Pain

I learned something tonight that hurt me terribly.

A great friend in my youth, a person though younger than me by atleast five years, always seemed more grounded and wiser than me, has left the flock and has also become a part of the homosexual agenda, it appears that he cohabitates with a man that he seems to be in a relationship with.

This struck me with shock.

The last I had known about my friend was that he was attending college in St. Louis to become a youth pastor. He had many connections and friends doing what they could to support him, let alone a home church that was very happy for him.

I'm not certain what happened between then, a number of years ago, and now.

When we spent time together I wondered to myself what his family would look like in the future. What kind of spectacular wife he would have. How much more accomplished his children would be than even him. These things won't happen. That hurts. I counted him as an altruistic friend that was always benevolent.

Like I said, I'm not sure what happened between then and now, as we haven't been in touch for a while. I always expected him to come back to town, but he hasn't. He's still in St. Louis. I know he has many more people in his life who's opinion's and feeling's matter much more than mine, however I can't shake the hurt. In a youth group that didn't always look to the light, he was a reliable leader that knew holy from unholy.

I can't condone sin. But I do love my brother in Christ, even as a sinner. We are all sinners and fall short of the grace of Yah. But He has mercy and has afforded us salvation through Yeshua.
I will always have love in my heart for this friend of mine.

I had been thinking about the topic of homosexuality and if I wanted to address it on this blog. Many people think ( especially in this "modern" age) that to reject sin is to reject the sinner. What some people don't consider is that it is possible for ourselves to be rejected by the sinner. When I learned of my friends decision, it compelled me to post this blog. I pray that my words are not abrasive and that although they may be received with dissuasion from this individual, that he will still consider my love and appreciation for the place he took in my life while we were young.

I've not been active on my FB for what has been several years so this has only now come to my attention. As it has come to my attention, and the technology we have today is a new thing, I am struggling with what I should do about a friendship I felt in my heart. Should I remove him as a friend and send a clear message? Or do I keep him and continue to pray for him? Granted if I am to say anything about my hurt, he is prone to take me off of his list of friends. I believe I have made a decision but I will wait on it for a week or less, depending on correspondence over the course of this week.

At the end of the day, I know this: Yah would not accept it, and He would chastise him for his immorality.

I don't feel it's my place to chastise said friend. Though maybe that's me being weak as a Christian.

My hurt comes from seeing that in this world that a great holy leader has been lost, and that in the world to come I won't see him at the gate. From all appearances his heart is not repentant. Though he does still have a vast amount of content on his page with regards to his church. Some people have responded to him in less than holy ways, albeit those same people are not what I would consider followers of Yeshua as of today.

I know that this individual is intimately familiar with the Word of God and that what I am about to write is nothing new to him. But to have a clean conscience I have to write it anyway.

Leviticus 18:22 KJV

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

or more clearly from the NLT

Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.

And here is a more vivid illustration from an outspoken Paul.
Romans 1:18-32 NLT

18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.* 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

 

 

 

Also,

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (NLT)

 

1 Timothy 1:8-10 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine ... (ESV)

 

 

These verses are not written in hate. They are holy scripture. I do not hate my brother for losing his private fight with temptation. The Word says that if we hate our brother, he have not the love of the messiah. In fact that verse, 1st John 3:15 equates hate to being a murderer. I love my brother, and that is why I petition his choice.

 

 

 

I can't help but battle at the same time with a commandment that I am not fully versed in, that of shunning. I know that it is scriptural, through and through, but not having examples of holy shunning makes it a little difficult to follow a safe path with it.

 

Here are the verses regarding shunning. A topic I have avoided till present and may be able to better elloquate in the future, but certainly not at present.

 

I was going to just quote 1st Corinthians 5:11-13. But after reading the chapter, the entirety should really be read.

 

From Matthew 18:15-17 NIV

15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

 

The Word of God truly is clear on the matter.

 

I don't blame my friend for looking at the world the way he does. Things have changed drastically in the last thirty years. I'm not sure how youth these days can try to stay pure with all of the evil around them. There are so few people even from my generation that are pure, not to mention the fact that more and more of the people that were pure at one point in time, have now fallen by the wayside. It hurts and it is genuinely sad. And many of these people would still call themselves saints, even though they choose to no longer "be separated" from "the world".

 

In a day of self-worship steeped in materialism and church buildings that are more entertainment centers than institutes of salvation, where is a stray sheep to turn? When the media barrages the public through a bullhorn trifecta of radio, TV, and internet-todays churches whisper from across town to turn from sin. When I look at today's generation turning from Christ, I don't judge them, I could easily be one of them. Their falling away is not their fault. I know who the liability rests on, and I know in all my soul that those same individuals would never hold themselves accountable, much less lift a finger to save said soul.

