Marriage: Reclaiming It As God has Determined

Continuing my series on taking back June from the Homosexual  Agenda (aka Gay Pride Month), as the traditional month for real marriage....

John MacArthur answers the question:

What can my spouse and I do to build a strong marriage?

You should both recognize that your marriage is first of all a commitment to Jesus Christ and then to each other. Your best defense against forces that will erode your marriage is for you both to maintain a deep, profound, and shared relationship with Jesus Christ and a commitment to obey God's Word. Your faithful, obedient walk with the Lord will keep you from stumbling.

Here are a few practical principles to follow:

Concentrate on your heart, not your appearance.

Concentrate on who your spouse really is, not on an ideal partner.

Concentrate on loving your spouse, not on your compatibility.

 (Go here for the full article that shares specifics along with Scripture).

Emotivism Run Amok

Some excellent points made:

KET’s debate on gay marriage was revealing.

First, it became apparent that when marriage is defined merely as the union of two persons without any regard to gender, the standard of who can enter such unions becomes limitless. When asked whether incestuous or polygamous relationships could enter into marital unions, no satisfying answer was given by either Mr. Hartman or Rev. Penwell. Both deflected the question, insisting that there is no groundswell of support for such unions. This is intellectually dishonest.

Secondly, Mr. Hartman’s chief argument for gay marriage was not the well-being of children, but emotivism—that gay couples ought to be happy and entitled to the same benefits of heterosexual marriages for the sake of cultural validation and stability. Emotivism is the reigning ethic for today. Emotivism expresses right or wrong as a collection of either positive or negative feelings. If something evokes a positive emotion, it is good. Emotivism casts off any knowledge of objective right and wrong and exchanges such notions for euphoria.

Over and over, Mr. Hartman appealed to the polling evidence that suggests approval for same-sex marriage is on the rise, and a dramatic rise at that. Using such phrases as “being on the right side of history” and accusing opponents of same-sex marriage as “gasping for air,” Mr. Hartman deploys the “myth of inevitability”—a clever rhetorical ploy that insists history is unidirectional. When people use the “right side of history,” it often means “their side of history.” To hold this, it assumes that history is always unidirectional—a belief, according to Jonah Goldberg of National Review—that requires large amounts of hubris to maintain.

Let’s dissect the “inevitability” language and see if it comports with reality.

The youth of America are always more liberal than older generations. We would expect youths to have such an opinion on gay marriage. Their opinions are inherently rejectionist and rebellious by design. Wait, though, and see what their opinion is once they themselves get married and have children and recognize the volatility of family life and the needs of children to be raised by their biological parents.

There are tremendous polling problems in how the gay marriage polling is conducted: If the polling question “Should gay marriage be illegal?” is asked, you get a difference result than “Should marriage be defined between one man and one woman?” And what we see, over and over in 32 states, that every time a marriage amendment is put on the ballot, traditional marriage wins overwhelmingly. North Carolina’s vote was 61% to 39%. The result was a larger margin of victory than was polled prior to the election.

Depending on the poll, you get different results—like this one, which says 62% of Americans believe marriage ought to be defined as between one man and one woman. There are also polling discrepancies. How people poll versus how they vote is disparate in the gay marriage debate. (C.f. Huffington Post: Gay Marriage Polls Not Reflected in Votes).

One could likewise believe that the abortion culture in America is inevitably stacked towards the pro-choice community for good. It sure felt like this in the 1970s. It felt that way until recently when polls began indicating that younger generations are more likely to be pro-life as technology has given insight into the intricacy of unborn, nascent life. Give it a few more years or decades, and we’ll see America’s slaughter of the unborn become less and less the inevitable reign that it is today.

The momentum behind gay marriage is a political mirage conveyed by coastal and media elites. But remember, the cosmopolitan disconnect so evident in Manhattan, NY would be unsellable in Manhattan, KS. To say that gay marriage is inevitable based on polling is an act of political theatre meant to rally and unite a base trying to claim a victory.

