Pride

In the Name of Love???

There are many synonyms listed for the word pride. They include; arrogance, conceit, smugness, self-importance, egotism, vanity, and superiority. Pride is considered one of the seven deadly sins. God abhors a haughty and prideful soul. Interesting that the LGTBQI+ community picked pride as the moniker for their movement. It has become increasingly obvious that “pride” was chosen as an intentional affront to God. “For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20. God is slow to anger, but it would seem foolhardy to taunt the creator of the universe. The rampant redefinition of morality that promotes all manner of sexual deviancy is not very likely pleasing to Him.

The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, normalizing same-sex relationships for consenting adults in civil society. In less than a decade the alternate lifestyle movement has used that “foot in the door” to engage in behavior so perverse that it would make the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah blush. It was never enough for society to accept same-sex marriage. The intent was always to find a way to tear down established mores and substitute a new lawlessness that rejects God and prioritizes worship of individual identity and desires. What began as gay and lesbian, transforms into LGTBQI+ and whatever the next sexual deviancy becomes. In order to make the LGTBQI+ community feel a part of society, children must be targeted and groomed with curricula that promotes their chosen lifestyle. Children, who cannot vote, drive or consent to getting a tattoo, are now guided by school administration to question the gender they were born with. Laws are enacted to coerce children to experiment with new pronouns and to begin puberty-blocking drugs and hormones, while school officials are prohibited from informing the parents of these life-altering and often irreversible procedures.

The failure to recognize and confront the evil that has permeated our culture on so many levels places civilized society in jeopardy. Those that acquiesce to behavior that needs to be justified with forced legislation and edicts defies common logic. The evil one uses all manners of deceptions to entice people to accept and promote what is evil as good, using a misdirected sense of tolerance and acceptance in order to justify behavior that simply cannot be justified. Intentional disregard of God’s word and the deliberate twisting of His word to justify actions expressly forbidden by God reveals the innate godlessness and wickedness of the purveyors of this decadent movement. There will come a reckoning to those who suppress the truth. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.” Romans 1:21

What is evil is plain to those who have eyes that see, ears that hear, and a mind that can comprehend. God has written upon everyone’s heart a clear understanding of the difference between good and evil. One cannot truly rationalize lies masquerading as truth and fantasy pretending to be reality. The father of lies continues to prevail upon those that fail to differentiate between the two. “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” Romans 1:25. Those who fail to stand up to evil will be held to account. “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6. Those of you that choose to engage in alternate lifestyles are free to do so. If you can stand at the judgment seat and convince God that your choice is a godly one, then more power to you. One can fantasize and believe anything is truly right and salutary, but do not compel others to accept it as their reality, because it is far from the truth! 

 

Unwitting Pawns

Everyone should practice tolerance, inclusion, acceptance and welcoming in their daily lives. Sharing those values within our community allows society to thrive. Problem is, these ideals have been corrupted by those that wish to foment distrust and division in this nation. Many who fall prey to this perversion of wholesome principals believe that past perceived injustices merit the abandonment of accepted societal norms in order to “make things right.”  Unfortunately, appeasing the loudest voices and acquiescing to radical ideology, allows an unfettered rush to a fundamental transformation of this great nation.

Deviant sexuality has prospered in this nation due to the mistaken belief that acceptance is the appropriate response to properly love your neighbor. This only promotes further attacks on the moral fiber of society. Like the school yard bully, inaction only increases the bully’s resolve. Without moral clarity, humankind’s innate selfishness takes the reins. We need to look at the reflection in the mirror and recognize who we really are. When traditional values are rejected and replaced with “new things” that disregard moral decency, one cannot easily justify those behaviors.

God created each of us with intrinsic differences, with different skills and talents. The gifts afforded to each of us vary. It is our differences that enable us to fulfill various roles that benefit all. Men and women are created to fulfill specific, yet equal roles, when raising children. Eliminate either from the equation and you stifle the child’s development. Both are necessary to guide and nurture the child. Both are necessary to instill values, morals, and faith. Both are necessary to impart the unique skillsets they possess to teach their children to become productive members of society. Without a mother or father, the child will seek to fill that void elsewhere.

Woke educators attempt to usurp parental rights by mainstreaming and encouraging experimentation with LGTBQ lifestyles, promoting transgenderism, and indoctrinating our youth with Critical Race Theory, at the expense of core education. Children are particularly impressionable and vulnerable to suggestion as they develop and learn. Trusting that curriculum will follow accepted societal norms is no longer acceptable. Without parental involvement in the education of their children, children will be at risk of the dominant woke culture that seeks to discard traditional values and replace them with leftist ideology.

Black lives matter, but no more than any other life. With God as our father, we are all brothers and sisters, no matter how we look on the outside. Race is a social construct. We are all members of one race; the human race. Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself, yet leftists are relentless in their attacks on Christianity. Forgiving others and turning the other cheek must be too foreign for leftists to understand. Revenge does nothing to right any perceived wrongs. Retribution does nothing to lift the spirit. Reparations do nothing but punish those who have committed no crime and reward those who have not suffered loss.

Those that agree with the path that the current administration is leading the country need to wake up. For those who acquiesce to the insanity that has overtaken this nation, hear this; You will have no place in this new world order, you are advocating for your own demise. The fundamental transformation of this nation is being abetted by those who put tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion above common sense. Leftists mean to tear down traditional society and replace it with socialism. Socialist elites will then make decisions for their benefit, while everyone else will be mired in mediocrity.

Look around. Are you satisfied with the current trajectory of our nation? Can you rationalize the criminality occurring on our city streets daily? Will you willingly choose to turn your life over to a ruling elite? The “leaders” of the World Economic Forum would like that. They have openly stated such. They know what is best for us underlings. If we sit back and allow it, it will happen and your worst nightmare will be realized.

