Repentance

Do Christians, especially the right, fear the LBGTQ community?

It seems to me it is appropriate to ask whether Christians, in general, fear the LBGTQ community. So many of us who stand behind pulpits and sit in pews often leave no stone unturned when it comes to spitting ridicules and innuendos at a society that embraces different sexual preferences than ours. Don’t judge me. I am not an advocate for this group, but all of them are human beings like any one of us, who is free to do whatever they see fit.

We spend far too much time condemning sinners when we should spend more time winning souls for Jesus. If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, you should do as He had done when He walked the earth. He said He came to call sinners. Not the other way around. Jesus was not confrontational, except when He called out the Pharisee. Other than that, He was largely welcoming.

For example, when a group of lawmen brought a woman to Him whom they claim they caught committing adultery and insisted that the law said she should get pommel with stones until she was dead. Jesus did not side with the men and condemned the woman. Instead, He said. Let him cast the first stone if there is one, among you without sin. And to the woman, He said, go your way and sin no more. Essentially, Jesus calmly told both parties to go and clean up their lives.

We should control our emotions and allow the Word of God to do the condemning. After all, the Bible says all of us sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Therefore, there is no reason to be fearful because God is in control. He has given us choices-the wide and narrow paths. Each man’s reward will get calculated based on the course he took. That is the reason Jesus asked us to allow the wheat and the tare to remain together until the harvest. Furthermore, our sacred duty is to preach the gospel to all people.

Casting Crowns- Great are you, Lord

Reflexion Saturday

“ If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open, and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.  I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”

2 Chronicles 7:14-16

Prayer for boldness.

Jasmine Murray

Almighty God, grant your people boldness. And help us to stand up for what we believe, without any strings attached. Remind us daily that our yay should be yay, and our nay should be nay. Rip out every root and branch of wishy-washiness from within us. And give us the power to face our giants with strong confidence.

Goad us to take the spotlight off ourselves and direct it at You. For without You, we are weak and feeble. But with You, we have the power to do amazing things. Amen.

When all you have left is nothing

Rest assured you are not alone

When you have done wrong, and family, friends and close associates deserted you. And it feels like you are on an Island by yourself, rest assured that your heavenly father will not leave you or forsake you. He is waiting in the wings with open arms to comfort and console you. Confess your sins and ask his forgiveness and he will make you whole just like he did for David.

The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. But David messed up. He cried out to God with a contrite spirit, and God forgave him.

Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 51 KJV Bible Gateway

Is it well with your soul?

Christian encouragement

The acronym, WWJD, short for “What Would Jesus Do?” was on the tongue of every Christian on earth in the nineties. Today, WWJD is almost forgotten. And rightly so.

Every Christian knows Jesus always do the right thing, regardless of the situation and we can as well.

With that settled, it seems the central question Christians everywhere should be asking themselves daily, or as they reflect on their Christian journey is this: “Is it well with my soul?” At the end that’s the only thing that matters.