The Box of Christianity Part 2

I recently read a blog about a man who spent his early years attempting to pray the gay away. In the blog he explained that over the years, when God wasn’t answering his prayer, he began to understand why. In his mind, he believed that God didn’t take away his desire for other men because he wasn’t seeking out a relationship with God and was only seeking out an answer to his prayer. I can understand that thought process. God wants you to want Him, not just what He can do for you. However, the blog said much more than that. This “gay Christian” went on to say how God hates homosexuality and how God is working in his life to take away his desire for men. Today, he is finding himself “attracted” to a woman but his desire for men is still there. The biggest difference is that his desire for men disgusts him. He has admitted that he doesn’t know if he will ever be with a woman or if he will remain celibate his entire life because he refuses to give into his “lust.”

This saddens me.

This man loves God, there is no doubt. This man wants to live his life for God which is wonderful. However, I would like to ask him how he expects to truly help God’s people if he himself is not truly happy in his life. If he spends his entire life attempting to be something that he’s not, how can he be truthful with others? I’m not saying that he has to be with a man; that is his prerogative. What I am saying is this man needs to find the happiness and joy that God intended for him to have if he really wants to live the life God wants for him.

I’m a big believer that God doesn’t make mistakes. God doesn’t accidentally let a baby be born with Down Syndrome no more than he allows a child to be born with the feeling they are not in the right body or they happen to be attracted to the same sex. God desires love and acceptance of all His children regardless if they seem “normal” or not. God just doesn’t make mistakes. I am NOT a mistake.

When Jesus knew that His days on earth were over He told His disciples that He had to go so that the Holy Spirit could be with them. God knew that was the only way He could truly lead His people. When I came into a true relationship with God the Holy Spirit entered my heart and each day I’m lead by God. The Holy Spirit convicts me when I do wrong and pushes me to do the right things. Often times when I’m walking in a parking lot I’ll come across a piece of trash on the ground. I will look at it but I usually just keep walking and that is when the Holy Spirit nudges me in the gut and tells me to go back and pick it up. I can choose to ignore the nudge or I can do what I should, which I often do. God would like it if I would just stop and pick it up to begin with which I’m working towards. The other day I noticed a couple of elderly ladies putting groceries in their car and they were just about done with their buggy. A thought came to me that I should go over and get their cart for them so they wouldn’t have to walk back to the store, so I did. I didn’t do it for any other reason but to be sweet, thoughtful and helpful to them. I hoped in that instance with them they say the light of God in me. I thank the Holy Spirit for prompting me to do that. I’ve often returned back to a store because the cashier gave me too much change, all because the Holy Spirit convicted me to avoid doing the wrong thing and sinning (Thou shall not steal).

Day in and day out the Holy Spirit works in me to make me a better Christian. He convicts me when I’m wrong and he pushes me to do right. Sometimes when I’m making a choice to do something big I wait to hear what the Holy Spirit is going to tell me. I’m grateful that God is a part of my everyday life and the way I live it.

I say all of this to because I want to take a moment and talk about the love I have for my WIFE. Yes, I am in a same sex marriage. I don’t label myself “gay” or “straight” I only label myself as a “child of God.” It’s being a child of God that leads my life, not my sexual preference. Over the years in various relationships I have felt the Holy Spirit guiding me. I have felt God telling me that a particular relationship was wrong, no matter how much I cared for the person. I have felt that in relationships with males as well as with females. No matter how much it hurt, I knew that I had to get out of that relationship if I ever wanted to have the true life that God had planned for me. At forty years of age I never could have dreamed of the happiness I have found. It wasn’t possible to imagine while in my crawling days of being a Christian. But now that I am in a true relationship with God, I can feel the right and wrongs of my relationships. My sexual relationship and friendships across the board. When I am with my wife, I don’t feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to drop it like a hot potato because I’m sinning. What I feel is joy, happiness, peacefulness and harmony. I can feel the radiation of God’s light shining out from me. If you have ever seem Britteny and I together there’s a good chance you have seen that light. I feel nothing negative when I’m with her. I only feel that I am finally on the path that God has made for me. Britteny and I are not mistakes. We are not sinners for being together. We are soldiers in God’s army and we fight every day to show those around us His light and His love.

You will never convince me that being with someone of the same sex is wrong. You will never convince me that I am a mistake or that I live in sin because I choose it. I didn’t choose to be attracted to the same sex any more than you chose to be with the opposite sex. I hurt for those that feel as if they are going straight to hell because of who they LOVE and they try everything to change it. I wonder if God hurts when a child He made, in his image, fights to be something different. Whether you were born to like the opposite sex, the same sex or if you feel like you have the wrong anatomy, just know that God did NOT make a mistake. Get into a deep relationship with God, allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in your daily life and LOVE like God loves you. 

