Are People Born Gay?

Recently while reading a blog on myspace.com I responded to this discussion. Here is what I posted.... Just a couple of thoughts on the whole gay, straight, ??? issue; First - I applaud you for thinking for yourself! Most people who have strong opinions have not taken the time to reasearch, reflect, and respond the the truth. Remember having an opinion does not mean we are thinking. But taking the time to understand the facts and forming our own thoughts is essential to having understanding. Second- According to Genesis 1 Mankind is created in God's Image... That is we have a conscience, we know right from wrong, we can reason, relate, and respond. Also what makes us different from all the other animals is the knowledge of being created. Although The Bible teaches us that most have suppressed that truth (being created) because of unrighteousness (Romans 1). So if we are going to believe that we are created in God's image (Genesis 1) then we must believe mankind can not be created Gay because God is not Gay nor does He encourage you and I to be Gay. Third - People are created in wonderful and unique ways but we all have the same basic hardware (with the exception of birth defects and accidents). Basic human biology shows us that Homosexuality can not reproduce. The basic idea is that the fruit or results of homosexuality is not good. And in the book of Genesis when God saw all of His creation He declared it was Good. So I do not believe God would create someone wanting what is not good. Fourth - All of mankind have been created with a sexual drive which produces desires (except for the unusal case of those called/created to be single). These desires (as well as all desires) should be fulfilled according to God's design. For example a married man who is attracted to another woman needs to control his sexual desires even though it may be difficult and require lifestyle changes (ie not hanging out with that person). A woman who receives comfort and advise from another man and finds herself attracted to him, if she is married, she needs to end that relationship and find other means for that comfort and advise. These are normal ways of handling God given desires. The same is true for someone attracted to the same sex. These are unhealthy temptations that need to be controled. When people learn to control unhealthy desires a healthy lifestyle is produced. Fifth - And Most Important...God created sex and all that He created was good and for our blessing. But...we now live in a society that is given over to sensuality and sex. We are being bombarded with sexual messages constantly. This I believe is producing a very harmful farmland of sexual expression and lifestyle. Within this harmful farmland of public sexual expression some people are growing up with the wrong idea of sex. God created sex to be expressed between a man and a woman with a lifelong relationship. But with our current malfunction of sex in our socienty, and poor examples of those we admire, our culture has produced damaging ideas regarding the wonderful gift God gave us. This I believe, has cause many to doubt their God given sexuality. Esspecially within our youth of today. Well, there is much more to this discussion and I certainly am not the expert. But what I believe is that God's Word has given us the proper use of this God given gift. That is, that sex should be is within the lifelong marriage commitment between a man and a woman. Also, I am in no way bashing Gays. Having compassion and not becoming part of the problem when reaching out with the Gospel to people who have decided to be Gay is essential. I was addressing the theological question "Does God Create people Gay?" I think it is a good question in light of our current cultural battle in Prop 8. my 5 cents....

What Is Biblical Stewardship

“…He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Biblical stewardship involves the faithful managing of God’s Kingdom. All that we are, all that we have, and all that we do should be viewed from this sense of stewardship. Our lives have been purchased by Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross. We are God’s servants and how we use that which we have (mind, will, possessions, money) is how we steward for God’s Kingdom. Author Lynn A. Miller says “Stewardship is the act of organizing your life so that God can spend you.”

Often times God’s people see stewardship from either guilt or pride. While those who have a feeling of guilt often give out of unbiblical compulsion, God tells us to purpose in our hearts and lay aside each week as we prosper (1st Corinthians 16:1-2) for the support of the local ministry we belong to. And on the other hand, there is a temptation to feel a sense of pride when we have made a commitment to adding our finances to that which we steward for God.

So, the path to Spirit led stewardship involves understanding the Grace of God. God’s Grace is His divine influence in our lives. His transformation is from the inside all the way out to our day to day living. God’s Grace causes us to understand the importance of prayer, holiness, service, and fellowship. God’s Grace works in the Fruit of The Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). And God’s Grace causes us to see the importance of faithful stewardship. The Bible tells us to abound in this Grace of giving (2nd Corinthians 8:9) as well as the rest of our spiritual life with God.

