Spiritual Confusion

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu made the news Friday when he said that he would rather go to hell than go to what he referred to as a “homophobic heaven”.

Pope Francis recently responded, when asked about gay people, “Who am I to judge?”

I am concerned that Tutu may one day have his wish granted. I also would like for the Pope to be clearer in his statements, which have been interpreted to mean that he approves of homosexual behavior.

It is no wonder there is so much spiritual confusion in the world! If spiritual leaders are not able to communicate spiritual truth, more and more people will be led astray.

The Bible clearly and consistently forbids homosexual behavior. Romans 1 warns of the wrath of God that awaits all those who practice wickedness. Of all the sins mentioned in this chapter, the one that is given the most attention is the sin of homosexual behavior. Not only are men and women forbidden to engage in such perversion (God’s word, not mine), we are forbidden to approve of those who practice these things.

Did you get that last part? We cannot approve of homosexual behavior and call ourselves Christians.

Please don’t be confused about that.

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Bringing Home the Bacon

bacon cooked

I recently shared a story Kyle Idleman told at the North American Christian Convention in Louisville earlier this month. Here is another story Kyle told in his sermon there.

Kyle has always loved the taste of bacon. However, he married a lady who is very concerned about eating healthy foods. She will only buy turkey bacon. (Kyle says this is an oxymoron!)

After years of having only turkey bacon in their house, Kyle took their young son out for breakfast one day. He was anxious to introduce his son to the taste of real bacon. He was disappointed when his son said, “This is OK, but I like Mom’s real bacon better.”

Imagine that! The young fellow couldn’t determine what was real bacon and what was the substitute! His only experience in life left him unequipped to make that decision.

Many people are unable to decide what’s real and what’s fake. Satan has invaded our culture and warped people’s views about marriage, family, the sanctity of life and many other spiritual issues.

Make sure that you and your loved ones don’t settle for something that’s fake. Don’t settle for anything other than the truth.

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie…”—Romans 1:25.

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Water of Life

goldfish

Kyle Idleman tells about the time he bought a goldfish for his young daughter. They thought that the goldfish might like to play with them, so they put him in a glass and set it on the edge of the swimming pool while they swam.

After a while, Kyle noticed that the glass was empty. The goldfish had jumped out, and now he was swimming in the pool. Little did the goldfish know that the chlorinated water was poisonous to him. He was happy to swim around, evading everyone’s attempts to catch him. Eventually, however, he was easy to capture—after he began to float belly up!

Many people don’t understand that this poisonous world in which they are so content to live will eventually lead to their death. They frolic around in greed, immorality and selfishness, not realizing that their spiritual death is imminent.

Let us continue to attempt to bring them to an understanding that Jesus can give them a better kind of water.

“But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”—John 4:14.

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Character Matters

Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner insists that he will continue with his campaign to become the next mayor of New York City. Many are calling for him to drop out of the race after it was revealed that the disgraced congressman continued to exchange explicit text messages even after his previous sexting had destroyed his career. Weiner seems intent on making a political comeback, hoping that the voters will give him another chance.

They just might do that. After all, President Clinton is one of the most popular public figures in the world, even after he lied about sexual activity with White House intern Monica Lewinsky—activity that took place in the White House! And voters in South Carolina sent Mark Sanford to Washington as their representative not all that long after his well-publicized affair while he was governor of that state.

People will often settle for unfit leaders. One parable in the Bible says, “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’—Judges 9:14.

It doesn’t have to be that way in a democracy. We have the ability to choose men and women of good character to be our leaders. In spite of what some people think, character indeed does matter.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”—Proverbs 14:34.

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Enjoying Life

shoe

A man entered a shoe store to purchase a pair of dress shoes for work. The clerk measured the man’s foot and said, “It looks like you need a size 11.”

“No”, replied the customer. “I wear a size 9. Please bring me a pair of size 9 black dress shoes to try on.”

The clerk thought to himself, “I won’t argue with him. He will soon change his mind after he tries to cram his feet into shoes that are way too small for him.” So he brought the man some size 9s to try on.

The customer pried and pushed until he finally jammed his feet into the shoes. He laced them up and took a few obviously painful steps across the floor. Then he turned to the clerk and said, “This pair is fine. I’ll take them.”

The stunned clerk could not keep his thoughts to himself. He exclaimed, “Sir, you and I both know that these shoes are far too small for you. Why in the world would you want to wear shoes that are so terribly uncomfortable?”

With a sigh of resignation, the customer shared the following.