It’s time that we turn back to the Judeo-Christian beliefs that made this nation great. It’s time that we are able to share differing opinions without being maligned. Leftists silence dissent. Leftists accuse their detractors of racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Leftists want you to be willing sheep to be led to slaughter. This is our future if we fail to uphold our Republic, founded as a more perfect union for all. And fall it will, if we sit back and do nothing.

 

Equitable Outcomes

 The left continues to obfuscate the term equity as if, somehow, it is the equivalent of equality. It is not. One of the ever tolerant left’s first attempts at artificially attaining equitable outcomes was the social engineering program, “Affirmative Action”. This program refers to a set of policies and practices that set quotas giving partiality to gender, race, sexuality, creed or nationalities that were alleged to be discriminated against. In other words, these policies gave preference in hiring, college entrance and promotions to any and all minority groups with the goal of bridging past and present inequalities in employment and pay, access to education, promoting diversity, and rectifying perceived past biases. Because of these perceived injustices, minorities were to be given priority in order to level the playing field. This policy’s intent was not to just level the playing field, but actually ended up promoting the exact opposite by denying others opportunity because of the color of their skin or gender. Reverse discrimination is the actual effect upon society when a policy is intended to achieve an equitable outcome.

Equality equals fairness. When one merits or earns a position, promotion or scholarship, the best qualified person rises to the top. This enables all society to benefit by having the best qualified persons in positions that require a particular skill. One wouldn’t accept any surgeon to perform a critical medical procedure. One would look for the best surgeon with the best outcomes. One wouldn’t engage with an attorney that was less competent than another to litigate a significant case. One wouldn’t want a plumber to install a toilet if he/she completed inferior work. When we look for someone to represent us, complete tasks for us or watch our children we look for the most proficient, trustworthy and capable person possible. In nature, the strongest survive to mate and propagate their species. Those that are weak fail to reproduce, allowing the best chance at survival for the species. With the “woke” left the gene pool is deliberately diluted, allowing those that are not always the best and brightest to ascend to the highest levels and most important positions in society without actually having earned their status.

Now comes the Equality Act, Bill HR-5, legislation to amend the Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ and transgendered persons. This will codify a legal path for persons that identify as a sex other than their biological gender at birth, to participate in women’s sports, choose the restroom of their choosing and make a mockery of the biological differences between the genders. The term “(including sexual orientation and gender identity), is the phrase that ties this wayward legislation together. Included in the Bill; “(2) GENDER IDENTITY. The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s designated sex at birth. “(B) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, concerning the race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or national origin, respectively, of the individual.” Up is down and right is wrong. If the authors of this Bill and those that support it, actually took a step back and realized what they are doing, perhaps their eyes would be opened to the absurdity of it. Now don’t get me wrong. The LGTBQ community and those who identify as transgender should be covered by the Civil Rights Act and protected from any and all discrimination. But there are limits to the authority granted the Federal Government to compel others to relinquish their Constitutional rights in order to elevate others.

Equitable results from a law that uplifts one portion of society at the expense of many others. Let’s level the playing field. We have entered into Orwellian territory as it now appears that “all people are equal, but some people are just more equal than others.” Now that enough ballots were counted to put the democrats in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, they continue with reckless abandon on a leftward trajectory. Radical legislation like HR Bill 5, and many more even more radical, will be passed to the benefit of the “grievance” factions of the democrat party. Stand by for thrills because you aint seen nothing yet! If the Senate eliminates the filibuster, it won’t matter if Republicans take back the House and Senate in 2022. It will be too late to overturn these new laws, especially if the Supreme Court and Federal Courts are packed with democrat appointees. The left has finally gotten what they wanted. Now we all will get what we deserve.

Casualties of Tolerance

In every game there are winners and losers. Someone always ends up at an advantage, while someone else ends up licking their wounds. President Obama is fond of citing the travails of the middle class and the poor, blaming the wealthy for taking more than their “fair share” and succeeding on the backs of those less privileged. Political correctness is out of control in the world. The word police are out in force and it seems as if there is always someone or some protected group that is offended by some “hate speech” that was never intended to harm anyone. One must always be extremely careful to properly articulate so that those perennially disrespected factions are not incited into organized protests, costing you your job or worse. Jude 1:14-16, “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.”

The purveyors of racial bigotry are no longer just the one’s wearing the white hoods. They now don fine suits and belong to organizations such as the “Rainbow Coalition” and are summarily declared civil rights activists. Racism is no longer under the dominion of white supremacists. The Al Sharpton’s and Jesse Jackson’s of the world have taken the lead and foment racial anger, while promoting themselves rather than racial injustice. In Milwaukee a police officer is fired after he shot to death an unarmed black man. This after the police chief stated that the shooting was justified. There is much information about this incident that has not been made public. Notwithstanding that the grand jury has yet to recommend any punitive action nor has the district attorney issued any charges against the officer, civil rights activists are not satisfied and demand that the fired officer be charged with homicide. The investigation into the truth of this tragic incident remains unresolved, but innuendo and conflicting witness accounts drive the mob. This impatient gang of protesters cannot wait for the wheels of justice to complete its’ journey before flying off the deep end. Philippians 2:14-16, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” As happens much too frequently in our society, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and someone loses his job. But, why wait for the truth to come out. It is much easier, more politically expedient to kick the can down the road, fire the “bad apple” and let someone else take the heat.

