You Can't Help Who You Hate?

If I were to say I can't help who I hate, to justify some very serious act of  revenge, I suspect many if not most would say in response:

Well, you may not be able to help who you hate, but you must control how you act on that hate! When it comes to  hate, we understand that feeling can't be allowed to have free reign over or actions. But, what about love?

If we have loving feelings toward someone, are we incapable of controlling our actions that flow from those feeling? This seems to be some of the rationalization for overthrowing traditional, and dare I say biblical, concepts of sexual morality that had remained pretty constant throughout civilized societies up till just recently.

Do I agree we should be able to love whoever we want? Yes, the Bible says we should love everyone, even our enemies, but that does not mean we always feel warm feelings toward them? No, that is why they are our enemies, but it does means we do good to them, we love them with our actions, in spite of the feelings we may have. And, of course does not mean we should have sex with our enemies!

A huge error, or perhaps even intentional and nefarious switching of word meanings, has left many in modern society thinking that love and sex are interchangeable terms. The Bible has no issue with people loving (feelings) whoever they want, and we should do good to all (loving actions), but who we have sex with is a matter the Bible clearly speaks to.

Biblically, we should only have sex with someone of the opposite sex (defined by biology not feelings), to whom we are married.

I know, you may not  believe the Bible and do not want it to guide your life in sexual matters or otherwise. OK, fair enough, but please use accurate language as you defend your lifestyle.

There are the feelings of love which we can choose to act on or not, just like there are feelings of hate that we can act on or not. The only reason we might choose to not act on our hate is that some things are wrong (according to some moral standard), then there is surely some standard that dictates where the line between right and wrong is as it relates to acting on loving feelings as well. Kidnapping someone so you could have them all to yourself, because you have such strong loving feelings for them, would be morally wrong for example.

And of course love and sex are not the same thing, so if you mean you can't help who you have loving feelings for I will agree, but if you mean you can't help who you have sex with, that is ridiculous! 

First Christmas Without Our Son, Sam

It is hard to comprehend that our 18 year old son Sam died earlier this year. I miss him very much, and of course I spend much time wondering what I might have done differently and if the end results would be any different.

I can't understand why he had to be one of the statistics in the opioid crisis, while many others would find help and eventually live productive lives. Why did God's plans not line up with our prayers and best efforts to intervene in Sam's destructive behaviors?

I don't know, but somehow, by God's grace, I still love and trust Him!

A Case for Political Pacifism, From a Non-Pacifist!

 What I am definitely not saying:

I am not saying that the Bible forbids Christians voting for political candidates or for various amendments, laws, etc.

I am not suggesting that Christians should decline to fight in wars, or refuse to defend themselves or others under certain circumstances. I do believe a case could be made for choosing personal pacifism, not fighting for your own life or rights. However, fighting to protect the weak and defenseless, those in the category of widows and orphans in the Bible, are certainly worthy of our taking up arms if needed, either personally or as part of the armed services. Defending our own lives, so we can continue to protect and provide for the weak in our care, seems like a reasonable case for self defense as well.

I am not saying that I have all the answers about any of these topics.

What I am trying to prove:

That Christians are not commanded to vote in elections, based on Biblical teachings.

And,

That using terminology such as "Christians are obligated to vote", "Christians should vote" or saying things like "All Christians should support... in the coming election", is potentially making a law where God has not. This would be a very dangerous thing, assuming there is no actual biblical mandate to vote! 

The case for Christian political participation: 

I am not aware of any clear biblical teachings about voting in secular political elections, as those who followed Jesus in the time the Bible was authored, had no opportunity to exercise such a right.

Further, 

Even though there was much political corruption and abuse of power, by terrible evil rulers, there is very little said about politics in the NT scriptures, and most rebuking of political characters is reserved for the Jewish leaders and later false teachers in the church, as opposed to secular government figures.  

