missing like a left-hand mitten? December 13, 2010
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: Bible, christianity, christmas story, Colossians 3:12-15, heart
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So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.- Colossians 3:12-15
So, as I write this, it is more to teach myself than anything else. I am THE WORST at all of this. Broken, messed up, stubborn, and uncompassionate. Jesus teach me something with your Word. Correct me and change me.
put on a heart –
hmm. put on a heart. so your heart could be off? or missing like a left-hand mitten?
–verb (used with object)to move or place (anything) so as to get it into or out of a specific location or position:
put on,
a. to clothe oneself with (an article of clothing).
yeah that sounds about right. put on a heart. you know what I wish? that it was already on. because putting it on is going to mean i’ll have to remember. and that i can go for days naked without it.
of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
yikes. in my life, this would be the equivalent of buying and wearing an Armani blouse, 7 jeans, fur coat, Coach handbag, and a $200 pair of Stilettos: costly and uncomfortable.
bearing
bear·ing
/ˈbɛər
ɪŋ/ [bair-ing]
–noun 1. the manner in which one conducts or carries oneself, including posture and gestures; the act of enduring or capacity to endure.Architecture .a.a supporting part of a structure.refer to supporting the burden of something distressing, irksome, or painful.
So, suck it up and be really patient even though everybody around seems like a complete idiot and requires too much attention and help.
forgiving each other
this is always hard.
so also should you
hey guys! Jesus is perfect, total guilt trip! or– remind yourself of the feeling of being forgiven by God, and try your best to imitate that way of loving to someone else. eesh.
beyond
be·yond
[bee-ond, bih-yond]superior to; surpassing; above
5.
more than; in excess of; over and above
since its winter, it makes me think of the little kid brother from A Christmas Story. 
You see his mom yanking away at clothing after clothing. He walks to school with so many layers on that he can’t make his arms go down to his sides. He falls over in the snow and can’t get himself up. Over all these things he was wearing a one-piece snow suit. Over all these other things, put on your one-piece snow suit. I think reading this passage makes me feel a bit like Randy, all sweaty and uncomfortable and feeling rather immobile. The thought of putting on all these layers of “nice-ness” and then over that still love, is overwhelming.peace of Christ
not peace with, not peace in, peace of. peace “that comes from”
NCV says “the peace that Christ gives”
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He brings peace between us and God, peace between us and other people, peace for our souls/eternity. Since its also Christmas-time: when he was born into the world, the angels on that joyful and wonderful occasion sang, Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace; because of that peace which he should procure for and bestow on the children of men; peace with God, and peace one with another, and tranquility and peace within themselves. This peace greatly differs from that which is enjoyed by the men of the world, with regard to its exquisite sweetness.
rule in your hearts
–verb (used with object)13.to control or direct; exercise dominating power, authority, or influence over; govern: to rule the empire with severity.14. to decide or declare judicially or authoritatively; decree
The peace of Christ should be what controls my heart. it should have authority and influence on my thoughts, actions, etc. I’m so bad at this. This is the part that stuck out to me today on my lunch break and convicted me to meditate deeper on the passage.a radical, economy-leveling era November 29, 2010
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: Bible, isaiah 61, Jesus, jubilee, leviticus 25, luke 4
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Jesus makes the poor a priority. He understood the gap in income between the rich and the poor. Jesus proves his radical, society-shaking character in Scripture.
In Luke 4 Jesus is quoting Scripture in public ministry. Jesus quoted Scripture many times. But Jesus had never read the Scriptures the way He did on this day. The Spirit of the Lord had anointed Him. The Holy Spirit had descended upon Him to give Him power to begin His earthly ministry. Everything Jesus did from that day on had a new power and anointing. This is the only such moment in all of the Gospels. The Son of God selecting and reading Scripture? This is it. On the singular occasion we know of, which verse did He choose?
Jesus read a passage from Isaiah 61:1,2. This passage prophetically spoke of Jesus and His recent anointing. Jesus told them they were witnessing the day that Isaiah’s prophecy was coming to pass. The Spirit of the Lord had come to rest on Jesus and they were all witnesses.) Luke 4:17-19 says
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[a]Luke 4:17-19
And then it says that everyone’s eyes were fastened on Him.
Yeah, I’ll say.
Jesus applied theses verses to himself in the synagogue at Nazareth. Jesus is pretty much claiming publicly that He is the Messiah described. Bold. But the thing that is sticking out to me is something different in this passage.
“freedom for the captives”, and “the year of the Lord’s favor” reference The Year of Jubilee, described in Leviticus 25.
The Year of Jubilee
8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.13 “‘In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.
14 “‘If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other. 15 You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. 16 When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops. 17 Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God.