Proponents of gay marriage take to the courts and only request “fairness” from the courts. After all, doesn’t everyone know, or know someone, or know someone who knows someone who knows a gay person? A recent poll by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) showed that less than 1.5% of those polled self-identified as LGTBQ. Secular society is determined to normalize alternative lifestyles, but those efforts are being driven by the smallest of minorities. How could a same-sex couple be satisfied with a civil union that affords all the benefits of marriage according to humankind’s laws? Those in Hollywood would lead one to believe that homosexuality is not only mainstream, but that it has quite a large constituency. Perhaps, in Hollywood it does, but not in conventional America. Constitutional amendments, enacted to safeguard the sanctity of marriage, blessed by God, between a man and a woman, so that they may love one another, have children, and raise them together, are rendered null and void by the opinion of human judges. Furthermore, some of God’s churches side with the secular world and open the doors to make human selfishness right and salutary as unrepentant homosexuals are welcomed into the pulpit and accepting homosexuality is celebrated as appropriate to properly love their neighbor. We need to bring our neighbor to the Lord, so that they can leave their life of selfishness behind, not promote that fellow believers return to their lives of selfishness and deny our Savior. The ELCA, for instance, bends over backwards to reinterpret God’s word and contrives nonsensical doctrine to uphold their flawed interpretations. 2 John 1:9-11, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”

When we worship at the altar of tolerance, the only one who is harmed is ourselves. Satan spins lies and works to get us to believe that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right. He uses our innate selfishness to trick us into believing that we are wiser than our God. He is getting rather good at it lately as even men and women of God turn the tables and enact errant doctrine that drives a wedge between them, their congregants and God. The plight of the Palestinians, yeah those same people who rejoiced on the streets on 9-11 and allow rockets to be launched at Israel daily, is now championed by none other than the ELCA. God’s chosen are reviled and the leadership of the ELCA encourages an embargo on all goods manufactured by Israel. Is it no coincidence that many in Hollywood share this opinion? The ELCA protects a woman’s “right” to murder their unborn child by providing health care that covers abortions. The ELCA abandons Christ’s command to bring the lost to Him and make disciples of all nations by slashing missionary support and calling their world mission effort “accompaniment.” At least the secular world will approve of ending Christian evangelism.

The real losers in all this are those who sit in ELCA pews, believing that they are being fed the bread of life, when they are simply buying in to the secular rhetoric spewed by the leadership of the ELCA. The devil himself could not come up with a better plan to lead the faithful into the abyss. Jeremiah 5:21-22, 31-32, “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: “Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in my presence?” A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” Pray unceasingly for our brothers and sisters in Christ to see the truth and be rescued from these charlatans that would lead them away from Him.

If a Tree Falls.....

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Many a philosopher and now even an auto insurance commercial wrestle with this question. In today’s hyper-partisan environment, when certain events occur, nary a peep is made. As the media controls the narrative of the day, only that which they deem important makes the news. In the former Soviet Union, propaganda filled the pages of Pravda and the airwaves. The Politiburo determined what it wanted its’ citizens to hear, think and say. Dissidents were jailed or simply disappeared, some ending up in Siberia with what amounted to a death sentence. In this bastion of freedom, known as the United States of America, we are hearkening back to those days behind the Iron Curtain. The narrative that drives our current day media outlets focuses upon progressive ideals, scoffs at conservative values and ridicules those foolish enough to profess their Christian faith. Our President, so longed for and expected to heal everything from the racial divide to our very planet, uses the arms of the government, such as the IRS to exact political revenge upon those seen to oppose his agenda. Yes, political retribution has been refined to a fine art by this current “Chicago style” administration. Wisconsin, which is becoming the poster child for partisanship in the aftermath of Act 10, has taken political retaliation to an entirely new level.

Israel Ozanne, democrat district attorney for Dane County, filed felony voter fraud charges against a republican state representative’s staffer. As you may know, Wisconsin democrats have been fighting tooth and nail to defeat a voter ID bill that they say will disenfranchise minority voters (when all it will really do is make it tougher for democrats to cheat and overturn the will of the people). Milwaukee’s democrat mayor, Tom Barrett denies that voter fraud is even an issue, complaining that there is nothing to see here and asking over and over to show him the violators if there is a problem. A 2004 report by Milwaukee Police found that between 4,600 and 5,300 more votes were counted in Milwaukee than the number of voters recorded as having cast ballots during the national election that year. Absentee ballots were cast by people living elsewhere; ineligible felons not only voted but worked at the polls; transient college students cast improper votes; homeless voters possibly voted more than once. 65 felony charges of voter fraud involving 35 individuals have been issued since 2008. One of those cases an Oak Creek man submitted 54 fraudulent voter registrations while working for the Community Voters Project, a liberal based organization. Common to each of these cases was the intent to commit voter fraud. Cue the crickets as little attention is given these cases by the media. However, the case of Marcie Malszycki, who cast her votes in 2008 and 2010 at the district where she lived before becoming a staffer for Republican State Representative Warren Petryk, apparently is a big deal. Her mother lives in that district and Malszycki resided there before moving to Madison. She did not cast a vote in either of those elections in Madison or any other polling place. This makes the front page of local newspapers and TV news reports. Ozanne, a democrat, also refused to issue charges against a Cross Plains woman who made repeated e-mail threats to kill Republican Governor Scott Walker and his family. Nary a peep on this issue either. I guess all is fair in love and war.

While the Obama administration is embroiled in a seemingly endless stream of scandals that would likely overwhelm any other administration, those abuses are decried as “phony” or contrived by the Tea Party and Fox News. Impeachable offenses by Obama and his administration are largely ignored or minimized by the main stream media, while any misstep by a conservative is blown out of proportion. (See Chris Christie and “BridgeGate”) Far worse are the thousands upon thousands of Christians that are being murdered throughout the Muslim world and yet the media remains silent. Repeated rocket attacks against Israel, targeting civilians are largely ignored. Even Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that there were no deaths in Israel due to terrorist attacks in 2013, ignoring the 6 Israelis that were murdered by Palestinians and that attacks in the West Bank more than doubled in 2013 -- 1,271 as opposed to 578 in 2012.

