I am doing better at going to bed earlier. Instead of going to bed around 2 or 2:30, now I am going to bed around 12:30-1. Hopefully, it will get earlier in time.
However, tonight my heart is really burdened, so I might not get to bed early. I am spending way too much time on FB right now, because there are so many misunderstandings of the issues that are going on. I do not think I can straighten them out, but I hope to shed some light on these issues, particularly the one concerning the baker who refused to make the cakes for the Gay wedding.
When I read people's comments on this issue, whether it be something I posted or someone else, I can see that there is confusion on this whole situation. I think we need to have a good Biblical foundation before we can 'see' what the issues are and try to resolve them.
First; God made people and He loves people. He desires to have a relationship with all people, but because we are born in sin, that relationship does not exist until we are convicted of our sins by the Holy Spirit, and we repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.
Second: God loves us enough to provide a way for us to be forgiven of our sins, but also He provided a way for us to be free from the snare of sins.
Third: All of us rebel against God. We really do not like the fact that God gets to call the shots, but, in His mercy, He calls us to Himself, and when we respond to Him in repentance and Faith, we are born again into His family. We now have the power to say 'no' to sin, and 'yes' to righteousness. We also can develop the 'mind of Christ' and have the wisdom of God.
Four: We all sin and have struggles with sin. The question for us is, not so much of wanting to be forgiven of sin. The question is, do we want to be free from sin? Are we looking for an answer for our sin, or are we looking for an easy way to escape hell?
Five: There may be more categories than this, but for now, there are two types of sinners. Each one of us is in one category or the other. There are sinners who are looking for an answer for their sin, and there are sinners who want to continue in their rebellion against God.
The situation at hand has to do with the baker, and the florists who turned down the opportunity to make the cakes and do the flowers for the Gay weddings that they would have been hired to do.
From this situation, many have drawn all kinds of conclusions, including the idea that the baker hates Gay people. This poor baker has been accused of so many things today, that I am just puzzled.
If I owned a printing press, and someone came to me wanting me to print literature that claimed that Jesus never existed or that He really wasn't God, I would decline the offer to print that material. The way things are going today, I might end up in jail. This is not the same country I grew up in during the middle of the 20th Century.
Today, because a woman refused to bake a cake for a Gay wedding, she has all kinds of accusations on her. Some say that she is throwing stones at the homosexual. I'm sorry, but I do not see the connection here. I see a couple who cannot be faithful to their convictions by baking a cake for a Gay wedding. To them, that would be a form of celebrating something they know is wrong. In America today, it should not be a problem for the Gay couple to find another baker. There are plenty of bakers around, and many who would have no convictions of making cakes for their weddings.
A lesbian mayor in Texas tried to call the carpet on the preachers who lived in her area by making them turn in their sermon notes. She wanted them penalized if they preached against homosexuality.
My question to the homosexual community is, why in the world can't you start your own religion? Why do you get angry with those who preach what the Bible says about homosexuality when you can just start your own church and do your own thing? There is no reason why you can't marry each other in your churches. Why do you have to attack churches that are established in what they believe in and try to twist them around to make them believe what you want them to believe? Leave the churches alone, and start your own. For crying out loud, we live in America, and you can believe whatever you want. But don't try to change the belief system of other people who have convictions from God.
It's time to stop accusing Christians of 'hate' actions. No one who truly knows the Lord is going to hate you. Stop accusing the baker and others who have a conviction that homosexuality is sin, of throwing stones at you. Nobody is throwing stones at you. You are imagining this and it appears that is it willful thinking on your part.
As I wrote somewhere earlier today, we are all going to stand before God. We will all stand either fully cleansed from our sins, dressed in robes of righteousness, because of the blood of Jesus Christ, or, we will stand fully in our sins before a holy God. The choice is yours. If you don't repent, not only will you have the sin of homosexuality before you. You will also have other sins like slander, lying, and manipulation. There is no reason for you to have to make a mountain out of a molehill.
As I wrote above in #5, there are two types of sinners. One is the sinner who wants to repent. He wants to be free from sin. He is struggling with his sin. God will have mercy on this person. The other is the one who doesn't want change. If he or she had an offer of being changed from the state of homosexuality, and if this change would come quickly and permanently, they would not take it. They do not want to be changed by God. They do not want God's authority over them. If they continue, they will have no chance of repenting and turning to God.
I am aware that not everyone who is Gay, is unrepentant. There are many who would take an offer to be changed by the power of God. For those people, there is hope. Please do not think I am attacking you in this article. I do want you to know that God is more than willing to help you. But you must find a church or group of people who know God, that you can trust. You need to get involved in a body of believers in Christ who have maturity and show wisdom and love. You do not have to stay in a state of homosexuality forever.
Remember, God loves us too much to let us stay in our sins. If we choose to stay in our sins, that is our choice, but there will be consequences. If we do not repent of our sins, our hearts will get harder and harder, and it will become harder for us to come to Christ. God paid an extremely high price for us to be set free from sin. He never intended for us to stay in our sins. Nor is He the all-loving God that people imagine Him to be. He is love (1 John 4:8), but He does not force His love on us. We have the choice to respond to Him or not. He does not overlook our sins if we choose to stay in them. But, there is hope, if we desire to come to Christ, He will never turn us away. We cannot come to Him just for forgiveness of sins, and expect Him to be there for us if we continue living in a way that we know is contrary to His nature. He only has mercy on those who will turn to Him in repentance and faith.
For more information on this, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com
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