Go, Stand and Speak the Truth in Love–The Body depends on it

It rips at my gut like a bad case of food poisoning. It makes me feel like I am being smothered by a huge blanket. It blurs my vision and wipes all energy from my body. All I want to do is sit and cry. What on earth am I describing?

No, I am not attempting to describe clinical depression. What I am describing is how I feel when “the Man of Sorrows” manifests Himself through me. Jesus is not all happy and peaceful; not by a long shot. In fact, I am more sensitive to how much He grieves for the state of His Body than I am any other aspect of my Savior.

I honestly feel that when Jesus reflects upon the state of His church, He has no choice but to weep. What was once so glorious has been ripped asunder by doctrines of devils and arrogant frauds only wanting self glory. Any unity of the faith vanished long ago. Bickering has progressed to all out warfare among different factions all claiming to be the one true faith.

What once was a pure faith has been watered down and adulterated to the point it is powerless and counterproductive many times. When the far left fringes of Christianity are compared with the far right, there is no possible way they could both have the same faith. The sad reality is that the Body of Christ is crippled and on life support.

Certain issues have always divided believers into denominational factions. Whether baptism, ordination policies or monetary use; division is more often the result of Christians being together than any form of unity. Every member of the Body seems to have an agenda they are pushing and as a result the body is uncoordinated and so busy fighting itself it cannot get anything done.

In many respects, the Christian faith has become somewhat of a “to each their own” faith. Whether speaking of doctrinal or practical issues, there is little for Christians to agree with each other upon. What one person considers the “pillars of their faith”, another considers meaningless. What one believer deems vitally important to godliness, another doesn’t even recognize.

Social issues have succeeded in ripping the Body of Christ limb by limb into many “bodies”. Those who have decided to use feelings and personal agendas as the basis of their faith have succeeded in turning those who still cling to the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice into Neanderthals. Those who demand freedom of choice in all matters of lifestyle and living have turned Christianity on its head.

Anyone who doesn’t understand just how deep the divide has become among Christianity has not kept up with the news. Whether ordaining gays, promoting gay rights as totally allowable behavior for a Christian or advocating anyone wrestling with “feelings” to come out of closet; the side of the Christian faith which is attempting to make tolerance for homosexuality the center piece of the faith are winning the tide of public opinion.

What has happened in the world has spread like a cancer into the Body of Christ. Like a cancer, it is slowing eating away at the general health of the Body. Once this cancer reaches vital organs, the Body will grow very ill. Once it reaches the heart of the Body of Christ, it is all over.

What those who are promoting this lie fail to understand is that they are in effect saying that Christ was a homosexual. There are countless thousands who believe this lie based on no documentation that Christ ever was with a woman. Crazy assumptions of what Jesus did with his band of men have been circulated among the gay circles for years. Just as different races want to make Jesus their race, gays have attempted to make Jesus gay.

I am sorry, but at this point of this insane discussion there is no more to say. The utter folly in even insinuating that Jesus was homosexual is blasphemy just as the ridiculous accusations that Jesus was married and had children. Anything to tear down the truth and lower the standard to man’s sinful nature. That seems to be the prevailing attitude of the times.

Jesus was not a homosexual neither did He marry, have children and retire to a nice house on Long Island. Jesus was exactly who the Bible says He was; nothing more and nothing less. To read into the Bible things which justify sin and unholy lifestyles is a disgrace and a smack to our Lord’s face.

I have heard preachers say for years that Paul had an entourage of women who traveled with him to meet his sexual needs. Of course these same preachers had the same thing for themselves. I have heard believers claim that Jesus sat around the campfire in the evening smoking some kind of Biblical times weed with His disciples. Of course these same people did the same in their own lives.

People have attempted to make the Bible say whatever they want it to say to justify the lusts of their flesh and of their mind. They pull verses out of context and twist around words to make them imply what they need them to say in order to use them to justify their wickedness.

There is no putting back together the Body of Christ. The damage has been done and will not be repaired until that time in the future when the “perfecting of the saints” takes place. Until then, all efforts should be directed at preventing the heresies floating around the Body of Christ like blood clots from lodging in the lungs or heart and disabling the Body totally.

Those who know and love the truth are charged with the responsibility of speaking it. If ever there was a time to that, it is now. Go, stand and speak the truth in love.

The Relentless Attack Against “Right Wing” Fundamental Christians

There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that we are living in the final hours of the last days. Those that do not want to believe in such foolishness are free to believe as they want, but for those of us who DO believe; these are truly exciting yet harrowing times.

