Saturday, June 21, 2014

Reality of Sin

Isaiah 41:13   For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
John 15:18-20  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

While I usually cannot recall my dreams very well, the ones last night are memorable, not in detail, but for the feeling of dread I woke up with, several times.  First one consisted of the thousands of abortion babies crying out for justice as they had no chance to live.  There was an anger coming from them and a feeling of lost opportunities and painful death.  I fully believe these little ones are in heaven, I believe God embraces them quickly, but in this dream there is a time of pain and longing just before death they must go through before the assailant takes their lives. 
And our government pays and insists we pay for abortions.  There is a feeling of helplessness to get the government off this path and admit that abortion is murder.
In a later dream I was at some kind of a function where bakers were giving demonstrations of their abilities for couples about to be married.  They were required to be there.  They were required to give a 10% discount to gay couples and the Christians were crying as they had to attend or lose their license.  The gay couples were deliberately demanding services from the Christians and telling the other bakers, not to worry that eventually they would be the only ones left – they were going to force the Christians out of business.  It was not a comfortable night.
And our government insists individuals who have photography, floral, bakery or other service for those that are getting married – whether a large company or a sole proprietor – must give them the service even if it goes against the Biblical standards they hold. 
A Christian bakery closed doors in Gresham, Or. over this issue, a Christian baker in Colorado has not only been found guilty of discrimination, but lectured for his stand by the judge and ordered to take ‘sensitivity’ training.  A photographer (can’t remember where) has closed shop rather than violate his beliefs. I am sure there are many more examples out there – and there definitely will be many more coming.
It isn’t as if the gay community can’t go elsewhere to get services, it is a direct attack on Christians to force them to either deny their beliefs, close their doors or be charged with a crime for standing their ground.  
How long will it be before Christian churches that take stands against Gay marriage will be required to either perform them or close their doors?  There are some that say that will never happen, I am not so sure, satan is alive and well in America and I am sure he is very pleased with the results of his work, thus far.  He will keep attacking Christians using whatever means he can and he has willing accomplices everywhere.
Verse 22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
If we take this verse out of context it would appear the only reason a person sins is that Jesus has told them, personally, they have sinned; if He hadn’t said anything then they would be without sin.  That, of course is not true at all as we find throughout the Bible.  I believe He is making it clear that they hate Him because He calls them on their sin and tells them to believe on Him.  He brought the Word of God home to people and they chose not to listen or believe Him.  They are upset because they are being called sinners.  They have no excuse; their judgment will be all the harsher for their refusal to accept Him.  We should not expect a different response from us.  As Christ is hated and ridiculed for Who He is, so too are His servants. 
What is sad is those people that are rejoicing in their good fortune of having the government sanction their sins, are leading many people astray.  Not just those that have the propensity to make the same sinful decisions, but those that support the sinful life of these people because they love the person and don’t want to condemn them.  Many sinners are wonderful people, they help others, they contribute to society – but, they are still sinners who are facing condemnation from God.  It is a growing vortex that whirls about us sucking in those that it can find and sending them down to a murky hell. 
The propensity or desire to engage in a specific sin, whatever that may be is not a sin.  It only becomes a sin when we yield to our desires and the lusts of our hearts and commit the sin. However, even if we do not engage in the physical aspects, but allow our minds to embrace and focus on the lust and desire of that conduct that is offensive to God, we can find ourselves in sin.  Sanctioning these sins by society and government make them seem okay and the sinner has more difficulty understanding that God not only doesn’t approve of them, but He punishes those that engage in them.  Rather than seek forgiveness, they are encouraged to participate in the sins as if there were no consequences.
For the government to sanction sins in the manner it has been doing this past century, particularly the past couple decades, is going to cause God to turn from us – and I fear that is already happening.  As Christians we need to pray, we need to stand for Him wherever and whenever possible.
Satan is alive and well here in American.  He is destroying, with the blessing of the government, the very basis of the foundation of the nation.   And too many Christians are either burying their heads in the sand, or supporting the destruction.  We need to be understanding that sinners are human, they need the love of God and they need the loving admonition of God’s children.  But they also need to understand that they have no excuse, Sin is Sin – it hasn’t changed just because society and the world says it is okay, or that the activity ‘can’t be helped.’   Making something immoral to something legal, doesn’t change the fact it is immoral.
Drunkenness is still sin, lust, is still sin, promiscuity, adultery, lying, stealing, theft, murder is still sin and no matter how society paints the picture of addiction or ‘chromosomes’ or the way they are raised, etc. God views them as sins and He offers forgiveness and freedom from those sins – and without that forgiveness, through Christ, they are lost.  The sinner needs to understand that God is God and He doesn’t change just because we think He should.  He is not a milk toast as many Churches are teaching, He is an all-powerful God that hates sin and will hold the sinner accountable.  
How we as Americans, and particularly as Christians, can forget the terrible purges and disciplinary actions He laid on the Jewish nation when they took their eyes off Him and went their own sinful ways I do not understand.  He has made it clear that He will not continue to accept such behavior, but many are ignoring the warning signs, ignoring His Word and those that truly preach and teach it.  Unfortunately, as Christians we too – and our children - will suffer as the nation suffers from such short-slightness of our elected leaders, the judges and the bureaucrats that run the government – as well as leaders in several industries, including the media, that not only support those decisions but push for them.
May God have mercy on our nation; I just pray it isn’t too late.
From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous

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