"Oh no" was what shot through my mind. Who am I to offer help, to see what might need to be done, to come up with ideas that might aid my friend.
I am not a wealth of knowledge. I might have some ideas, might even have dealt with some hard things, but I am not always right, don't know everything and hopefully, don't pretend to either.
After a long discussion, and thoughts and questions and feelings stated and heard, we came up with an idea of what she might do.
How does one stay involved in your local church body when they won't address certain issues? Now days, the big issue is homosexuality, and wow, does it illicit all types of responses when brought up. But not bringing it up and trying how to navigate the muddy muddy waters of how to deal with this issue is just wrong.
It is also wrong to leave the church because they won't take a stand or you don't like their stand.
Change comes from within. Not from outside.
Change comes from LISTENING; to each others views, to the LORD and WAITING until the LORD makes it clear to you of how you are to respond and continue.
I am saddened by today's churches rejecting the Gay community.
Frustrated that we label one sin as more heinous than another because we don't agree with it.
I am definitely a heterosexual woman. I love my husband. I don't understand the connection, the attraction of the same sex in a sexual manner. But as time has gone on, I have come to be horrified by how some in the Body of Christ have seriously maligned and defamed the character of gay people.
I am a sinner. In need of a Savior.
We all are sinners; in need of a Savior.
When Adam and Eve decided to do what they wanted, when they were enticed in to caving into their temptation, life on earth was forever changed- for the worse.
God created the universe and created man for us to be in a relationship with Him. When we (or specifically Adam and Eve) chose to follow their own whims, we all suffered. The perfect world that God created and envisioned was gone. We have all suffered the consequences since. Life has not been the same.
I agree with God's vision that a marriage is to be between a man and a woman. But after "the fall", sin entered. Sin is basically doing what we want to do and not listening to what God says. We care about ourselves more than God. The natural relationships became unnatural. Some men desired men and some women desired women. This wasn't what God originally intended. But does it mean that being a homosexual person is a worse sin than any other? Maybe with the exception of murder?
How does one stay involved in your local church body when they won't address certain issues? Now days, the big issue is homosexuality, and wow, does it illicit all types of responses when brought up. But not bringing it up and trying how to navigate the muddy muddy waters of how to deal with this issue is just wrong.
It is also wrong to leave the church because they won't take a stand or you don't like their stand.
Change comes from within. Not from outside.
Change comes from LISTENING; to each others views, to the LORD and WAITING until the LORD makes it clear to you of how you are to respond and continue.
I am saddened by today's churches rejecting the Gay community.
Frustrated that we label one sin as more heinous than another because we don't agree with it.
I am definitely a heterosexual woman. I love my husband. I don't understand the connection, the attraction of the same sex in a sexual manner. But as time has gone on, I have come to be horrified by how some in the Body of Christ have seriously maligned and defamed the character of gay people.
I am a sinner. In need of a Savior.
We all are sinners; in need of a Savior.
When Adam and Eve decided to do what they wanted, when they were enticed in to caving into their temptation, life on earth was forever changed- for the worse.
God created the universe and created man for us to be in a relationship with Him. When we (or specifically Adam and Eve) chose to follow their own whims, we all suffered. The perfect world that God created and envisioned was gone. We have all suffered the consequences since. Life has not been the same.
I agree with God's vision that a marriage is to be between a man and a woman. But after "the fall", sin entered. Sin is basically doing what we want to do and not listening to what God says. We care about ourselves more than God. The natural relationships became unnatural. Some men desired men and some women desired women. This wasn't what God originally intended. But does it mean that being a homosexual person is a worse sin than any other? Maybe with the exception of murder?
I don't believe so. I believe that sex is to be sacred. That it is to be saved for marriage. In God's eyes, all sex outside of marriage is wrong, whether it be sex between people of the same sex, extramarital sex, which most of us all know to be wrong and hurtful, but also sex prior to marriage. Sexual intimacy is best shared in marriage.
For even if you don't understand the connection, attraction etc, gay people engaging in sexual activities is no different than teens engaging in sex, or one night stands in the 20 and 30's crowd, or a couple who love each other, but are not married, engaging in sex. All sex outside of marriage is wrong in the eyes of Our Creator.
I want to be an example of what it means to love others as Jesus loved me: without conditions, without criticism, without judging.
A gay person is no different in the eyes and heart of God as I am.
They are dearly dearly loved and valued by God. Their worth is meant to come from Him. He sent His Son to die for them, just as much as He sent His Son to die for me and for you. There is absolutely no difference in how God loves all of us. We all are His children, valued and precious.
As I have written before, I firmly believe if Jesus were alive on earth today, He would be hanging out with the LGBT community, with drug and alcohol addicts, with the abused, the elderly, with those suffering from mental illness. So many of the rest of us would probably considered the Pharisees of our day, we are the ones who think we know what to do, and act like we have it all together. I have to admit, I don't have it all together. Altho I am not gay, I have lied, I have gossiped, I have held hatred and bitterness in my heart. Being attracted to the same sex isn't my issue, but man, do I have plenty of others.
What we need to do is come together and see what we can do to make Gays feel welcome, feel unthreatened and un-judged if they walk in the doors of our churches. We need to love and not cast stones. We have our own failures, mistakes and sins to keep us from having piercing eyes on them.
PLEASE CHURCH of GOD, let us love one another as He loves us.
For even if you don't understand the connection, attraction etc, gay people engaging in sexual activities is no different than teens engaging in sex, or one night stands in the 20 and 30's crowd, or a couple who love each other, but are not married, engaging in sex. All sex outside of marriage is wrong in the eyes of Our Creator.
I want to be an example of what it means to love others as Jesus loved me: without conditions, without criticism, without judging.
A gay person is no different in the eyes and heart of God as I am.
They are dearly dearly loved and valued by God. Their worth is meant to come from Him. He sent His Son to die for them, just as much as He sent His Son to die for me and for you. There is absolutely no difference in how God loves all of us. We all are His children, valued and precious.
As I have written before, I firmly believe if Jesus were alive on earth today, He would be hanging out with the LGBT community, with drug and alcohol addicts, with the abused, the elderly, with those suffering from mental illness. So many of the rest of us would probably considered the Pharisees of our day, we are the ones who think we know what to do, and act like we have it all together. I have to admit, I don't have it all together. Altho I am not gay, I have lied, I have gossiped, I have held hatred and bitterness in my heart. Being attracted to the same sex isn't my issue, but man, do I have plenty of others.
What we need to do is come together and see what we can do to make Gays feel welcome, feel unthreatened and un-judged if they walk in the doors of our churches. We need to love and not cast stones. We have our own failures, mistakes and sins to keep us from having piercing eyes on them.
PLEASE CHURCH of GOD, let us love one another as He loves us.
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