It is time for God fearing Christians to seek God diligently on the current state of our society.
I believe, because it is Biblical, that all leaders are appointed for a purpose. God is all knowing, all seeing, and therefore is not surprised by anything that is happening in our world, grieved yes, surprised no. We have come into a season that has greatly divided the Church. This has been a time of struggle for me mostly because I cant wrap my mind around the things I am watching unfold. As I spoke to a group of Christian women a few days ago, one said something that really opened my eyes. She said that maybe the American Christians are facing these troubling times because it is a call to awaken the Church, to remind us that we need to stand for Christ and the truth even when that means we have to go against everything society is telling us.
I spent the better part my 20's allowing the lusts of my flesh to throw me into utter destruction. I married a man that God clearly told me not to, but I loved him and I wanted him. Sometimes what our heart wants is not what God wants and as an obedient Christian that means we have to deny our flesh and trust in God. I didn't do that, I ignored God and I chose to follow my flesh right into the arms of a man I was never meant to marry. See "love" is not an excuse to go against what God tells you, occasionally we are blinded by what we think is love only to find out that it lead us far from every truth we ever knew. From there I spiraled out of control, and after my divorce there was no end to my sinfulness. I let my flesh carry me lower than I ever dreamed it could. I destroyed myself instead of trusting that God knew better. It was only when I finally married the man God chose for me, surrendered my life to God, and turned away from my flesh that my life began to fall into place.
Our generation of Christians have lost sight of the truth. We find churches that appease our "itching ears." We want affirmation that our sin is acceptable, that we can choose to follow our hearts when God tells us to follow Him instead. We have so many churches and pastors indulging our itching ears, and as Christians we are leading each other astray. We are being taught from some pulpits that these things are OK, but if you open the Bible you will find that there is no proof of that. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that marriage is acceptable between the same sex couple. It clearly states that marriage is a union between man and women, I can find that in the Bible easily, but as much as society wants everyone to climb on board and accept gay marriage, if you are a Bible believing Christian then you cannot. There is also no place in the Bible that says that homosexual sex is OK. I can find many places in the Bible where it says that it is immoral, but not one place where it is said to be OK. To simplify it, God says that sex is reserved for marriage (defined as a union between a man and a woman), so pre-marital sex of ANY kind is sinful (homosexual or heterosexual.) We stopped talking about that long ago, we just accepted that people were going to have sex outside of marriage and that is where we opened the door to such a big problem in our faith walks. See we don't get to pick and choose what we believe, as a Christian it is pretty clear, there are standards set up for us to follow. I attempted in my younger years to pick and choose and it led to destruction. God set these standards for us, not to harm us but to protect us. I believe that God reserved sex for marriage because the union between one man and one women is the perfect union. It is a gift for us, and it is meant to be shared only between one couple.
I am concerned when I hear Christians saying that God would change with the times, and when I hear this I wonder what god they are serving. Certainly not the God I know, the God I serve created the Heavens and the Earth. He is all knowing, all seeing. He is the beginning and the end. There is no time in our history that he has not seen, there is nothing He doesn't know about. The Bible stands just as much in truth today is it did yesterday. To say that God would now change His mind on homosexuality, or any of the sins that we want to participate in, is to say that we know more than God and that is foolish. I understand that we want our loved ones, our friends, our families to be happy, and our homosexual loved ones are no exception, but I care less about happiness and more about their eternity so I will not indulge this new line of thinking. I believe that we all struggle with our flesh, I also believe that some are called to celibacy because God wants their full attention, he wants to be what fills them and makes them complete. I also know that many homosexuals have been delivered from their same sex desires when they have given their heart to Jesus, and denied their flesh as we are all called to do. I personally believe that some of the people who struggle with homosexuality may be some of the greatest servants of God of our time, if only they would take up the cross laid before them, deny their flesh, and follow Jesus. I think that we have forgotten that sex is not everything, and if anything sex is the biggest tool the enemy uses to derail us on our mission for God. I know that God has big plans of my life and I know that is why so many of my years were spent wrestling with my flesh. Don't get me wrong, I still struggle with sin, I don't know anyone who doesn't, but the difference for me now is that I see it clearly and I reach for God when it attempts to infiltrate my mind. For 10 years I followed the moral code of ME and it did not serve me well, now I serve the moral code of God and its harder, and it takes daily discipline in every area of my life, but in the end I want to have served God well. I know that when I finally gave myself completely to God that it was impossible for me to continue in habitual sin, God convicted me and led me from it. I know that this is true for all believers that desire to hear the Lord, if their ears are open the truth will be evident.
It is time for the Church to draw lines in the sand, to stand against popularity of the times and to be unwavering. I do not only speak of same sex marriage. Our Government has legalized abortion which is contrary to the Christian faith, as we know that we are commanded to not kill. Our rights to serve God freely hang in the balance, and anyone who does not see that needs to step back and really look at what is going on in America today. I have been blessed to see the US from a worldly angle and I can tell you that the world is watching and the view is not pretty. We are crumbling into moral decay and confusion and although I believe that every season has its purpose I believe if the Christian community does not stand up for truth now, we will lose our right to truth later.
