Standing on Solid Rock, Not Sinking Sand

Recently I read a masterful article in The Christian Postby Dr. Albert Mohler, who is nothing short of a modern-day prophet. In the article, Dr. Mohler warns, “The urgency to reach people with the Gospel can, if the church is not faithful and watchful, tempt us to subvert the Gospel by redefining its terms.”

Specifically, Dr. Mohler drew attention to how some evangelical megachurches appear to be softening their positions on homosexuality. He calls on evangelical leaders to steer clear of the sinking sand of celebrating homosexuality—a quicksand that the mainline churches, I believe, have fallen into. Many evangelicals today need to take a hard look at what happened to their mainline forebears.

Having once served as a priest in the Episcopal Church, having warned my denomination’s leadership against sinking sand, having walked out before the denomination enveloped me, I offer my plea to my friends in some of these churches.

I am hearing the same language I heard 25 years ago: “We must love without passing judgment,” they say. “We need to accept people regardless of their moral practices.”

But my concern goes far beyond those misleading statements. The questions that no one seems to ask in the midst of this muddled thinking are: Why is the homosexual lobby adamant that their practice should not only be accepted, but celebrated, especially by Christian leaders? When they know full well what scripture says? Why does the homosexual lobby feel that it’s not enough for the church to love and care for them as individuals?

Recently, I was discussing that with a man who is gay, a man whom I care deeply about. His argument was, “If you truly love me, you must accept me into membership.”

He agreed that his lifestyle was against the clear Word of God; he even agreed that it was against God’s created order. Nonetheless, he wanted me to “get on” with accepting that this is a new day and that a new model is needed. Never mind that I would have to compromise the Word of God.

Sadly, many believers today are thoroughly confused. With respected church leaders sending them mixed signals, no wonder they don’t know what to believe anymore.

I am very sympathetic to their confusion. Christian leaders will pay a hefty price for leading their flocks astray. But believers with genuine concerns must ask a deeper question: Is the Bible still authoritative over me today?

Once you start there, then other questions arise. Why is homosexuality singled out for acceptance in mainline and now evangelical churches? Why don’t we also accept the sin of adultery? Why don’t we accept the man, his wife, and his mistress into membership?  Or why don’t we accept a host of other heterosexual but habitually immoral lifestyles?

The answer is less complicated than we may think. If we look at the history of the homosexual movement, we will get the answer very quickly.

From its inception, the homosexual lobby worked tirelessly to make society accept their lifestyle. They had a well-conceived strategy that adopted the long view of history rather seeking immediate results.

First they managed to persuade the American Psychological Association to drop homosexuality as a “deviant” behavior—meaning the behavior could now be viewed as normal.

Then they targeted the theologically wobbly denominations like the Episcopal Church. Instead of addressing whether their sexual practices were a deviation from God’s design in creation, the lobby framed the argument around whether or not believers were “narrow-minded haters.”

Churches such as the Episcopal Church, followed by others, fell victim to that argument. As a result, they abandoned the Bible as their only compass. Bishops, such as Bishop John Shelby Spong, have written popular books and articles declaring that the Bible is filled with myths and is no more inspired than Shakespeare’s writing.

That wrong-headed teaching set the stage for where we are today. With the biblical foundation giving way to man’s whims, the homosexual lobby saw their chance and they took it. They knew the Episcopal Church was just the first step in pushing their argument from church to church.

As is always the case, the Word of God has to be undermined, or “reinterpreted” in light of modern culture, before any sin can be celebrated and not repented of. After all, who wants to reject anyone? Certainly no one in the church of Jesus Christ, where love is the measure of all things.

As for me, I cannot and will not reject anyone. I am commanded by my Savior to love even those who choose to establish themselves as my enemy.

But although I love them enough to appeal for their repentance so they can be restored in fellowship with God, they trample this type of love underfoot. They say, “You cannot accept me without accepting, approving, and even celebrating my sin.”

If we want to please the Lord, and if we believe that obeying His Word is a matter of life and death, then we must not fall for that trap.

Like our Christian forbearers, we must ask: Do we obey God or Caesar? Do we sell our birthright in exchange for acceptance by those who reject the authority of God? Do we abandon our convictions (at our immeasurable cost) for the approval of society?

The deliberate and definitive answer to those questions must always be: God’s Word must be obeyed over the trends of culture and the perceived need to give Christianity a “good” image.