John the baptist did take the time at some point to rebuke Herod for his sexual sin, but Jesus and Paul used all their time before evil Roman leaders to highlight the kingdom of God and preach the gospel.

With that said, I do think you can make a good case for voting based on general biblical principles of doing what we can to bring about good in the world.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Rom. 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

1 Cor. 10:24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

OK, now that is a pretty short list, but these verses represent the kinds of biblical passages we might use to promote Christian political participation. We would, based on these, likely seek to vote for candidates and policies that would best protect orphans and widows, promote peace, seek to establish a more righteous nation and support policies that are on the whole best for humanity.

I am all for that! However, I do think it is a stretch to insist these must be practiced in the political realm. Clearly they are aimed at our own personal lifestyle, and while that does not preclude using politics to further what we think is best, politics is not the most plain application of them and politics is always a mixed bag. 

We may just as well find we are supporting much evil as we seek to promote good in politics, and we are to be careful of our associations on earth:

2 Cor. 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 

Eph. 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

We also need to be careful we don't get too attached to this kingdom, as we are truly citizens of God's kingdom:

Col. 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 

Am I taking these verses somewhat out of context? Yes, but I had to do the same with the verses which might be used to support Christian voting. Do I believe these passages forbid Christian voting, definitely not! Nor do I believe any other passages command Christian voting!

What are we commanded to do regarding politics? 

Rom. 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

1 Tim. 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

OK, so  here are my conclusions based on this very short survey of NT biblical texts regarding the obligations of Christians for politics and in particular voting:

First, while I am very thankful for the freedom to vote, and I generally try to stay informed and exercise that right, I don't believe the scriptures would compel or forbid voting by Christians.

Further, trusting God's sovereignty in the realm of politics is absolutely essential to our faith and witness! Whoever God allows in power, we are to pray for them, and obey them, unless they ask us to sin, in which case we must respectfully decline (Acts 4:18-20). 

Finally, we must be very careful that those lost people we interact with never have the slightest notion that our hope is in anything but Jesus!

1 Pet. 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶ having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Heaven forbid anyone gets the impression our hope is in any particular candidate or political party!

Why would our church hold it's primary weekly service in a nursing and rehabilitation center?

Gathered by Grace Church had been meeting in our home for the first few months of its existence. We had specifically prayed for God to show us a ministry we could get involved in as a church, and to make it obvious if and when it was time to move into a more public space.

God chose to answer both prayers simultaneously, and He did make it obvious!

One of our members had done some caroling at a local nursing and rehabilitation center when serving with another local church. Having spoken to them again recently, he was informed that they were looking for someone to come and do a Sunday morning service for their residents.

 

After some prayer and discussion we saw the benefits of moving our regular Sunday morning service to this location and I wanted to give God the glory and let others know the possible benefits of holding services in a location like this.

1st - If we did not take the opportunity to provide sound biblical teaching there, someone else might have done the services with less sound teaching.

2nd - The scriptures frequently exhort us to take care of orphans and widows, and while not all the residents there are widows, and their physical needs are met, we are providing spiritual food and fellowship that is very much needed!

3rd -  Between the patients and their family members which often attend, it is a sure thing some will hear the gospel properly presented for the first time, and Lord willing become followers of Jesus.

4th - We have the opportunity to meet in a very nice facility with no expenses, so we can put more of our budget toward ministry.

I would strongly recommend this kind of location to other churches and of course invite anyone local to come check out our services. 

For more information: www.gatheredbygracechurch.com

To God be the Glory!

New Reformed Church meeting in the Clayton, Willow Springs, Benson area!

Gathered by Grace Church is currently meeting in a home, but will consider other meeting places as the Lord adds to our number. We  are not affiliated with any denomination, but seek to be as purely biblical in our doctrine as possible. For more information please comment on this blog post and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

Evolution and school shootings, no room for moral outrage!

Why all the school shootings?

