President Obama Supports Gay Marriage…

© whitehouse.gov

I never thought I’d see this day.  Although, I can’t say I’m surprised.  The President, leader, man in charge of the United States of America, says he supports gay marriage.  Is it getting that tough on him?  That he has to make sure he has their vote to win?  If he is re-elected, what will he do next?  THAT is what frightens me MOST.

Remember in the Bible it says no leader is put into position that isn’t ordained by God?  What could God be setting this country up for?  If the leader is not shy about supporting homosexuals getting married when the Bible very clearly states in more than one section that it’s wrong.

Lev. 18:22-24, Jud. 19:22-24.

Of course, the argument I’ve always heard is that it’s not mentioned in the New Testament.

Rom. 1:24-27,  1Cor. 6:9-10.

What could the Father be setting us up for?  Although, it’s not His fault.  God is love.  He also can not tolerate sin.  This isn’t a time to fear though, if you know Christ.  This is a time to be cautious, diligent, and stay close to God.  Temptation may be at its worst but don’t give in.  Misery loves company and the king of all misery wants as much company as possible.

Now don’t use this as an excuse to mistreat people who are homosexual.  Remember we as Christians are supposed to love everyone.  Yes, we can hate the sin.  We shouldn’t hate the person.  Welcome the person with open arms, with love, and understanding.  Love the sinner not the sin.

Is homosexuality any worse a sin that any other?  No.  Ouch… that hurt, didn’t it.

But we can find refuge in the fact that if we come to Christ, admit our sins, ask for the forgiveness that has already been paid for, we will be forgiven.

1 Pet. 1:3-5, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

He IS our refuge.

It’s not WHAT you have… it’s WHAT you do with it!

A friend’s Facebook post got me to thinking today.  See, it was the anniversary of his father’s death.  A father he never knew.  He was never there to play catch, teach him about girls, or teach him how to drive.  Ironically, my father was one of the few male influences in his life, except for what he saw on television.  Which we all know, isn’t always the best.  For the longest time it was just my friend and his mother.  She worked a lot to make sure they had what they needed.  But I think part of his life growing up made him the man he is today.

He served our country in the Navy.  He’s a father to three beautiful children.  If you’re a parent, you know how hard that can be.  He works hard every day to provide for them.

Although he didn’t have a father here with him, he’s always had a Father to look after him.  A friend that sticks closer than a brother.  Maybe my friend didn’t have a car until he was 18.  I think he had to buy it himself, I’m not sure.  Maybe he didn’t have a lot of friends.  I know I wasn’t there as much as I could and should have been.  Nevertheless, my friend took what he was given and decided to make the best of it.  Did he always make the right decision?  Probably not.  Do any of us?  But it’s being willing to listen to that still, small, voice that is willing to guide us if we let it.  We have to ask for that guidance though.  Because the Father says he’ll never interfere.  It has to be our choice.

I pray today that you’ll decide to take what you have, and with the help and guidance from the Holy Spirit, make the most of it today.  Will he speak in an audible voice?  Certainly.  Maybe it’ll be a friend giving you advice.  Maybe it will be something you read.  Could be a passage of scripture.  Just be willing to listen and follow the guidance.  Find refuge in the Word.  The refuge for life’s struggles is there.  You just have to go for it.  Think about it like coming in out of the rain.  If there’s shelter, it’s raining, and you don’t want to get wet, what will you do?

I hope that you get under it!

…to find meaning in the suffering.

I saw this post on a relatives Facebook page and it got me thinking.

“See, to live is to suffer. But to survive – well, that’s to find meaning in the suffering“.

She said it was a DMX song.  Needless to say, I had to “google” DMX.  I had heard of him but wasn’t familiar with his music.  He’s a hard-core rap artists but the statement makes a lot of sense.

In this life we do suffer.  Of course you probably ask, “why”?  Well, I’ll be honest with you.  Because we live in a sinful world.  There’s no getting around it.  Since the incident in the garden way back when, we’ve been cursed.  And suffering was part of that curse.  But there’s an escape clause.

This makes me think of the young Jewish man in his mid 30’s who new His destiny was to suffer.  He was to live to suffer.  But He survived, knowing the meaning of His suffering.  To give eternal life to His creation.  Wow.  I just don’t understand that kind of love.  To allow yourself to be punished for a universe of sins when You had never commited one.  He wasn’t forced, although he prayed at the last minute to be spared if there was anyway possible.  But end the end, He wanted to please the Father and He knew the meaning of His suffering.  He volunteered.

So as we go through our day, let’s remember the suffering Christ chose to do for us just so we could be with Him forever if we choose.  It kind of makes worrying about what your so-called friend said to you a little pointless, huh?  Yeah, we have challenges paying our bills and people we love hurt us. But when you think about the overall picture, it doesn’t seem so bad.

Do We Need it as a Holiday?

Today is recognized as the National Day of Prayer.  Now I appreciate what this day is supposed to do.  But I have to ask, “do we really need a holiday”?  It’s like Valentines.  Do I love my wife more that one paticular day of the year than the rest?  No.  Although I do love her more everyday. 