Third, whatever is novel and whatever is glamorized is always given momentum in the polls. We see this throughout television where gay culture is photo-shopped to be glamorous and trend setting. But ask yourself: Does television paint a clear picture of actual society? Do the two dads on Modern Family who gleefully dote on their children depict actual statistics? No. In fact, gay men are less desirous in choosing to raise children together, as studies indicate.

And in a groundbreaking study released this week, extensive research confirmed that children fare better when raised in stable, heterosexual households, which refutes the meme that childhood outcomes are not dependent upon gender.

Lastly, even liberal media outlets see that gay marriage is far from “inevitable” andmaybe the youth of America aren’t as accepting as we originally thought. When enough false tropes are trotted out, tropes like “Americans believe there are more homosexuals in the U.S. than Catholics,” the remedy to the problem is not more argumentation, but a sobering encounter with reality.

End quote.

 [Red, original, bold is my emphasis]

~  The Family Foundation of Kentucky  

John MacArthur discusses homosexuality and "gay marriage" on a panel on "The Larry King Live" show:

God-Hardened Hearts

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses." (Joshua 11:20)

One of the most bitter complaints of critics against the Bible is its portrayal of the severity of God, especially in His command to Moses to destroy all the Canaanites. "When the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them" (Deuteronomy 7:2). This seems more severe than ever when we read in our text that God Himself hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so that Joshua could destroy them.

But the notion that God is merely a kindly grandfather figure is a self-serving figment of man's sinful imagination. The New Testament reminds us that "our God is a consuming fire" and "the wages of sin is death" (Hebrews 12:29; Romans 6:23), and God doesn't change. "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).

As far as the Canaanites were concerned, God had given them 400 years to repent (Genesis 15:13-16), but each new generation had gone further away from God than the one before, and they were practicing (as archaeology has revealed) every form of debauchery known to man. It was an act of mercy by God toward all those who would come in contact with them in future generations to decree their destruction now. They had already irrevocably hardened their hearts toward God, so God now hardened their hearts against Israel. Thinking they could destroy God's people, they only hastened their well-deserved end. HMM

~ from ICR's "Days of Praise"

The Discipline of Patience by Henry Morris III, D.Min.

"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:4)

Patience, or endurance, is part of the development that produces the experience that brings hope and assurance to those who are the "twice born" (Romans 5:3-5). Patience is a discipline--a "work" that is necessary for our growth. Although such discipline never seems pleasant at the time, it is administered by our loving heavenly Father, who focuses His "work" on our spiritual maturity (Hebrews 12:5-8).

Our text contains several key aspects that promise victory through the process of learning patience. Wisdom is granted liberally as we ask for it during the testings that produce the "perfect work" (James 1:4) of patience. As those who love the Lord endure the testings that will surely come , the endurance practiced will produce a "crown of life" (James 1:12) as an eternal testimony to our patience.

Psalm 37 outlines the principles for gaining patience during this life. First, "trust in the LORD" (Psalm 37:3) and follow His leading in everything you do (Proverbs 3:5-10).

Second, delight in the Lord--get excited about Him (Psalm 37:4). That trait is amplified often in Psalm 119 (Psalm 119:16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 174). Then, commit your way to the Lord (Psalm 37:5), becoming like a branch attached to the vine (John 15:4-7).

Finally, rest in the Lord (Psalm 37:7) and wait on the Him (Psalm 37:34). That doesn't mean just "hang around." It means to be a fully prepared servant, waiting for his master's orders to implement. The "profitable" servant (Luke 17:10) learns what his master wants and stands ready to respond to the needs of the kingdom.

Patience is never obtained through bored indifference. HMM III

~From ICR's "Days of Praise"

Same Sex Ceremony in the Military Is Wrong

The Daily Caller reports:

Quote:

Two Republican congressmen and a military chaplains’ organization are crying foul after the U.S. Army confirmed that an Army chaplain officiated a same-sex wedding ceremony for two female soldiers last month in the base chapel at Fort Polk, La.

“The liberal social experiment with our military continues. A same-sex marriage-like ceremony should not have occurred at Fort Polk, especially since the people of Louisiana have made it abundantly clear that our state does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions,” Louisiana Republican Rep. John Fleming said on Wednesday.

