God is Forgiving

Proverbs 24:16 -- For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Philippians 4:13 -- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Ephesians 2:10  -- For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

For the Hour of His Judgment is Come - Revelation 14:7

This is a very important part of the Three Angels Messages. It is vital to understand this part of the Holy Bible. Pastor Stephen Bohr does a fantastic job at explaining this portion the Three Angels Messages, of Revelation 14:7.

I would also recommend starting at the beginning of this sermon series by Pastor Bohr.

Here are the prior posts in this blog series:

1. Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel
2. Revelation 14:7 - Fear God
3. Revelation 14:7 - Give Glory to God

Give Glory to God - Revelation 14:7

Please read the prior posts in this series before this one if you have not.

1. Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel
2. Revelation 14:7 - Fear God


Let's begin again by reading what the first angel's message says. The First of the Three Angels says, in Revelation 14:7, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

What does it mean to give glory to God? In the SDA Bible Commentary, Volume 7, p. 979, Ellen G. White has this to say: "To give glory to God is to reveal His character in our own, and thus make Him known. And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son, we glorify God."

Let's look at the example of Moses. In Exodus 33:18 Moses is asking for God to show him His glory. "And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." In verse 19, God gives His answer to Moses. "
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." The rest of the chapter is God describing to Moses where and how He will show Moses His glory.

In chapter 34 of Exodus, from verses 5 to 7, God is showing Moses His glory. The passage reads, "5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.  6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."

We can see from these passages that God's glory is synonymous with both His character and His name. Think about it this way: we can see what kind of a ruler someone is or what kind of a nation a country is by the laws they make. And when we hear their names, what's the first thing to come to mind? If you guessed their reputation, you guessed right.

In his sermon on this subject entitled, How to Glorify God, (<--- click to watch) Pastor Stephen Bohr mentions an interesting point. Romans 3:23 says this: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..." That word for "come short," means "to lack." We all lack the glory of God. So how can we give Him something we don't have?

We've already determined that the glory of God is His character. To give glory to God means to be an example of His character to those around us. But we are born naturally sinful. We are not born with the natural desire to love God. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."

 We need to be an example of God's character before we can give glory to Him. But how do we have His character? We need to totally surrender to God. As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Giving glory to God encompasses several different things. When we totally surrender to God, He begins to transform us. We no longer like the same things we used to. We begin to abhor our sin and to do what is necessary to overcome it. No, I'm not encouraging salvation by works here. That's not Biblical. But even Jesus said, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." (Matthew 5:29-30). 

If something is causing you to sin, take the necessary steps so that you are no longer tempted to use that excuse to sin. 

Let's go over a few aspects of what it means to glorify God. 

For example, if you are not already eating healthy, the Holy Spirit will encourage you to do that. Can we honestly say we are glorifying God when we are knowing eating a bad diet? In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, the Bible lists clean and unclean meats. And remember, God only gave permission to eat meat after the flood, when the vegetation was largely destroyed. Now that we live in a time when we don't have to eat meat at all, why should we? 

Even Daniel and his friends, when faced with the kings diet, they requested a water and veggie diet. After 10 days, they faired better than their peers. In our day, more and more people are coming to the realization that a whole foods, plant based diet is, by far, the healthiest way to eat. For a good explanation on why a whole foods, plant based diet is better, I recommend watching Forks Over Knives (watch it free!). 

Giving glory to God also includes watching what kind of media we take in, i.e. music, tv, movies, etc.. Ask yourself, does watching this movie bring me closer to God? Does listening to this song glorify God? If you can't answer yes, don't do it. In regards to visual media, I recommend watching the programs by Little Light Studios (see their youtube and vimeo pages as well) to see the research they have done on the topic. For musical entertainment, I recommend a sermon series by  Karl Tsatalbasidis. Christian Berdahl also has resources on music as well (see his content on audioverse also). 