A Critical Spirit

Most of us, if we are honest, can be observed at times having a critical spirit. We also can be found evaluating others by our ideals rather than our actions. In Luke's Gospel chapter 20 we see many different religious rulers confronting Jesus by what they think is right. If we read that chapter and we are honest, on occasion we can see ourselves in acting just like them.

Often times our ideals become the litmus test upon others and, if we are honest, we don't even measure up to our own ideals. We as God's kids rely upon His grace and mercy for ourselves, but relagate others to our bad attitudes and opinions. We should repent of this critical spirit and remember where we came from and how Jesus treats us.

But, if you think this critical spirit towards others is bad, what about when we are critical towards God and His Word? "Oh", you might say, "I would never do that!" If we can again put ourselves in the same shoes as those opposing Jesus in Luke's Gospel chapter 20, we would see a ourselves from a whole new perspective. You see, I believe by our own lifestyles we often prove a critical spirit towards God and His Word. For example, how we spend our money, the types of entertainment we enjoy, they types of people we date, the decisions we make. These actions all reflect a critical view towards God's Word and His will for our lives.

So, how can we see this problem before we find ourselves critically putting Jesus and His Word to the test? Well, I believe it is as basic as any relationship. Just like in marriage, as you spend time with that special someone you begin to trust them more. As you listen to their heart you embrace what is important to them even if it doesn't seem important to you at first. As you place their desires above your own you find devotion replacing that critical spirit and love guiding your thought and actions.

So the antidote for a critical spirit towards God is love and devotion towards Jesus Christ and His Word...Yep you guessed it...Falling more in love with Jesus allows His love to consume our critical spirit...

Enoch And His Message

Recently I have been teaching through Genesis and the Gospel of Luke. While exploring the life of Enoch and his message in Genesis 5:24, I was amazed with the statment that he "walked with God" and also in Hebrews 11:5 that Enoch "pleased God". Elsewhere in Scripture we understand that "Walk" is a metaphor for lifestyle and actions. So Enoch had a lifestyle that was all about God. Well, I began to realize that Enoch had an intimate fellowship with God and began to know the heart of God in the midst of "wicked, evil, and violent" times (Genesis 5:5,11). Well, that is when Jude 14-15 made sense to me. You see when Enoch knew the heart of God he followed the will of God for his life. And God's will was for him warn the world of impending judgement for sin. So Enoch had a prophetic ministry proclaiming the judgement of God during the times before Noah's life. Even though Enoch (according to Jude 14-15) was prophecying about the return of Christ or the event we call the 2nd Coming of Christ, the warning was still the same. Get right with God before His judgement for sin comes. Because Enoch believed this message he preached, he named his son Methuselah, which means "death then judgement." We can assume his name more fully meant "when Methuselah dies God's Judgement will come" because upon Methuselah's death God judged the world with a great world-wide flood. Well while this topic may not be one of those "WOW" things to read, I would like to make two points that I found were a "WOW" during my study. First, Methuselah was the oldest man to ever live. He lived 969 years. That demonstrates God's abundant mercy and longsuffing toward those living in sin. Second, in Luke's gospel we read that Jesus will come again when the times and culture get as bad as it was during Noah's time. Well, if you ask me we are not far from the return of Christ and the Judgment of the world...

Spiritual Discipline

Recently our men's fellowship group has been reading the book "Disciplines Of A Godly Man" by R. Kent Hughes. While this has been an old favorite of mine, each time I pick it back up I am challenged by the topic all over again. While many see the spiritual disciples as a "as I have time" kinda thing, I am of the opinion that God's Word instructs us to have a directed spiritual life. Jesus calls us to follow Him and the primary path of discipleship is to be directed with a goal in mind. The goal is to experience all that we have been given in Christ and to be used in the lives of others. I am reminded of how when I would go surfing my lifestyle would either help or hinder my performance upon the waves. I could always surf when the size was three to four feet. But if I had been staying too long at the dinner table and sitting around watching too much TV then when the waves were six to ten feet I would not be ready and barley make it out past the impact zone (beyond where the waves break). I learned some hard lessons when the surf was big. One of them was that you need a life of preparation to be ready for strenuous situations. In following Christ, spiritual disciplines will prepare us for challenging situations where God is needing a prepared servant. I always wished I had been in better shape when the surf was pumping and that motivated me to prepare even when I wasn't in the water... Spiritually I know discipline in following Christ will change my everyday life, and when the waves of life get a bit bigger....