Count It ALL Joy

James 1:1-4 NKJV says this: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

Count it all joy. Count it ALL joy. James is very specific here. In layman's terms he is saying, "Be joyous when you encounter trials." Trials come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A trial for one may be not having enough money to pay the bills. A trial for another may be losing a job. But God says to "count it all joy."

Look at it as an opportunity to praise God. Praise God for the chance to glorify Him. Praise God for allowing you to go through something that will bring you closer to Him. Because when it's all said and done, it's all about Him anyway. He provides for your every need. If He takes care of the sparrows and the lilies of the fields, He will take care of you. He said so in Matthew 10:29-31. (NKJV). 

This word trial, also means temptations. Praise God when you are faced with a temptation. Psalm 22:3 says in the KJV that God inhabits our praise. When you praise God during a trial or temptation, He gives you the strength to resist. James 4:7 (NKJV) says, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

When you follow God and stand for His statutes and precepts, you will encounter persecution as well. Check out the blog on the end times. But Jesus said in John 16:33, (NKJV), "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

So trust in Jesus. He has overcome the world. He allows us to go through trials so that we can glorify Him and become ever closer to Him. I will leave you with a couple of quotes from a book by E.G. White entitled, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. 

"Jesus does not present to His followers the hope of attaining earthly glory and riches, and of having a life free from trial, but He presents to them the privilege of walking with their Master in the paths of self-denial and reproach, because the world knows them not.

He who came to redeem the lost world was opposed by the united forces of the adversaries of God and man. In an unpitying confederacy, evil men and evil angels arrayed themselves against the Prince of Peace. Though His every word and act breathed of divine compassion, His unlikeness to the world provoked the bitterest hostility. Because He would give no license for the exercise of the evil passions of our nature, He aroused the fiercest opposition and enmity. So it is with all who will live godly in Christ Jesus. Between righteousness and sin, love and hatred, truth and falsehood, there is an irrepressible conflict. When one presents the love of Christ and the beauty of holiness, he is drawing away the subjects of Satan's kingdom, and the prince of evil is aroused to resist it. Persecution and reproach await all who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ. The character of the persecution changes with the times, but the principle--the spirit that underlies it--is the same that has slain the chosen of the Lord ever since the days of Abel.

As men seek to come into harmony with God, they will find that the offense of the cross has not ceased. Principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places are arrayed against all who yield obedience to the law of heaven. Therefore, so far from causing grief, persecution should bring joy to the disciples of Christ, for it is an evidence that they are following in the steps of their Master.

While the Lord has not promised His people exemption from trials, He has promised that which is far better. He has said, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." "My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Deuteronomy 33:25; 2 Corinthians 12:9. If you are called to go through the fiery furnace for His sake, Jesus will be by your side even as He was with the faithful three in Babylon. Those who love their Redeemer will rejoice at every opportunity of sharing with Him humiliation and reproach. The love they bear their Lord makes suffering for His sake sweet.

In all ages Satan has persecuted the people of God. He has tortured them and put them to death, but in dying they became conquerors. They revealed in their steadfast faith a mightier One than Satan. Satan could torture and kill the body, but he could not touch the life that was hid with Christ in God. He could incarcerate in prison walls, but he could not bind the spirit. They could look beyond the gloom to the glory, saying, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17."  -- Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pg. 29, 30.

"In every age God's chosen messengers have been reviled and persecuted, yet through their affliction the knowledge of God has been spread abroad. Every disciple of Christ is to step into the ranks and carry forward the same work, knowing that its foes can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. God means that truth shall be brought to the front and become the subject of examination and discussion, even through the contempt placed upon it. The minds of the people must be agitated; every controversy, every reproach, every effort to restrict liberty of conscience, is God's means of awakening minds that otherwise might slumber." Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pg. 33.

Homosexuality: A New Testament Perspective

So last time we talked about homosexuality, it was from an Old Testament perspective. In this blog post, we’ll be going over the New Testament perspective. This is my view of what the New Testament says on homosexuality. As you know from the last post, I believe homosexuality is a sin. Having said that, I believe in living how Jesus lived, in loving the sinner and hating the sin. I know that phrase may be offensive to some, likely because they don’t see being homosexual a sin. And as I said in the OT Perspective blog, if you do not believe in the Bible, this may not be very convincing to you. Let’s dig into the New Testament perspective.

The first scripture is from Romans 1:26-27 NKJV:

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ 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 which was due.