And then we have those athletes that announce their homosexuality and are immediately proclaimed heroes by the media. Keep repeating after me while watching the shiny object. There is no liberal bias in the media… The producer of the new epic film “Noah” complains that negative reactions to pre-screenings of his movie are unfairly being driven by a small minority of conservative Christians. Sorry about that, but if you are going to take creative license with a Biblical story, perhaps you should stick a little closer to the story line, after all it is about a historical figure. And since we are bringing up minorities that drive narratives, how does the minority LGTBQ community drive the opinion of so much of our secular society? Seems like a group, that consists of less than 5% of our population has much more clout than any other class of people in this country. When the mini-series, “The Bible” was broadcast, for the most part keeping true to the Word, it became the most viewed cable series of all time. Perhaps when conservative Christians speak up, Hollywood may behoove itself to listen.

All Christians can be assured that while the devil does his best to turn our world upside down, everything that happens, does so for God’s purpose. God’s plan continues to drive the events of our world, even those that seem to run contrary to His will. Each and every trial and tribulation is used by our Father in heaven to mold us. We can use these, sometimes troublesome events, as God intends or we can give in to our selfish nature and do as the evil one would desire, complain, blame God or behave in a manner unpleasing to Him. Every person placed into a position of authority is done so at God’s command. Those leaders that behave as they do, even when it appears that they are doing the devil’s work, are doing so for His purpose. When President Obama proclaims to the world that the United States is no longer a Christian nation, sleeping Christians wake up and work to restore their faith. When the leaders of the ELCA lead the faithful astray, a new revival begins and denominations true to the Gospel break away and thrive. We can never truly understand why God allows evil people into positions of authority, but know this, our Father in heaven is in charge and while we are called to submit to the authorities appointed by Him, we are not called to lay down as sheep being led to slaughter. Do not allow anyone to drive you away from your calling to be a disciple of Christ. Do not be frustrated when it appears that the powers of darkness seem to be winning every battle. The story has been written and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has triumphed over the evil one and his minions..

1 Peter 2:13-18, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

This world is but a brief existence for God’s children. When we focus on what is truly important, submit ourselves to Gods’ will and work to further His kingdom here on earth, we come to understand our role in all of this. Do not be afraid to speak out for our Lord. Do not be afraid to speak out at the ballot box by supporting candidates that uphold Christian values. Do not be afraid to do the things that are pleasing to God.

1 Peter 1:23-25, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.”

Finger Pointing

One thing we Lutherans are good at is finger pointing. We are quick to point out the faults of others, especially when confronting, what we believe, is errant Christian doctrine. After all, the Protestant Reformation that begat Lutheranism began in 1517 when a priest by the name of Martin Luther, disagreed when the Roman Catholic Church sanctioned indulgences, or buying your way into heaven, and wrote his 95 theses to protest that errant doctrine along with many others. This began a movement away from a doctrine of salvation by works to justification by faith alone, away from the primacy of the Pope to the authority of Scripture alone, or Sola Scriptura. For Lutherans, the Holy Bible contains the word of God that teaches and guides us in our spiritual lives. The Bible is an ancient document. The Old Testament was compiled between 3500 BC and 450 B C, while the New Testament was written in the last half of the 1st century.

President Obama attended Easter worship services at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC this year. The presiding minister, Reverend Luis Leon had an interesting sermon for the celebration of our Savior’s Resurrection. Craftily inserted into his message of “Easter vision” was an admonition of the “captains of the religious right”. Apparently, he believed it important enough on a day of celebration, to point his finger at those who uphold the authority of Scripture. He said that the religious right would have Christianity return back, rather than look ahead to the new, to relegating blacks to the back of the bus, women back to the kitchen, gays back into the closet and immigrants back over the border. What his opinion on these issues had to do with his Easter message is beyond me. Finger pointing is obviously not exclusive to Lutherans, nor the religious right.

As a member of that apparently despicable religious right, I do, indeed, want the church to go back:

Back to the preaching of the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, more and more come to believe. Luther explained in the Small Catechism, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.”

Back to having all persons, regardless of color, to feel welcome in God's House. I want persons of color to break the chains of dependency to government entitlements and look to be led by God. I want all men, no matter the color of their skin, to have an active part in their families as Spirit led fathers. Hebrews 12:7-11, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Back to having women to be a major part of a vibrant revival, from the pulpit or wherever the talents God has blessed them with can further the Kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Back to having people from other countries respect the laws of this country and immigrate here legally so that they can be a valuable member of this society and not have to hide in the shadows. 1 Peter 2:13-17, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

And I want the LGTBQ community to be welcomed in God’s house, for their sin is no worse than any other sinner in God’s House. I want the LGTBQ community to forgo their selfish nature and give themselves unconditionally to the Lord. 1 John 1:5-10, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

We are called to be of one mind in Christ. We are called to love one another as Christ loves us. Maybe we do need to go back to the basics of our faith, turn to God and follow His words. Dwell in His word and His path will become clear.

