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Tag Archives: Condemnation

Today’s Christian Hatred is The True Sin of Sodom

06 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Jef in .

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Condemnation, Hatred, Homosexuality, Sin

CHRISTIAN HATREDPretty bold statement isn’t it? Sometime’s what we have been taught about history or the bible isn’t what we’ve been told.  I urge you to please read this other way of looking at the Story of Sodom and Gomorrah and understand that what you were taught about the sin of Sodom could be all wrong.

A few months back I was asked by a long time acquaintance how I could explain or condone living my life as a Gay man in reference to the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Was I offended at this question? Not really. But what does offend and sadden me is that Christian’s listen to their preachers, bishops, priests, etc.. and instead of reading and studying the Bible, they just accept what they have heard and been told for decades, and believe it to be the truth. Using it to knock down those they don’t understand.

Experts on both sides of the homosexuality issue agree that this story has nothing to do with homosexuality, but there are people that just can’t let it go. Their life long hatred and disdain of people they don’t understand, as well as not taking the time to invite them to the table to learn who they really are. It is a whole lot easier to stay in their mode of hatred and continue their lashing out. They just can’t be happy unless they are part of the haves and can push someone down as the have not’s. Believing that they are doing the work of God. Welcome to America.

If I sound bitter. I am sorry. But I have heard and read the hatred and bigotry against me and the gay community for 50 years, and just about every day, so I think I earn that right.

I personally don’t believe in taking everything my pastor tells me as total truth. Humans are infallible and will preach what they were taught in their theological seminaries. Often, most of them attending the same schools or thoughts of learning. This is why I host a bible study group. To get new insights and different opinions. This is why I jump at the chance to take the time to attend any class having to do with the study of the Bible. I have also been known to search the internet for hours on a subject that just won’t seem to leave my mind.

People find it easier to listen to and believe what they are told by their elders, then to study the bible for themselves, or take a class, or read a book of other perspectives.

I never really thought this story was about homosexuality, but when the chance came my way to attend a seminar, study the Bible and what it says about homosexuality, I jumped at the chance.

It should be well understood by now that being Gay is not something that we choose. So living my life as a gay man is wrong? This is my natural self. I can’t change. It’s like me telling you to change the color of your skin or your eyes. Even better yet.. telling you that you have to be Gay. We can’t just pray it away. Trust me, many, as well as I have tried and tried and tried. I have begged God and I have pleaded. It is what I am, not who I am. Just as there is not a heterosexual set lifestyle, neither is there a gay lifestyle of which I also blogged about in “You Don’t Get to Define Me or My Walk”

People tend to take the bible literally. I believe that the Bible should be taken in its historical context and how it related to the people, places and language of that day. And yes, the bible relates to us today and has meaning for how we should live out our lives but to take the entire bible literally just doesn’t work unless you fit it all together in it correct context.

The Story of Sodom and Gomorrah as told in Genesis 19:1-22 is the most widely known and used passage to knock down the gay community. The word sodomy was actually coined by Paul Cantor, who was a French Catholic Theologian in the 12th century **as mentioned below, and ever since that time. Sodom and Gomorrah’s doom has been linked to Sodomy.

What I personally find hysterical is you can look up the word sodomy and they distinctly reference that the word was not used until 1300AD yet they also link it back to the story of Sodom. How can this be possible if the word was not in use at the time? Nor was the word homosexual first used until the 1800s, nor was it even placed in any bible until the mid 1900s.

If this story was about homosexuality, there were about 20 words that were known in that day that could have been used to specifically call it out, of which none were used.

Genesis 19:1 Clearly states, “Two angels came to Sodom in the evening.” This changes the story. How can we be talking about homosexuality if these were not even human men, but angels. Even if they appeared as men, would not you consider that humans having sex with Heavenly beings to be unnatural? When we see later verses this becomes more clear. Jude 1:7 speaks of those in Sodom going after “strange flesh” (Greek words: sarkos heteras) which is equated to “going after one not of the same nature or class.” It is obvious that two people of identical gender would be of the same nature or class even more than a male and female. Humans are in a different nature and class to angels just as we are in a different class to animals. Therefore, “strange flesh” is referring to angel and human relations and/or inner-species sex, not gay/lesbian sex.