How cool is that? With time, the gap between the rich and the poor become so large that the rich and the poor never see each other. God never wants those who have a lot to be so far from those who have a little that they cannot see each other. This year of Jubilee would cancel debts, return land to original owners, free slaves, and start fresh. Set the playing field level again. Even. The jubilee guaranteed everyone an opportunity to get back on their feet.
Wow, so the Year of Jubilee, a paperwork/logistical nightmare, may never have actually happened in Israel. As far as we know, the people of Israel never practiced the year of Jubilee. There are no stories in the Bible that indicates these things actually happened. The Jubilee was seen as an ideal future situation, to be put into practice when the Messiah would come.
it hit me in a different way than it usually does (through a lesson in Max Lucado’s Out Live Your Life) that Jesus cares deeply for the poor. So much so, that His first anointed public ministry teaching was used as a platform to proclaim a radical, economy-leveling era of trust and fairness (which was so radical it had never happened!!)
I mean, is that crazy? That Jesus is making a bold statement about how He’s the messiah, and He’s ushering in a time described in the Old Testament, but something Jews may have never seen/experienced. It was an ideal, a future situation. It was SUPPOSED to be happening every 50 years. “acceptable year of the Lord” describes the reminiscent twice-a-century celebration intended to press the restart button on the machinery of justice. Jesus was ushering it in. Jesus was ushering in a radical, economic infrastructure that would shake up society. God shakes the social etch-a-sketch.
Jesus’ mission statement:
Preach the gospel to the poor
heal the brokenhearted
proclaim liberty to the captives
proclaim recovery of sight to the blind
set at liberty those who are oppressed
and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
So what does this say about God’s heart? At least this: He values a level playing field. In His society the Have-a-lots and the Have-a-littles are never to be so far apart that they can’t see each other.
ear piercing? June 15, 2010
Posted by highofseventyfive in documenting life.Tags: Bible, cuffs, ear piercing
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aren’t these cool? they aren’t even piercings. they are just ear cuffs.
i’d love to find piercing ones like this though. i am thinking about getting that middle part of my ear pierced. i think it would count as a conch piercing.
“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master…pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.” Exodus 21:5-7
songs & scripture: a relationship March 2, 2010
Posted by highofseventyfive in Media, theology.Tags: Bible, john mark mcmillan, Leeland, lyrics, Scripture, songs, the rocket summer, TobyMac
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So there’s been quite a few songs lately where the lyrics just pop out at me like, WOW. I suppose its the combination of good words with music that makes it so powerful. I was just contemplating however, why it seems like lyrics seem more powerful than Scripture. I feel like this shouldn’t be. Maybe its the fact that I’m listening, while driving, (most times) when it hits me. Maybe its because I’m singing it, over and over. If I read Scripture over and over, and sang it, would it be as powerful? It says that the Word is living and active– is it as living and active as my music, in my life?
I don’t suppose I’ll figure out the answer to this any time soon. But as a quick fix, I am going to list the lyrics that move me, and then try to match up some Scripture with them. I figure that’s a good a start as any. Here goes:
TobyMac– Captured
I’m Your prisoner by choice/I will rest at Your feet…
All I wanna do/ is get into You /You got me captured/by Your love/ All I wanna do/ is stay here with You/ You got me raptured/ Can’t get enough
Romans 6:18-19
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Psalm 63:3
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
Leeland–Beginning and the End
Out of darkness into light/I know that I will be alright /Here inside Your hands/I never want to stray too far/Just want to be where You are /Here inside Your plan/And You’re the center of /The beginning and the end
….
You have plans for me /You’ve given me a hope and a future/You have plans for me /You’ve given me a hope and a future/(I place my life inside your hands /You hold for me a perfect plan)/And You are… /The beginning and the end
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Psalm 138:8
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
The Rocket Summer—I Need a Break…But I’d Rather Have a Breakthrough
I need a break, but i’d rather have a breakthrough/I’m losing my sleep, running after You/still i’d rather have a breakthrough/so I don’t stop/making moves/i need a break, but i’d rather have a breakthrough/i’m tripping on hurdles/running after You
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Ephesians 5:10
and find out what pleases the Lord
Ephesians 5:16
making the most out of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
John Mark McMillan—Alive
Well they say that a man can never go home/But I just can’t get out of your front yard
What if I could be/Something more than me/They say that I got a disease/Of the human kind/Maybe all I know is/In your arms and in your eyes/I’m more than alive
Psalm 84:10
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.Romans 6:11
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
and this is eternal life: November 18, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in documenting life, just thoughts.Tags: Bible, driving, eternal life, hershey, Jesus, trips
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so this week has been terrific. I feel so alive. I keep reminding myself of John 17:3 which says,
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Eternal life is not some final destination. Eternal life is THIS: knowing God. wow. So this week, I’ve been praying and keeping at the front of my mind, that THIS, right now, is LIFE. life abundant. and that eternity is already in motion. Am I living “eternally-minded”? Am I KNOWING God, the best I can?