Praying is something we should do everyday.  Remember when you were in love for the first time?  You wanted to talk to that person every chance you’d get.  On the phone all hours of the night with conversations that lasted hours.  You were happy just being with them whether you did anything or not.  Just being in their presence and communicating with them is all you wanted.  Part of growing your relationship was regular communication.

You know, we should be the same way with God.  Happy to just be in His presence, talking with Him about what’s going on in our lives and appreciating Him.  Spending endless hours in prayer, talking with Him, spending time is His Word, and trying to find out what makes Him happy.  Although that is very plainly laid out in the Bible.  That’s all God wants anyway.  A personal relationship with His creation.

So, hopefully, the National Day of Prayer can bring others into the realization that they need God.  But for Christians, it should simply be just another day that we communicate with our Father and find refuge with Him and in His Word.

 

 

I want to pray for you

I just felt led to pray for you right now. I don’t know who you are or what you’re going through. Whatever it is, I know God can take care of it. It may be family problems, maybe a loved one’s salvation. Could be financial problems, you just don’t know how you’re going to make it the next couple of days. I just want you to know someone does care.

Father, for the person reading this I pray comfort and peace. You say “where two or three agree” and we’re agreeing together that their burden be lifted. That you will empower them with the wisdom and the knowledge to overcome this roadblock. Father we need You and praise You for your many blessings. In Your Word You say you’ll never leave us or forsake us and we’re counting your promises because we know you cannot lie. You are perfect in every way. We’re Your creation, molded in your image, and You love us. You proved that when You sent Your Son with the sole purpose of dying for our redemption. We claim the victory according to Your Word through the mighty, name of Jesus Christ Your Son. Amen.

God bless you!

WWY(ou)D?

Hitchhiker

Today our Pastor shared something that happened to him and a couple of the men of the church.  About middle of the week, we had a couple of days where it rained quite a bit.  He was on the way to the church and got a call from one of the men.

“There’s a couple of men sleeping on the ‘porch’ of the church under the shelter.  Do you want us to call the police”?
Pastor quickly responded, “of course NOT!”
“Then what should we do” the member asked.
“First thing” Pastor continued, “let them sleep.  When they wake up, See if they need anything.     Invite them in, give them something to eat, see if they need any money and let them use our restrooms”.

The men were very gracious but did not accept any of the generosity was my understanding.  But the men did thank Pastor for letting them sleep on the porch because it was raining when they came up.

That’s a leader.

When the storms of life rage, shouldn’t the world be able to find refuge in the body of Christ and His church?

Read James 2:14-26 (NKJV)
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,16 and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.18 But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believeand tremble!20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

…Under His wings you shall take refuge…

Baby Birds

I saw this on a friends Facebook and just had to share.

“When I got home from work yesterday the little bird’s nest that was in the wreath on my front door had fallen. There were four tiny birds lying on the cement very cold but still moving. I picked them up and held them in my hand for a few moments to try and warm them up. I put them back in the nest and hung the wreath back on the door. I prayed, “Lord let their mama come back and take care of them because I don’t want to see them die.” About thirty minutes later I went back out and there was the mommy with her babies. I’m so glad our Heavenly Father never forsakes us. Psalms 91 says He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings you shall take refuge. His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night nor of the arrow that flies by day.”

If He takes care of the birds, doesn’t it seem plausible we can find a refuge in Him too if we only ask?

I’m a FISH!

Fish

Yesterday my three, beautiful, talented, daughters and I were having a conversation about their rooms.  Specifically the fact they had promised for several weeks this chore would be taken care of.  Needless to say, the fact we were having this conversation proved it hadn’t.  Every time we’d had this discussion in the past, I would spout off my normal rant about how it looked like a bad episode of “Hoarders” and they would respond with “okay” or “we will”.  Still, no resolution.

I was at my wits end trying to figure out how to explain to them this wasn’t working.  After a few minutes of silence I shouted, “I’m a FISH!”  All three were silent.  Not sure whether to laugh or refer their concerns to their mother who was sitting next to me.  Again I exclaimed, “I’m A FISH!!”.  At this point I was almost laughing at their wide-eyed responses, so before I lost it, I figured I should explain my outburst.

“Just because I said, ‘I’m a fish’ does that make me a fish?”  I asked.  They all shook their heads no.  “So,” I continued, “the same applies to you cleaning your rooms.  Just because you say ‘I will’ or ‘okay’ doesn’t mean you’ll do it”.  At this point they looked intrigued.  “So don’t tell me anymore that you will or agree with me the fact you need to do it.  Simply clean your room, SHOW me you’re serious”.

That got me to thinking about when we call ourselves Christians.  Are we doing anything to prove it to others?  I don’t mean we all have to hold month long tent revivals in the middle of August every night.  However, when people see us, are we reflecting Christ?  Are we really, truly, trying to show people we’re Christians?  Yes, we must have faith, that is how we’re justified.  But we have to work to show people our faith.

So let’s not just walk around saying we’re Christians.  Let’s do what the word says and let Christ’s love reflect through us and be a light to someone else.