If there is something in our lives that does not glorify God, it needs to go. We need to ask God for the strength to resist the temptation to partake in what does not glorify Him. He promised to provide that strength in 1 Corinthians 10:13: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Fear God - Revelation 14:7

Please read the first post in this series:

1. Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel


The First of the Three Angels says, in Revelation 14:7, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

His first words are, "Fear God." But what does it mean to fear God? It does not mean to be afraid of God. The Bible says that God is love and that perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:16, 18). Strong's concordance (reference number G5399 ) has one definition of this word as being, "to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience."

But what does it really entail? We have the definition now. But how do we apply it? Well the Bible gives us that information. We apply it one way by keeping God's commandments. If we fear God, or revere Him, we will keep His commandments.

At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says this, in Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

To fear God means to keep His commandments. Solomon even says that this is man's duty. We were created to worship and keeping God's law is part of that. Some teach that we don't have to keep God's law anymore, but that could not be further from the truth. Some call it legalism to keep God's law. But Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. And again in 1 John 5:3, we read, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

So we keep God's law because we love Him. It is the same as being faithful to your spouse. You love your spouse and will not have affairs because of that love for them. You will do your best to do what makes them happy, because you love them. It is the same in our relationship with God. We obey His law because we love Him. We do not obey His law in order to be saved but because we already are saved.

This can be likened to how we are to treat our parents. Pastor Stephen Bohr, in his sermon on this very subject (to watch the sermon, click here) brings up Leviticus 19:3. It says, "Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God." Later on in the same chapter, verse 14 says, "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord." The word for fear is the same word in both texts. We are to have a profound respect for God, as Pastor Stephen Bohr states.

The Bible also says, in a couple of places, that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10). The fear, or reverence, of God leads us closer to Him. Psalm 111:10 reads, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever."

The fear of God not only leads us to wisdom, it leads us to loving obedience in Him. We cannot obey God in our own strength. (Matthew 19:16-26). The Bible is full of examples of men and women who feared God and became very close to Him. Moses. Job. Daniel. Mary the mother of Jesus. Mary Magdelene. Because of the fear they had for God, they grew to love Him more than life itself.

Moses, considered to be the most humble man in the Bible, and likely in all the history of this planet, spoke with God face to face. (Exodus 33:11). When Daniel and his friends were faced with eating the kings meat, they wisely chose to eat a simple diet of vegetables and water and fared better than everyone else.(Daniel 1:12-15). Solomon is another example. In 1 Kings 3:1-15, is the story of when God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked what he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom, which pleased God. And as a result, God blessed him.

The fear of God means to revere Him, to have a profound respect for Him. It also means to keep His commandments because we love Him. When we do this, we will spend time with Him and time in His word. When we spend time with God and time in His word, He blesses us with wisdom. This is a clear concept in the Bible. Even the apostle James said this: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5.

Gay Marriage: A State Of Disgrace- (Doug Batchelor) AmazingFacts ©

A Song of Praise to Our Heavenly Father

The ways of the LORD are just.
His statutes are perfect.
He sits on the throne in Heaven,
And surveys all of His creation.

Angels delight in His commandments.
They gladly serve only Him.
to be in the presence of the Lord,
Even the angels reverently do bow.

By: G. T.

May 23, 2012

Inspired by the Holy Spirit.

My Testimony

 I volunteer blog for xxxchurch (@xxxchurch) . It's a #ministry to help people overcome sexual #addiction. This is my testimony. http://www.xxxchurch.com/blogauthorgabriel-t.html

Love Your Neighbor

In Matthew 22, we find where a lawyer asked Jesus a question. Trying to tempt Jesus, he asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" Jesus responded with, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

 Who is your neighbor? Who is my neighbor? In Luke 10 we find the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man was taking a trip. When all of a sudden, he was ambushed. Beaten within an inch of his life, he was left for dead. Two prominent Jewish individuals walked by him, sidestepping him. The third guy was a Samaritan.

In those years, Jews and Samaritans were not exactly the best of friends. They hated each other. But this Samaritan in particular didn't fit the stereotype. He saw the man who was near death and took pity on him. He loved him like Jesus does, even though he didn't know him from Adam.

