Sunday, June 28, 2015

 

Just part of life? -1


** We must all learn to live this life as it happens - not as we want it to be but how we respond is the key to wither our life is lived successfully! 




 Things happen based upon many different events present...  Our choice is to learn, observe then come to manage these events to make a better Life. 
Much of the problems {we all have some form of problems} which are placed upon our pathway of life have either a beneficial or detrimental effect on how we live and ultimately where we will spend Eternity!  
So now do you get a glimpse of the importance?

 Perhaps it is beat if we go back to something simple to help illustrate this.

Life ebbs and flows through many channels and various times and events...
Much of what we know and experience is from our immediate environment and the association with both the organic {of or relating to, or derived from living organisms: as organic matter} and inorganic {non living} world...  

Much of what we have available to us in this earth is not only just around us but through ideas, thoughts, pictures, sounds, and intercourse {a close personal relationship - not always sexual in nature} with others...  It takes us our coming to recognize how, when, and where these events effect our lives - help us make the best choices...
   

 

The overriding principle



Amazing How Obama Has Changed Views on Gay Marriage

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In 2008, prior to the presidential election, then candidate Obama stated he did not support gay marriage (aka same-sex unions), but that he also did not want a Constitutional amendment banning it. Joe Biden was of the same opinion. That was then. This is now.

Today, with the SCOTUS decision regarding same-sex unions behind us (and having ruled in favor of it for all 50 states), not only are both Obama and Biden in favor of same-sex unions, but President Obama is going one better. He is essentially chastising those who hold views opposed to same-sex unions based on religious convictions. He wants those who have been seen the light to reach back and help those lagging behind so that all can be of one mind on the issue. He is mainly speaking of Christians though, even though Islam denounces homosexuality as well. America was founded not on Islamic principles, but on Christian ones.

Of course, President Obama likely was not in favor of same-sex unions not because he actually felt that way but because he knew in order to be elected, he had to placate the majority in America. Now that he has been successfully elected twice, the only people he needs to placate are the elite. He doesn’t have to worry about coming up to another election. He can essentially do whatever he wants and he’s doing just that.

This is really the start of the elimination of the 1st Amendment. Now that the SCOTUS has ruled in favor of same-sex unions in all 50 states, to not “accept” or align one’s self with this mentality is to be seen as persevering in an attitude of bigotry and hatred. What President Obama is really saying is that those who refuse to change their opinions will be left behind. In fact, life may become very difficult for them (us) and certainly he would be in favor of that.
In England and Canada, it is against the law to speak or write about specific sins like homosexuality. People have actually been jailed because of it, at least in England. Since the SCOTUS has ruled, homosexuals will now be considered a “protected” class of people and will fall under the civil rights category. Therefore, to speak against homosexuality is to speak against a protected class of people.

In looking back through history, it seems clear to me why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It wasn’t so much that homosexuality existed (it did), as if it didn’t exist any other place. I think the problem was that it was so out in the open and blatant that God was left with little choice.
In 2 Peter 2:7, we learn the following: “…He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men.

Lot was called “righteous” and one who needed rescuing by God. Of course, we know that God did rescue Lot, saving him from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It won’t be long before this new ruling by the SCOTUS translates to new laws across America protecting homosexuals from “verbal attacks.” I can easily see new laws being made that will effectively ban free speech by limiting what a person can or cannot say about homosexuality.
Don’t laugh because Arlington County has just recently passed a law that cracks down on swearing in public. A person can be fined up to $250 per incidence. Yes, this also limits free speech, doesn’t it?

This is the problem with laws in general. When people have to be forced from without to act a certain way or curb what they say, the reality is that the whole thing is completely artificial. When I was growing up, it was really rare to hear people swear in public.

So here we are today, with a new ruling from SCOTUS that essentially says same-sex marriage should not be denied in any state. Following that, President Obama urges everyone to help people like me catch up with the rest of the world even if it means going against my own particular religious convictions. If I can’t do that, then I’m sure the second best thing would be for me to shut up and stop offering my opinion about homosexuality.

Even though Lot was a resident of Sodom and “sat” at the gate of the city, I cannot imagine that he preached against homosexuality all the time. Had he done that, he probably would have been killed. Clearly, we understand from Genesis 19 that the homosexuals of that town knew where Lot stood on the issue. He had probably mentioned it before, but it is difficult for me to believe that Lot made that issue a platform and every chance he got, he spoke against the evils of that particular lifestyle. If not killed, he would have been tossed from the town.

In Genesis 19:6ff, Lot tries to talk the homosexual men of the town out of what they were planning to do with the two visitors. They wanted to rape them, to force themselves on them sexually. Lot tried to dissuade them by even offering his daughters. I do not know why Lot did this, except to say that in his mind, men raping men was far worse than men raping women. It’s all sin, that’s for sure.

The visiting angels, rather than allowing the men to have their way with them, blinded the men and got Lot to safety before the town was destroyed. I’m sure the homosexuals knew where he was coming from and didn’t appreciate it. They felt guilty about it and they didn’t like feeling that way, so their response was, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them,” (Genesis 19:9) These men were already planning on raping the two visitors, but apparently they had something even worse in store for Lot because he was “judging” them. Where have we heard that before; that Christians shouldn’t “judge”?

Folks, we are rapidly moving toward a time when each Christian will have to decide for him/herself what limits they will allow to be placed on their lives and opinions. For me, I don’t want the entirety of my Christianity to be determined on the issue of homosexuality. There seems little point to being willing to go to jail (which will eventually happen in America) for speaking out against specific sins. If you believe that is your calling, then clearly, you must go with it.

Jesus issued one directive to all of His followers and He commanded us to fulfill it. That directive is what is known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28) and it commands us to go and make disciples of people from all nations, without respect to persons, gender, race, or ideology.

If someone wants to throw me in jail because I have the audacity to say that there is only One Name under heaven by which men are saved and that Name is Jesus and the only salvation that is available comes from Him, then throw me in jail! However, to take up a specific sin as a cause and use it as a club is something that usually just becomes very argumentative and clouds the issue of salvation.

The overriding principle that should govern the life of every Christian is to love the lost of this world by preaching the gospel message to them. This should be done by our words and by our actions. We are strangers here. America is where I was born but my citizenship is in HEAVEN. What happens here is so fleeting, so temporary and if we allow ourselves to get caught up in issues (aka specific sins), then we will forget what our true purpose is for being here.
Lot lived among the people of Sodom. It seems the overwhelming majority were homosexuals. What anyone does behind closed doors is their business, not mine. The problem with Sodom is that the homosexuals there had become so blatant, so sexually driven that what was once behind closed doors had come thoroughly out into the open and they not only did not care, but they were belligerent to anyone whom they knew opposed their lifestyle.

I probably would have moved away from Sodom if I had been Lot. Clearly, there was no one salvageable and that is understood by the fact that apart from Lot and his two daughters, no one was saved at all. There comes a time when our opinions as Christians won’t matter. That is what is happening now.
The world can tell me to shut my mouth about specific issues. The world can also tell me to stop speaking about Jesus, His love for sinners of this world, and His desire to save those who see and embrace His truth. While I will not build a platform around an issue like homosexuality, I will build one around the need for the lost to embrace the only salvation that is available.

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