The Bully Sin-Drome

With so much emphasis on the negative impact of bullying in our society, the leaders of the ELCA have decided to ratchet up the supposed plight of the LGTBQ community. The secular world has all but normalized alternate lifestyles, but that is simply insufficient for the leaders of the ELCA. Those that choose the homosexual lifestyle are now lifted up as more saint than sinner by the enlightened leaders of the ELCA. Luther said that each person is at once a saint and a sinner, righteous and reprobate, saved and lost, but apparently those that choose alternate lifestyles are only saints, righteous and saved. Not only are the misguided leaders of the ELCA determined to approve behavior explicitly prohibited by God, they have decided to go all in. Their program, It Gets Better, designed as an anti-bullying program, is primarily focused to acknowledge, accept and celebrate the LGTBQ lifestyle. Openly gay speakers were featured throughout the ELCA youth gathering in New Orleans this year in an effort to indoctrinate those youth attending, teaching them that homosexuality gets the ELCA good housekeeping seal of approval.


Before everyone gets all worked up and points the finger at all of us hateful, homophobic Bible thumpers, think about this for a minute. The sin of engaging in homosexual behavior will not, in and of itself, lead one to damnation nor is a greater sin than any supposedly good Christian engages in daily. Sin is selfishly refusing to obey God’s will. But, when one decides to tell God that He is wrong and they are right, they are not pleasing the Lord. When one decides that their wants and desires are more important than obedience to the teachings of our Lord and Savior, they make themselves and their desires more important than loving God. When I decide that it is all right for me to engage in behavior that is displeasing to God, I fail to follow the Spirit and choose to listen to the lies of the evil one and please myself. When one fills their heart and soul with the love of Jesus, our wants and desires become secondary. And even though we constantly fail to meet our Lord’s expectations, we truly recognize when we decide to disobey and follow our own desires. Romans 2:14-16, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” We truly do know right from wrong and no matter how much this errant denomination wants to minimize or eliminate sin; they simply are doing exactly what the evil one wants.

Love your neighbor as yourself is the rallying cry of the progressive leaders of the ELCA. Problem is, loving one’s neighbor is not enough if they happen to be gay. One must ignore the fact that they are sinners, accepting their sin as no longer sinful, respecting their choice to remain in their selfishness, allowing them to placate their sinful human nature. We are taught over and over in Scripture that to follow Jesus requires great sacrifice. Once we believe and allow the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts, we are made new creatures. Our old sinful selves die and we are no longer subject to the punishment we so rightfully deserve. We go on to a new life in Christ, wanting to please Him in all we do by our obedience and through our lives to give Him all the glory. In a prayer for a new Christian, we pray, “Father, I know that I am broken and my sinful nature has separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life and toward you. Please forgive me, and lead me on the path you have set before me.” We admit our brokenness and sinful nature is a wedge we have driven between us and our Lord. We do not tell our God that He must accept us as we are, with no need of repentance or transformation.

But, the leaders of the ELCA use a different strategy. That which our Lord and Savior expects of us is much too difficult a pill to swallow for this errant denomination. Denial is such a negative word and obedience conjures up images of parental discipline. So, sin is declared good and those that accept this as God’s will place themselves at the top rung of the ladder. The enlightened leaders of the ELCA may believe that they have all the answers, but no one is amazed at their understanding except those wishing to hear what their itching ears long to hear. We are part of a selfish, sinful humanity who, if left to our own devices would sink ourselves to the lowest common denominator, ultimately leading to our destruction. When we finally allow Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, into our hearts and turn our lives over to His will, our wants and desires become secondary. The leaders of the ELCA wish to advocate that humankind place their desires before God’s will and somehow this shows the world our love, tolerance and acceptance. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Jesus has the words of eternal life; the leaders of the ELCA are preaching a gospel other than the one our Lord has taught.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Early on my son showed signs of an advanced intelligence, but also was plagued with inappropriate behavior. Tested at an I. Q. of 158, my wife and I had high expectations for him. Unfortunately, his behavior became more and more troublesome and his grades were well below average. When my son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), it posed more questions than answers. Of course, we now had an excuse to blame his poor grades and misbehavior in school. This diagnosis also found that he was deficient in his verbal recognition skills. We had to learn to give him a single task with a single explanation to accomplish that task. Assigning more than one task led to unfulfilled errands and eventually led to us being disappointed and him becoming frustrated. Medications were prescribed, some that actually exacerbated his condition. His frustration with this condition led him to leave school before he graduated, leading my wife and I to exact some tough love, telling him he had to leave our home and strike out on his own. Sometimes, things work out that are just beyond explanation. Our son is now married, with two beautiful children, owns his own home, finished high school and is now attending college while he works full time. The Spirit moves in amazing ways.

The malady that has infected the ELCA is not unlike ADD. Unfortunately, the enlightened leaders of the ELCA do not have the high spiritual I. Q. that they believe they possess. Poor grades in upholding the authority of Scripture has nothing to do with a lack of focus or inability to concentrate. Misbehavior by lifting up the doctrine of bound conscience above the will of God has nothing to do with a deficiency in their ability to recognize the doctrine of Scripture Alone and to disregard those that preach the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ, trying to gently correct and instruct. There are no medications that can open the eyes of the leaders of the ELCA that persist in focusing on the secular world to the detriment of the saving of souls. Their focus is so plain to so many, but the plank that is in their collective eye, unfortunately goes unnoticed by so many of their members who would rather maintain unity than uphold the authority of Scripture. Jeremiah 9:4-6, “Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the LORD.“

Strong words, but like so much of God’s word, remains pertinent to what is happening today. The doctrine of bound conscience allows members of the ELCA to live in the midst of deception, denying God, while acknowledging themselves as their own god by worshipping themselves, their possessions, and their identities. When a church substitutes the truth and replaces it with lies, for the sake of being more welcoming, tolerant and open minded, they deceive themselves and their members. I am a sinner. I sin every day. I must be so disappointing to my Lord in my spiritual failure. I don’t ask Him to affirm my sin. I ask Him to forgive my transgressions and to help me to live up to the standards He wants me to follow. When a church throws out God’s law, and yes, we are no longer subject to the punishment of the law when we believe in God’s one true Son, those that accept this errant doctrine are encouraged to feed their selfishness. We all can love our brothers and sisters in Christ without regard to the sins they commit. If we fail to acknowledge that we are by nature sinful and unclean, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We make our God out to be a liar!