 

Today's generation has nothing to contrast materialism with, it is what they believe to be "normal", it is "their normal". Individuals of age, have it as their responsibility to enlighten today's generation that there is a choice, and that every decision they make-whether it be which shoes to wear or whom to associate with- is a decision that they have complete control over. That popularity is not the answer, but rather integrity and perseverance.

 

I'll end this with Matthew 7:15 KJV

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

 

Take heed to whom you listen. Not all in the church are saints.

The Wisdom Of Attending College

I'll preface this post by saying that both Elizabeth and I have attended and graduated from college. In fact, she is currently finishing her MBA.

For us though, we view this as feeding the beast as a means to slay it. Elizabeth has many connections inside of her workplace that desire her to help. Her MBA will not only assist her in attaining these positions but also higher pay.

The higher pay is what is necessary to pay off the college she was expected to attend in the first place. College is the cure to the disease that it, itself creates-debt. This route does not and will not work for everyone. A lot of it goes down to where you liv, how your family supports you, who you know, and most importantly your organizational and work ethic. All of these have to work in just the right way. It's a very risk prone method of self-advancement.

I will not encourage my sons to attend college. I will however prepare them for life. Read THE TRADES OF MY SONS blog posting.

If Elizabeth and I had been raised in plain families, neither of us would have college debt at this point, and the both of us would be further advanced in our lives.



We have not always believed college to be a negative endeavor. It's only been with the current economic downturn that the negatives of college have become more and more obvious.

The only time I encourage college for an individual is when they have been guaranteed a job by someone they know very well, I.E. their father. Another stipulation that I encourage is that they know how the schooling will be paid for. And it's no shame to them if their father pays for it. And when I say "paid for", what I mean is, In-Full before the schooling is finished. NO debts or liabilities upon exciting the institution.

Here is a quote from a famous author.

"Students who acquire large debts putting
themselves through school are unlikely to think
about changing society. When you trap people in
a system of debt they can't afford the time to think.
Tuition fee increases are a disciplinary
technique, and by the time the students graduate,
They are not only loaded with debt,
but have also internalized the
disciplinarian culture. This makes
them efficient components of the
consumer economy."

-Noam Chomsky

I could continue on about how supposed "Christian" schools are teaching heretical ideologies and compromising the integrity of the family structure, but I trust that if you are reading this that you are already aware of that. It's a shame what state our educational system has found itself in from kindergarten to college.

I will say however that the college that Elizabeth is going to now, is actually worth it's name. They say they are Christian and they act and teach like it. I can't say the same for  the college she went to for her bachelors. Granted her current school charges for that type of environment.

We fully expect that ten years from now that Elizabeth will be a stay at home mom, and that our families income will be earned by me.

Christians and Halloween

It's difficult for me to write about this, just because I shouldn't have to. Christians celebrating Halloween at churches is the deepest evidence we have that the supposed saints of today, are not reading their Bible. There is nothing holy about Halloween. The Bible is clear when it talks about necromancy and witches and also wizards. We are to avoid them as best we can and are not to associate with them under any conditions unless they reject their unholy past and repent.

Lets look at some verses.

Leviticus 20:26-27

King James Version (KJV)

²⁶ And ye shall be holy unto me: for I theLord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
²⁷ A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Choose whom you shall serve.

Also:

Exodus 22:18

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Halloween has no holy or righteous association. No one thinks of our Lords gift of salvation. A child or adult that celebrates Halloween by dressing up or even giving out candy is still associating with the observance of the day. It is certainly by no means an opportunity to witness except by nonobservance. How are we to be an example if we set No example?

What finally set me over the edge with this was actually seeing a church with a sign in front of it that literally had the word Halloween on it. Unholy and unacceptable. They were advertising for a Halloween party they were going to have. If I have an opportunity I will try to get a picture of it.

I know that as Christians we are all coming to it from different directions but there are something's that just don't change, namely The Word Of God!

More Verses:

Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (NIV) Let no one be found among you... who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or cast spells, or who is a medium or spiritist.

Isaiah 2:6 (NIV) You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full ofsuperstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans.



Revelation 21:8 (NIV) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

Here is a quote from A.W. Tozer:

 "Christianity is so entangled with the world that millions never guess how radically they have missed the New Testament pattern. Compromise is everywhere. The world is whitewashed just enough to pass inspection by blind men posing as believers..."