Were You Born Homosexual?
That is a good question. A question that I am not honestly qualified to answer. While I somewhat doubt the existence of a homosexual gene, I cannot prove or disprove that one exists. What I can prove though is that you are, without a doubt, not reborn homosexual. When I speak of rebirth I am talking about being reborn through Christ.
John 3:3 - 8
3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Here are some passages from the Bible that speak out against homosexuality and the sexually immoral.
Leviticus 18:22
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus 20:13
13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Deuteronomy 23:17
17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel
1 Corinthians 6:9
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Romans 1:24-27
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
The passages that I have quoted are from the Old and New Testaments. One who does not try to pervert the word can easily discern these for themselves. The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin unto God. One important difference in these scriptures is that in the Old Testament this act was punishable unto death. Before Jesus died for our sins we were judged solely by God’s law. There was no way for the sinner to reconcile themselves unto God as we are not even worthy of his forgiveness.
When Jesus came into play everything changed. Once he died if we are reborn through him we can be washed clean of any sin. When we are forgiven the sin is gone. It is as if you never committed it. This does not mean that one would never feel the desire for a homosexual relationship again or the temptation to commit any sin. It means that it is just that, a temptation. As me must try to avoid other temptations, a homosexual person must remove themselves from the environment or situation that may lead them to sin again.
Q. What can I do if I am a homosexual and want to repent?
A. Like any sin homosexuality will definitely be hard to overcome. The first and most important thing to do is ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Secondly remove yourself from the homosexual environment that you have been living in and seek help. Find a church that preaches the Word of God from the Bible. Speak with a Christian minister or Christian counselor. These people can lead you in the right direction and put you in contact with someone who understands your situation. If you wish to change, please do not be afraid of telling a Christian minister about your problem.
Q. What if my minister or a church leader is homosexual or promotes homosexual acceptance.
A. This person should be considered a false prophet. Do not follow this person as they are polluting the Word and will only lead you to darkness. GET AWAY! If you are strong enough in God to minister unto this person please try to save them. If not, find someone who might have stronger faith than yours. God does not wish that anyone should perish and that person is included.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father I ask that you would guide our church and government leaders to seek and do your Word. Please bless people that may be involved with homosexuality that they may come and seek your forgiveness and turn from their ways. Please protect your church and it’s people from those who wish to pollute it.
I love you Heavenly Father and thank you for everything.
For I ask it in Jesus sweet and Holy name.
Amen
Brian Parker
God Chooses the Lowly
The words of Amos, one of the shepherds…” (Amos 1:1).
God chooses the foolish and damaged in the world to confound the wise and complacent. When our son Dan and I went to California for the graduation of our son Robert, the three of us went sightseeing. Toward mid-afternoon we were tired and needed to freshen up so we found a rest-stop and went in.
We weren’t there long when a young man and an older woman came in. Something was wrong with the young man; in fact, I thought him a bit strange as I watched him come over toward us. He started talking to us in halting speech. His story fixed our attention immediately. He told us the older woman was his mother who brought him back from death, literally. He shared how he was forced to learn to walk and talk again, about the brain damage and her years-long vigil of love so he could face life again. Albert also told us how much he loved God for bringing him through, and how he wanted to tell others of God’s love.
God knew we needed to meet Albert that day. Never again would we take life for granted. Albert’s accident gave him a mission to help the rest of us know our missions.
Father, may we be simple enough to understand your wisdom in our lives.
White Sun (Tao Te Ching)
There are many legends about Lao Tze and till now it is still a mystery about his birth and name. The legend said that his mother was pregnant for 81 years and delivered a grey-haired boy around 571 B.C. “Lao” means old and “Tze” means child and that is why we called him Lao Tze meaning Old Child.
“Tao” means the source of all, the roots of universe, the Truth or the Way. Lao Tze defined Tao as non-descriptive truth. It has no form or substance, yet it creates and cultivates Heaven and Earth. It has no favors, thus it governs the law and order of the cosmos. It has no name, but it gives life to and nourishes all beings. It is so mystical and powerful, there is no proper word to represent it.
“Te” means if “Tao” is the truth or the root of a tree, then “Te” is similar to the branch and leaves. Without Tao, Te cannot exist at all. When we put Tao Te together, it means morals. Morals come from our inner source or heart. If our inner source is polluted, then we have no morals and if our inner source is pure, then we are full of morals.
“Ching” means the path or what we experienced.
When we combine the three words together, “Tao Te Ching,” it actually means what we experienced from Tao and Te or what we are going to experience from Tao and Te. “Ching” is not a theory or a talking but a real thing to be experienced with unlimited actions. Tao Te Ching was simplified into 5,000 words without explanations and there are eighty-one chapters and some are quite hard to understand. For example, “Favor and disgrace both seem startling.”