This word, “use” means the natural use of sex. The context here is that people turned against God, so He gave them over to their sinful desires. God created us a certain way, as this scripture states. Women were going against how God created them to be sexually. So were the men. Men “burned in their lust for one another.” Lust is a perverted sexual desire. Men and women lusted toward their own genders. I’ve heard the argument that some scriptures only denounce forced homosexual sex. However, this scripture here says otherwise. This scripture is referring to consensual homosexual sex.

Another scripture is 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV:

⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

            The word for in this verse for “homosexual” is μαλακός. This can mean effeminate. It can also mean a boy that was kept for homosexual sex for an adult man. Some have used this scripture to say that it only refers to this, thereby trying to excuse their lifestyle choice or that of a friend/family member. However, this word also means a man that does unnatural sexual acts with his body willingly.

            1 Timothy 1:9-10 NKJV says this:

⁹ knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, ¹⁰ for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,

            One thing I’ve noticed is that when Paul states who will not be in heaven, he always is referring to people who refuse to give up their sins. It’s one thing to sin unintentionally. The Bible refers to this as trying to hit the target, but not quite making it. However, it’s another thing to live in complete contradiction to God’s laws. That said, Paul also writes a list of multiple kinds of sins. He didn’t focus on just one in these previous scriptures.

So what’s the point in the last couple of scriptures? It doesn’t matter what the sexual sin is or any other sin. If we refuse to give it up, it will keep us out of Heaven. A man cheating on his wife (or vice versa) is just as much a sin in God’s eyes as is homosexuality. Looking at pornography is just as bad a sin as two people of the same gender engaging in sexual acts with each other. Stealing will keep us out of Heaven just the same way any kind of sexual sin will if we refuse to give it up.

            Jude 1:7 has this to say KJV:

as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

            Jude is simply saying here that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of “going after strange flesh” and partaking in sexual immorality. As we’ve already discussed, sexual immorality includes homosexuality, adultery, and other acts of sex outside of God’s original intention for sexual relations.

Some folks use Matthew 8:5-13 as proof that Jesus condoned homosexuality. It tells the story of when Jesus healed the servant of a Roman centurion. The claim is that in some cases, these servants were actually male sex servants. However, this is negated by their own defense of another passage. As we discussed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, the word for homosexual in this passage could mean a boy that was kept as a homosexual sex servant for an adult man. So we see that this defense is defenseless. Homosexuality is a sin.

Also, many times before Jesus would heal a person, He would say, “Your sins are forgiven.” He would also tell them to go and sin no more. As I have stated in previous posts, Jesus loves everyone. But He loves us all too much to leave us the way we are. He wants to transform us into His image.

Jesus created marriage as a holy union between a man and a woman. But let me go one step further. Marriage is meant to have Jesus as the head, and the man and wife second. Any husband and wife that love Jesus more than each other is what God intended. He created marriage to mirror how deep intimacy should go between us and Him, individually. I leave you with a few scriptures. I will write another post in this series. It will be along the lines of how we should treat those who live in sinful opposition to God, whether that sin is sexual immorality or lying.

Matthew 19:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV)

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
   in the image of God he created them;
   male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

John 3:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Homosexuality: An Old Testament Perspective

Homosexuality. Few things are as controversial as this topic. Many believe there’s nothing wrong with it. Many believe it is wrong. I will be honest in my opinion on it. I do believe that homosexuality is wrong and will keep a person out of Heaven. “Now hang on,” you say. “What proof do you have for this? What makes you think it’s so wrong?” This blog on the topic is my attempt to explain my views on the subject and why I hold those views.

However, let me say that I hold the view of “love the sinner, hate the sin.” To go up to someone out of the blue and say, “You’re going to lose your salvation if you don’t change! Repent,” is not how I think it should be done. While I do agree with the essence of this statement, I don’t think it should be done in a condemning way. Jesus associated with many types of people. Many of whom were scorned by the society of His time on Earth. But He loved them and gave them every chance to change. Jesus loved the sinner and hated their sin. He still does.

Having said all this, this blog is written from a Biblical point of view. If you don’t hold the Bible as the sole scriptural authority, this probably won’t be very convincing to you. If you do, it might be convincing to you. It is my prayer that those who study the Bible on this topic (and any topic) will come to know what God desires of them and their behavior. I will be using mostly Biblical references both in scripture passages and the original languages behind them.

A lot of these verses that I’m using here are considered “clobber” verses. However, it is not my intention to clobber folks into obedience to God’s word. God doesn’t force people to obey Him and neither will I. I do feel, though, that it is the duty of every Christian to not shy away from what the Bible says on something simply because of a fear of people’s reactions. That’s why I started this blog. I feel called to write on Biblical topics. Now then, if you’re still with me, let’s dig in.

