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Showing posts with the label God the Father

Was Jesus - tolerant, diverse and inclusive?

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We live in a time when "tolerance," "diversity" and "inclusivity" are considered by many cultural virtues that supersede all others. This popular relativist notion disregards something far more important: Truth. ( REUTERS/Marko Djurica ) We live in a time when "tolerance," "diversity" and "inclusivity" are considered by many to be cultural virtues that supersede all others. This popular relativist notion disregards something far more important: Truth. Yet, and to borrow from Pontius Pilate , "What is truth?" Jesus is truth. Either that or, as C.S. Lewis famously observed, He is a liar, a lunatic or the " Devil of Hell" himself. Christ was both tolerant and intolerant—utterly exclusive and wholly inclusive. He said in no uncertain terms: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" ( John 14:6 ). Let's break that down. The Way Jesus ...

Ex-gay man: ‘Homosexuality is just another human brokenness’

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Dean Bailey , 50, is not afraid to tell anyone he is living proof that ‘ sexual orientation’ can in fact be changed. But he prefers to use the word ‘restored’ rather than ‘changed.’ Bailey remembers how from an early age he felt different from other boys. He felt he did not fit in and thought of himself as awkward, out of place. He remembers never feeling treasured or affirmed by his dad who was an alcoholic and who consumed pornography. Bailey believes this began a pattern of turning to other males to find the affirmation he never received from his dad. When a new outgoing boy began to attend school when Bailey was in grade three, he remembers trying hard to become the boy’s friend. It was during a sleepover at the boy’s house that Bailey was introduced to sexual play, including streaking and oral copulation . The experience not only robbed him of his childhood innocence, but awakened in him a sense of sexual curiosity. From here, Bailey became preoccupied with images of ...

Why Should We Care about the Definition of Marriage?

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With the overturning of Proposition 8 in California last August and New York becoming the sixth state to legalize homosexual “marriage” at the end of last month, the need is made increasingly apparent for Christians to continue to lovingly and resolutely declare God ’s design for marriage. That need only grows greater as this week President Obama publicly endorsed the “Respect for Marriage Act.” This bill would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 , “which instructs states not to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and…prohibits the federal government from recognizing legally performed same-sex marriages.” Now, I’m not at all talking about politicking, putting our hope in government, or going all chicken-little about the moral failure of our country. God is sovereign, and our hope is in Christ alone. But I am talking about speaking God’s Word into the situations He places you in. It’s likely that as you seek to be a good steward of the Truth of God that h...

Such were some of you

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Stained glass window of the sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the former Mosque (Cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Such Were Some of You” (A Documentary) was inspired by the passage in 1st Corinthians 6:11 that declares that in Jesus’ day there was a population who had been so transformed by their relationship with Him that they were no longer “same-sex attracted” or at the very least, actively homosexual.  They had found such a measure of healing from the brokenness and strongholds associated with what we now call homosexuality that they no longer considered themselves homosexual, nor did they act in that way. “Such Were Some of You” features interviews with a “cloud of present-day witnesses” who testify to the same life-transforming power of Jesus Christ .  They describe the development of their same-sex attractions , what the gay lifestyle was like, what their conversion process was like, and the various ways that Jesus has brought healing...