Homosexuality

      Homosexuality is a burning hot topic, many times people just avoid talking about it so relationships aren't strained between families, co-workers, and friends. I personally don't believe it is morally right to be engaged in a homosexual relationship, my reasons I will explain later. What really pains me is how people go about discussing the topic. It is one of those subjects that I believe Socrates and Plato would spend a whole day or more discussing, reason being, strong emotions of two people are involved.

      Emotions play a strong part when discussing a topic, politicians use it daily, think of how many times you hear or see this. Healthcare: this woman and her child can't afford care so now the child is suffering unnecessarily. Gun laws: Children were killed in this school shooting and families are hurting, so we need to take away guns. Homosexuality: These two gentlemen love each other and have been in a committed relationship for over a decade, but they can't get a gym membership together, a cake shop refuses to make their wedding cake, they can't file taxes as a family, and more. When you discuss like this, you get caught up in considering the feelings of the people rather than what is good for the people as a whole. I am not saying I don't care about them, I do, a lot! That is why I have to look past that point, I need to support what is best for the well-being of everyone. Also, if I truly care about people who are homosexual, why would I let them believe that I am okay with what they do if my God, who I trust with all my heart, says it is wrong and bad for them? God created the whole world, and it is so very complex and amazing! In my opinion, He knows what is better for them and I have to trust that. 

      It pointedly says in the Old Testament that homosexuality is wrong, as well at the New Testament. Romans 1:24-27, "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 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. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 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."        Why do we just turn our heads and not try to talk to them about it? Just saying on facebook that you disagree isn't talking to them about it, engaging in a conversation with them is. Develop a relationship with them, get to know the individual and their life story. I see a lot of other blogs about this topic also, as I said earlier, I hate the way people "discuss" this. Attacking the person and telling them they will go to hell IS NOT discipling! Come on, grow up. Remember the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Matt 7:12)  If you are sinning, how would you like someone to tell you? Imagine if you don't think you are sinning, how would someone have to explain it to you for you to be open to hearing their opinion? Remember God's other command, love you neighbor as yourself.
      When discussing homosexuality with others who believe that couples have a right to marry, you have to be aware of one thing. What is their core belief? What we believe about our origins GREATLY influences what we believe about life. Evolution and Creation both say it goes against nature. If you believe that is doesn't go against nature, where does this emotion and strong sense of love and feeling come from? If we are only animals, we would only have the drive to reproduce, and that's all that matters regarding sex. It wouldn't have the sense of pleasure and satisfaction. What about our ability to discuss this, and reason from different viewpoints? What gives us that free will and discernment?
      People say that homosexuality is okay because the individuals are born that way, how can it be wrong if it was felt from an innocent child? Name one child that is sinless. One child that hasn't disobeyed their parents. We are sinful from birth, as David said in the Psalms, "Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me." There will always be a sin that we are prone to, I have mine, I am sure you have yours. Your sin is no worse and no better than that of the homosexual. As followers of Christ, it is our duty to help our brothers and sisters fight their sin. We are in this battle with them. Show your support and love for them, don't hate.
      Here lies the hardest question of all...Should gay marriage be legal. Well, if it was a society that still put Christ at it's center, and the government stilled formed laws in accordance with the Bible, then it would be an easy answer. Here is what is accepted more than prayer on television: sex, nudity, drugs, dishonoring parents, crude humor, language, gore, and more. If society and government accept this as fitting for our children to see when they are easily influenced, I have to say that we aren't a Christ-following country. If they aren't basing their decisions on Christian morals, what are they basing it on? Who makes the rules? Why do they make them that way? Who is to say what is right and wrong when they don't acknowledge an all-knowing Creator? The government needs to make a decision on who they are following: the will of God or the will of man. We need to be aware of who we vote in to office, encourage and pray for them. If we need to, remind them of who they believe in and where they need to look for answers.
      Ultimately, we shouldn't focus on changing the behavior, we need to work at changing the heart of the nation. Don't cover up the symptom, focus on the disease. Live your life with the mindset that every step, every breath, is because of Christ. Your body is His temple, the Holy Spirit should guide your every word, decision, and action. Reflect God's love in your life, your faith should be apparent in all your actions. The church should be your support.