“My frustration is compounded by the fact that a social agenda, which has nothing to do with military readiness or our national defense, is being imposed on our men and women in uniform.”

End quote.

More here.

I agree. This is a horrible idea, first of all because no Christian would dare violate God's created order in "marrying" two people of the same sex. Moreover, no true Christian would recognize such a relationship as valid, since God Himself has stated it is sin (Romans 1:23-32, Jude 7, 1Cor. 6:9-10). Also, the military should not be the place of a social experiment. And lastly, when the voters made it clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, which is in line both historically, biblically, biologically (fit and function), and culturally (well, until these Post-Modern days of Sodom and Gomorrah), such an act of defiance should not have occurred.

When Rome Calls: Reformers Running Back To The Roman Catholic Church

"As to your concern whether contemplative is being taught at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS, the sad truth is the seminary is promoting contemplative spirituality. Here are a few links from their site to show this. Incidentally, Reformed Theological Seminary has several campuses, and it appears that the campuses are essentially teaching and promoting the same things. Based on our findings, we have added Reformed Theological Seminary to our “Contemplative Colleges” list." ~Lighthouse Blog

For the examples of Contemplative Spirituality being taught at RTS go here.

So much for Scripture alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone....

The compromise begins by considering the Roman Catholic Church to ever have been a legitimate church.  This is why Reformed theology is wrong: its man-centered and leads to increasing compromise and anti-biblical practices.  The creeds and confessions, so often upheld as the shield of the faith for Reformers, have historically done little to keep error at bay. We only have Scripture as our Sword of the Spirit. It alone is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It alone is God-breathed:


2Ti 3:16  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Scripture is the mind of Christ, as it were. It is our plumbline, our test for all things, our anchor.

The spirit of compromise is everywhere and its sad, because it reveals a treacherous heart against the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Marriage: Reclaiming it as God has determined

Marriage is a serious matter. Two people take vows before not just people, but God Himself, to love and be united until the day one of them dies. God hates divorce because its separating what HE has joined together. When a man and a woman get married, they become ONE FLESH, a new unit, a family. Its a beautiful thing that reflects our Creator's wisdom. In fact, marriage is His picture of our relationship to Christ; something beautiful, loving, intimate, solid, and pure.


Mar 10:2  Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife.
Mar 10:3  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"
Mar 10:4  They said, "Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY."
Mar 10:5  But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
Mar 10:6  "But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.
Mar 10:7  "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER,
Mar 10:8  AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9  "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
Mar 10:10  In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again.
Mar 10:11  And He *said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;
Mar 10:12  and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery."

Reclaiming The Month of June As The Wedding Month of Legitimate Marriage

The definition of marriage by God Who is the Creator of all things:

Gen 2:18  Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."
Gen 2:19  Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
Gen 2:20  The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
Gen 2:21  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
Gen 2:22  The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
Gen 2:23  The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
Gen 2:24  For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Gen 2:25  And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Answers

Hypocrisy

Do You See Your Need for Jesus?

Come Ye Poor and Needy Sinners

1. Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.

2. Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.

3. Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you're better,
You will never come at all.

4. View Him prostrate in the garden;
On the ground your Maker lies.
On the bloody tree behold Him;
Sinner, will this not suffice?

5. Lo! th'incarnate God ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood:
Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.

6. Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

Chorus:
I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.


By Joseph Hart

The Negative Health Effects of Homosexuality

Homosexual activists attempt to portray their lifestyle as normal and healthy, and insist that homosexual relationships are the equivalent in every way to their heterosexual counterparts. Hollywood and the media relentlessly propagate the image of the fit, healthy, and well-adjusted homosexual. The reality is quite opposite to this caricature which was recently conceded by the homosexual newspaper New York Blade News:

Reports at a national conference about sexually transmitted diseases indicate that gay men are in the highest risk group for several of the most serious diseases. . . . Scientists believe that the increased number of sexually tranmitted diseases (STD) cases is the result of an increase in risky sexual practices by a growing number of gay men who believe HIV is no longer a life-threatening illness.[1]

Instability and promiscuity typically characterize homosexual relationships. These two factors increase the incidence of serious and incurable stds. In addition, some homosexual behaviors put practitioners at higher risk for a variety of ailments, as catalogued by the following research data....

