Saturday, November 01, 2014

LIVING GUILT FREE


Guilt is to sin what pain is to sickness. I once got a gum infection, which got serious because the chemist misread the dentist’s prescription and only gave me pain killers and not antibiotics! The pills removed the symptoms but did not solve the problem!
When we sin, we feel the pain of guilt. People try, and do many things to get rid of this pain (spend money, use drugs/alcohol, relationships, gossip etc) without success. The “painkillers” work for a short while but then the pain returns! To get rid of this “guilt pain” we must deal with the cause, sin. But how? You need to find someone who is not subject to sin to help and heal you. The Bible shows us that God loves us. It is His plan for us is to live guilt free and united with Him. To make a guilt free life possible Jesus, the sinless/innocent one, willingly took the cause of guilt (sin) upon Himself. He allowed himself to be crucified and killed even though He had the power to save Himself! He dealt with“the cause” and opened the door for us to live guilt free. Now God can offer us complete forgiveness and a guilt free life that does not compromise His Holy justice. Jesus heals us, He does not just numb the pain!

Now back to the issue of gay marriage...

I heard to said by a proponent of gay marriage that "You are entitled to have my opinion". Huh? Of course we are entitled to opinions, as long as they conform to the liberal left...or else watch out for some language, fit for neither child nor adult!  The internet is great in many respects but it is also a gathering place for anonymous people who like to remove all doubt about their ignorance by displaying thoughts they would never utter in person.
Now back to the issue of gay marriage: If we jettison God's opinion on this among other matters we are absolutely rudderless in a sea of change.  We are simply left with what "feels" good with no solid basis. When I was a kid it "felt" good to eat sweets all day long (bad idea).  Many married people let their eyes wander and "feel" they should get involved with another of the opposite sex (bad idea). Many hot blooded teens "feel" they should follow whatever urges their hormones were leading them to, even if it meant doing acts reserved for marriage (bad idea).  If we are purely lust led animals you might understand the argument but...we are not!  Many fight this idea of a moral Creator because they feel hopelessly inadequate in meeting His standard...too right...it is hopeless, if you reject Jesus in every way, except as a piece of your curse word vocabulary.  The amazing thing is that he did become a curse for us that day he hung on  a tree, a curse for us so we can be free from the curse of sin.
Now back to the issue of gay marriage: If "feelings" are everything then why stop at 2, why not include animals, why should marriage be closed and not open? I heard 3 lesbians in USA want recognition in some bizarre union, don't ask the details! God created in a particular order (Adam and Eve you may recall) and God made sex. The fall brought corruption or perversion to the order God set and when He is rejected literally anything goes.
Now back to the issue of gay marriage: I am aware that this is hot button issue but with laws coming down the tracks in Ireland I believe it is valid to state that marriage is a gender based institution...period.  I clearly don't agree with homosexuality but when I meet gays I treat them with normal dignity and respect as people without agreeing with their sex orientation. God loves every last homosexual in Ireland and elsewhere so much that He bankrupted heaven by sending his most precious, His own Son Jesus, to take the hit for them and offer them new eternal life. Yes the bible calls homosexuality sin, as it does drunkenness, gluttony, lying, theft and lust. Did you ever get plastered, eat too much, tell a fib, download music illegally and take a prolonged look at one of the opposite sex with unhealthy thoughts...We're all the same boat...needing Jesus!