Little addition:
Something came to my attention recently regarding legalizing homosexual marriage. Would it hinder our first amendment rights?

From the first amendment.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Today, churches aren't supposed to endorse certain candidates for office because that supposedly goes against the separation of church and state (I don't believe that is what the separation means though). Would allowing homosexual marriage by law prohibit the church from exercising our beliefs from teaching God's word regarding the practice? It would be described as "hate speech" to many individuals I bet even though we do not hate the individual, just disagree with their actions. Think about it.
      

A Politically Incorrect View on Feminism and the Environment

A politically incorrect view on feminism and the environment.

*Disclaimer-Before you start to believe that I think no woman can work, I don’t. I just think that is where we originally were intended to be. Men can grow up to be boys and don’t feel responsibility, so then women are sometimes forced into the provider position. I am thankful we have a society accepting of that need, but I don’t think it’s where we are meant to be. Women at home would also help the environment. Confused? I will explain. 

      I have been thinking a lot about environmentalists and organic foods; I always thought they were overrated, just a way to make more money. I carry a different tune now. Yes, I believe they overprice for the sake of how popular it is becoming, but I can’t deny the benefits. First, let me start off with a few Bible verses. I believe we all should start there when looking for answers. The following is from Genesis 1 where God created the earth; this is after he made Adam and Eve.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 

      God put Adam and Eve in charge of the earth; they are supposed to take care of it. In the book of Matthew, Jesus talks about how much God cares about the flowers of the field. Shouldn't we take the Earth into consideration then too? I feel like we should treat the earth and animals with respect, and that doesn't mean we have to become Vegan, I know I couldn't give up my meat!  What it means is that we should treat the animals we eat with respect and let them grow and live in the way that God intended. God created the plants and animals to live a certain way that will enable us to get the nutrients our bodies need. Before the world-wide flood, humans didn't eat meat.  God provided essential nutrients in the seeds, fruits, and vegetables. It wasn't until after the flood He told us we could eat meat. There is a theory that the environment was very different before the flood, there were palm trees found in the arctic regions! I suspect that we once had access to all nutrients without animals, but it changed after the flood. God always has a plan; do you think we are following His plan now?

      Think about what you eat and how much you eat.  Is how your food grown/processed good for the environment or you? Does it still hold vital nutrients our bodies needs? Does it hold any nutrients? Mass production farms destroy many habitats, and the demand for such items pressure farmers to keep up with consumer demand.  The foods are full of chemicals to ensure a productive crop, and they are genetically modified to resist certain diseases or grow larger. These chemicals can be very harmful to your body! Do you think God likes that, do you think He likes what we are doing to His creation?  I previously wrote about being conscious about treating our body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit, as the Bible tells us to do. If there was a risk of it being harmful to your body, would you let it in to God’s temple?  Now let’s stop looking at plants and shift toward animals. Look at how slaughter houses are run. Go look up a documentary, search youtube for a video. You will be disgusted. God lovingly made these animals, Adam and Eve used to walk in the Garden of Eden at peace with these animals. Take a look at how they are being given hormones and kept in unnatural habitats, all for the sake of convenience and keeping up with the demand.  This isn't all the fault of the farmers. Go look in a mirror, that is also who you should blame. Do you remember overeating a lot? I do. Think of how much that is a part of our culture, our stereotype is fat Americans who don’t know when to quit eating. That also contributes to the supply/demand factor.  Change the stereotype. We should be God-fearing, earth respecting, tough and handy, smart, free, “don’t tread on me” Americans. Eat what you need, not what you want. I am not only pointing fingers outward, I am pointing them at myself too. I know the next question though, the next thought coming to you. It came to me too…

How are we supposed to afford organic food?