He’s been giving me good rest so far this week. I’m not tired. I had such a relaxing car ride back from Hershey today. the turnpike was terrible, but i was in the zone and praying and Loren was quiet and it was just so relaxing! I felt so rejuvenated after that time.
And it was kinda funny, we went to chocolate world. and so there i was, IN a candy factory! like my dream, lol. and I couldn’t decide on what to buy, but thats mainly because i only had $7. I bought a Reese’s Fastbreak. I love those.
now i’m back, going to Panera’s for a yummy bread bowl with Caroline and then large group at Rider! to sleep for another lovely day in the Kingdom on thursday.
woooohoooooo!
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose September 22, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: Bible, God, missions, MUFHS, philosophy, purpose, sin
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The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8
September 20//
So, every, single, time i open up My Utmost for His Highest, it blows me away. it is either so terribly convicting, challenging, and compelling– or the very thing I need. (haha, i know those should actually be the SAME, but lemme explain) so some days i open it, and the thing i learn is new and challenging, and i think about it the entire day, which is really how a good devotional should be. its powerful and lets the Word carry on in my day. and then other days, I feel as if God is meeting me just where I’m at. Bringing the thing i need to hear in that moment. Today was one of those “ahah!” moments.
Today’s devo was about missions, and purpose. (ha!) I will type it here:
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances–we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for hte human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force is the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in John 3:16– “for God so loved the world…”
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life.
Okay. So, WOW. is this not all the things I’ve been pondering the past week or so? YAH.
And, to add something to this, I just was talking to a student in the library at tcnj. (yes i’m at tcnj right now) and He said how the world’s lies have hidden or warped our process of discovering and following out our purpose. YES. you are right mr. atheist jewish frat guy! “The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree.”
the following are VERY loosely quoted scripture. with no context. so i dont claim they really have anything to do with this, it just sounds good for now.
The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.– Proverbs 20:5 It takes alot of “soul-searching” and a communication with God to “discover” your purpose. Aside from our delegated purpose as humans as a whole- to glorify and enjoy God.
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.- Acts 5:38
They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.- Revelation 17:13
BUT, God does want to be known, and wants his purpose to be known to us. And through that, our purpose too. It sure is muddled by the things of the world, but he wants us to know it.
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.-Hebrews 6:17
Summary: We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt.
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me September 18, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: Bible, fulfill, God, Jesus, life meaning, purpose, sovereignty, theology
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cool illustration from an artist click the pic
I’m going to continue my study of Purpose, with some verses containing the word purpose in them. This is kind of a faulty way of going about it, because the word purpose could probably just happen to be there in NIV translation, so I will hopefully look up some other translations in the process.
New King Jimmy is in italics
Psalm 57:2—I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me.
who performs all things for me
Psalm 138:8— The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; (NLT) The Lord will work out his plans for my life
Proverbs 19:21— Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand
Proverbs 20:5— The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
Romans 9:21—Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Philippians 2:13—for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
do for His good pleasure
2 Thessalonians 1:11—With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power
2 Timothy 2:21—If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
So it looks like some other terms for purpose(s) are:
all things; that which concerns me; plan for my life; counsel; honor; good pleasure; good works
i’d love to find out what the hebrew/greek words used in each case are. they are probably different. i don’t have esword on my mac.
These few verses show the sovereignty of God, that His purposes for us, are purposed BY him, FOR him, and He will actually FULFILL them! What good news (!)
- who fulfills {his purpose} for me
- The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
- for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
- by his power he may fulfill every good purpose
Also, He chooses our purpose. What would it look like to discover you have been made from common use–humble purposes, rather than noble?
Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ “ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
I think it would look pretty awesome, all considering: 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 says, But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
Next time: Time to GET DEEP!
The purposes of the human heart are deep waters,
but those who have insight draw them out.
college central September 5, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in documenting life.Tags: Bible, central, class, college
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everyone should check out college central. its starting next sunday, the 13th. its going to be a bible study before church, at 10am. led by luke and bryan.
they are going through the beatitudes! its for anyone in college, or just out of college, who wants to connect.
College Central is a community of college aged adults who worship together with the goal of connecting more closely with God, our local church, each other and our community.
wanna connect?