I don’t qualify as one to determine whether or not homosexuality is a choice or is an innate predisposition of the human condition. What I do know is that Scripture is abundantly clear that God does not approve of that behavior. When one opens their heart and allows the Spirit to enter, we are then able to believe and have faith in the Risen Christ. When one realizes exactly what He did for us, we are deeply indebted to Jesus. We, indeed, need to learn to deny ourselves and to obey all of His teachings. We fall in love with Him and it becomes our joy to obey, placing God’s needs above our own. I also do not qualify as one to understand why it is necessary for a church to disregard Scripture and lift up sin as right with God, allowing those with desires strictly prohibited by God and sanction those wishing to lift up their selfishness, instead of denying themselves. What is so plain to so many is still lifted up by this errant denomination as the proper way to love the neighbor while they accuse those who disagree as homophobes, intolerant and hateful.

He who spoke the universe into existence has the final word in all this. Does this doctrine of bound conscience jeopardize the salvation of those who accept it? I don’t know, but I believe it opens a door to allow Satan easy access to our souls. He is the father of lies, and bound conscience is as big a lie as any church has foisted upon the faithful. Full inclusion of the LGTBQ community must be a goal of all churches, as we are called to love everyone as ourselves. So vital to the ELCA’s drive to have the LGTBQ community normalized is the anti-bullying program, It Gets Better. But, it is not only the LGTBQ community that faces bulling. People fall prey to bullying based upon their gender, sexual identity, race, or any other excuse.  Those engaging in bullying are to be sternly corrected to the full extent of man’s and God’s law, and this behavior is not to ever be tolerated. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. If my brothers and sisters in Christ can love me in spite of myself, we can love all our neighbors as well.

The doctrine of bound conscience allows one to sin without the need for repentance.  Minimizing sin by making confession and absolution optional in the ELCA liturgy, dilutes our faith and drives a wedge between themselves and God.  It has become apparent that the leaders of the ELCA have abandoned their authority as a church of God. God already comes to us, offering His abundant grace. Will you stand with a church that denies Him? Titus 1:15-16, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

See No Evil

See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil is a phrase typically meant to describe someone who wants to avoid being embroiled in an uncomfortable or difficult situation. The three monkeys in a row covering their eyes, ears and mouth are universally recognized as the symbol of those that try to deal with misconduct or wrongdoing by refusing to acknowledge it, or by simply feigning ignorance. There are others, like the ELCA, do not simply feign ignorance. The leaders of the ELCA acquiesce to the cravings of a corrupted humanity, ignoring God’s word and create their own interpretation of Scripture, one that is deliberately contrary to God’s intent. Apparently it is easier to affirm sinful behavior than acknowledging that there is, indeed, evil in this world. Confession and absolution, once a mainstay of Lutheran doctrine, has become a casualty of the goal of affirming their members within their sin. What was once so very important in the Lutheran worship service to emphasize that humankind is by nature sinful and needs to acknowledge that fact, is made optional in ELCA churches, to be replaced with a celebration of baptism. Apparently, the leadership of the ELCA believes that to acknowledge that anyone can possibly fall short of the glory of God is much too harmful to the self-esteem of their membership. Proverbs 28:13, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

For those in the ELCA, it is no longer necessary to admit one is sinful. The doctrine of bound conscience allows ELCA members to hold to their own interpretation of Scripture, and even if it is in obvious error, all are called to respect that opinion. So those that wish to uphold their selfish nature are allowed to lift themselves up and over the authority of Scripture. As Christians, we are ever indebted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because He took upon Himself the punishment meant for us. When we want to prove our love to the One who gave His life for us, we should want to please Him in all we do. Jesus said in John 14:15, 21, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” We are called to obedience. Even though we are no longer under the law, Jesus commands us to obey. So, where does that leave the leadership of the ELCA that decides that God’s law is no longer relevant in this enlightened age? It is becoming increasingly clear that the ELCA has denied that any authority rests with Scripture, unless it fits with their misguided aspirations to place man’s worldly desires before the will of God.

The leaders of the ELCA see no evil when they disregard Scripture to affirm homosexual behavior. They hear no evil when bound conscience allows their members to disregard the word of God. But, they DO speak evil when they brazenly question the very tenets of our faith; the Virgin Birth, Jesus’ Resurrection, the deity of Christ, the existence of hell and promoting the concept of universalism. Of course, these are not the official teachings of the ELCA, but ELCA biblical scholars pen essays that are not only tolerated, but are published in official ELCA publications and on their websites. (see The Lutheran, Digging Deeper on the ELCA website) Furthermore, these heretical essays are given theological approval, indicating that many biblical scholars believe this way. The false gods of tolerance, diversity, and welcoming are paramount in the ministry of the ELCA. Members accept decisions made by the leadership of the ELCA because Jesus called all Christians to love your neighbor as yourself, and accepting and affirming those within their sin sounds so loving. It is nothing of the sort. Allowing fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to go on believing that their church affirms what God rejects, drives them away from Him and into the arms of the evil one.