      This is where I will know I will push buttons. Women…stop it, just stop! You aren't equal to a man; you are not wired to live in the provider role. You are a supporter. God made you to be a helper to the man, but God gave men the responsibility of providing for the family, and the women the caring/nurturing role for raising the children. Titus 2:4-5 “and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at the home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”  Think about this, if the woman stayed at home, she could learn how to grow a productive garden, preserve food for the winter, and raise chickens and beef. Women have begun to give in to what God warned us about in Genesis, “Your desire will be for your husband, but he shall rule over you.”  This isn’t talking about sexual desire, it is referencing the desire to tell him what to do, and to be in charge. We have all felt it, but you have to fight it.  Now, to the men, MAN UP! God put you as the head of the household, study further into what the Bible says concerning your role.  It says in the Bible that men are to love their wives as Christ loves the church; He sacrificed all for the church. Jesus taught, discipled, cared for, and loved the church unconditionally. It further says it the book of Titus to show self-control, be models of good works, integrity, humbleness, and dignity. Ultimately, it’s a team effort.  Men, if you love your wife, she will be able to respect you easier. Wives, if you respect your husband, he will be able to love you easier.

       Families, learn to live with less! Some cities or additions have rules regarding gardens because of how it makes the grounds look; it’s stupid if you ask me though. In that case, cut down on expenses to afford quality food. You don’t need a smartphone, you don’t need to get the latest and greatest gadget. You don’t need cable television. You don’t need the new trends! You don’t need junk food, it’s terrible for you anyways! Look at your bills, how much money do you waste on these? You aren't wasting only money but quality time too. The time wasted on such things is time you could spend with your family, God, reading a book, or outside playing and/or working your garden. Men, take care of your family! Is letting them waste time on such mindless activities healthy for them? Remember, God will hold you accountable, how will you answer Him if he asks you if you put a stop to unhealthy habits? Not only that, but how will it prepare them for the world ahead? Too much I see this, the wasting of so many good minds. Children are so curious and eager to learn, fuel it! With the mother at home, she has more time and energy to help this along, to teach children a love of learning. She has energy in the morning at least; help is needed asap when you come home from work. ;)  The different jobs given by God can also help with this chemical and hormonal ridden food in our culture. What else will they help with?

•          No need for mass farms
•          You have control over your food
•          The money you save could balance the income of two jobs (baby sitter, school if you home-school {which is the better option I may add for most people}, you won’t eat out as much, growing your own food also keeps you more mindful of waste)

These are just different points I have been thinking about lately and wanted to share. I will provide links to more information, but you should look into other places also. As I said, I am just getting into this, so I am by no means an expert or as learned as others who have been following this way of living for years.

http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2012/10/are-gmos-increasing-incidence-of-gluten.html

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/health-risks/articles-about-risks-by-jeffrey-smith/Doctors-Warn-Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Food-May-2009

http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/

Prayer Praise and Intimacy

This has been weighing on me for a few weeks now, so I just had to write out my thoughts. Your input of the idea would be greatly appreciated, or any experiences or ideas you have yourself.

Where has the intimacy gone?

            For some reason, prayer has been coming up a lot lately. It has been in church, at home, and it was a major part in a Christian fiction series I was reading.  It all started from those books actually, the Freelandia series by Kent Larson. There is a blind girl named Maria that has a special place to go to with God as her only audience, she prays and praises him there and it is the most joyful, worshipful experience. I can feel her joy through the words. It got me thinking about how personal prayer and praise with our God seems to be so lacking in my life, and in the church as a whole. That kind of worship isn’t only in the fiction books, it is all throughout the Bible, so where is it now?

            Let us look in the New Testament, what kind of worship life did the disciples have? Paul praises God for the thorn in his flesh that he had even though God won’t take it away, he praises God so the power of Christ will rest upon him. In Paul’s weakness, Christ can be made strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) In James, it also talks about praying in all circumstances: cheerfulness, sickness, suffering, etc. This example we are seeing is living and breathing God in all we do. God is the source of all good, praise Him for it! Do we do that today? In my opinion, we don’t.  What are we missing?