~ Family  Research Council

End quote. Go here for the rest of the article which includes the statistics and citations of sources.  ~ Family  Research Council

There are benefits to obeying God's commandment of fidelity and purity. There are consequences for violating them.

**Update**

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune: "A new "superbug" strain of gonorrhea, seemingly resistant to all known antibiotics, could be headed for the United States as the sexually transmitted disease continues its global march....“If individuals use condoms consistently and correctly, you can prevent the transmission of gonorrhea,” she said. The disease can be transmitted through oral sex as well, she cautioned....Untreated, the disease can cause a number of health complications in women, including infertility. It can also increase a person's risk of contracting HIV and trigger other serious illnesses, including heart infections, she [Dr. Gail Bolan, director of the STD Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] said. "

1Ti 1:10  the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and

whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

1Co 6:9  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10  nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 

Jud 1:7  just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Rom 1:24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

Rom 1:25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Rom 1:26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;

Rom 1:27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Rom 1:28  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Rom 1:29  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

Rom 1:30  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

 Rom 1:32  Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 

Do not be afraid!

Do not be afraid!

"So do not be afraid--for I am with you;
do not be dismayed--for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand!"
Isaiah 41:10

God has arranged all our concerns with consummate wisdom, in the very best possible manner.

He overrules all events by His omnipotent power.

He directs all things by His paternal love.

If infinite wisdom, omnipotent power, and paternal love, are engaged for our present and eternal welfare--then our fears must be groundless, and ouranxiety folly. Our fears only . . .
dishonor God,
distress the mind,
please Satan,
and grieve the godly.

(James Smith, "The Believer's Companion in Seasons of Affliction and Trouble" 1842)

God's Plan for the Gay Agenda by John MacArthur

Time to re-post.

God's Plan for the Gay Agenda by John MacArthur

If you've been watching the headlines over the last couple years, you may have noticed the incredible surge of interest in affirming homosexuality. Whether it's at the heart of a religious scandal, political corruption, radical legislation, or the redefinition of marriage, homosexual interests have come to characterize America. That's an indication of the success of the gay agenda. And some Christians,including somenational church leaders, have wavered on the issue even recently. But sadly, when people refuse to acknowledge the sinfulness of homosexuality--calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20)--they do so at the expense of many souls.

How should you respond to the success of the gay agenda? Should you accept the recent trend toward tolerance? Or should you side with those who exclude homosexuals with hostility and disdain?

In reality, the Bible calls for a balance between what some people think are two opposing reactions--condemnation and compassion. Really, the two together are essential elements of biblical love, and that's something the homosexual sinner desperately needs.

Homosexual advocates have been remarkably effective in selling their warped interpretations of passages in Scripture that address homosexuality. When you ask a homosexual what the Bible says about homosexuality--and many of them know--they have digested an interpretation that is not only warped, but also completely irrational. Pro-homosexual arguments from the Bible are nothing but smokescreens--as you come close, you see right through them.

God's condemnation of homosexuality is abundantly clear--He opposes it in every age.

- In the patriarchs (Genesis 19:1-28)

- In the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13)

- In the Prophets (Ezekiel 16:46-50)

- In the New Testament (Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8)

Why does God condemn homosexuality? Because it overturns God's fundamental design for human relationships--a design that pictures the complementary relationship between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:22-33).

Why, then, have homosexual interpretations of Scripture been so successful at persuading so many? Simple: people want to be convinced. Since the Bible is so clear about the issue, sinners have had to defy reason and embrace error to quiet their accusing consciences (Romans 2:14-16). As Jesus said, "Men loved the darkness rather than the Light, [because] their deeds were evil" (John 3:19-20).

