If you are not accepting of the modern gay agenda, you are diagnosed and labeled by the proponents of that agenda with a dreadful disorder. You are “homophobic”; and this disorder, in their mind, is far worse than actually being a homosexual ever was. They suppose that such a person is afraid of being homosexual or just afraid of homosexuals. Well, I am admittedly afraid of the “gay rights” movement.
I am afraid of the destructive consequences of that agenda for millions of people. They have already destroyed a perfectly good word – gay. Who can sing the verse in the popular Christmas song that says, “don we now our gay apparel” without thinking of someone dressed in drag? I wince before I get to the “fa-la-la-la-las”. Surely that is sufficient evidence to diagnose me as homophobic.
I do have plenty of biblical grounds to oppose the normalization of homosexuality. Sodom comes to mind. Honestly, I don’t need a Bible verse – not even one – to convince me that something is wrong when a man finds himself sexually attracted to another man or a woman finds herself sexually attracted to another woman. Likewise, I have never really needed a Bible verse to support my belief that it is wrong to murder someone.
I can feel sorry for someone who has a warped sexual orientation. I can hope that they will find help to repair this distortion. But I have zero tolerance for those who want me to accept that a homosexual orientation is just as wholesome and good as a heterosexual orientation. It is not!
If someone has – as many people do – a warp in their sexual orientation that leads them to find young children erotically stimulating, we wouldn’t submit to their plea, “God made me this way; accept my sexual orientation.” Again, I don’t need a Bible verse to prove that not only having sex with children is wrong, but even desiring to have sex with children is a sign of something warped in your sexuality. If someone wants to eat feces, do you need a Bible verse to tell you that something is wrong with that person’s “wanter”? I hope not, because I have never found one. And, if I say that the desire to eat feces or other disgusting things is a clear sign of a psychological disorder, don’t say, “So, have you ever tried it?” The answer is “NO.” And I don’t need to in order to know that dog poop is not legitimate food. The fact that 1-3% of our population find themselves sexually attracted to the same sex and have convinced themselves and each other that there is nothing wrong with their sexual orientation is hardly convincing evidence for me.
What does surprise me is how many rational, well-educated people buy into the propaganda of the gay activists. What totally blows my mind is that we are actually debating whether or not marriage between members of the same sex should be sanctioned by the state.
Under the influence of powerful gay activists, the scientific community has caved in. They have swallowed the politically correct story – hook, line, and sinker. You would probably be hard-pressed to find any scientist in the world today looking for a cure for homosexuality. Psychologists are now mostly dedicated to helping people adjust to their orientation and the challenges of living in a world with homophobes like me. So, instead of helping them with their disorder, they help them with my disorder.
Listen, if gays can have pride in their perverse sexual orientation, you and I can have pride in our sane and sober assessment of their sexual orientation. Call me a homophobe if that makes you feel better. But, if you are sexually attracted to members of your same gender, you have a problem; and I do you no service to engage in denial with you. Perhaps you will never be able to totally rid yourself of distorted desires, but you can repent of acting on those distorted desires. You can cease to claim that those desires are not distorted. Furthermore, I shall be so bold as to tell you that this is God’s will for you.
Thankfully, there are still people around who are willing and able to help you find your way out of a homosexual lifestyle. Jesus loves you. Yes! He does! And He died so that you could be free. The answer is not to rename your bondage “freedom.” And that is true for all of us. Whether we struggle with homosexual temptations, heterosexual temptations, or temptations that are not of a sexual nature at all, Jesus wants to help us overcome them rather than rationalize our submission to them.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Second Marriages
My wife and I are both in second marriages, not because either of us didn’t want our first marriage. Kathy was widowed while on the mission field in Brazil at the age of 26. Her husband was killed in a hit-and-run accident right before her eyes. She moved back to the states with their two children (Steve, age 4 and Kris, age 2). After a few months of initial grief recovery on her family’s Iowa farm, she and the children moved to Tulsa where Kathy would work for a national youth ministry called Christ in Youth.
My first marriage ended painfully, too. My wife of over eight years filed for divorce, and, of course, got it. We had a two year old son when she left. I was enrolled in college at the time, preparing for some kind of Christian service to which I felt God’s call. I really didn’t know how or where God intended to use me, but I felt confident of one thing – that He had called me to college.
Three years of university work lay ahead of me when I was spit back out into the world of singles. The first year was unquestionably the most difficult year of my life. Once served with divorce papers, I decided to drop out of college and return to secular employment. It seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. I didn’t see how I could make it through six more semesters; furthermore, I didn’t think that God would choose to use a divorced man. Thankfully, I worked for a devout Christian man who didn’t believe that our faith life is always reasonable. He encouraged me to persevere in my educational goals, to “walk by faith and not by sight.” So did my pastor.
