

Let’s get to truth.  If an offense could be taken today, it will be with this statement, not with me.  It’s not my statement, nor my word.  I simply believe it.  Any offense would have to be with God, whose Word I take from the New Testament book of Romans, Chapter 1, verses 18 through 32. (New King James Version) Here is an excerpt:

“…because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful…God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves…to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.  Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error…”

Yes, there are young people who feel something, hear something or have a desire they have never had.  No objection.  But it is a false reading.  A deceptive bluff.  You don’t have to believe it or submit to it! And why is this such a leap?  Remember the first drag on a cigarette?  We thought we would die.  Every nicotine addict I know wishes they had gotten a clue on that first try.  Why can’t we apply this to the kid who “feels” he’s gay? Imagine if people gave in to every rogue thought or act they “felt” like doing.  It would be chaos.  Homosexuality is a choice.  And for some, it is a very tough one because of the high level of deception involved.

Those who hold to this belief are not anti-gay or against any lifestyle choice.  We must resist the notion that standing on Truth is being “intolerant.”  Would we call someone intolerant because they resisted a person who prefers straddling the lines on the freeway?  “I just don’t feel right when I drive in between the lines…I need to straddle them” A moral society must have at it’s bedrock, undeniable truth in order for it’s citizen’s to prosper.  This has always been America’s secret.

We must question anything that our minds and bodies tell us they “feel” if it goes against truth.  And that is really the crux.  Truth.  The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is neither God-designed nor God-inspired.  And to say that God sanctions and looks with favor upon homosexuality is nonsense.  It is unnatural.  It is a mixture of what God made as natural and then something else joining in (The deception).   That fatal flaw will forever produce mixture.  Thus the shame, the uncertainty, the acting out along with the increasingly loud, loud voice to defend it.  But truth settles every dispute.  “We don’t get to choose what truth is, nor can we change it. We just get to accept it or deny it. And, everybody finds out in the end what the TRUTH really is.”  If your truth gets you where you want to go, congratulations, you made a wise choice.

Yes, it has taken far too long for our nation to recognize that we indeed had a birth defect called slavery.  We are doing much better.  But those attempting to place homosexuality in that same status are misguided.  The evil within legit racism, and I must say legit because our present culture will label you a racist if you accidentally pull out in front of the wrong person in traffic!  The evil within legit racism is marginalizing and devaluing another human life on the basis of something they have no control over, namely, the color of their skin, or their ethnic genealogy.  Never has there breathed a human being with an option in either.  Which is why I contend that the greatest form of racism is abortion.  When we deny life, not the right to vote, not a better seat or a superior job, or even human dignity, but when we deny life itself to a person, who through no fault or choice of their own came into existence in the identical manner as the rest of us; can this be a depiction of anything other than our worst selves?

America has begun to line up with the Bible when it says,  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.  Simple, right?  We are ALL equal in God’s eyes in every way.  And that is how it works.  When we get into agreement with Him., life is more enjoyable and productive for everyone.  However, God will not reverse Himself because we are screaming for Him to give us what we want.  He loves us too much to do that.  He is our Father, after all.  Any dad who gives in to the lesser wisdom of his children will certainly regret it.  Of course, God has no regrets.  And neither will we if we stay submitted to His Word.