Nature

With homosexuality being accepted and displayed at every turn, it is increasingly difficult to hold to the truth that it is wrong.  When you take a stand against homosexuality, it seems the only response you receive is an indignant “Who are you to judge?”  It is almost eaiser to give in and keep quiet; and I don’t like that option. As an aside, most of us don’t judge, but instead are fearful for the judgment from God to those who disobey.

For those who would say: It’s in their nature, they were born that way.

I say: We all have our own “nature” that we must battle. We simply cannot go around doing what is in our nature if it is wrong.  It is in my nature to be angry and intolerable of incompetence, stupidity, and selfishness. I was born that way. However, that does not mean that I can allow myself to berate and insult every person who has no common sense, or anyone who doesn’t know which direction to turn to go from West to North, no matter how much I may want to. 

Paul says “I die daily”.  We need to overcome these natural instincts that are wrong.

Why Faith: Pastor Gary

Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

I am a magnet for religious discussions. It drives me nuts. As a matter of fact I don’t often tell people I meet I’m a pastor, because I know what will happen next; my new friend will start asking me questions or telling me why I’m wrong about the way I believe something because their great aunt, who is now dead, was told once by someone that is a pastor, or priest, or one of those religious types…. Then I get to answer for someone that has been dead for 20 years that said something that no one can remember. However, the thing I hate most is people telling me that all religions are the same and that they are all right and as long as you believe in something you are O.K. I could never understand how Jesus can say he is the only way to get to heaven, and the great Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, can say that there is no heaven, and they both be right.

The other day I was reading a book on religion and I came across something that made me say Eureka. O.K. I didn’t really say Eureka, it was more like, I see now. The book made the statement that all religions are made by people seeking to alleviate guilt. I don’t agree with the statement, but I realized that is why people say all religion is the same. If all religion is simply for the purpose of making ones life better, then anything you believe that makes your life better is a good thing, and as long as you are better because of your religion and I’m better because of my religion, then both are right.

The tricky part of that is; what if there really is a God and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him? What if He is a jealous God that doesn’t want to share the affection that is His with other false gods? What if He rewards evil and sin? Although I can’t say God created a religion, I know he opened a door for a relationship. This relationship may have blossomed into a religion, and there may be many false religions made by man, but God is looking for those that will believe He is. Place your trust in Him and know that He will reveal Himself to you.

Matthew 5:28 and Common Sense.

I was at a small get-together of sorts and the topic of discussion had swung around to a movie just released on dvd and video. I have not seen the movie. I do not wish to see the movie. I hope I never have to watch the movie. Anyway, a member of the group asked a male member of the group if he had seen it; he had. Apparently, he didn’t like the movie too much. His response was something very close to “I think it’s only redeeming quality was that the lead girl was really sexy.” At which time both his wife and I stared at him, dumbfounded at how openly he said it.

Ready?

That was just inconsiderate. Outright rude. This is a guy who is not religious, but spends so much time worrying about being a good guy.

Those of this world think ”Hey, he thought some girl was hot. So what?”; it was inconsiderate. Let me put it this way. Say you are an attorney and you are defending some guy on a criminal case. You lose. You’re standing in the courtroom when the judge announces a life sentence. You turn to your client, who is now going to rot in jail and say, with a laugh “Oh man, I lost so bad! You are so going to jail!”

Yes, that is my comparison, and I stand by it. Let’s not forget Matthew 5:28 says “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” That should be enough, but since it is sadly not when dealing with the world, let’s think about this…

I was unhappy and uncomfortable and I’m not the one married to him.  How must his wife have felt?  These type of comments are damaging and hurtful and nobody seems to want to stand up and say it is not right. His wife said nothing. When did we decide that this is acceptable behavior? When did we decide that we would stifle legitimate feelings because “everyone does it?”

My brother says “If you want to be happy with what you have, stop focusing on everything else. Focus on what you have.” (Yeah, I know, other people have said it too, but he’s the one that I listened to.) It’s more than a nice saying, it’s true; I speak from experience.

 As though the rest of the world had not damaged us enough while we were growing up, we now allow our spouses to contribute.

Don’t be afraid to say this is not right. You never know whose life you will make a difference in. You never know who you will help to realize that this is not how it has to be; and in the end, you may even save a marriage, even if it is by helping a person realize that they don’t have to marry someone who lusts after others before they are married.  It will certainly help you realize the person you want to be.