As a Christian, you must not compromise what the Bible says about homosexuality--ever. No matter how much you desire to be compassionate to the homosexual, your first sympathies belong to the Lord and to the exaltation of His righteousness. Homosexuals stand in defiant rebellion against the will of their Creator who from the beginning "made them male and female" (Matthew 19:4).

Don't allow yourself to be intimidated by homosexual advocates and their futile reasoning--their arguments are without substance. Homosexuals, and those who advocate that sin, are fundamentally committed to overturning the lordship of Christ in this world. But their rebellion is useless, for the Holy Spirit says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; cf. Galatians 5:19-21).

So, what is God's response to the homosexual agenda?

Certain and final judgment. To claim anything else is to compromise the truth of God and deceive those who are perishing.

As you interact with homosexuals and their sympathizers, you must affirm the Bible's condemnation. You are not trying to bring damnation on the head of homosexuals, you are trying to bring conviction so that they can turn from that sin and embrace the only hope of salvation for all of us sinners--and that's through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Homosexuals need salvation. They don't need healing--homosexuality is not a disease. They don't need therapy--homosexuality is not a psychological condition. Homosexuals need forgiveness, because homosexuality is a sin.

I don't know how it happened, but a few decades ago someone branded homosexuals with the worst misnomer--"gay." Gay used to mean happy, but I can assure you, homosexuals are not happy people. They habitually seek happiness by following after destructive pleasures. There is a reasonRomans 1:26 calls homosexual desire a "degrading passion." It is a lust that destroys the physical body, ruins relationships, and brings perpetual suffering to the soul--and its ultimate end is death (Romans 7:5). Homosexuals are experiencing the judgment of God (Romans 1:24, 26, 28), and thus they are very, very sad.

First Corinthians 6 is very clear about the eternal consequence for those who practice homosexuality--but there's good news. No matter what the sin is, whether homosexuality or anything else, God has provided forgiveness, salvation, and the hope of eternal life to those who repent and embrace the gospel. Right after identifying homosexuals as those who "will not inherit the kingdom of God," Paul said, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).

God's plan for many homosexuals is that they come to salvation. There were former homosexuals in the Corinthian church back in Paul's day, just as there are many former homosexuals today in my church and in faithful churches around the country. With regenerated hearts, they sit in biblical churches throughout the country praising their Savior, along with former fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, coveters, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. Remember, such were some of you too.

What should be your response to the homosexual agenda? Make it a biblical response--confront it with the truth of Scripture that condemns homosexuality and promises eternal damnation for all who practice it. What should be your response to the homosexual? Make it a gospel response--confront him with the truth of Scripture that condemns him as a sinner, and point him to the hope of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Stay faithful to the Lord as you respond to homosexuality by honoring His Word, and leave the results to Him.

~ John MacArthur   Source (bold, red, my emphasis)

Youth, Teens, & Adolescents- “Clean from the inside out”

Excerpts from Susan Reynolds Brackley  :

....We cannot deal with sin on a surface level any more than we can put a new and clean shirt on without washing our skin and think that the smell will disappear. Just as our bodies need to be clean from the private and hidden areas right on up…. our sins need to be dealt with from the heart.

Jas 3:13  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

Jas 3:14  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

Jas 3:15  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

Jas 3:16  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Jas 3:18  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

The book of Proverbs is written to instruct God’s people in wisdom. Did you realize that Proverbs has many specific teachings directed to your age and stage in life?

You may feel that because you are young that you have the whole world and plenty of time ahead of you….and perhaps some of you do. But what are you going to fill your lives with?

Proverbs says that youth is a wonderful time of life. Your vigor is ripe, your zeal is ripe, your health is usually ripe. But your wisdom is at a low point. God knows this and wrote specific things to you in His Word- because Jesus cares specifically about youth.

Youth have much going for them but they also have a few things going against them… 

like pride

bad relationships

not wanting to be led or taught

Naivety

bombardment of drugs

lack of wisdom

lack of help from godly and wise people

and lack of zeal for the right things in life … like Jesus and His Word.

Jesus did not create us to squander our young years on emptiness and selfishness. The decisions that you make today and tomorrow are what make up your life.