Also note in Verse 4 of the scripture, it states that ALL men (young and old). We estimate in today’s society that roughly 10% of the population are either of a gay or bi-sexual nature, and even that seems to be a high number. If this passage was about homosexuality, why is it that all the men (not the 10%) but all the men were interested in raping and having sex with these two men (angels)? I really find it hard to believe that all the men in one city were gay. And if these men were homosexuals, why offer your daughters to them for sex? They would have no interest.

During this time, forcing sex on a man was a way of humiliating them. During war, besides raping the women and slaughtering the children, the victors would often also “sodomize” the defeated soldiers. The idea behind this was to insult the men by treating them like women. The practice of male to male anal sex was that it took a powerful man and made them as inferior as women, and pieces of property at the service of men. Rape was seen as a way to humiliate enemies and strangers.

Your probably thought to yourself, what a cruel man Lot was to offer his two virgin daughter’s to be raped by all the men. As sad and corrupt as it sounds in our day, women in those times were simply possessions or objects, and because of their low status, what Lot did was considered a minor transgression. However, it seems as though in this case, when the crowd wouldn’t stop, the angels ended up saving Lot and his daughters and blinded all the men.

Another version of this story can be found in Judges 19:20-26  In both, sexual assault highlights the “wickedness” so often mis-attributed to homosexuality. In the Judges version, there is no mention (or hint) of homosexuality, further supporting the idea that the lesson was so important it bore repeating: meanness, cruelty, abuse, and hard-heartedness (all couched in in-hospitality) are the true sins here; therefore, the story should not be used to support anti-gay rhetoric.

Although this story in Genesis clearly is somewhat about sex, the big picture here is that the men in Sodom and Gomorrah were just jerks, and it was destroyed due to severe wickedness, in-hospitality and breaking the laws of God. The law to treat aliens well. Because the Israelites were once aliens in the land.  Deuteronomy 24:17-18   Leviticus 19:33-34

Jesus also had this to say about in-hospitality in Luke 10:8-12

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them,‘The kingdom of God has come near to you. ’But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say,‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you.Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Lot was the only one kind enough to offer the travelers a place to stay. The city of Sodom was located in the Desert and to stay outside in the cold of night, would have been deadly. The rule of Lot’s society as well as those of the Semitic and Arabic cultures was to be hospitable to travelers. It was a very strict rule of that day , that no one was to harm even an enemy who had been offered a place to stay.

In the Middle East, a person’s survival could depend upon the charity of strangers. To help strangers was a solemn religious duty of paramount importance.
See Leviticus 19:33-34 and Matthew 25:35, 38 and 43.

Specific sins which Sodom is linked to include adultery and lying (Jeremiah 23:14), impenitence (Matthew 11:23), careless living (Luke 17:28), fornication (Jude 1:7 KJV), and an overall “filthy” lifestyle (2 Peter 2:7), which word (“aselgeiais”) elsewhere is rendered in the KJV as lasciviousness (Mark 7:22; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Ephesians 4:19; 1 Peter 4:3; Jude 1:4) or wantonness (Romans 13:13; 2 Peter 2:18).

In Ezekiel 16, a long comparison is made between Sodom and the kingdom of Israel. “Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.” (v. 47, NASB) “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me.

There is no explicit mention of any sexual sin in Ezekiel’s summation and “abomination” is used to describe many sins.

The Authorized King James Version translates Deuteronomy 23:17 as “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel,” but the word corresponding to “sodomite” in the Hebrew original, Qadesh (Hebrew:קדש), does not refer to Sodom and has been translated in the New International Version as “shrine prostitute“; male shrine prostitutes may have served barren women in fertility rites rather than engaging in homosexual acts; this also applies to other instances of the word sodomite in the King James Version.

According to the Wisdom of Solomon 19:13-14 the sin of Sodom was “bitter hatred of strangers…making slaves of guest who were their benefactors.”

The History of the word Sodomy or Sodomite

**By the latter half of the 12th century, an increasingly conformist Europe found minorities of all kinds, including homosexuals, to be irritating. Tracts against them began to appear, and propaganda intended to incite anger became common. One of the favorites was the accusation that minorities were guilty of killing Christian children.