If anyone insists that we must accept their argument or else be called names, the answer is found in Matthew 5:11: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

We must stand on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and not the sinking sand of the world. For those who are faithful to the Word of God, we can say with Martin Luther, “Here we stand. We can do no other.”

http://www.michaelyoussef.com/

Evolution’s End? President Obama Calls for Same-Sex Marriage

Is President Obama’s “evolution” on same sex marriage finally complete? His call for the legalization of same-sex marriage yesterday is an historic and tragic milestone. An incumbent President of the United States has now called for a transformation of civilization’s central institution. And yet, no observer of this president could be surprised. The arrival of this announcement was only a matter of time.

The White House confirmed this within hours of the President’s announcement. As The New York Times reported on May 10, “Advisers say now that Mr. Obama had intended since early this year to  define his position sometime before Democrats nominate him for  re-election in September.”

Previous news reports indicated that the 2012 platform for the Democratic Party would likely include a call for same-sex marriage. The pressure was on the White House, with the President caught in an awkward and embarrassing situation in which major figures on both sides of the controversy believed that his public position did not reflect his true convictions.

In December of 2010, the President told Jake Tapper of ABC News, “My feelings about this are constantly evolving.” Last October, he told George Stephanopoulos, “I’m still working on it.” As Dan Amira of New York magazine summarized that comment, “President Obama won’t say if he’ll stop pretending to oppose gay marriage before the election.”

In August of 2008, running for the White House, President Obama had said: “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman.  Now, for  me as a Christian — for me — for me as a Christian, it is also a  sacred union.  God’s in the mix.”

In February of 1996, running for state office in Illinois, Obama signed a letter to a homosexual newspaper in Chicago that included the statement, “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.” So, his statement today puts him back where he was on the record as recently as 1996 — calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

The President’s position since 2008 has been untenable. Having endorsed same-sex marriage when running for office in 1996, he evidently changed his position as he ran for the U. S. Senate in 2004 and for president in 2008. Since then, his language and his actions have been contradictory. He has said that he opposes same-sex marriage, but he ordered his Attorney General not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Officials in his administration openly advocated same-sex marriage, even as the President dropped hint after hint that he did as well. The President found himself facing the fact that he would have to declare himself one way or the other on the question as the 2012 election unfolded — so now we know.

Why now? The Washington Post reports that he was under intense pressure from many Democrats, including his major campaign fundraisers. According to the paper’s report, one in six of the President’s major “bundlers,” or fundraisers, is a self-identified homosexual.

The immediate pressure came after Vice President Joe Biden said last Sunday that he was “completely comfortable” with same-sex marriage. The Vice President’s statement on the issue delivered full support for same-sex marriage. On Monday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan followed Biden’s lead.

The President was under intense pressure within his party, but the issue quickly turned to an issue of presidential character. No one made this point more directly than Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post, in a column that ran yesterday morning. “Same-sex marriage is turning into a test of character and leadership for President Obama,” she wrote, “Does he favor it, or doesn’t he? In the wake of Vice President Biden’s remarks supportive of marriage equality, the continued presidential equivocation makes Obama look weak and evasive”

She wasn’t finished. “The longer Obama waits, the worse he looks. The president’s  first stall tactic, that he is ‘evolving’ on the issue, doesn’t cut it  anymore. Even Darwin would have lost patience by now. His second approach, the not-gonna-make-news-for-you-today cop-out, has also worn thin. If  you wonder whether the president actually opposes same-sex marriage,  doesn’t evolution imply change? And if you think perhaps he’s still  conflicted — well, that’s hardly an advertisement to be leader of the  free world. At this point, Obama’s reticence is looking cowardly.”

The President could probably survive that kind of criticism from conservatives, but not from liberals. Clearly, he had to clarify his position.

The President chose to make his statement in an interview with ABC. His statement was really not a serious argument for the legalization of same-sex marriage, however. He spoke of the issue as if it is a matter of personal taste.He told ABC’s Robin Roberts that “at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

He made his statement the day after voters in North Carolina voted overwhelmingly in support of defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman — the 30th state to have taken such action.

Honesty is the best policy, and the President has now made his position clear. He is again for what he was until today against, but that was only after he was for it before. The American people will have to unravel that as an issue of character. He is hardly the first politician to find himself holding to an “evolving” position on an issue of fundamental importance. Most politicians, however, do their best to avoid the kind of situation in which the President found himself on this issue.

In any event, the fact remains that the President of the United States has now put himself publicly on the line for the radical redefinition of marriage, subverting society’s most central institution.

This is a sad day for America, but the President’s statement was not a surprise. Given the political context he faced, the only question was when the President would make his public statement of endorsement for the legalization of same-sex marriage. We now know the answer to that question.