Don’t ever forget that -

Every drunk took his first drink once

Every sex offender went after his first victim once

Every person that is addicted to porn peeked into things that he / she shouldn’t have once

Every abuser struck their first victim once

Every smoker inhaled their first cigarette once

Every demonic person flirted with superstitions once

The decisions that you make today… have a great potential to carry on to make up your life.

Minutes turn into hours.

Hours turn into days.

Days turn into weeks.

Weeks turn into months.

Months turn into years.

Years are what make up your lifetime!

Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

For the entire article including her introduction and several passages of Scripture, go here.

Churchless People

‎"He that readeth sermons and good books at home to save his pains of going to hear, is a thief to his soul in a religious habit: he consults for his ease, but not for his profit; he eats cold meat when he may have had hot; he hazards losing the benefits of both by contemning of one."

~William Gurnall

This is very true today--so many churchless "Christians" who have no love for that which Jesus Christ died for. Its one thing to love the local church and desire to find one that is striving to please the Lord and sometimes is very hard to find--but indeed looks till it is found---but far MORE refuse to submit to the Lord under the local church's authority. They are rebels and frankly, don't belong in a church with such treacherous hearts against the King. They just need to stop calling themselves "Christians" and stop acting like they are more spiritual than the rest of us because they refuse to go to that which HE died for.

JC Penney: promoting sodomy for Father's Day

JC Penney is at it again, promoting the deviant and unnatural lifestyle of the sin of homosexuality. Sadly, the founder, JC Penney, was a Christian. What the people who are running the ship at JCP are doing is horrible. They are going against the founder's faith and principles. A real family is not made up of two mothers or two fathers. A real family has a mother and a father, husband and wife. The homosexuals will never have a legitimate "union" nor family as long as they remain in such an unnatural and immoral lifestyle.

To fight against JCP go here.

1Co 6:9  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality

Rom 1:23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Rom 1:24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

Rom 1:25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Rom 1:26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;

Rom 1:27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Rom 1:28  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Rom 1:29  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

Rom 1:30  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Rom 1:32  Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 





Gen 2:16  The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat
freely; 17  but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that
you eat from it you will surely die." 
Gen 2:18  Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a
helper suitable for him." ...22  The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken
from the man, and brought her to the man. 

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our

Lord.

1Co 6:9  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10
nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom
of God. 11  Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 

God can change anybody's life. Here is living proof.

False Prophets Are Knowable

I don’t need to be a prophet or the son of a prophet to know what your God is. I only have to watch your life.     ~Paul Washer

True Faith

Faith is not in the words we speak, nor in the manipulation of words we say but in the very person whom we put our trust.

                                               ~ Sue Reynolds 

What Do You Love More?

This needs repeating: "If we love Christian unity more than the purity and integrity of the Gospel, then we love Christians more than we love Christ." 

- Tony Miano

Politicians

God's Original Plan Is Not Frustrated

‎"To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to dethrone God." 


                                                                  - A.W. Pink

Banning a Person From a Mall For Intolerance Is Intolerant

Boxer Philippines Congressman Manny Pacquiao was scheduled to do an interview with the tv show "Extra" at The Grove but instead is banned from the mall by owner (who used public money for much of the building) Rick Caruso. 

Breitbart reports:

"The owner of The Grove, Rick Caruso, tweeted that iconic boxing great and Philippines Congressman Manny Pacquiao would not be allowed “on the premises” thanks to Pacquiao’s outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage. “Boxer Manny Pacquiao is not welcome @TheGroveLA,” he tweeted. “@TheGroveLA is a gathering place for all Angelenos, not a place for intolerance.” ' 

"What did heretofore-Obama-supporter Pacquiao do to earn the ban? He did an interview with the National Conservative Examiner in which he said, “God’s words first … obey God’s law first before considering the laws of man. God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married. It should not be of the same sex, so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.” '

This is nothing less than bigotry and hypocrisy. The minute you ban someone for their intolerance, you've just become intolerant yourself.

Perhaps now, Pacquiao will no longer support Obama, since he too came out in support of such a vile view.