The day I talked with my employer about my plans to drop out of school was a day of tremendous significance. With the influence of this outstanding Christian businessman and my pastor, I decided to stay in school one day at a time instead. And on May 6th, 1979, I did receive my B.A. degree.
Kathy and I were members of the same church in Tulsa. We became good friends through that last three years of my college work. For a long time, our relationship was purely platonic. Her two children and I had a great relationship, too. In my senior year, a romantic interest developed in both of us. This was scary for both of us. Neither of us wanted to be hurt again.
I was reluctant to consider a romantic interest in Kathy in part because I was divorced. No one blamed her for being single again. Unquestionably, she was free to remarry. In our biblically conservative communion, we both wondered if I were likewise free. After I wrestled with the issue for a few months, I asked Kathy to marry me. After she wrestled with the issue for a few months, she answered me. On November 23rd, 1979, we were married in our home church in Tulsa. We had discussed my relationship with Steve and Kris. Kathy knew that I loved her children, as I did her. So, even before we married, we set in motion the legal process for me to adopt the children. That was finalized in court about two weeks after we were married.
The Bible is clear about this: God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). I am a living testimony that God does not hate divorcees. I am also a living testimony of God’s amazing grace. Not only has He seen fit to bless me with incredible family relationships, He has found me worthy of His service. For almost 30 years, I have had the great honor of being one of the equipping ministers in His church. As such, one of my great passions is to help people work out the relational challenges that threaten marriages and families.
My first marriage ended painfully, too. My wife of over eight years filed for divorce, and, of course, got it. We had a two year old son when she left. I was enrolled in college at the time, preparing for some kind of Christian service to which I felt God’s call. I really didn’t know how or where God intended to use me, but I felt confident of one thing – that He had called me to college.
Three years of university work lay ahead of me when I was spit back out into the world of singles. The first year was unquestionably the most difficult year of my life. Once served with divorce papers, I decided to drop out of college and return to secular employment. It seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. I didn’t see how I could make it through six more semesters; furthermore, I didn’t think that God would choose to use a divorced man. Thankfully, I worked for a devout Christian man who didn’t believe that our faith life is always reasonable. He encouraged me to persevere in my educational goals, to “walk by faith and not by sight.” So did my pastor.
The day I talked with my employer about my plans to drop out of school was a day of tremendous significance. With the influence of this outstanding Christian businessman and my pastor, I decided to stay in school one day at a time instead. And on May 6th, 1979, I did receive my B.A. degree.
Kathy and I were members of the same church in Tulsa. We became good friends through that last three years of my college work. For a long time, our relationship was purely platonic. Her two children and I had a great relationship, too. In my senior year, a romantic interest developed in both of us. This was scary for both of us. Neither of us wanted to be hurt again.
I was reluctant to consider a romantic interest in Kathy in part because I was divorced. No one blamed her for being single again. Unquestionably, she was free to remarry. In our biblically conservative communion, we both wondered if I were likewise free. After I wrestled with the issue for a few months, I asked Kathy to marry me. After she wrestled with the issue for a few months, she answered me. On November 23rd, 1979, we were married in our home church in Tulsa. We had discussed my relationship with Steve and Kris. Kathy knew that I loved her children, as I did her. So, even before we married, we set in motion the legal process for me to adopt the children. That was finalized in court about two weeks after we were married.
The Bible is clear about this: God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). I am a living testimony that God does not hate divorcees. I am also a living testimony of God’s amazing grace. Not only has He seen fit to bless me with incredible family relationships, He has found me worthy of His service. For almost 30 years, I have had the great honor of being one of the equipping ministers in His church. As such, one of my great passions is to help people work out the relational challenges that threaten marriages and families.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Christian, Conservative, Republican
To describe my religious and political orientation I use these three words, in order of their importance: Christian, Conservative, and registered Republican. Since all of these terms are neither distinct in themselves nor in combination, I will elaborate on what they mean to me.
First, I am a Christian. To me, this means that I believe in Jesus and I seriously attempt to follow Him. And what I believe about Jesus is pretty traditional, biblical stuff - that He was the Son of God and Son of Man, that He lived a perfect life, and that on the Cross He paid the penalty for those – like me –
who have not lived a perfect life. I believe that Jesus will return to earth someday to do two things: First, He will come for all of us who are genuine followers to take us to heaven. Second, He will come to seriously kick butt and take names. The rebellion that started with Satan will end with and by the Lord Jesus! You may argue with everything I believe about Jesus; they are admittedly arguable. But I will tell you that believing that I was the lost sheep and He my Good Shepherd has brought me innumerable blessings already. Following Jesus has not been easy, but incredibly rewarding. And regarding rewards, I don’t think I have seen anything yet. So, I shall continue to be a devoted follower of Jesus.