I don't have all the answers, but I think a worldview that believes everything that exists simply came to be as a result of random chance and evolution over billions of years could be a main contributor. This of course is a worldview with no objective morality, except possibly the obligation for the strong to conquer the weak as the evolutionary means for the advancement of life.

Of course there are those of us who believe God created us (exactly as taught in the Bible) and that He also has given us the moral absolutes which mankind was designed to live by. I have heard evolutionists try to justify some kind of morality with their worldview, but in the end the only law of evolution is survival of the fittest.

The evolutionist may feel that the whole of humanity survives and evolves best when certain rules are followed by all people, but for the individual, there simply is no obligation to buy into that, only the obligation to survive and thrive by whatever means they personally deem best!

Consider the things that might go through the mind of a teen living in a world where it seems  popularity is needed for a good life, where the culture tells you the world is all about your dreams and happiness, and where fame is the highest goal!

Some youth will achieve the goal and be popular and others will not. Some will hold to the dream of  being famous for their brains, talent, looks or athletic ability, of course most will never be, but the dream keeps them moving forward and gives them purpose. However, others will likely come to think that they are always to be outsiders and their fame, if they are to have any, must come by some other means.

So in a world with no moral absolutes, where personal happiness is the highest goal, where popularity and fame are a right, and where everyone else is responsible for your unhappiness if they get between you and these goals, it makes perfect sense to get revenge on those who kept you from these precious goals and also in a way achieve them at the same time, by doing some fame acheiving act of violence against them!

Evolution, "survival of the fittest", really can't say anything moral against such behavior, it can simply try to keep people who might do this from getting access to weapons and further isolating their potential victims by better security measures.

When I was young....

We were taught that not everyone was going to be popular, and that is OK.

We were told we were probably not going to be famous, but simply to work hard and let the rest take care of itself.

The emphasis was not on eliminating bullying, but learning how to respond to bullies. If we have to get rid of all bullies for people to feel safe and be happy, well good luck with that!

The idea that life was all about us and our personal  happiness, was not a value to be taught but a lie to be rejected!

Because...

Happiness is not found by making it your goal, it is found by seeking the one who created us and living by His law for our good, His glory, and so mankind can be all it was created to be!

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Everyone wants to feel blessed/happy, and everyone is hungering for things they think will help them achieve that goal, but only God can promise to fulfill our true needs, and He does not need anything within the power of others (fame, popularity, being liked, etc.) to cooperate for us to be fulfilled, only that we seek to know and follow Him!

Jesus died so we could be reconciled to God and have the fulfilling life we were created for now and forever. Evolution would by nature tell us it is OK to kill others to achieve our happiness and we must admit there is no room for moral outrage in the evolutionary worldview.

I think science best supports creation as taught in the Bible, if you reject that OK, but at least admit evolution lacks any objective morality to call a school shooting evil, and that the evidence we see all around screams that an evolutionary worldview is very bad for mankind as a whole!

Obstacle or Opportunity

A dude is driving really slow and it’s a no passing zone, so you might be late for an important meeting.

You've been trying to do a good job at work, but your boss blames you for his mistake in front of his boss, so you may not get the promotion or raise you wanted.

You have worked hard all day and want to relax, but your child has waited until the last moment to start a project that requires your help, so you won't be able to relax any time soon.

We all have plans for the near and distant future. We all have things we want to achieve, places we want to go and schedules we want to keep, and we can get very frustrated when other people's actions get in the way of our plans!

But should we see these troublesome people as obstacles to our plans or as opportunities to practice and/or share our faith?

What opportunity is there if I am driving behind a slow driver? Well there is certainly an opportunity to trust God's management of the universe! If you left home late, that's on you, but when things prevent us from reaching our goals, even when we are doing all we can, there is much comfort in knowing a loving, wise and all-powerful God has allowed this delay for His purposes!