Lao Tze said both are very startling, very scaring! Why are we to be favored? Maybe he is going to take advantage of us or something? Why are we to be insulted? Maybe some troubles or disasters are coming soon? From this point of view, both seem to be startling. To understand Lao Tze’s wisdom is the first step, the real goal of reading a book especially Tao Te Ching is to develop our wisdom and let’s see the two versions in translation of Chapter One.
This is the first chapter of Tao Te Ching translated by a spiritual master of Tao:
“The Tao that can be described is not the constant Tao. The name that can be named is not the Constant Name. The nameless is the creator of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of million things. Therefore, always be of no desire and one will see the mystery. Always be filled with desire and one will see what one is pursuing. These two come out from the same source but with different names. They are both mysterious. It is the mystery of mysteries. It is the gate of all mysteries.”
Another version of translation of the First Chapter is:
“Tao that can be spoken of is not the Constant Tao. The name that can be named is not a Constant Name. Nameless, is the origin of Heaven and Earth; the named is the Mother of all things. Thus, the constant void enables one to observe the true essence. The constant being enables one to see the outward manifestations. These two come paired from the same origin. But when the essence is manifested, it has a different name. This same origin is called ‘The Profound Mystery.’ As profound the mystery as it can be, it is the Gate to the essence of all life.”
The original writing in Chinese cannot be accurately translated and different translators have different understanding of Tao Te Ching. Let us just take a closer look at the first sentence of the first chapter, “Tao that can be spoken of is not the Constant Tao.” It is worthy of our strong attention because both translators described the same meaning.
Lao Tze tried to say:
“Tao is not in talking, whatever can be described is not the real Tao. This is the same as we said that the dishes in cookbook are not real dishes and are not edible, only pictures and descriptions. We have to cook according to the recipe described so that we can eat the real food. The important point is cooking instead of just having the recipe. Therefore, the main point of Lao Tze is to act according to Tao instead of talking about it. Without any action, it is not the constant Tao.”
Tao is therefore in the action and not merely talking. My Heavenly Teacher JiGong emphasized the action of Tao as follows:
“Spread Tao and cultivate Tao with your heart and soul. Fear not difficulties and hardships. Play the role of your life well and struggle through life and death with your best effort. Grip your teeth and jaws and step through. How many winters and summers in life can we be busy spreading Tao? Although there would be temporal loneliness and solitude, those who can bear and endure will never fall into an unending sorrow of ten-thousand ages. Disciples, do bear the temporal loneliness now and win the joy and freedom of the ten-thousand years to come!”
Author: T.A Chew
T.A Chew is a practitioner of Tao since 1995. The saying of “practise what we preach” is very important for us to be a good living example. Tao Te Ching is full of wisdom and love to guide us in life. Whatever the translation, it is hoped that readers of any versions can learn to be a better person by practising them sincerely. Website: http://www.white-sun.com
Oversupply
Over Supply!
Pastor Terry Dashner
Psalm 100: 5 (NIV) “For the Lord is good and his love endures
forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Have you ever wondered just how much of the light produced by
the sun reaches, or is reflected off of, our earth? The answer
will probably surprise you!
Light pours forth from the sun in all directions. Without
thinking, we might consider it a flat surface directing its rays
solely at the earth. But that is not so. Light streams from the
giant ball of fire which we call our sun in all directions. The
result is that less than one part in half a billion parts of the
sun’s radiant energy reaches our earth! For every one ray of
sunlight that dances on a June meadow, half a billion rays are
dancing somewhere else! Here, then, is an almost inexhaustible
source of heat, energy, and light. At the best, we tap an
infinitesimal fraction of its potential.
Can we make a similar comparison with God’s grace, love, and
wisdom? Who can explore it? Who can dare claim he has exhausted
God’s resources?
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out!” (Romans 11:33).
The Bible also says that God owns cattle on a thousand hills.
All the gold and silver belong to Him as well. In one Biblical
text, God boasts that no one has ever held counsel with Him.
There is no one in the universe wise enough to give God counsel.
He does just fine on His own. What is your need this morning?
God can and will meet your need according to His riches in glory
in Christ Jesus. You may think that your need is too great for
God to meet. You may think that God isn’t concerned about your
petty problems. You may think that God is far removed from the
daily affairs of man and is not interested in you. According to
the Bible, God is very interested in you. He loved you before
you knew Him. He cares for you now. If you will pray this simple
prayer and mean every word of it with your heart, God will
respond.
Can you say this prayer?
Father, I come to you just as I am. I have nothing to offer you
but this heart felt prayer. Please hear my plea and help me,
especially in this time of need. I need your help in this way:
_______________. Thank you for answering my prayer. In Jesus
name I pray. Amen.
When your answer comes, please drop me a line and tell me about
it. I’m still overwhelmed by God’s goodness to His people. I
believe He is waiting, tapping His foot while His arms are
crossed, more than ready to answer the pleas of His people. You
and I are the ones who qualify for His mercies that are new
every morning and last throughout all generations.
Keep the faith. Please stay the course. Jesus is coming soon!
Pastor T.