I identify myself as a “conservative” both religiously and politically. That simply means that I am cautious about change, especially those that depart from old traditional ways and understandings. I am therefore more concerned with how the Apostles of Christ led the church than what some new church-growth guru thinks about leading the Body of Christ today. The early church was not concerned with the size of the crowds they could attract, but how well they could present Christ to their culture. In the area of politics, it means that I am more concerned about how the founders of our nation organized it than what some new educators, politicians and judges think the nation should be. Our founders, for instance, did not establish a federal government that was supposed to take care of everyone’s problems and force the individual states to march to the beat of its drum on all matters. I cannot imagine that even one member of the original supreme court would have thought that schools should be religion-free zones, that American children should not be exposed to creationist views in their public education, that abortion should be a legitimate birth control option for women, or that marriage between same-sex partners should be sanctioned by the state.
Finally, I am a registered Republican. I have affiliated with the Republican Party because their conservative platform, both fiscally and socially, has fit me. I do not have an “until death do us part” relationship with this party, however. And, I have not been happy with it in recent years. I love George Bush as a man and as a leader with great integrity. But I learned over his eight years as president that his “compassionate conservatism” meant a lot of big government spending. Where were the vetoes on pork-laden spending bills? It also meant a lack of concern regarding the stream of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border. Republicans are known for advocating lower taxes, but boast that lower tax rates mean higher government revenues – which means more for politicians (Democrat and Republican) to spend. I think our government does too much and spends too much. And I know that I am in the minority right now. Still, I have hope – at least a little – that Americans might wake up, stop thinking that government is supposed to take care of everything for them, and assume personal responsibility. Then, maybe one day at the ballot box we will throw off the repression of our government and insist not only on lower taxes but on lower government spending.
First, I am a Christian. To me, this means that I believe in Jesus and I seriously attempt to follow Him. And what I believe about Jesus is pretty traditional, biblical stuff - that He was the Son of God and Son of Man, that He lived a perfect life, and that on the Cross He paid the penalty for those – like me –
who have not lived a perfect life. I believe that Jesus will return to earth someday to do two things: First, He will come for all of us who are genuine followers to take us to heaven. Second, He will come to seriously kick butt and take names. The rebellion that started with Satan will end with and by the Lord Jesus! You may argue with everything I believe about Jesus; they are admittedly arguable. But I will tell you that believing that I was the lost sheep and He my Good Shepherd has brought me innumerable blessings already. Following Jesus has not been easy, but incredibly rewarding. And regarding rewards, I don’t think I have seen anything yet. So, I shall continue to be a devoted follower of Jesus.
I identify myself as a “conservative” both religiously and politically. That simply means that I am cautious about change, especially those that depart from old traditional ways and understandings. I am therefore more concerned with how the Apostles of Christ led the church than what some new church-growth guru thinks about leading the Body of Christ today. The early church was not concerned with the size of the crowds they could attract, but how well they could present Christ to their culture. In the area of politics, it means that I am more concerned about how the founders of our nation organized it than what some new educators, politicians and judges think the nation should be. Our founders, for instance, did not establish a federal government that was supposed to take care of everyone’s problems and force the individual states to march to the beat of its drum on all matters. I cannot imagine that even one member of the original supreme court would have thought that schools should be religion-free zones, that American children should not be exposed to creationist views in their public education, that abortion should be a legitimate birth control option for women, or that marriage between same-sex partners should be sanctioned by the state.
Finally, I am a registered Republican. I have affiliated with the Republican Party because their conservative platform, both fiscally and socially, has fit me. I do not have an “until death do us part” relationship with this party, however. And, I have not been happy with it in recent years. I love George Bush as a man and as a leader with great integrity. But I learned over his eight years as president that his “compassionate conservatism” meant a lot of big government spending. Where were the vetoes on pork-laden spending bills? It also meant a lack of concern regarding the stream of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border. Republicans are known for advocating lower taxes, but boast that lower tax rates mean higher government revenues – which means more for politicians (Democrat and Republican) to spend. I think our government does too much and spends too much. And I know that I am in the minority right now. Still, I have hope – at least a little – that Americans might wake up, stop thinking that government is supposed to take care of everything for them, and assume personal responsibility. Then, maybe one day at the ballot box we will throw off the repression of our government and insist not only on lower taxes but on lower government spending.
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