            Before I start on that, let’s look at the Old Testament. Much of the NT is based on traditions and practices of the OT. In the OT, the Israelites had their connection to God through sacrifices and the temple priests. They still prayed to God of course, the whole book of Psalms are prayers to God, and they are very beautiful. But God dwelled in the temple among His people, not in them, and forgiveness was done through sacrifices given to the priests. In the NT, Jesus was the final sacrifice, and we are wiped clean of all sins. We don’t have to do sacrifices anymore, all we need to do is accept the gift of forgiveness and life through Jesus. Praise God! So where is the Spirit of God? The Spirit of God is now inside of us, we became the temple!  1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body.”  This is where I believe we start to go off track. We don’t think about what treating our body as the temple of God means. In the OT, the Israelites had practices of how they would dress, act, and treat the temple of God. Do we think about how we treat our temple? What do we let the temple see, hear, be dressed in? What do we feed it, let it engage in, and go to? Think about that. Does God approve of how you have treated His temple? I know He doesn’t approve of mine, thank you Jesus for wiping my slate clean! The whole problem with this is that while the Lord knows we mess up, we should still try and treat His temple with respect, honor, and love in all that we do. We could feel so much closer to Him if we would learn to be more conscious of that! Our prayer and praise life could become so much more intimate and joyous.

            As I stated earlier concerning the Psalms, they are very beautiful. While we don’t pray like that usually, do they sound that passionate? Are they that heartfelt? Do we pray like we are speaking to a loving father who cares about us more than we can fathom? Or do our prayers sound like we are praying just because God told us to? God loves hearing from you no matter what, but don’t you yearn for the closeness the Bible portrays? I do. I know God is listening when I pray, but sometimes I feel He is on a distant throne in Heaven. My preconceived notion is one of distance. Don’t we learn though that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, a dwelling place of God? Why am I thinking of Him way up there? He is up in heaven, but He is also in me. Why can’t I talk to Him where He dwells in me? I can go to His dwelling place and praise Him and only Him there. No one else is there to distract our special time together.

            Ultimately, I think it begins with how we live our life. We can’t go to church every Sunday, and expect that only an hour can fulfill our spiritual needs. We live in a world that constantly battles God and says that He isn’t there, and that He doesn’t care about your life. We need to fight back with studying the scripture, and with constant worship and praise!  We need to learn to surrender all to Him, it’s scary, but that is faith. It grows when hardships come and you let God fight the battle. So praise Him in all you do, immediately pray when hardships strike, constantly search for His will. He will always be by us, remember to talk to Him, as Jesus says in Matthew, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Responsibility

This is something I wrote when the government shutdown was going on, it is still relevant today though with how we act.

I hear much debate concerning whose fault it is about how the government is running right now. Is it the democrats fault, or the republicans? The republicans are the ones who are being so stubborn according to some people, and yet according to others, the democrats are the ones who won’t budge. Personally, I am thankful the republicans are standing their ground, but that is a whole other discussion. Ultimately though, I hear people ask, “How did we come to this?”  Look at some of these statistics from USA Today.  Out of 62 schools, the average salary of a college basketball coach is $1,465,752, with the highest being the coach of Duke with a salary of $7,233,976. Out of 116 schools, the average salary of a college football coach is $1,598,359, with the highest being the coach of Alabama with a salary of $5,476,738.  Let’s shift over to those in the government now, the following are their salaries.