This is a sad day for marriage, but now we know the truth.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/05/10/evolutions-end-president-obama-calls-for-same-sex-marriage/

Take the Initiative

Take the Initiative.

Drumroll, Please . . .

“I will bless those who bless you, . . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3

There are some moments in Scripture that I would have choreographed a little differently if it had been up to me. Now, before you start writing in to tell me I’m a heretic, please know that I believe wholeheartedly in the final authority of Scripture and the sovereignty of God. I don’t want to risk a lightning bolt and am not slacking off in my theology!

But if you or I were consulted about some of these moments in Scripture, we might have orchestrated them with a little more fanfare. For instance, the moment when Adam woke up to find Eve before him had to be a “fireworks, roses, and violins” kind of moment! Or what about the birth of Christ? Though God had a purpose in it, we probably would have chosen something a little more dramatic than a dingy stable and a few shepherds.

I have the same kinds of thoughts when I read through Genesis 12:1-3. This conversation between Abraham and God occurs in the middle of nowhere. I think of Abraham as a great patriarch, but in this moment he is an uninitiated nomad with no doubt an idolatrous background. And yet, here in this conversation between God and a rather unlikely person, God makes an earth-shattering promise. God shows up and tells Abraham that he would become a great nation. Then God promises—this is the moment we would cue the drum roll and a thousand-trumpet fanfare—that through him, “All peoples on earth will be blessed.”

This is one of the first prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ through the seed of Abraham. Take it personally—you and I, who are followers of Jesus today, are recipients of the phenomenal benefits of that promise.

Both genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels trace His lineage back to Abraham. Through the entire Old Testament, even when it seemed that the promise had been jeopardized by the unfaithfulness of Israel, God was faithfully preparing to keep His promise to Abraham. And then the moment arrived when the promise was fulfilled. On the hill of Calvary, it was a descendant of Abraham hanging on the cross, giving His life for us so that, as the promise predicted, you and I could be “blessed” in massive proportion. And it all started with a promise made to a wandering nomad over 4,000 years ago. No cheering crowds or angelic choirs—just God, His promise, and an unlikely recipient.

And here is the good news. God still shows up to speak to rather unassuming people like you and me. Every time we read His promises to us it is a profound moment. Behind every promise and plan He lays out for us in His Word, there are ramifications of strategic proportions. You may not hear a lot of fanfare, but the God who was faithful to Abraham will be faithful to His promises to you! So strike up the band—drum roll, please—God still speaks and delivers on His promises! Are you listening? Do you believe?

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Think of a specific promise that God has made to you. Perhaps it’s that His grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9), or that His presence is always with you 24/7 so you need not fear anything (Hebrews 13:5). Think of His promise to give you wisdom when you need it (James 1:5) and to supply your needs as you are faithful to Him (Philippians 4:19). Or perhaps it’s His promise to forgive your sins as you confess them to Him (1 John 1:9). Do you really believe that the promises are true? If He waits a while to fulfill a promise in your life, will He find you still trusting?
• What would you expect to experience if your heart was fully confident of God’s faithfulness in keeping His promise? Words like peace, perseverance, patience, and praise in advance of the provision should come to mind!
• Could you cling to His promise even if it weren’t fulfilled in your lifetime?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/drumroll-please/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GetMoreStrength+%28Strength+For+The+Journey%29

Apologies

Mark messed up. He arrived an hour late at a restaurant where he was to meet a friend from church. The friend had already left. Feeling sorry about his mistake, Mark purchased a gift certificate from the restaurant and stopped at a local card shop to search for an apology card. Among hundreds of cards, he was surprised to find only a few “sorry for my actions” cards in an obscure part of the store. He purchased one and gave it to his friend who accepted his apology.

Although apology cards may not be popular, apologies are frequently needed in our relationships. Apologizing is a biblical action. Jesus instructed His followers to make things right with those we’ve offended (Matt. 5:23-24; 18:15-20). And the apostle Paul said, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). Living at peace may require apologies.

Apologies can be hard to make because it takes a spirit of humility to admit our mistake, which may not come naturally for us. But taking responsibility for how we were wrong in a situation can bring healing and restoration to a relationship.

Have you messed up? Swallow your pride and make the first move—even if you can’t find a card to help you say it.

Whenever you offend a friend, Apologize and make things right; For if you will admit your wrong, You may avoid a needless fight. —Sper

http://odb.org/2012/05/10/apologies/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+odb%2Ffeed+%28Our+Daily+Bread%29

The best way to get the last word is to apologize.