In Genesis 19 we find the story of angels visiting with Lot and his family. As you may recall, Lot was a relative of Abraham. At the time, Mr. and Mrs. Lot and their daughters lived in Sodom. God had told Abraham that He was going to destroy both Sodom and Gamorrah because of the amount of wickedness in both cities. Abraham prayed several questions to the affect of if 50 people, then less and less until he got down to 10 righteous people being in Sodom, that God would spare the city. God said yes but even 10 righteous people could not be found in Sodom.

When the angels got there, Lot insisted on inviting them in, even though they said they would stay in the town square. However, it says this in verse 4 of Genesis 19: “Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house.” Every man in the city surrounded the place. But that’s not the worst part. Here is verse 5 in a few different versions:

“They called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.’ ” NIV

“ ‘And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.’ ” KJV

“And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.’ ” NKJV

The NKJV probably captures the original Hebrew best. The word here is יָדַע or yada`. The word itself can translate several ways. But in the sense of intimacy, it was one of the words used to have the meaning of knowing someone carnally. In other words, it was a word used for wanting to have sex with someone. Let’s put it together as the verse said. All the men of the city surrounded the city because they wanted to have sex with Lots visitors. Instead, the angels struck them with blindness.

“Hang on,” I hear someone say. “You’re saying angels. It was angels they wanted to have sex with. Not men.” However, they men of the city didn’t know this. Often times angels in the Old Testament appeared as men so sometimes even the visited didn’t know they were angels. Even the author of Hebrews said this in chapter 13:2, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” The men of the city didn’t know the visitors were angels. They thought they were other men and the townsmen wanted to engage in sexual behavior with them.

Lot tried to convince the townsmen otherwise. He even offered his virgin daughters to them as an alternative. He knew that the desires of these men were wrong. But they didn’t want to listen. They kept pressing forward yelling threats. The angels then pulled Lot back in and the men outside were then struck with blindness. Lot and family were given a warning by the angels in verse 12 and 13.

The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, ¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”NIV

So Lot and his family left and fled to another city. Then the angels carried out God’s command to destroy the city.

Here’s a couple passages in Leviticus.

Leviticus 18:22 says, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”NIV

Leviticus 20:13 says, “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. “ NIV

The word here for sexual relations is the same in both verses. שָׁכַב or shakab. This word has a stronger meaning of sexual behavior. The passages are pretty straight forward. These were given to the Israelites shortly after the Exodus from Egypt. Israel had spent four centuries as slaves to the Egyptians. As such they needed to be reminded of several things. Don’t sleep with members of the same sex or face death and their blood will be on their own heads. In other words, it’s their own fault.

I know some folks reading this may be thinking that this is just referring to men. And even the Hebrew word here can mean man as in a male. אִישׁ or ‘iysh. However, it can also mean human kind, whosever, or even each. Here are a few examples with the corresponding words made to stand out:

Genesis 23:6 says, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.” NIV

Genesis 38:2 says, “And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.” NKJV

Exodus 12:22 says, “Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.” NIV

Those are the major passages from the Old Testament that speak on the subject of homosexuality. Now enters the excuse that the Old Testament laws no longer matter; that they were nailed to the cross when Jesus died for us. Some might say that it’s just the ceremonial laws that don’t matter anymore. These were not from ceremonial laws. Nor are the Old Testament laws invalid. Jesus said in Matthew 5:18:

“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

The jot refers to the smallest Hebrew letter, “yod.” The word tittle refers to the smallest stroke of this letter. So Jesus said that not even the smallest piece of the smallest letter will ever disappear from the law. So these laws that God gave to the Israelites still stand. Not the ceremonial laws, mind you. But that’s another blog for another time.

In Judges 19:14-29 we find a story similar to that of Lot. A man, with his concubine and servant, were traveling trying to reach an Israelite city to spend the night in. They reached Gibeah and parked in the town square. An old man came in from work and asked them if they would spend the night with him instead of where they were. While they were in the old man’s house, some wicked men surrounded the house. They demanded that they be given the man who entered the house so that they could have sex with him.

However, the owner of the house pleaded with them not to do such an evil thing. He offered to them his daughter and the guest’s concubine. The men wouldn’t listen so he sent the concubine out anyway. They raped her all night and she was dead by morning. Now I’m not saying it was right for the men of the city to do what they did to the woman. In the next chapter we find out what happened to the men of Gibeah for their evilness; because rape is every bit as bad and evil as homosexuality.