•          President: $400,000
•          Vice President: $231,900
•          Speaker of the House: $223,500
•          House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: $193,400
•          Senators and Representatives: $174,000
•          Chief Justice of the United States: $223,500
•          Associate Justices of the Supreme Court: $213,900
•          US Courts of Appeals Judges: $184,500
•          Federal District Judges: $174,000

You probably wonder how sports and government have anything in common. Consider this, what kinds of people always make more money, or succeed in moving up the totem pole in business? Those who give the people what they want.  In school, I learned the way to attract business was to appeal to the people. What are the current trends? What draws people in to your location? That is what helps you make it big in the world.  I used that knowledge to figure this out. How is it that college coaches can make so much money, yet those in government make so much less when they are the ones whose responsibility it is to echo our desires for America, and make laws that greatly affect our country? Personally, I think being in the government is more important and takes more responsibility than a coach. But as I learned, the money goes where the interest of the people is. For the record, no I am not saying that being a coach isn’t important, or takes no responsibility. I loved my coach, she was one that both pushed us, yet taught us good sportsmanship. That does take a special person. But government is a different kind of responsibility, and can have even greater impact.

        As you ponder the points above, let’s look at what we remember most growing up. What was always the big hype every year? Sports was the main event, even during holidays when the family would get together, we always had to have the game on for others. Look at kids, how early do organized sports start? They say it’s to teach sportsmanship and teamwork, I think they can learn that at home with their siblings, or at camp with other kids later. Ultimately, parents are supposed to teach that!  I know in the stands, parents can get more hyped up about the game than the kids do. What do the children learn by seeing the actions of their parents? Sports are very important, they are cause for fun and entertainment between people, yet can also cause people to get heated up and yell at each other.  In the end, this is what riles people up the most, and that is why coaches get paid so much more money. Fast-forward to high school now, what are always the big events? The weekend school games and homecoming! How much emphasis and importance are put on these? Well, a $60 million high school football stadium was built recently in Texas if that gives you any indication.  I remember growing up seeing the nightly news and a time allotted just for reviewing the scores of the night. There will be people in the stands cheering on their team, and then school band performs a score during halftime to rally the stands.  On the other hand, how much attention is given to those who perform well academically? Not much compared to sports.  While parents and adults are proud of those who are great with learning, the kids don’t treat it as nicely.  The honor students are many times seen as nerds and outcasts. 

I love sports, I always itch to play another game of volleyball, I played for 7 years, and I often wish to be on a team again to play competitively.  I was always excited and happy to have my parents come watch, and support what I loved. I am glad that parents show so much support for what their children love to do also, for I know how much it helps to have that. There has to be a balance though. Parents also have the responsibility to teach their children to have love for God, love for their country, and love for their fellow man. Where our priorities lay show in the amount that coaches get paid in comparison with the government. The state our country is in reflects how much attention we give to what is going on in our nation. It is OUR fault. Don’t blame the democrats, don’t blame the republicans, and don’t blame our president.  We let it get this far by not educating ourselves about how the government worked, not thoroughly investigating each individual before we voted, and not taking action when we first saw it getting out of hand. Sports are merely one example of what can be a distraction, but it can be anything in the entertainment industry. Other distractions are music, television, fashion, and ways of making money, just to name a few. Our founding fathers risked their lives to be free of England and start a new country; it is our responsibility to keep it how they wrote it at the beginning. How do we get it back to the way it was?

I have been talking much about what our focus needs to be on, and that is what needs to change. It is easy to lose focus and go back to what feels good and what is easy.  God, family, relationships, work, government…it all takes work to keep it running smoothly. It is essential though. God actually didn’t want His people to take a king in the Old Testament, but the Israelites insisted, so He let it be. God knew that it is easy for the power to take hold of a person and how they can turn tyrannical. That is what happened too. Nations having kings continued on until we rebelled against England. Our constitution was meant to have a balance of powers so no one person had supreme power, and the power was to the states, not the federal government. The current state of affairs has it backwards, and it is our job to turn that around. I know it isn’t easy, it will be a long process and seem hopeless at times, but never back down. If we took the easy route in 1776, we would still be under the rule of England. Never think you can’t make a difference. Begin by teaching children what is really important. If we put as much importance on teaching our children about God and government as we do with following sports and television, things could be a lot different.  

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/salaries/ncaab/coach/

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/governmentjobs/a/Annual-Salaries-Of-Top-Us-Government-Officials.htm