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Isaiah 30:9-11
For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "see no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!"
I believe, because it is Biblical, that all leaders are appointed for a purpose. God is all knowing, all seeing, and therefore is not surprised by anything that is happening in our world, grieved yes, surprised no. We have come into a season that has greatly divided the Church. This has been a time of struggle for me mostly because I cant wrap my mind around the things I am watching unfold. As I spoke to a group of Christian women a few days ago, one said something that really opened my eyes. She said that maybe the American Christians are facing these troubling times because it is a call to awaken the Church, to remind us that we need to stand for Christ and the truth even when that means we have to go against everything society is telling us.
I spent the better part my 20's allowing the lusts of my flesh to throw me into utter destruction. I married a man that God clearly told me not to, but I loved him and I wanted him. Sometimes what our heart wants is not what God wants and as an obedient Christian that means we have to deny our flesh and trust in God. I didn't do that, I ignored God and I chose to follow my flesh right into the arms of a man I was never meant to marry. See "love" is not an excuse to go against what God tells you, occasionally we are blinded by what we think is love only to find out that it lead us far from every truth we ever knew. From there I spiraled out of control, and after my divorce there was no end to my sinfulness. I let my flesh carry me lower than I ever dreamed it could. I destroyed myself instead of trusting that God knew better. It was only when I finally married the man God chose for me, surrendered my life to God, and turned away from my flesh that my life began to fall into place.
Our generation of Christians have lost sight of the truth. We find churches that appease our "itching ears." We want affirmation that our sin is acceptable, that we can choose to follow our hearts when God tells us to follow Him instead. We have so many churches and pastors indulging our itching ears, and as Christians we are leading each other astray. We are being taught from some pulpits that these things are OK, but if you open the Bible you will find that there is no proof of that. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that marriage is acceptable between the same sex couple. It clearly states that marriage is a union between man and women, I can find that in the Bible easily, but as much as society wants everyone to climb on board and accept gay marriage, if you are a Bible believing Christian then you cannot. There is also no place in the Bible that says that homosexual sex is OK. I can find many places in the Bible where it says that it is immoral, but not one place where it is said to be OK. To simplify it, God says that sex is reserved for marriage (defined as a union between a man and a woman), so pre-marital sex of ANY kind is sinful (homosexual or heterosexual.) We stopped talking about that long ago, we just accepted that people were going to have sex outside of marriage and that is where we opened the door to such a big problem in our faith walks. See we don't get to pick and choose what we believe, as a Christian it is pretty clear, there are standards set up for us to follow. I attempted in my younger years to pick and choose and it led to destruction. God set these standards for us, not to harm us but to protect us. I believe that God reserved sex for marriage because the union between one man and one women is the perfect union. It is a gift for us, and it is meant to be shared only between one couple.
I am concerned when I hear Christians saying that God would change with the times, and when I hear this I wonder what god they are serving. Certainly not the God I know, the God I serve created the Heavens and the Earth. He is all knowing, all seeing. He is the beginning and the end. There is no time in our history that he has not seen, there is nothing He doesn't know about. The Bible stands just as much in truth today is it did yesterday. To say that God would now change His mind on homosexuality, or any of the sins that we want to participate in, is to say that we know more than God and that is foolish. I understand that we want our loved ones, our friends, our families to be happy, and our homosexual loved ones are no exception, but I care less about happiness and more about their eternity so I will not indulge this new line of thinking. I believe that we all struggle with our flesh, I also believe that some are called to celibacy because God wants their full attention, he wants to be what fills them and makes them complete. I also know that many homosexuals have been delivered from their same sex desires when they have given their heart to Jesus, and denied their flesh as we are all called to do. I personally believe that some of the people who struggle with homosexuality may be some of the greatest servants of God of our time, if only they would take up the cross laid before them, deny their flesh, and follow Jesus. I think that we have forgotten that sex is not everything, and if anything sex is the biggest tool the enemy uses to derail us on our mission for God. I know that God has big plans of my life and I know that is why so many of my years were spent wrestling with my flesh. Don't get me wrong, I still struggle with sin, I don't know anyone who doesn't, but the difference for me now is that I see it clearly and I reach for God when it attempts to infiltrate my mind. For 10 years I followed the moral code of ME and it did not serve me well, now I serve the moral code of God and its harder, and it takes daily discipline in every area of my life, but in the end I want to have served God well. I know that when I finally gave myself completely to God that it was impossible for me to continue in habitual sin, God convicted me and led me from it. I know that this is true for all believers that desire to hear the Lord, if their ears are open the truth will be evident.
It is time for the Church to draw lines in the sand, to stand against popularity of the times and to be unwavering. I do not only speak of same sex marriage. Our Government has legalized abortion which is contrary to the Christian faith, as we know that we are commanded to not kill. Our rights to serve God freely hang in the balance, and anyone who does not see that needs to step back and really look at what is going on in America today. I have been blessed to see the US from a worldly angle and I can tell you that the world is watching and the view is not pretty. We are crumbling into moral decay and confusion and although I believe that every season has its purpose I believe if the Christian community does not stand up for truth now, we will lose our right to truth later.
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Isaiah 30:9-11
For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "see no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!"
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