Like a true Christian, the Samaritan took him, cared for him, and when he couldn't, he put him in an inn and payed for someone else to take care of him till he could return and resume the care-taking himself.

So who did what was right? Do you find it ironic that it was the man who, by society's standards, was supposed to hate the injured man? I certainly do.

A while back, I wrote a couple of blog posts on homosexuality; an Old Testament perspective and a New Testament perspective. But what I kept putting off was writing how we should treat folks who are different from what society deems as "normal."

I watched a video by a man who has cerebral palsy. It was a video response to a blog post on the issue of treating those considered different. When he mentioned he did a presentation on living as a gay man with a disability, I am ashamed to say my attitude changed. Then Jesus said something to me.

"Why did your attitude change? You are called to love everyone."

Love God first above everyone else. Love your neighbor as yourself. Why am I scared to love those who are different from me? What is so hard about it?

How are we supposed to win people to Christianity when we don't treat them as Jesus did and still does? I wonder what kind of things Jesus would do and say if His earthly ministry was in 2012, instead of nearly 2,000 years ago.

We are called to love everyone. Jesus died for ALL of us. Not just some. We aren't called to condone sin, but we are called to love. Love like Jesus. Because when Jesus loves, it's an irresistible love.

Watch the Lamb

Here are a few videos for this Happy Resurrection Day. "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said." Matthew 28:6.

He Will Carry You

Deuteronomy 32:10-12 (NKJV)

 ¹⁰ “He found him in a desert land
      And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
      He encircled him, He instructed him,
      He kept him as the apple of His eye.
 ¹¹ As an eagle stirs up its nest,
      Hovers over its young,
      Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
      Carrying them on its wings,
 ¹² So the LORD alone led him,
      And there was no foreign god with him.

 I love this passage. Moses just spoke to the children of Israel saying that they would rebel after his death even worse than they did during his life. But during this song that Moses is is speaking, he paused to remember how God found Israel.

God found them in a desert land, a wasteland, a howling wilderness. So He saved them. He taught them. And on top of all that, they were the apple of His eye, and he kept them as such. Life was no easy task back then, in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When most religions had more gods than I have socks in my dresser, the children of Israel were a strictly monotheistic people. They believed in one God, and Him only.

But there came a time when they were enslaved, for over 400 years. And when God saw fit to deliver them from this slavery, most of them grumbled in the desert. But God still loved them, just as He still loves us.

But this is why I love this passage. God knew what they would do. He knew they would rebel. But He saved them anyway. He reached down, and gave them deliverance. My favorite part is verse 11 here. Read it again.

^"11 As an eagle stirs up its nest,
      Hovers over its young,
      Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
      Carrying them on its wings,"

I like the way the notes section of the MacArthur Study Bible puts it:

"The Lord exercised His loving care for Israel like an eagle caring for its young, especially as they were taught to fly. As they began to fly and had little strength, they would start to fall. At that point, an eagle would stop their fall by spreading its wings so they could land on them; so the Lord has carried Israel and not let the nation fall. He had been training Israel t ofly on His wings of love and omnipotence." 

 You see, God wants to help you fly on His wings of love. He wants to help you follow Him. You don't have to make the same mistakes that the children of Israel did. Too many people in today's world are following their own way or something other than God. And when you stop to think about it, you are serving either God or the devil. If you are not serving God, there's only one other option. There is no such thing as being your own master.

Make the choice for God. He is holding out His victorious, rightiouss hand to you. All you have to do is make that choice to reach out and grasp hold of Him. He will never let you go. He promised that. May you always know the wonderful love of our Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ. I hope to see you in Heaven.

God Demonstrates His Love For Us

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That word, "sinners," literally means "devoted to sin." As humans we sin by nature. But what Paul is saying here is that while we were still devoted to a life of sin, God still loved us. He still loves us. He is crazy about us. If God had a refridgerator, our pictures and drawings would be all over it. If He had a wallet, the picture holder would be endless.