The rise of intolerance did not subside, but as the years ticked by, it actually increased, resulting in the witchhunts in France, which depopulated whole regions of that country, and the Spanish Inquisition, which continued it’s harsh repression into the 17th century. While the Spanish Inquisition was without a doubt the harshest, the Inquisition itself was a church-wide phenomenon whose harshly repressive hand was felt throughout the Catholic world.

The Muslims and Jews were, of course, not the only ones to feel the heavy hand of the Inquisition. Sexual minorities were particular targets, as the pressure to conform increased. Social critics began to single out gay people for special persecution. Peter Cantor (d. 1197) was the first to argue that Romans 1:26-27 referred specifically to gay people. The term “sodomy” came, for the first time and against all theological precedent, to refer exclusively to homosexual sex.

At Cantor’s urging, the Lateran III Council of 1179 became the first to rule specifically on homosexual acts, along with moneylending, heresy, as well as the arch-heresies of Judaism and Islam. Even though the wording of the regulations on sex meant to punish all non-procreative sex, it was eventually construed, particularly in later centuries, as referring to homosexual sex specifically. It passed into the permanent collections of canon law in the following century, and became the basis of the Catholic ban on homosexuality.

I have to agree with what Daniel A Helmeniak PH.D. wrote in his book, “What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality” regarding the sin of Sodom in today’s society.

“Even Jesus understood the sin of Sodom as the sin of in-hospitality. Other passages in the Bible come right out and say the same thing. Yet people continue to cite the story of Sodom to condemn gay and lesbian people.

There is a sad irony about the story of Sodom when understood in its own historical setting. People oppose and abuse homosexual men and women for being different, odd, strange or, as they say, “queer.” Lesbian women and gay men are just not allowed to fit in. They are made to be outsiders, foreigners in our society. They are disowned by their families, separated from their children, fired from their jobs, evicted from apartments and neighborhoods, insulted by public figures, denounced from the pulpit, vilified on religious radio and TV, and then beaten in the schools and killed on the streets and in the backwoods of our nation. All this is done in the name of religion and supposed Judeo-Christian morality.

Such wickedness is the very sin of which the people of Sodom were guilty. Such cruelty is what the Bible truly condemns over and over again.”

So to those of you who oppress homosexuals because of the supposed “sin of Sodom” may yourselves be the real “sodomites,” as the Bible understands it.

40% of the young homeless teens and young adults are there because their parents threw them out for being gay/lesbian/transgender and did it in the name of God. Thrown in the streets to become forgotten. Living on drugs and alcohol to cope. And then you turn around and treat them and us like SHIT because we chose the dark path. Let’s not forget that YOU threw us there. YOU couldn’t love unconditionally as Jesus and YOU just couldn’t try to work it out in your head. YOU are the problem. You were the hypocrite. YOU are the cause of so much strife. YOU are far from being like Jesus. YOU are guilty.

The sin of many of today’s Christian’s is their love for hatred. Their in-hospitality to invite not only their gay neighbors into their community, into their church, their homes and into their hearts, but for their in-hospitality and hatred for their muslim neighbors, and illegal immigrants from near and far. Just listen to the rhetoric of the presidential candidates, and those who support them.

The sin of Christians’ is to separate and divide the church instead of coming together as one. Their sin is not to allow those who wish to know and follow Jesus to come and only wish to push them further away. Their sin is slander. You don’t know how we live our lives. Just like the heterosexual.. There is no set lifestyle. Stop worrying about us and start worrying about yourself. Many of us are better examples of living like Christ they you are.

The Good news is that God’s grace and mercy is for all of those who believe. I am not sure he is very concerned with our correct theology and 100% correctness of what the Bible has to say, but His biggest concern is love and that we believe in what he has done for us. Thank God.

James 1:12
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

“Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the law demands.

Please do me a favor. If you read or liked my post. please rate it below and may God bless you always.

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United WE Stand

06 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by Jef in .

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Acceptance, Condemnation, Grace, Homosexuality, Injustice, Relationship

all_are_welcomeAs with most groups in our society, inclusion of a few and exclusion of others is usually involved. Groups are generally based on similar interests, types of people or situations. Religion is of no difference. As I see it however; Christianity should be different, as it’s roots and beginnings are much different then all others. The deepest impulse of the Bible is toward inclusion, that all of God’s creatures be accorded dignity, respect, safety and a sense of belonging.