“I hate my job. My boss is impossible to please, and he constantly stands over my shoulder, criticizing everything I do. When I come home in the evening, my wife begins her non-stop nagging. It seems I can never do anything right at home either. Then, there are my kids. All three of them are hyperactive, bouncing off the walls and yelling at the top of their voices. On top of all that, my mother-in-law lives with us. The only satisfaction I have in life is that, at the end of the day, I get to take off these tight shoes!”

I hope your life is better than that!

Remember that God “…richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”—1 Timothy 6:17.

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This One Thing

runner-celebrates-at-the-finish-line

I once spoke with a youth minister who had some teenage girls in his youth group who were having some homosexual desires. The group spoke openly about this subject. The girls who were struggling with these temptations knew what the Bible says about the sin of homosexual behavior. However, they wondered if God wouldn’t let them have “this one thing”. Perhaps if they tried to please him in every other way, God might look the other way concerning their sexual choices.

Here are a couple of observations.

First, there is not so much of a generational gap when it comes to such matters as there is a spiritual gap. Some people of all ages believe the Bible is true. Yet some people of all ages wish that they could ignore at least a portion of what the Bible commands.

Second, we all have different temptations. We cannot pick and choose from among the Bible’s commandments, as if it were some type of spiritual buffet. For many of us, there is one particular sin—“this one thing”—that threatens to trip us up and cause us to stumble.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “…Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

What is the “one thing” that threatens to trip you up?

What are you doing to safeguard yourself against being knocked out of the race?

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Time to Shine

untitledMany people agree that our nation is in a noticeable period of moral decline that has been going on for decades and shows no sign of improving. Just when we think we have hit rock bottom, society lowers the bar even further.

Bob Russell says, “Even the secular world recognizes we’ve lost our moral compass and we’re in trouble.” Russell was recently playing golf with some men when one of them said to him, “Preacher, I’m not a religious man, but I know something is drastically wrong with our country. We’ve lost all sense of right and wrong. You see it in the workplace all the time. Makes you wonder what’s going to happen.”

Just because there is a lot of evil in the world, there is no reason to throw up our hands in despair. Bob Russell points out, “When the electricity goes out, it’s a great time to be selling flashlights. A crisis can be a golden opportunity to advance a cause, and if that cause is a Godly one, it can reap eternal benefits.”

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden…In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”—Matthew 5:14,16.

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Bad Influence

A New York man who ran on to the playing area at Citi Field during the All-Star game faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The suspect, 18-year-old Dylan McCue-Masone is charged with interfering with a professional sporting event. He has pleaded not guilty.

McCue-Masone allegedly ran on to the field as a result of a Twitter dare. It is said that he initiated a dare to run onto the field if he received 1,000 responses to his tweet.

Hopefully, if he is convicted, each responder will chip in $1 to help pay his fine. A jail visit would be nice too.

Peer pressure has always been a factor in being tempted to do the wrong thing. Modern technology gives more opportunities to be influenced by others, for good or for bad.

“Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”—1 Corinthians 15:33.

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Helpless

Baby-Bird

A huge limb fell out of a tree in our back yard a few days ago. Some friends came by with pickup trucks and chain saws and helped me clean up the worst of it.

The next day, another friend and I were trying to finish the work when we noticed that a couple of baby birds had fallen out of their nest when the branch came down. Amazingly, they were still alive! I gently placed them in the shade and hoped that their parents would come and take care of them.  Without the parents’ help, the baby birds had no hope for survival.

This is a reminder that we humans are powerless to save ourselves. Without the grace of God, we are completely helpless.

Thankfully, he sees us in our need and provides for us in Jesus the salvation that we so desperately need. With Jesus, our salvation is assured.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”—Ephesians 2:4-5.

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Bump in the Road

Nathan Woessner

Nathan Woessner

6-year-old Nathan Woessner was playing on a massive sand dune in northern Indiana with his father and a friend last Friday. Suddenly, Nathan disappeared from sight. More than 3 hours later, rescuers pulled him from the sand. He showed no signs of life, and he was put in the back of a pickup truck to be taken to a waiting ambulance.

As the truck moved along, it hit a bump that apparently jarred Nathan’s body back to life. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Nathan is expected to recover and may be released after 10-14 days in the hospital.

Sometimes a bump in the road can bring someone back to life spiritually. A serious illness, the death of a loved one or some other traumatic experience might be what it takes to get someone to wake up and become serious about living for Jesus.

We ought to be on the lookout for people who are suddenly jarred to their senses. They often need someone to help them through the experience.

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”—Colossians 4:5.

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