Check out this song called, "Beloved." It's by a group called Tenth Avenue North.

Come to the Well

Here is a song by the group Casting Crowns. I hope it touches you as it has me and countless others. 

Christmas Time

I found a couple of stories that I wanted to share. Some of it is my own input but for the most part, these are stories I found. Here are the websites I found them from:

http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/stories/the_bird_cage.html

http://everydaychristian.com/blogs/post/9201/

Matthew 1:18-23 NKJV: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” ²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

The Man and the Birds by Paul Harvey

The man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound…Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud…At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it.

Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them…He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms…Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me…That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe, warm…to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them, wouldn’t I, so they could see, and hear and understand.”

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – Adeste Fidelis – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.

And he sank to his knees in the snow.

Immanuel. God with us. The prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would one day come and be called Immanuel. He loved them, the humans. He created them after all. He called out people throughout history to be His chosen people through whom He would bless all those who would receive Him. He called Abraham, through whom He made a whole nation. But this nation had gotten to the point where they forgot about their Creator. As the apostle John put it in John 1:11, NKJV, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

You see? God loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to pay the ransom for our salvation. Even if it was just one person on earth. Even if there was a chance that one person would have rejected Him. He loves us too much not to give us the chance to turn to Him and take hold of His loving hands.

The Bird Cage

There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Church service he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.

"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there son?"

"Just some old birds," came the reply.

"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.

"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."

"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"

"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

"Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing - they ain't even pretty!"

"How much?"

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.

"Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other. How to hate and abuse each other. How to drink and smoke and curse. How to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"

"And what will you do when you get done with them?", Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'll kill 'em."

"How much do you want for them?"

"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don't want those people!!"

"How much?"

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood." Jesus paid the price!

The pastor picked up the cage, he opened the door, and he walked from the pulpit.

He paid for you with the precious lifeblood
of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV)

 "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

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.

Praise Through the Hard Times

Have you ever fallen on hard times? Whatever the case may be. The wife of Jacob had a problem. Leah could see that Jacob favored his other wife, Rachel over her. Rachel, after all, was who Jacob wanted to begin with. But because of the custom of the day, Leah had to get married first, being the older of the two sisters.

In Genesis 29 we find the story of Leah beginning to have sons by Jacob. She has one son. She named him Reuben. And she says, in verse 32, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." But Jacob still didn't show her the affection she wanted.

She has another son. This time she named him Simeon. She said, in verse 33, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." But again, Jacob isn't showing her the affection she wants from him.

She has a third son. She names this one Levi. In verse 33, she says, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Except he didn't.

She has a fourth son. She named him Judah. But something different happened this time. She stopped feeling sorry for herself. She realized her worth didn't lie in her husband. She realized her worth was in God. God helped her to understand that praising Him is what it's all about. She said in verse 35, "This time I will praise the LORD."

And you know the cool part about this? When she finally decided to praise God instead of throwing a pity party, God blessed the lineage of that son. It was Judah that the promised Messiah would one day come to rescue Israel and the world.

You see? When we praise God, He does great things. Yes, it may take a while to see them. But this is a hard learned lesson sometimes. Trust me. I've had to learn this the hard way.

I've had such troubles over the years with finding a job. But I began to realize that praising God is step one. Focusing on my relationship with Him is the priority. And when I realized this, God began to bless me in ways that still dumbfound me.

And yes, I'm still learning this lesson. It's an every day, often multiple times a day, battle. The devil isn't going make things easy for me. But as long as I keep my eyes on God, the world around me can fall apart. But my God will supply all my needs, according to His glorious riches.

So when you're tempted to feel sorry for yourself, do yourself a favor, and don't. It only hurts you. Trust me. I know from experience. God is all that really matters. Rise, take up your cross, and follow Him.

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.

Man Up - Part 1

This one goes out to the men. I've been thinking about this topic for a while. I'm just now getting around to writing about it. I know as a man I've got a lot of work to do. I fill a lot of roles. I'm a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle, a friend, and most important, a child of God. Specifically I want to write about the role of husbands in this post.