Unfortunately, we live in a society that is largely exclusionary that debilitates, divides, excludes and distinguishes between the haves and the have not’s.

In our newly formed home group we decided to start with the study of Acts, which is quite fitting for a new home group as Acts is a book about new beginnings. A new church, new law. God living within us, speaking to us and healing thru us. New believers and people meeting not only in church on Sunday, but in homes all week, eating, praying, studying and loving God together. We find that God is announcing that there shall be no more exclusion or hint of it, but total inclusion of all people.

There was always tension between the Old Testatment Jews and the non-Jews (the outsiders known as the Gentiles). Jews believed they were chosen by God to only be able to worship God. They also believed that they came from God and the Gentiles not so. And although they really were no better then the Gentiles, they felt they had to work harder to please God. They were very harsh in the judgement of the Gentiles behavior that failed to respect God’s laws, and always felt the Gentiles had to be put in their place and kept at arms length. And now they find that even the Gentiles are included in this plan of salvation.

1 John 5.1

Today, Christian communities and their congregations seem to think that they have exclusive rights to God and to Salvation. That they somehow are above others and just as the Jews were, are harsh in their judgements and treatment of others or outsiders, because they don’t understand them.

Just as the Jews felt the Gentiles had no right to be included due to their lack of keeping the laws that were given to them, Christians today like to divide. To pick and choose those, they feel should be excluded from their churches: to worship, to follow Jesus and receive the free gift of salvation. That is not their right. Only God gets that choice, and God NEVER chose to divide or exclude based on anything other then you walking away from him and not believing in his plan of Salvation. THEY DO NOT get to spell out how or what someone’s walk with God should be or should look like. They do not get to choose who is in or out. God’s plan is perfectly Inclusive of ALL people who wish to come to him.

Acts 2:21 God does not exclude anyone who calls on the name of the one and only true Lord. In verse 2:17 God says, “He will pour out his spirit on ALL people”

God used persecution to cause the quickest expansion of a “new faith” in the history of the world.

God does great and wonderful things and wishes for all people to be saved. Which is why I believe he hasn’t come back yet. Did you ever stop to think that perhaps, God waited until the controversy of Gay Marriage and inclusion of the Gay community into the church came to fruition to start a new thing?

Or perhaps it could be the acceptance of Transgenderism. Perhaps he is waiting for more Muslims to see the darkness of Islam and to turn to Christ, which thousands daily are turning to Christ. Waiting for vary large controversy to stir up the hearts and minds of Christians to shed light on how their ostracization has truly split and divided the church? God always has a timing and waiting for everything.

Christians love to complain about how people or certain groups of people have gone down a path of destruction. Into sexual perversion, drugs, alcoholism, prostitution, worshiping the devil, and all kinds of others things they say disgust them. But the truth be known. The Christians are the ones who threw them into those pits, by excluding them from the church and their lives. Parents who thru out their own child because they came out to their parents as being homosexual.

Everyone wishes to be a part of a group or something special. Being a part of God is one of those things that due to the Holy Spirit, spoken of in Acts, living innately within all of us, is that, which draws us to need, seek and want God. Yes.. even us; the vile and disgusting homosexuals who God wants nothing to do with. But when you throw people out, they will and do search for places where they are accepted and included, and most of the time, if that place is not church or the home they grew up in, then it leads them to the dark places of the world. So next time you so called perfect and sinless Christian’s complain about the path that some have taken, step back, and take a look at yourself first. How you shunned us and quite honestly threw us out into the streets to become exactly what you wanted us to be. The broken. The depressed. The addicted. The marginalized. Your excluded trash.

Because you don’t understand people who don’t fit in your perfect little narrow minded box of what Christian’s should look and act like doesn’t make us the worst or most detestable to God. This doesn’t give you the right to take passages out of the bible and out of context and use them to clobber and to knock down those who you don’t understand, to make you feel better about yourself. Let’s not forget that your divorce, your re-marriage, your lying, your gossiping, your slander of us, your heterosexual affairs, and your sex before marriage is just as detestable to him. It’s no better and it’s no worse. It is all equal sin and all equally forgivable.

