One of the Ultimate Sins

In today's society, I feel pressured to accept homosexuality as "okay". Not only do I feel pressured by society, but I feel slightly pressured by my family. That is because I have a cousin who has chosen that path... We also have several other family friends who have chosen that path too. I used to think that it was okay because God created each person as who they are and we are to accept them they way they are. But as I have grown older and read more of the Bible, I have learned that God did not create us to be attracted to people of the same sex. There are no instances in the Bible where God blessed a same-sex couple, rather He laid His wrath upon them! God blessed the couples who were of different sexes, look at Abraham and Sarah who after some mistakes in putting their wants before God's timing, were blessed with a child. There are many other examples throughout the Bible which support this as well.

How should we handle this sin when it is within our own family? I tyipcally try to stay out of the discussion about it because I know I am probably the only one in my family who does not accept it as "okay", but this cannot be avoided forever. My cousin has said she hopes my move to a more conservative church will not change how I view her and her living decisions. That's exactly what they are... decisions. We all have the ability to stay away from sin if we simply rely on God, but if we give in to temptation, that is when we encounter trouble. My friend once said (about this topic) "I support the person, but not their decision". I think that is the stance that I have to take on this issue, especially if the person is one whom I care about, but I cannot support their decision to live in sin, but I can support and love them as a person.

I have heard churches preach on "keeping homosexuality out of OUR church" to the extent of not allowing homosexuals to step foot in their church. Should we take it that far? I understand not allowing membership to people who choose that path, but should we not allow them to come to our churches so that they could have the chance to hear the truth and realize that their chosen lifestyle is sinful? Yes, God detests this sin, but it does not mean that He will not forgive those living this lifestyle if they truly repent and change their ways. That should be our goal...to spread the truth about this choice that is becoming more and more common rather than trying to keep it out of OUR churches.

Blessings in Christ,

Who Would You Die For?

This was a question asked of us at church on Sunday. Who would you die for? Your parents? Your children? Your friends? Your God? Anything else...?

This past Sunday at church was recognition of the local police officers. The service included thanking them for putting their life on the line for their community and for strangers, which is similar to what Jesus did when He died on the cross for us. One might say, well wait, He knows all of us; yes he does. But He died for those of us who hadn't come yet sot hat even now, 2010 years later, we can have eternal life. He knew who we were going to be and what we were going to do, but at that time, we were strangers to Him. Now we are part of His community though and He died for His community, for His followers; I am forever grateful for His actions and the unselfish love that God showed in giving His only son to die for us mortals who cannot control our sin.

John 15:13 (NKJV) "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."

That is such a great description of Christ's love for us. As well as the kind of love we need to have for others.

Blessings in Christ,

They'll know we are Christians by our love

Sound familiar? It might because it is a popular Church song (at least at the Church I grew up in)... "And they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our love". Well that's the chorus at least!

I certainly hope the people that I interact with will think that I am a Christian because I truly do my very best to be kind to everyone that I meet. Granted, no matter how hard I try, I may not be as kind as I should. Not only kind, but patient and loving.

Now, the other day I was listening to "What if I Stumble" by dc talk. Yes, it is more of a Rock Christian band, but I like some of their songs :) The beginning of the song is narrative saying "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable".

Am I supposed to be only kind to my unbeliving neighbors? No. I ought to be kind to my Christian neighbors as well. Which sometimes is actually more difficult because they should know what is wrong and what is right, but as we all know, that is not always the case. Anyway, one of my friends has a saying, "don't hate the sinner, hate the sin". I find myself repeating this saying often when I am trying to be friendly to my Christian neighbors, even the ones that do not realize they are sinning or I hate to even say it, but care that they are sinning.

How we approach our unbelieving neighbors will have a lot to do with how we can help them. If we do not be kind and cautious in our approach, we may overwhelm them with the wonderful news of our Lord. If we lead them to believe that we NEVER stumble or have our doubts, how could we gain them as a fellow brother or sister in Christ? I know I definitely have my stumbles and doubts occasionally. But as soon as I immerse myself in the word of our Lord, I am reminded of why I am here and why I will have eternal life, even if not on this world!

I think dc talk did a good job of highlighting the common frets and worries of someone who looks at Christianity. Either we honor our Lord on Sundays alone (or even worse, while we are just at Church) or we act like we are perfect and have no worries or problems.

You may be thinking "Chelsea, what on earth are you going for? You've gone all over the board in this post". Well hopefully I can tie it all up here for ya :) As Christians, our unbelieving neighbors should know we are Christians by the love and kindness we show to them. No matter what might of happened to cause us to not want to love and show kindness. In doing so, we shall teach them about our Lord, but also, we must not be afraid to share our stumbles with our neighbors! We can all learn from other's questions or mistakes :)

Remember in school..."there is no such thing as a silly question except for those left unasked"? That still applies {grins}.

A few questions each of us needs to answer and be truthful with ourselves on.
- How do my neighbors view me? Both believing and unbelieving.
- What kind of Christian AM I?
- What kind of Christian do I WANT to be?
- And finally, what do I need to do to get there?

Blessings in Christ,