The leaders of the ELCA blind their membership with the promise of acceptance without regard to repentance. Once we come to know God and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become a new creation. What we once were is no more. Whatever sin we engaged in, whatever wrongs we committed are forgiven and we endeavor to leave our life of sin behind, living to give Him all the glory. Worldly desires please no one but the evil one. Activists for the LGTBQ community place conditions upon our God, which is nothing more than selfishly refusing to leave their life of sin behind. They refuse to give up engaging in behavior prohibited by God. “Full inclusion” in the church is selfishly requiring God to change to meet their expectations. Excuse me, but that is a little like having the tail wag the dog. God loves His children beyond measure, but we are called to obedience, not the other way around. God is our Father and He has the authority to require His children to meet His expectations. Now, none of us is without sin and no one is righteous, but;

Romans 3:21-26, “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”

I love my brothers and sisters in Christ in spite of their sin and I hope they would love me in spite of mine. No one knows what is truly in our hearts except our God, and He does love us unconditionally. Will humankind’s preponderance to commit sinful acts jeopardize the grace extended to those with faith in the Risen Christ? No, but when we obey, our Father will be pleased. But, sin is disobedience and disobedience leads to lawlessness, which in turn feeds our selfishness, which ultimately leads us to deny our God the proper place in our lives. Our brothers and sisters in Christ that remain trapped within the progressive churches of the ELCA , Episcopal, and United Church of Christ need our prayers more than ever. As the leaders of these wayward churches advocate for the things of this world and lead their membership away from Christ, so many are at risk of losing their salvation. Pray unceasingly for their deliverance, continue to uphold the authority of Scripture and proclaim the Gospel, so that those that have not heard will come to Him and those who have become lost will return.

Queer Eye for the Faith Guy

The Bravo Channel, a cable network, offered up a show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”, from 2003-2007, where 5 gay men, adept at interior design and personal clothing selection helped straight men become more contemporary. Usually the straight guy needed an upgrade from his typical ensemble of blue jeans and a flannel shirt or his home and/or apartment needed to be transformed into something that did not fall into the category of man-cave or worse, a pigsty. This show was popular for several years and became a favorite of the twenty-something college crowd.  The effort to mainstream the LGTBQ lifestyle eventually led to the formation of the LOGO cable network, launched in 2005, that caters to that lifestyle choice. Those that have chosen an alternate lifestyle are now often looked upon and cool, hip and enlightened, especially in the secular world.  Bishop Mark Hanson of the ELCA follows in the footsteps of those cable networks as he caters to those choosing to lead an alternate lifestyle. Much effort is put into anti-bullying, directed primarily as support for LGTBQ individuals through the “It gets better” project. Understand that it is absolutely reprehensible to discriminate, bully or treat those that choose alternate lifestyles as someone to scorn. Everyone is a child of God and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, no matter their life choices. What is problematic though, is that Bishop Hanson affirms that lifestyle even though Scripture is abundantly clear that God does not approve.

So, why does the leader of the largest Lutheran Church in America decide that what God has obviously forbidden, is to be affirmed by God’s church? Hanson tries to explain that, somehow, God is telling us new things and that apparently, God (through the Holy Spirit inspired authors of Scripture) could not possibly fully understand that the alternate lifestyle would evolve as it has. It is also the misguided love of neighbor that drives his crusade to normalize the homosexual lifestyle. Is the sin of homosexuality any worse than any of the sins supposedly good Christians commit every day? No, it is not. Whenever I, as a married man, look at a woman with lust in my heart, I commit the sin of adultery. Whenever I place my needs ahead of God’s will, I place myself on the altar and push my Lord away. Should the church affirm this type of behavior as right with God? Of course not! 1 John 1:8-10, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, Hanson has the authority to declare the entire forgiveness of all of our sins. But, what he does not have, is the authority to declare that which God has forbidden, is no longer prohibited and is acceptable in the eyes of God.

We trust that the leaders of God’s church are inspired by the Holy Spirit to lead us in ways that are pleasing to our Lord. We accept that the message from the leaders of God’s church is the truth and they would never lead us astray. But, they are not only ministers of God’s church. They are also sinful human beings just like every one of us. When one uses human understanding to try to discern God’s will, one may just hear what they long to hear, rather than where the Holy Spirit is leading. When one believes that their own imperfect human love approaches the pure and perfect love of our God, one can disregard the truth and replace it with the desires of imperfect human beings. All believers are equally inadequate before God and fall woefully short of the glory of God. But, when God’s children trust the leaders of God’s church and are led astray by those leaders, a heavy burden falls upon those leaders. Just as the police officer is held to a higher standard of the law, the leaders of God’s church must endeavor to preach the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that with the power of the Holy Spirit, those that are lost may come to believe. If they lead their flock astray, Jesus said in Luke 17:1-3, “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.”

The misconception that one must accept sinful behavior as somehow pleasing to God in order to properly love the neighbor, makes no sense whatsoever. Do I expect that my brothers and sisters in Christ look upon me as righteous, even though I am a greater sinner than they? Do I withhold my love of my brother until they accept my sin as acceptable to God? It doesn’t matter what your sin. It doesn’t matter what you have done. It doesn’t matter what you have failed to do. Faith in the living Christ is what matters. And if you truly love the Lord, you will want to please Him. If you want to please the Lord, you will try your best to delight in His will and walk in His ways. If you love Him, you will want to give all the glory to His Holy Name. My Savior and king died for me, an unworthy sinner and I am forever grateful. It is time for Mark Hanson lead his flock to the truth and not simply placate those that want their earthly desires affirmed.

What Does God Require?

One of my favorite contemporary praise hymns, "The Heart of Worship", acknowledges our failure to attain that which our Lord requires. The refrain declares, “I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song is not what you have required. You search much deeper within, through the ways things appear, you’re looking into my heart….I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made, when it’s all about you, it’s all about you Jesus.” Our faith is all about Jesus. For without His death and resurrection our faith is meaningless. 1 Corinthians 15:14-17, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we are made new. Our lives are indelibly altered. We are no longer content to please only ourselves, we want above all else to please our Lord. It is when we continue in our selfish ways and fail to place Him first in our lives that trouble befalls us. We are sinful, selfish creatures that continually fail our Lord and the reason we fall short of God’s expectations, is that we continually place our needs ahead of our Lord.