Stop and think about it. Those of us who have been put thru your hatred and your bullying and still desire to worship God, could quite possibly earn more rewards in heaven then those of you who got the easy path.

There are groups of people that I just can’t wrap my head around either, but instead of excluding them from my life, from church or suppressing them from knowing the life and teachings of Jesus, I would prefer to sit at the table with them, as Jesus did and would do, and have a normal conversation. To know what makes them tick. To love them and to understand them as an equal human as Jesus has asked of us to do.

Being Gay and having now been in Church for three years now, I have experienced all sides. I have felt shunned, I have felt detested and I also have been loved beyond measure. And the longer I attend church, the more I see that God is working miracles and something big is happening.

I see and read about hundreds and thousands of those in the LGBT community finally standing up and saying to religion. WE have had enough. WE are going to worship God and if you don’t like it, WE don’t care. WE will create our own churches. WE will be the leaders. WE will be the doers, and WE will be the lovers of Jesus that He created us also to be. WE, just like you were made just as we are. Unlike you, WE will disciple and help to convert. WE will not suppress anyone. WE will open our communities to everyone, just as God and Jesus wanted it. WE will take the church back to its all inclusive roots. WE will welcome all people into our doors. The Jews. The Atheists. The Gentiles. The hungry, the poor and oh… WE will feed them to. You don’t have to believe in Jesus… just come on in. WE will welcome you here.

That is what my new church (Mission Gathering) is all about. We are a new beginning. A New life. A New love. I have only been attending here for about four months now, and although my last church was filled with love, something happened there last year that I ended up falling away and hating God as well as infuriating anger at some of the members there for almost the entire year.. It was rough. My mid-life crisis didn’t help that situation much either. But this new church…. Doesn’t just say all are welcome, but they live it.

And what happens when you open your doors to all? You create something new. You bring more people to the “Good News” and the word of God as it was intended. You bring more people to the table of Jesus. Which leads to more believers and followers of Jesus. It creates lives being transformed from caterpillars crawling in the dirt to beautiful butterflies with wings spread wide and flying high in the love of God. It brings more to his plan of salvation.

This is why He waits to come. Wanting more of his children to come to him for salvation. To make a true decision for themselves. Not by what they were told as a young child or adult. How they are hated and excluded for being different. But the TRUTH of how they are fully loved, fully accepted and fully forgiven by God.

Hatred has NEVER…. EVER… brought anyone towards anything that is fruitful. Love has always, and will always win.

My fellow Christians, I beg you to to stop separating, bullying, and lying and start uniting as at the day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts. To start converting. Stop dissuading and suppressing. Stop using clobber versus because that’s what you know. How about you study and actually read your bible and learn that those verses you have drilled into your head by fellow Christians, priests, television, magazines, etc.. are out of context and are complete crap. I urge you to stand together in a common goal and not get caught up in antics or what you believe is theological correctness.

Division is what got us all here in the first place. Jesus doesn’t choose sides, and neither should we. As a nation and even as Religion, we would all be better served if we all just loved and treated each other with the respect and dignity that God taught us to be.

Regardless of who you are or where you are at in life, don’t let any Christian, or their church tell you that you are not welcome or included in God’s plan of salvation and forgiveness. That you aren’t welcome in their church to fully partake of all they have to offer. If you are made to feel that way. Run. And run fast and as far away from it as you can. Find another place that will welcome you.

I pray you will or have found a place of safety. A place to partake. Don’t just settle in. Get involved. Volunteer. Join a group of fellow members in study and life. Soak it all in. Times of both good and bad will always be around in life, but knowing the truth and living it with others will help you survive and enjoy all that God has to offer.

 

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Only Love and Understanding Can Win!!!!

27 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by Jef in .

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angry, Condemnation, Homosexuality, Injustice, Overcome, struggle

lovewinsImagine living in a world where you are not able to love, not be in a romantic or intimate relationship, not have a family. A world where you are always made to feel less then or the worst of. A world where you could make a difference, but not allowed. A world where you are not even allowed to love God or follow Jesus. A world where God’s love and forgiveness is for everyone, except you. Then imagine the sadness of not being able to change your feelings and realizing that you have no choice in who you are attracted to.

Gay people all across the United States are celebrating the Supreme court ruling on gay marriage. And the very same day, Christians, Governors, etc are already fighting back. The Governor of Texas stating that this will not be allowed in his state.