The Gift of Repentance

“In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.” — 2 Chronicles 33:12-13

There is a story told about King Manasseh’s foreboding childhood. Young Manasseh was sitting on his father’s shoulders. As King Hezekiah bounces his sons around, Manasseh turns to his brother and says, “Look what a strong forehead Daddy has. It would make a great pair of shoes!” Horrific! As could be expected, Manasseh grew up to be a horrible person and king.

There are no words to describe his wickedness. He sinned and caused his whole generation to do likewise. He undid all of the good that his father had done. He promoted idolatry and erected an idol in the House of God. He murdered Isaiah, his own grandfather. He sacrificed his own children. No one was more evil.

Then one day, the enemy captured Manasseh. They placed him in a copper cauldron and lit a fire underneath. Manasseh called out to every god that he had ever worshiped, but to no avail. Finally, when there are no choices left, he remembered the God of his fathers and called out in prayer. His prayers are answered, and Manasseh is saved.

Tradition teaches that when Manasseh called out to God in prayer and in repentance, the ministering angels shut all of the windows in heaven. “Lord of the universe, how can You accept the prayers of such a terrible person,” they ask. But God finds a way to accept Manasseh’s prayers. “If I do not accept him in repentance, I am locking the door before all repentant sinners,” says God. So God digs a tunnel from beneath His throne in order to create a channel for Manasseh’s words.

This powerful story reminds us that God’s door is always open to those who wish to return to Him. If He could find a way to forgive the wicked Manasseh, our Almighty Father can find a way to forgive anyone! It is never too late and never too difficult.

Turn to God, and confess your sins to Him. Then feel the freedom and gift of forgiveness.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-gift-of-repentance

A bad Penney keeps turning up

A couple of months ago we brought to your attention a myriad of examples that demonstrated that J.C. Penney is no longer the family-oriented store so many of us grew up with.  From regularly sponsoring some of the worst programming on network television to thumbing its nose at traditional families and aligning with homosexuality, JC Penney has emerged as a corporation that is pushing an agenda that undermines not only the values of millions of Americans, but also undermines its own foundation.  (Click hereto read our earlier report.)

Did you know that James Cash Penney’s first stores were not named after himself, but were called “The Golden Rule Stores” because he desired to build his business on that foundational principle?  He often said, “I would rather be known as a Christian than a merchant.”

 

How tragic that a store chain grounded upon Godly principles is now virtually spitting upon those values.  In addition to the concerns listed in the link above, JC Penney’s has now come out with a Mother’s Day ad showcasing a lesbian couple with “their” young daughters.

Click here to express your concern to JC Penney’s, letting them know you will not do business with a corporation that undermines your values. (See below for further action points.)

 

MSNBC reported:  “The first step to making a controversial ad work is to recognize that the material could be divisive. Penney certainly knew that featuring a same-sex couple and their family in its new Mother’s Day catalog would upset social conservatives …” and added,   “J.C. Penney’s inclusion of a same-sex couple in its catalog was calculating.”

 

The ad, under the heading “Freedom of Expression,” is a two page photo spread of the two lesbians and the little girls with a caption referring to “Wendi, her partner, Maggie, and daughters …”

 

This portrayal of a lesbian couple with children as a normal, traditional family – in a Mother’s Day ad, no less – is a slap in the face to the values of James Cash Penney, and more importantly, to the values of millions of Americans who do not appreciate a formerly trusted corporation to purposefully seek to undermine the sacred institutions of marriage and family.

With this ad, along with other recent corporate decisions, JC Penney is choosing to align with the forces seeking to attack the family and biblical values.  Instead of holding a neutral position in a debate that has nothing to do with selling merchandise, Penney’s has made their position clear.

We, too, need to make our position clear – that we will not in good conscience support a company that has made a calculated decision to undermine the family and our values.

James Cash Penney once stated: “The assumption was that business is secular, and service is religious. I have never been able to accept that line of arbitrary demarcation. . . . Is not service part and parcel of business? It seems to me so; business is therefore as much religious as it is secular. …”

Penney’s parents grounded him in the Christian faith (his father was a Baptist pastor) and those faith-filled principles guided him throughout his life and career.  JC Penney built an empire on those principles, leaving a vast chain of 1,660 stores at his death at the age of 95 in 1971.  He was known to frequently share his favorite Bible verse:  “I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me. Test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I will walk in faithfulness to you” (Psalms 26:1-2).

