Tag: gay and lesbian rights
Gay Bishop asked to pray at Breakfast!
| http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090112/ap_on_re_us/gay_bishop_obama |
Today we have news that our new President-elect trying to bring unity to our nation by asking an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church, to pray. He has been openly critical of Mr. Obama for asking Rick Warren, an evangelical minister who has spoken out openly against the gay agenda, to pray at the inagural ceremony. Bishop Robinson says he will not pray a “Christian” prayer or use the Bible because not all Americans like the Bible. How should we as Christians look at these events and discern God’s will for our actions and response?
Unity is a good thing. In John 17:20-23, Jesus prays that his followers will be brought to complete unity to let the world know that the Father had sent Jesus and that God the Father loves them. Does this prayer mean that we should just let this issue of gay sex and gay marriage be a personal preference and try to be one? What about our nation? Should we, for the sake of unity, make this issue another preference? There is a worldview battle going on now to try and decide these issues!
God’s original plan from Genesis is that a man and a woman would be joined together in a covenant relationship. God blessed their relationship and the offspring that would come. These offspring would be raised to know, love, and obey God, their creator and the giver of life. Genesis 1 and 2 detail the creation of man and woman and their God-given purpose. Satan and sin entered the human race in Genesis 3. The temptation Satan offered to woman was to have a personal knowledge of good and evil and become like God. She and her husband fell for it. The results are still being experienced.
Gay and lesbian sexual relationships are a rebellion against God’s stated design and purpose. No children can come from these unions and God commanded fruitfulness. Gay and lesbian lifestyles are not new. They were one of the underlying reasons for God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Lot tried to warn the men of the city who were seeking his visitors (men who were angels) for gay sex. “Don’t do this wicked thing” was the warning that went unheeded. Numbers 18 warns against gay sex and says that the land will vomit out those who engage in it. In the New Testament, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11 states that no homosexual offender will inherit the kingdom of God. It is plain that Christians who serve the one and only true God should not do anything to promote or sanction anything that God hates and is going to judge. The most loving thing we can do is confront them with truth and pray for God’s mercy leading to repentance.
Our President-elect may mean well and claims to be a practicing Christian. Bishop Robinson may be trying to bring unity and is sincere. But sincerity is not a test of truth! Their worldview is out of line with the Bible and God’s revealed will. Scripture says that will bring judgment, not blessing!
Our nation and new leadership need our prayers. We must pray to the one true God in order to be heard. We support them but do not agree with their worldview or choices. We voice our opinions with respect, but cannot change our belief for the sake of unity. We must live out our faith in our world in truth. We love those involved enough to confront with truth in love with prayer and tears for their repentance! When offered the choice, we vote for those who will stand for God’s will in this area. May God have mercy on our nation!
Don’t do this wicked thing!
January 8th Scripture Reading: Genesis 18-20
An ongoing debate and cultural war is going on in our society concerning gay and lesbian rights and gender identification. From today’s reading, we get insight into how God feels about this sort of activity in a city or country. He has ordained marriage between a man and a woman. He made them male and female. But disobedience to the clear command and purpose of God, always brings consequences. He is merciful to all who will listen and obey but will judge unrepented sin and rebellion. Sin’s outcry reaches heaven and God’s ears. The righteous cry out for deliverance and justice and God responds!
In response to the reports of wickedness that had reached heaven, God sent two angels to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family before judgment fell. As these angels were visiting with Lot, the men of Sodom came knocking on Lot’s door, demanding to have those visitors (the angels appearing as men) for their own sexual pleasure. Lot pleaded with them, “Please don’t do this wicked thing.” (Genesis 19:6) But they began to break down his door. The angels intervened, pulled Lot inside, and struck the men outside blind. They warned Lot to gather his family and leave because they were under orders from God to destroy that city.
The saddest note in this story is when Lot tried to warn his son’s-in-law about the coming destruction and they thought he was joking! (Genesis 19:14) Lot had moved to Sodom with great riches. He apparently tolerated the wickedness and even failed to help his own daughters find believing mates. When the angels warned of the coming destruction, he delayed. As they finally left, his own wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt! Jesus used this as a warning to His disciples and us! {Luke 17:32)
How’s your discernment? Are you aware of the warnings from God’s Word? Are you warning those involved in the “sin of Sodom?” Are you careful to vote for godly men and women who will listen to God’s Word on this subject? Pray for discernment and intercede for mercy for our land! He designed man and woman for marriage and reproduction and raising godly children. God has given us freedom to choose our lifestyle, but He warns of consequences! “Don’t do this wicked thing!”
“Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah–from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:24-26