The passing of this law wasn’t about the gay community getting back at or defeating Christian’s or religion. In fact many of us have true and deep spiritual beliefs. It doesn’t prevent you from holding true to some of your ridiculous beliefs and convictions. This was about America. What a great country we have. A country that has evolved around so many issues that have only made us better and stronger.

This is not going to end marriage. Some of you have done that on your own. This will not ruin the sanctity of your marriage. It won’t even affect most of your lives. It only will, because you have such a hatred for Gays, that you will make it that way. Just as you do the Jews, the Muslims, the African Americans, those who have abortions, etc..etc.. You just can’t let it go. It doesn’t have to affect you. Most of you have no idea what it is like to be criticized your entire life just for being who you only know how to be… did you choose to be heterosexual? Nope.. Neither did we choose to be us. It just is. Continue reading →

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The Wounds that only Selfless Love Could Heal!

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by Jef in .

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Acceptance, Anger, Christians, Condemnation, Injustice

its-not-all-about-youAs we celebrate Easter Sunday, which for me is the most beautiful and hopeful day of the year, It reminds me how unfair, hatefilled and wretched we are to one another. And need a Savior to save us from each other. I, once again, find myself directly in the middle of controversy. Understanding and wanting to be for; yet mad at both sides of Indiana’s Anti-Gay law. Saddened and angered again at injustice. At how the Christian’s, Politicians, Employers, Lawyers, Etc. have failed to get it, and have used the name of God and Christianity to, once again, use His name to create a law that could be misconstrued and could ultimately be used to discriminate in many various ways.

Please keep in mind that when I use the term Christians. I by no means imply all Christians. Thankfully, the haters are fewer then the whole of us, but unfortunately, as always, the haters have the loudest and ugliest voice. And trust me. I am far from perfect, and am sure that I myself, am guilty of many of these wrongs in one way or another, just as we all are.

Will this post will be quite melodramatic? Yes.. Will it offend a lot of people? Most likely.. But COME ON!!! Why don’t the hateful Christian’s wake up and see that they are causing a lot of the problems. This life is not about You.. It’s about us.. It’s about loving your neighbor and bringing forth people to God. Continue reading →

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Can Setting Free a Man Found to be 100% Guilty, Ever Be Justified?

12 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by Jef in .

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Condemnation, Forgiven, Grace, Justified, Mercy, Righteous, Sin

ripleys-believe-it-or-not-sliceIn the Eye’s of God. The answer to that Question is a 100%… YES

Have you seen the show, “Ripley’s-Believe it or Not? We are given a story line that seems fake, yet could be believable, and your left with the question, can this really be true?. What I am about to tell you is not only true; but like all of Ripley’s fun, weird and crazy facts, and just as the banner above states, it is also Outrageous, Amazing, Unbelievable, Bizarre, Incredible, Unconventional, and most all, is hard to wrap our heads around.

Our home group has been studying the Book of Romans and although we have only gotten up to Chapter 6 and I personally Chapter 8 at the time of this blog, I have immersed myself in it. By my title of this post, you can tell that the book of Romans has become my favorite book of the Bible.  I have listened to nearly 100 sermons, read much about it on the internet, and read different bible versions of Romans. And after all of this searching, reading and listening, I know that I haven’t even scratched the service. And I most certainly won’t be able to explain all that I have learned thus far here in this one post.

If you haven’t read the Bible and don’t know where to start or don’t know much about what Christianity is all about. This is the one Book of the Bible where you should start. It is a good summary of what Christianity is all about. The first few chapters are a little difficult to get through and at first you think.. Oh Man.. we are in trouble and God is definitely not happy with us AT ALL!!! Hold on and don’t get all freaked out.. The Good News is coming just a few chapters in. Continue reading →

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Literally Speaking-Wrestling with Questions about Sexual Orientation

26 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Jef in .

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Acceptance, Christians, Church, Condemnation, Forgiveness, Gay, Grace, Homosexuality, Joy, Relationship

At the beginning of each year, our pastors asks the members of the congregation to submit questions in which we are personally seeking answers to. We call it the Tough Question series. Out of all the submissions, some of the toughest ones are are picked out and touched upon in sermons. This past week was “Sexual Orientation”.