Sundays @ 10:00 am
Central: A Christ Centered Church
-
2015 Pennington Rd
Ewing, NJ, 08618
- Sundays 10:00 am – 11:00 am
college central
College Central September 5, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in Media.Tags: Bible, central, college, video
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thoughts on the Decision made 8/21/2009 August 22, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in theology.Tags: 1 Timothy 3:1-12, Bible, church leadership, ELCA, gay, john piper, lutherans, Mark 3:29, unforgivable sin
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For example: You can blaspheme God, He’ll forgive you. You can blaspheme Jesus, He’ll forgive you. If you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you are, by definition, rejecting and discarding the very nature put into you (if you are regenerated Christian) that allows you TO BE forgiven. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit puts you beyond repentance, and therefore beyond forgiveness. By this I mean, if you reject the Holy Spirit’s convictions in your life, you stop being able to see and feel that you are rejecting God. You have no opportunity to ask for forgiveness if you see no wrong in what you’ve done. “Repent and believe”, “Godly sorrow”.
Say you engage in something, kind of think its wrong, and so then repent. But yet you find yourself doing it again. This time, taking a risk that someday God will forgive you, even though you are somewhat sorry. And so you do it again. and again. “How far do you think I can go before God won’t forgive me anymore? I’m willing to find out, I suppose”. and again. and again. Banking on cheap grace. At this point, your heart is so hardened to the Word of God, that you no longer consider it wrong, in fact, perhaps considering that this is part of your personality, or that God made you to enjoy this act of sin. You start to think, “Well, why is God so restricting! If I enjoy this thing, why would he deny me the right to do it just to love Him? I don’t think He would”. So you start making your own judgement calls about the nature and character of God, without the Bible and the Holy Spirit’s guiding; meaning really, you are just making a sin-filled blind perspective on God, in order to fulfill the pleasures you desire, yourself, and trusting only yourself, to make it happen.
Picture this, courtesy of John Piper:
Instead, many professing Christians today have such a sentimental view of God’s justice that they never feel terror and horror at the thought of being utterly forsaken by God because of their persistence in sin. They have the naïve notion that God’s patience has no end and that they can always return from any length and depth of sin, forgetting that there is a point of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power, leaving them never able to repent and be forgiven.
They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river. He lands and begins to eat. He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead. But he looks at his wings and says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.” And he goes on eating. Just before the ice goes over the falls he spreads his wings to fly but his claws are frozen in the ice and there is no escape—neither in this age nor the age to come. The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever.
He knows it is dangerous… says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.” but his claws are frozen in the ice
——————–
All this to say, would you want someone in church leadership who is blatantly and openly choosing this path, rejecting the Word of God and not trusting God? I think not. (1 Tim 3:1-12)
What would be worth following them for? Granted, no one is perfect. But those in leadership positions must be the most attentive to the Holy Spirit, the most willing to change, to be humble, to seek righteousness, because they will be judged more harshly. They are responsible for teaching about the God of the universe!
And so I will say only this. I disagree profusely with the recent the decision of the Lutheran Church. Not because I think gay people are going to hell. (Everyone is going to hell, unless they have a relationship with Jesus.) Not because I think they are loose-moralled and flamboyantly promiscuous. (There are way more straight people who are like this.) But simply on the stance that, its one thing to be a member of a church, to be working out your struggles and sins, but its a whole other thing to be LEADING it.
If you knew that your pastor had alcohol and drug issues, wouldn’t you ask him to step down? First of all, he should take time to start to heal his addictions, and the heart behind it. He should not be lying or hiding this from the congregation. How much stress would that be, to have to try to deal with his own tremendous issues, while attending to all the others in his church? He would not make for a good shepherd, or for a reliable source of teaching.
In the same way, those who openly reject certain parts of the Bible, and not others, are kidding themselves, and mocking God. Who are you to say you can take this part and disregard that part? When speaking with atheists, even they agree with this reasoning: How would you know if God wasn’t just a figment of your imagination, unless there were some things about his nature and what he says to us, that are objectionable to our way of living? We cant’ just go on changing God to suit our times or our interests, or more gravely, our sins. That simply will not do. God is never changing.
How would you know if God wasn’t just a figment of your imagination, unless there were some things about his nature and what he says to us, that are objectionable to our way of living?
I hope I have made a suitable argument, without offending anyone beyond a reasonable amount. There are many things people say that offend me, but that is simply because I hold those things so dear to me that I take them personally, and find myself aggravated. I hope I have shown my theological basis for this in love. This decision is wrong. There’s nothing I can do about it now, nor will I pursue anything to rectify it. I will only state what I have seen and known to be true. This decision applies to a very sensitive subject; it is a sin that is wrapped up in “love and blessings” (even their own arguments for it are such). However, there are just as many other causes and issues that seem exponentially more “wrong” because their destructive nature is more obvious. We must not trust our own senses and our own eyes and hearts, because they deceive us daily.