While JC Penney strived to “walk in faithfulness,” the corporation that bears his name has not only betrayed that faith and tainted the values he strived to promote, but has purposefully and actively sided with an opposing ideology that seeks to corrupt those values.

Express your concern to JC Penney’s, urging them to, at the least, remain neutral regarding this divisive issue and to remember that traditional American families and values are what built the company.

Action points:

1. Click here to send a message to the JC Penney’s corporation.

2. Contact your local Penney’s store (either in person or by phone) and ask to speak to the manager.  Kindly, but firmly, express your concern about their Mother’s Day advertisement promoting same-sex marriage.  Let them know you cannot support a store that is purposefully working to undermine your values.  Click on this link to find the Penney’s store closest to you.  You can also find phone numbers and mailing addresses (if you would prefer to write a letter) for local stores at this link.

 

3. Inform your friends and family about this concern, urging them to stand with us.

 

4. If you have a JC Penney credit card, consider cancelling the account.  A cut up credit card and letter explaining why you are cancelling your account will speak volumes!

http://www.americandecency.org/archives/a-bad-penney-keeps-turning-up/#more-6651

“Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” 1 John 5:1

Where there is love to Jesus, there will be love to those who are his by redemption, his by regeneration, and his by personal possession. The more, too, that we see and the more that we know of the beauty and blessedness of the Lord of life and glory, the more we shall love his image as we behold it visibly marked in his dear people, and the more we shall cleave to them as being Christ‘s with tender affection. It is our dim, scanty, and imperfect knowledge of God the Father in his eternal love, and of the Lord Jesus Christ in his grace and glory, which leaves us so often cold, lifeless, and dead in our affections towards him; and with the declension of love towards the Head comes on decay of love towards his members. If there were more blessed revelations to our soul of the Person and work, grace and glory, beauty and blessedness of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is impossible but that we should more and more warmly and tenderly fall in love with him; for he is the most glorious object that the eyes of faith can see. He fills heaven with the resplendent beams of his glorious majesty; and has ravished the hearts of thousands of his dear family upon earth by the manifestations of his bleeding, dying love. So that if we love him not, it is because we know him not. If, then, to those who know him he makes himself precious, it is evident that just in proportion to our personal, spiritual, experimental knowledge of him will be our love to him.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/j-c-philpot-daily-portions.shtml

Being Satisified with Resting in Christ

Being Satisified with Resting in Christ.

Do You Wish You Had a New Heart? by Mark D. Roberts

Ezekiel 36:23-38

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stony heart from your body and replace it with a living one.

Ezekiel 36:26

Do you ever wish you had a new heart? I’m not asking about a physical heart, but a new way of being on the inside. Do you wish you could think, feel, and choose differently? Do you get tired of being tempted by the same sinful desires, thinking in the same mistaken ways, and willing to do what you know to be wrong? If so, then you probably do wish you had a new heart.

In Hebrew, the heart is not just the place where we feel emotions. It is the center of our interior life, the place of thinking and willing, as well as feeling. The spirit is that which animates us, giving us life and vitality. Thus, when God promises to give his people a new heart and a new spirit, he is talking about profound and pervasive inner transformation.

To be sure, the people of Israel needed this kind of heart transplant. For centuries, they had rejected God and his ways, to the point that their hearts had become hard as rock. They couldn’t help but resisting God because they has so steadfastly pushed him away.

Yet God is in the heart renewal business. Even with those who intentionally and consistently rejected him, God intends to renew them inside out, to remove their stony heart and replace it with a living one. This new heart will yearn for the Lord and his ways. It will seek the truth and choose to walk in it.

God is still in the heart renewal business. In this day, new hearts come as we put our trust in Christ, thus receiving the healing, life-giving presence of God’s Spirit. Yes, there will be times when the remnant of sin entices our hearts, times when we turn away from God. Yet if our hearts belong to him through Christ, God will not let go of us. He will continue to work away in us, helping us to live each day with renewed hearts.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: In what ways have you experienced the Lord giving you a new heart? In what ways is your heart still in need of further renewal?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, how I thank you for being in the heart renewal business. I thank you for promising to give your people a new heart and a new spirit. And I thank you for doing this very thing in me.

I believe, Lord, that I am a new creation in Christ. The old has indeed passed away. Yet, a remnant of the old remains in and around me as I await the fullness of your kingdom. So I ask you to continue to renewal my heart. Where there is any bit of hardness, soften it. Where I am still inclined to resist you, help me to open my heart to you.

All praise be to you, O God, giver of new hearts! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/do-you-wish-you-had-new-heart