A few weeks back, I finally met with my Pastor, as we had mentioned one day that we needed to meet for coffee and just get to know each other and talk about a few questions that I had. He surprised me by popping the question, “Would you like to share your story in church?” My heart jumped out of my throat & I started shaking just thinking about it, but I was honored & Up for the challenge. It was kind of my little way to get it all out there, and touch a few people; maybe change some minds or open their hearts.

I knew that this issue generally came up in Tough Questions every other year, and about 8 months ago, I had a feeling that I should start writing down my thoughts and I did just that. As soon as I got home from meeting with my Pastor, I opened it up again and started editing right away. Over the course of the next few weeks, it was changed at least 100 times up until the morning of my talk. So below is the video as well as some final thoughts I was unable to share due to time issues, and some wonderful experiences I have had from this most joyous experience. I forgot a lot of things that I wanted to include, but if you have read my blog, you know those experiences.

If you are out there and struggling with an addiction or struggling with God not accepting you. My prayer is that this will change your mind, that you will seek God and know that EVERYONE is forgiven and EVERYONE is invited to sit at the table with Jesus. You are his child and he wants a relationship with YOU.

There are millions of people suffering tremendously and all should be able to come to Jesus without condemnation and then given a chance to accept his love or not. But when being told that they are not worthy before given a chance to know different; what a terrible loss. Salvation is a serious issue. And I sadden at the loss of anyone.

To those struggling with trying to fit being gay with being Christian and following Jesus all into the same place. It is possible and although I have and do still struggle. I never thought that I could have a freedom and joy that I now have.

God’s love is unconditional, and no matter who you are or what you are addicted to, struggling with or going thru. Forget the Past.. You Can’t change it. Don’t let it, or anyone else for that matter disqualify you from God’s Love. Come to God and Focus forward. God is for you and He wants nothing but the best for you. He is not wrathful or full of hatred & despite what you have heard; that God Hates you for being a Fag, that you are worthless or that your sin is unforgivable and your sin is the worst sin there is… NOTHING is farther from the truth!!!

Don’t give up on God. He has not and will never give up on you. He loves you and wants nothing more then a relationship with you. Join a church that fits you and get to know the real Jesus. He will stand by you wherever you are at in life. And even if you backslide into your old ways. He will still be there to stand with you to hold out his hand and help you back up. His love will never fail you.

My favorite way to say it is this, “Just as that shower you take every day gets rid of the dirt and grime from yesterday.. Dip your foot into the water, get a feel for the temperature and how warm it feels. Jesus will start to clean your brokenness and your hurting. Soon you will find yourself immersed deep in the water, being fully enveloped, fully cleansed and fully washed with the grace, mercy, & forgiveness that is the blood of Jesus.

I need to give a resounding, “Thank You” to everyone within my church community whom have prayed for me, spent personal time with me, or just touched me thru a smile, a warm embrace, a weekly hello, the support and just the general good feel that I and my partner have felt in this church from day one. This is what it is all about. To accept every individual for who they are and wherever they may be in their process. With love and Jesus all things truly are possible. The first 50 years of my life have been troubled, but I look forward to the best 50 years of my life and to see what God has in store for me.

I end with this final verse:

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 The Message Version

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.

Experiences:

While taking communion; a fellow church member leaned over to me, introduced herself & said, “Jef my name is…. and I am so honored to share communion with you.

A college student said that he could relate to my story & thankful for me sharing.

Another church member stated his sister whom is in high school was lesbian, and his mother a devout catholic, which made it strained for his sister to gain acceptance. He said that he can’t wait to share the video with his sister.

A good friend of mine was told by her pastor 10 years ago not to speak to a young man because he was Gay. Being young she did what the pastor said. She later found out that her gay friend got into drugs and alcohol and has been trying to find him thru facebook or anywhere, having no luck. During my talk, she all of a sudden remembered his phone number and gave him a call. They are meeting again for lunch this week.

Another fellow member posted on facebook a huge thanks for me and my pastor for touching on this issue and hoping that this video would go viral.

Another fellow member messaged me thru facebook. Thanked me for sharing. That it was great to have an actual human face-a personal connection to the issue, that he has much to learn and process, but I helped to move him forward in his thinking.

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