What opportunity is there if your boss blames you for his mistake in front of his boss, so you may not get the promotion or raise you wanted? Well you could call him out on it then, get even later, or just stew over it. However, if your main priority is seeking an opportunity to witness for Jesus, your attitude and actions will likely be quite different. When those around Jesus were mistreating Him, it led some observers to conclude that He was the Son of God (Matt. 27:54! His miracles were impressive, but there is something special in not lashing out when justice suggests we have every right to do so.

What opportunity is there when you have worked hard all day and want to relax, but your child has waited until the last moment to start a project that requires your help, so you won't be able to relax any time soon. Well, there is the opportunity to show them who and what is most important! Oh, if I could turn back the clock and have a do-over on this one! Sure it might be appropriate to teach the importance of not waiting until the last moment (stewardship), but most of all it is a chance to show love and mercy to a child with whom your time to witness in this way will pass very quickly.


God is all-powerful!

God is all-wise!

God loves you, for Jesus' sake!

So believe that he is in control of all that comes your way, stop worrying about getting where you need to be, and be a witness where He already has you!

And please pray I would practice what I preach!

"What do you have that you did not receive...."

Pride is so destructive!

Think about what our pride costs us -

Relationships with others.

Lost love, joy, peace, etc.  (the fruit of the Spirit).

The inability to receive and enjoy God's grace.

Countless other relational and emotional issues that start with thinking too much of ourselves!

Consider the following passage,  particularly vs. 7!

1 Cor. 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

⁶ Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷ For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (NKJV)

Now I may have some gift and abilities that others don't, and surely many are far more gifted than I, but if I have any gifts, abilities or success in my life, where did it come from, and what about all my shortcomings, how quickly do I forget those as I look down on others?

If I am not in hell for my sin now, I need to thank God! So am I really in a place to think I am better than anyone? Now we all are morally responsible for the choices we make, but I confess that anything good in my life (a sinner by birth and choice) in this world (fallen and cursed as it is), must be accredited to God and His mercy, not to any inherent goodness in me!

So all glory to Him, and I need to stop thinking I am better than anyone!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

It All Comes Down to Trusting God!

It has been almost a year since I resigned from the church I was pastoring and even longer since I wrote anything on this blog.

It has been a strange and difficult year, but I definitely agree with the Apostle Paul's words in Phil. 4:11 "... I have learned in whatever state I am in to be content." Now I can't say that I am always content, there are plenty who could testify that I am not at times. However, I am more and more convinced of my own tendency to look for contentment in circumstances and things, and the futility of doing so. God continues to teach me through the challenges of this life that He is in control of my circumstances and if that is so then contentment is as close as me acknowledging His Power, wisdom and love for me.

If God truly is all powerful, perfectly wise, and loves me (as He has proven in Christ's sacrifice), then it all comes down to trusting Him and being content or not trusting Him and finding contentment fleeting at best.

I am trusting Him as I write this, but I may relapse into temporary idolatry at any moment. Thankfully part of the contentment Paul spoke of in Phil. 4:11, is knowing God will be faithful to use His power, wisdom and love on behalf of His children, even when we aren't trusting Him as we should at a particular moment.

 I am beginning to look for a place to serve in full time ministry, in the meantime I am working part time for a Christian ministry that serves the homeless. If anyone hears of a ministry opening that might be a fit please send me the contact information, and of course prayer is always appreciated.

Bill Nye, is he being dishonest, or is he not at all bright?

It is hard to believe this was meant to be a serious discussion of abortion issues?

 

OK, so Bill Nye says the reasons women should be able to get abortions include:  

1. Because many eggs never get attached to the uterine wall and pass from the woman’s body on their own?

Really? Does that have anything to do with a child being ripped from the womb who has already developed to the point of being recognizable as a human?

2. Because the woman may not like the man who got her pregnant?

OK, now what if she does not discover he is a jerk until the baby is 6 months old? Should she kill the baby then? What does the life of the baby have to do with how much the mother likes the father?