Husbands, we've got work to do. Yea, I know. I said that already. But it bears repeating. We've got work to do. Ephesians 5:22-33 talks about the role between husbands and wives. Now too many men read the part about wives submitting to their husbands and stop there. If there's one thing you need to know, it's never to take a scripture out of context. Especially one like this. Or you may be sleeping on the couch for a very long time.

Read further. Verse 25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." As husbands, it's our duty to love our wives in such a way that they will want to love us back. Not so much because they made a vow to do so. Vows can be broken. Love your wife as Christ loves the Church. How does Christ love the Church?

He died for us. He served us. He gave us the example of being a servant leader. Gentlemen, here's the answer. Be the servant leader of your family. Lead in a way that you are serving them. By doing this, you will be an example to the rest of your family, perhaps most importantly for your kids. But we'll get to that in the next post.

Love your wife as Christ loves the Church. Christ did not oppress the Church. He does not force His love on us. He does not make us do things because He said so. He never tells us to do something and not give us the help necessary to accomplish it.

The story is told of a man and wife who went to a seminar on this very subject. However, the speaker preached very heavily on the wife submitting part and hardly at all on the husbands loving their wives part. The more he talked the more upset the wife became and the happier the husband became. So on the way home the wife was in the passenger seat fuming.

The husband finally broke the silence and said, "So what did you think?" No answer from his wife. They kept driving. Till he asked again.

"Well, what'd you think? I thought it was great." His wife sat silent staring angrily ahead. Finally they arrived at home. He decided to put his foot down, so to speak.

"Listen here woman! The Bible says you're supposed to submit to me! From now on I'm the captain and you have to listen to me and do what I say! Is that clear?!"

He didn't see his wife for about two weeks. Finally, after two weeks, one eye opened up just enough so he could see his wife a little bit.

My fellow men, let's love our wives in a way that they love us back as much if not more than we love them. Let's help them clean the house. Let's help them take care of the kids. Let's take them out every so often. Let's buy them flowers. Let's love them.

Forgiveness

What do you do when old feelings of resentment and anger resurface? When you thought you had forgiven someone of something a long time ago but something you saw happened to reignite the fire of anger?

From 4 years old till almost 11 years old, I was in a 3 child, single mother home. Mom worked hard to bring home the necessities. During those years, when mom had to work, I stayed other family. One particular family member would call me by my middle name and was the only one I would answer to when called by that name.

I loved him and thought the world of him. And then I found out some things. Things that I won't post on this blog, or likely anywhere. My respect for him dropped like a hot rock. I no longer wanted to have much to do with him. And once a certain event happened, he didn't really want to have much to do with us either.

For years I've kept the memory of being called by my middle name buried. I've almost resented my middle name for years. But this is where the power of choice comes in. I have to choose to let go of the past and forgive. I have to let go of the bad memories and attachments that have accompanied my middle name.

Forgiveness doesn't always happen immediately when practiced between sinful humans. In fact, we can't do it without God's help. It's a theme all throughout the Bible. When we genuinely repent, God forgives us and throws the memory away. It's as if we never did it in His mind. And having received this gift, shouldn't we pass it along to others?

Matthew 18:21-35 is the parable of the unforgiving servant. The lesson of this story is that we must pass on the gift that God has so graciously given us. If we don't forgive, God can't bless us. If we don't forgive, it WILL have a physical effect on our physical person. People have been known to have ulcers from holding on to anger. Some may even have a heart attack.

We have to let it go for our own sake as much as for the offender's sake. If Jesus, who did not deserve punishment in any way, died on the cross and forgave a criminal who justly deserved his sentence, then we have no right to refuse that gift to others.

I know it may take a while to forgive and not think about it again. And God will help me to get there. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13. Meanwhile, let's all give the gift of Jesus love and forgiveness to those who need it. Sure, it may take some time. But ultimately, we will be better for it and most importantly, closer to Jesus.