Our God requires that we worship Him above all else, that we hold Him above our possessions, our identities, our family, and above even ourselves. Our God is a jealous God and when we place the things of this world over Him we do not worship Him, we worship ourselves. Taken from one of the Books excluded from the revised common lectionary; Nahum 1:2-3, “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.” What of those that see their sexual identities as all important, so important that their identity as LGBTQ takes precedence over our God? What of those misguided churches that betray our God’s law and accept what He has prohibited? Scripture is clear in these matters. When we have the audacity to challenge our God’s law and to place our own opinions above His, we commit the gravest of all sins. We place ourselves, our possessions and our identities as our god. We indeed worship ourselves. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

We will all be called to testify and stand ready to accept the just reward or punishment for our deeds. 2 Peter 2:4, 9-10, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.” The leadership of the ELCA apparently despises the authority of Scripture, since they falsely proclaim that God is telling them a "new thing", and rewrite God’s law to satisfy their worldly desires. This "new thing" that places love of self over love of our Lord is simply a recipe for disaster. Since the ELCA began promoting love of the secular world, concentrating on social justice instead of the Gospel of Christ, over 1 million have fled this misguided denomination to join churches that place our Lord first in their ministries. The tsumani of congregations leaving continues as the leadership of the ELCA complains that we must remain in fellowship, since our diversity makes us stronger.  When diversity and the things of this world are favored over our Lord's will, it is time to walk away.  We must make certain that the Truth is proclaimed, so that those deceived by these false teachings will have their hearts and minds opened and find their way to the path that our Savior is leading.

If Only....

We all did it as kids. That one thing that was so cool, so important to us. We dreamed about it, even prayed about it. We saved our money. We did extra chores so we didn’t have to wait so long to get it. We begged, cajoled, whined, and generally made a pest of ourselves in the effort to get that one special thing, that new thing that would make our life complete. Then the day arrived and we finally got that most important thing in the whole world. But, eventually the newness wore off and we were off to the next great thing and started the process all over again. When the scholars and leaders of the ELCA concocted the doctrine of bound conscience to satisfy the selfish desires of man, they’ve led their membership down a road that leads to the same trap as those young children that just must have that new thing. Now that the ELCA has affirmed the homosexual lifestyle by voting to disregard God’s law, those who have been given this one great thing that will finally make their lives worthwhile, have indeed become tired of this new thing and are no longer satisfied with simply having their lifestyle affirmed.

Although the Episcopal Church has gotten a head start on the ELCA in disregarding Scripture, the natives are becoming restless.  From the Out-Smart, Houston’s gay magazine article posted on September 1, 2010, "While the Episcopal Diocese of Texas is in no danger of having any openly gay bishops anytime soon (although the General Convention allowed for that possibility), there are groups of Episcopalians in our state who are not content to stand by as others develop the rites for same-sex marriage. This development will not be speedy—there is a lengthy process for approving new rites— but members of Integrity, the Episcopal organization that works for LGBT inclusion in church life, have organized a two-day conference on October 1 and 2 at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston. “Our conviction is that we don’t have to wait for the diocese to take leadership,” Hunt explains. “We are the diocese, and we very much want to be part of the process of the development.” Now that the authority of Scripture has been overturned, it is time to continue to roll back these outdated laws that our repressive God has set before us. It is time to charge to the ecumenical forefront and take our rightful place that has been denied to those who are too selfish to lower themselves to obey a God that has the audacity to forbid them their lustful desires. I am sorry, but being a follower of Christ requires sacrifice. Yes, there are many delights within this world that I would love to partake, but the morals and ethics instilled in me by my Father in heaven tell me that I must deny myself and behave in the manner that He commands.

Many LGTBQ blogs and magazines accuse evangelicals of using the Bible and its condemnation of homosexuality as a way to spread hate and use it to push away children of God. The bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA used the words “using Scripture as a war club”. Brothers and sisters, we do not accuse the LGTBQ community of a sin greater than any sin that any of God’s children commit. The argument is about God’s word and the authority of Scripture. Our brothers and sisters in Christ that happen to have a proclivity towards a sexuality that is not within the context of a marriage between a man and a woman, are no worse than any of us that continually fall into sin. Why the LGTBQ community continually attacks those that adhere to Scripture only shows that they are obsessed with having society and the church accept and affirm their lifestyle. We are to love our God with all our hearts and all our minds and all our souls. If one’s lifestyle and having others accept that lifestyle is the most important thing to them, then they simply do not love God as our Lord commands.

Christian groups that support and affirm LGBTQ behavior complain that they have been forced to the margins of the church and have felt unwelcome. It’s not easy to overcome our sinful behavior. When we refuse to repent of our sin, no matter what that sin may be, the truth is not in us. 1 John 2:3-6, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” When we willfully engage in behavior that we know is sinful, refusing to acknowledge God’s law, we are not God’s children, we are indeed children of the evil one. 1 John 3:7-10,” Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”

These are strong words. Our God loves us, but this does not give us license to willfully disobey. There are consequences to our sinful behavior. We must acknowledge our sins before our Father and ask forgiveness. If we decide to continue in that sin regardless of what our Lord commands, then the judgment will be upon us and we prove ourselves to serve the evil one. It is when we ask for forgiveness for our sinful behavior, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. No, we do not use Scripture as a war club against our sinful brothers and sisters. We love and accept all children of God who come to Him and repent of their sin. The issue with the LGTBQ community is not with those that remain true to Scripture. The real issue is that they need to make themselves right with the Lord