3. Because we would not even know about how eggs are fertilized or many other things without science.

Again, how does what we know about reproduction from science translate into making killing unborn babies ok?

      4. Laws restricting abortion are in nobody’s best interest.

I think the baby would disagree!

Please see picture below, and send my cat some money!

 

I took this picture of my cat "Flop". If you wanted to use it for any reason, I would let you do so for no charge, but now PETA is attempting to gain animals the right to own the copyright on their art.

Link - PETA sues to get animals copyrights!

However, as the bank will not let my cat open an account, how unfair, please make any checks for Flop out to me, and I will use the money on her behalf!

Great insight from Phil Johnson!

I was listening to a very good sermon called Christ, the Door  by Phil Johnson on Fighting for the Faith and he made a great point, this is a paraphrase:

When Oprah and others who reject Jesus say all religions lead to the same place they are right, all human religions, any path to God besides faith in Jesus Christ, do in fact lead to the same place - Hell!

Great Sermon by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Follow this link to Fighting For the Faith and enjoy this sermon about how the Bible alone diagnoses our problems!

Dr. James White discusses Hillsong's gay "membership" policies!

All of this video is well worth a listen, but the discussion of Hillsong Church's strange stance on homosexuality begins around minute 17.

Great quote from the late William Booth!

I heard this quote while listening to an episode of Generations Radio.

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, died in 1912. Before his death he was asked what the greatest challenge facing the church in the coming century would be and his answer proved to be quite prophetic -

“In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”

A biblical case for church membership!

A wise assessment of the Devil's work.

This insight is from Fighting For the Faith -

June 23, 2015

My Perspective on Tullian's Sin

It has been very interesting to watch the fallout and discussions regarding the announcement, this past Sunday, that Tullian Tchividjian had resigned as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church after having admitted to an affair. One of the reasons it has been interesting to watch is because several weeks ago I had been brought into the circle of men and a few women who were briefed on why Tullian had taken a leave of absence nearly 10 weeks ago and what his plans were going to be moving forward. None of us were aware of Tullian's affair. But, all of us were aware of the turmoil of Tullian's life these past 10 weeks.

 

Last Thursday afternoon, I was informed of Tullian's moral failing and briefed about the pending announcement of his resignation and in an instant I experienced a profound moment of clarity that caused me to understand just how evil and tireless the devil is.

 

There are some who want to use the occasion of Tullian's sin to move the theological football down the field in the hopes of scoring some points. But, ultimately the folks doing that are short-sited and are missing much of the data that would be needed to make an informed assessment.

 

As one who has far more data to work with than many others, I must admit that the whole series of events leading up to last Sunday has shaken me to my core. The reason for this is simple. I just witnessed one of the most elaborate satanic schemes pulled off in modern history. The devil concocted the perfect plan to tempt a pastor to sin and the devil left nothing to chance.
 

The entire scenario from beginning to end was designed to take a pastor to the brink of what he could bear and then provide the perfect temptation in the midst of the turmoil that would then end his pastoral ministry while nationally dragging Christianity and Christ Himself through the mud.

The plan was perfect. It was executed flawlessly and the devil played Tullian and a whole lot of other people the way a concert violinist would play a Stradivarius. It was breathtaking to watch.
 

Now there is a man who is reeling from his sin and the sins committed against him. His family has had not one but two nuclear bombs tear them apart. An entire church has been thrown back on its heels and there are many people around the country and the globe who've had their faith shaken to the core by the news of Tullian's sin. Furthermore, Christianity itself has taken a hit. Christ's enemies have been given comfort and have viewed this whole affair as even more proof that Christianity is a crock just days before the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to make same-sex "marriage" the law of the land.

 

This was like a perfectly planned and orchestrated terrorist attack and all I see are a lot of dead and wounded bodies strewn everywhere.