Not even taking into account the flood of newsworthy events taking place in the world, there is ample evidence spiritually that we must be nearing the end of a 6,000 year journey. With each passing day, the apostasy grows greater. With each passing day, the numbers of those who have allowed the world to turn their heart cold and have forsaken the first love of their life, Jesus, grow expeditiously.

The enemy appears to have been given a green light to launch an all out attack on the remaining remnant. Those who are still faithfully trying to stand on the integrity of God’s Word are being ridiculed, defamed and persecuted at every turn. Anyone who dares stand up for the truth is quickly shouted down and his voice drowned out by the throngs of angry people who absolutely despise those “right wing fanatics”.

The battle goes far beyond the old issues such as abortion. Far and away, the issue of the hour is homosexuality, same sex marriage and the elimination of differences between sexes. Old terms such as “mom” and “dad” are being threatened with extinction. For those intent on destroying the old concept of the family; there can be no distinction between mom and dad, for there are either two moms or two dads.

There are efforts being made in the courts to outlaw “boys” and “girls” restrooms. Why? Because the designation supposedly discriminates against a young boy or girl who doesn’t know which sex they really are yet. The same thing is coming with respect to separating boys and girls in gym classes. The effort on the part of the gay community has been relentless and progressively more demanding with respect to the elimination of any and all references which differentiate between the sexes.

Those who still stand fast on what the Bible says on this subject are relegated to the trash heap of worthless right wingers who would be better off dead than alive. The venom and pure hatred manifested by the gay/lesbian rights community toward those who “hide” behind the Bible is ugly and soon to be dangerous. The day will shortly come when the gay community will do to straight men what they used to do to gays.

The mantra of tolerance toward all is nothing but a smoke screen to cover agendas hell-bent on the destruction of the family the way God intended it to be. People want to be allowed to do whatever they feel like doing, whenever they want to and with whoever they feel like doing it with. They do not want someone telling them what is right and wrong. In fact, anyone doing such a thing is automatically marked as public enemy number one and all efforts are made to discredit and destroy them.

When you combine the adamant pro choice crowd together with the gay/lesbian activists and then add in the extreme environmentalists and minority rights activists; you have a consortium that is politically powerful and absolutely committed to their respective causes. In fact, these people are some of the most committed people on earth. They work tirelessly to advance their ideas and are so strong willed very few can or will stand up to them.

The group which is the target of the wrath of these groups are the right wing Christians who quote Bible verses to expose their darkness and sin. These “kooks” must be silenced through either intimidation or defamation of character. Their families, business ethics, finances and all the years of their life come under scrutiny by those looking for one speck of dirt to dig up and discredit them. Of course the current situation with Gov. Palin shows this perfectly.

Those who have a backbone need to stand up and be counted. Right and left, those who once claimed to believe the Bible and what the Bible says about social issues have been either pressured or pleasured out of the battle. The causalities are enormous in number and stature. One after another person and ministry has been targeted and attacked relentlessly. Most have crumbled like a house of cards, for that is what they were. Others have withstood the attacks and though diminished in stature, have refused to compromise or cave in.

Is there anyone who really thinks the whole of Judea did not know that Jesus was, in the world’s eyes, a bastard? The Pharisees threw that at Jesus as a way to prove there is no way he could be right. I am quite sure there were very few people around who had not heard the rumors about Jesus birth. I am also quite sure that when the pressure was on at the end of Jesus ministry, people used this piece of gossip as justifiable reason to leave from following Jesus.

The enemy is highly skilled and extremely adept at digging up dirt on anyone “fighting the good fight”. If you have dirt in your life, come clean with it and for God’s sake do not try to hide it. Far better it would be to simply state the truth and face the immediate ridicule, then to cover up and try to hide the facts about anything in the past. The enemy and his agents will dig it up in due time, and when they do, it will not be pleasant.

The enemy is determined to make those of us who believe the Bible is the only rule for faith and practice to look like fools or mentally challenged freaks not worthy of believing. The enemy hates those who faithfully and boldly stand on God’s Word. Those who do, are targeted and marked for attack. Assassin squads are daily dispatched from hell to try and trip up those who are marked. Every possible effort is made by the enemy’s minions to deceive, trick or physically injure those on his “hit list”.

I pray that God’s remnant refuses to bow. I pray that no matter how difficult it gets for those of us who believe and boldly proclaim God’s Word, we will never compromise and never back down from speaking the truth in love. I pray that any of God’s children who deep in their heart are crying out to receive what is needed to have the full armor of God, can be led to those who know how to help someone receive that armor.

Ephesians 6 exhorts us to STAND and having done all, to STAND. As difficult as it is to do, especially if alone, we must strive with all of our hearts to STAND, no matter what happens to us or when it happens.