So what is God’s plan for marriage? Let’s take a look at a few more Old Testament passages to find out.

Genesis 1:27, 28 says, So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:18-25 says, And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ¹⁹ Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
²¹ And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
²³ And Adam said:
      “This is now bone of my bones
      And flesh of my flesh;
      She shall be called Woman,
      Because she was taken out of Man.”

²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
²⁵ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

So we see here that God’s intention for marriage is one man with one woman. Not a man with a man or a woman with a woman. But even in the man and woman relationship there are principles we are to live by. But again, that’s another blog for another time.

This is what I believe about homosexuality from an Old Testament perspective. Stay tuned for a New Testament perspective on this subject. I know not everyone will agree with me. I know people will both vehemently disagree and agree to disagree with me. This is what I believe the Old Testament teaches on the subject and we will soon cover what the New Testament speaks about it. I pray you stay with me as we study this subject. And I pray you fall ever deeper in love with God, no matter what subject we study.

Life Really is a Highway

You know the song. The one by Rascal Flatts. It was in a movie. Life is a highway. Interestingly enough, the Bible refers to Christianity as a journey. In Acts 9, we find Saul of Tarsus. He’s a zealous persecuter of Christians. In fact, in verse 2 it says: “and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. “

The Way. Interesting that it would say it like that. The word, transliterated, is hodos. Literally translated, it means a traveled road or a travelers journey. It can also mean, “a course of conduct.” Did you get as excited as I did? Christianity isn’t a one day trip. It’s not a drive down the street 5 minutes to the nearest Wal-Mart. It’s a life long journey of how we conduct ourselves. It’s a forever trip down the highway with the greatest driver in the universe.

You know, the hardest part for me is letting God drive. When I take the spiritual wheel, it would be like letting a 5 year old behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler. Yea. I cringe at the thought, too. But what we don’t realize is that we won’t make it far if we don’t let God drive. Let Him drive so you can enjoy the scenery.

I had this idea to make this blog self hosted. I wanted to design the website and make it go to a full blown ministry. There’s one problem. I can’t afford to pay for the website. I noticed the ones I was looking at want you to pay all at once in order to get a cheap monthly price. Confused yet? They want you to pay all at once and when you do the math it works out to a low price when you think of it by month. You just can’t pay it monthly. Cue the sigh.

*sigh*

So what next? I don’t really know. But you know the strange part? It’s ok. I’m not worried. Not really. I know God is in control and will lead me where He wants me. Sure, it’s a bit of a scary concept. Not knowing where I’m being lead. But I’m being lead by the all might, all powerful, all knowing God of love and compassion.
Until next time, my friends. Stay blessed!

I Surrender All

I Surrender All

I surrender all.
All of the pain.
All of the sorrow.
All that this world has to offer.

I surrender my life.
All of my wants.
All of my desires.
All that I thought I was.

I surrender my plans.
All that I have done.
All that I am doing.
All that I will do.

I lay it at your feet, my God.
All that You are.
All that You want for me.
All that you want for my family.

I take up my cross,
To follow You.
To learn from You.
To love like you.

By: Gabriel Taylor
On: September 25th, 2011.

2 Corinthians 5:17

So, one thing you, my readers, will discover about me is that I love the original Greek of the Bible. I love to dig into it and have fun with studying it. That being said, lets move on to today's blog post.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says this: "“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” It is interesting to note that the Biblical Greek word for “creation” is “κτίσις.” While “creation” is one of its meanings, it can translate to “the act of creating” as well. So in other words, if anyone is in Christ, they are continually being re-created. (Blue Letter Bible). When a person accepts Christ, Christ no longer sees them as the person they were. He has given them a new identity, His own identity. He sees them as washed clean with His blood. 

The old things have gone away. Adios. Good-bye. In the words of Mercy Me (one of my favorite music groups), so long self. We have moved on. The life we lived and all the worldly attributes of it: gone. We slowly notice our temper not getting so hot anymore. We begin to see our selfish nature melting away.  We have become "καινός." I know some might be saying, "Bless you," right about now. But we are made new.This word means, "recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn" or "of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of." (Blue Letter Bible). Remember earlier what was said about how Christ sees us? This is it! He sees as as new! We are fresh! Uncommon! And my personal favorite, we are "of a new kind!" 

So when you accept Christ into your heart, it is a life long process. Everyday we are being made new. So don't be discouraged. Be encouraged! Christ sees you as clean and perfect the moment you accept Him. You are His new creation.