 

When Jesus taught us to daily pray, "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one" He was not giving us empty words to mindlessly recite. The Apostle Peter put it this way, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

 

With Tullian's sin, and believe me when I say that just like Adam, Tullian is responsible for this whole mess, we've witnessed one of the most vicious "lion attacks" of our day. If Tullian Tchividjian wasn't safe from such an attack then no gospel preacher in the pastoral office is safe either.

 

"For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." - Ephesians 6:12

 

The work of caring for the wounded has only just begun and my prayer is that repentance, forgiveness of sins and reconciliation will win the day. But, thus far, I have seen very little that would give me hope along those lines and truth be told, I think I took some shrapnel in the blast.

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη σοι,

- See more at: http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/#sthash.QsrHyUWl.dpuf

It is really not that complicated!

We live in a day when narcissism is the norm. Even in the church so many programs and so much curriculum is aimed at helping people achieve a happy life for themselves.

Of course we call it something more spiritual than seeking a happy life, such as seeking:

a "Spirit filled life"

Or

a "victorious life"

Or

an "abundant life"

and so on, but what we really mean by all this is that we aren't altogether happy in our faith and desire to find that happiness in Jesus under these more spiritual sounding names!

Why are we so concerned about how we feel? Is how we feel our main problem? Is trying to feel better the answer?

Jesus said:

Mark 12:28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.  ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (NKJV)

Does Jesus want us to be happy in Him? I think so, joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), we are to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4), we are to "serve the Lord with gladness" (Psalm 100:2), and of course the Greek word translated "blessed" in the beatitudes can also be translated "happy" are the poor in Spirit" (Matt. 5:3).

The problem isn't that we are wanting something we can't have, happiness in the Lord, the problem is we are looking for it as a goal, rather than experiencing it as a byproduct of following Jesus! And according to Jesus following Him is pretty simple - love the Lord and love your neighbor!

One thing we won't be doing as we do this, is thinking about our own happiness, and it is as we love Jesus and others in His name that these promises of an abundant life, a victorious life, a Spirit filled life, and even a happy life will happen, not because we sought it, but because we sought to love God and others and forgot about us in the process!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Funny, but also sad advertisement for a bible study!

I received an add in the mail for an "Animate Bible Faith Practices" curriculum. It claims to be good for among other reasons being "just right theology".

Described further as, "Built on centrist Protestant theology, it's not too liberal or too conservative."

It sound ideal for folks who don't care about theology at all!

"Approving of those who practice evil"

It is so obvious I know everyone has probably all ready thought of it, but how perfectly does our current culture fit the descent into sin described in Romans 1:18-32?

Rom. 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

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.

²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,^[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,^[d] unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (NKJV)

Consider the issue in the news so prominently this week -

A man, once famous for being the most successful Olympian of our age, has now become a celebrated and brave hero for taking various female hormones, having his penis removed, and receiving other types of cosmetic surgery.

To give a man an award or put him on a magazine cover for his willingness to destroy his God given body, for the sake of his own misguided desires is just plain sick. I am sure many would have encouraged their children to be like Bruce when he was simply a famous athlete, but will they really want them to grow up and be like Bruce now?

As sad and shocking as it is, I think they will!

I think the willful suppression of the truth about God as described in Romans 1:18, has led us to the end of the line or the bottom of the pit, as it relates to our cultures descent into sin. Twenty years ago you might have found only a tiny percent of the population that would support self mutilation, men and women using the same bathrooms, same sex marriage, or many other things which are now widely accepted.

Rom. 1:24 describes people being given over by God, because they had rejected the evidence He had given them of His existence through creation. Surely our culture had been given over to their sinful desires, they are blind to the truth, and fully aligned with the Devil, even though they are quite unaware of their allegiance and service to him.

Thank God if He has given you salvation and a knowledge of the truth through Jesus, and pray that we be faithful witnesses in a culture that unless God intervenes, is going to experience His just and terrible wrath!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.