The Box of Christianity-Part 1

I’ve only been a “real” Christian for about 8 years but I’ve believed in God all my life. My parents didn’t force us into church and I’m very thankful. I’ve watched many of my friends who were forced to attend church only to resent those they sat in pews with. They were constantly told what they were doing that would cause them to go to hell. Who would want to sit through that? Teaching through fear; how does that really work?

As an adult I chose to attend a church of non-denomination. It was there that I learned the real steps of being a Christian. I wasn’t told how I was going to go to hell, instead I was taught how to live my life on a daily basis the way God would want me to live it. I was taught to be thoughtful, considerate, giving, hopeful, faithful, happy and peaceful. I was taught how to have joy no matter my circumstances. I can’t say that it has always been easy. I was certainly a baby when it came to being a Christian but over the years I feel as if I’ve grown to a walking, maybe not running, adult. I trust God day in and day out with all of my circumstances. I trust Him to meet my needs no matter how big or how small. I try my best to be a light to everyone I come across, no matter how trivial. I put my shopping cart back, pick up trash that’s not mine, help an elderly person to their car and give to the ministries that speak to me. (I’m not saying any of this for a pat on the back but an acknowledgement that I’m trying my best to be godly.) My spouse and I pray before every meal, no matter where we are and we respect each other’s personal time for spiritual renewal.

I feel as if I have an advantage of being a Christian “my way.” I don’t focus on the legalities that have kept “Christians” in their box, instead I focus on the relationship that I have with Christ.   

As with any relationship, it’s imperative that I have trust with the Father as well as clear communication. I mostly communicate through the Holy Spirit. I often have this knowing about what’s right and wrong; therefore I don’t have to see it displayed as rules. For example, God’s law doesn’t say that I shouldn’t throw my trash out the car window while driving down the road however, I have decided that my Father wouldn’t be happy if I did that to his earth. Because of my relationship with Him I want to avoid anything that would make Him unhappy; not because of a rule or law.

When Jesus was on this earth He focused on two very important points for God’s people. He focused on love for the Father and love for our neighbor. He did not focus on the points of not stealing, not lying or not murdering one another. I believe in Jesus’ mind, as long as you had love for the Father and love for others, the remainder of the “rules” would take care of themselves. If you love, regardless of who it is, you will always want to do the right thing. If you love your neighbor, you will not steal from him nor will you covet his things because you will be happy for him. Love takes care of everything else.

 Many of the religious Christians I know, as well as the ones I’ve come across but don’t know personally, focus on the “rules” of being a Christian instead of loving others. Many will keep themselves inside of a box where it’s clear on how to be in God’s favor (in their minds). This box often holds all the rules and regulations they have read about or heard about all of their years. This box also holds other religious Christians with the same thoughts and commitment to the rules and they never challenge each other. When those “rules” are challenged these religious Christians become unloving, judgmental and offended. They often fall back to the Old Testament where clear rules are put in place so they can feel successful, regardless of how they feel inside. However, the problem lies with how most religious Christians pick and choose the rules and regulations that fit their specific opinion on a particular issue. They often forget the two most important “rules” that Jesus taught and that was LOVE.

When Jesus discussed LOVE, He didn’t give specific rules to be followed while loving. He didn’t say that a man should only love a woman, a woman should only love a man, one should love their parents different than they love their neighbor, you should only love your immediate neighbors to your left and right but not the ones that live across from you…hopefully you get my point. Jesus taught God’s people TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER and TO LOVE GOD.

When we don’t live our life with love what good can we do for God’s people? If someone doesn’t love God then how are they going to make a positive difference in other’s lives? If they don’t love others, how are they going to be a blessing? Those that don’t love others are often unhappy and very unproductive when it comes to making a positive change in God’s people. They often find themselves in conflicts with others, unhealthy relationships, an unsatisfied job or they may be severely depressed and suffer from feelings of hopelessness. They may have followed all of Moses law but they’ve never mastered the most important aspect of being a Christian; loving God and loving their neighbor.

When you love you will see the positive side of situations. You will go out of your way to make another person happy or comfortable. When you love you can bring light to those that are suffering with hopelessness and you can change their life for the better. When you love with all your heart in the most honest way you can, you WILL make a difference in God’s people.

When you look at loving and not loving, which would you rather have? Most would answer that love is the way to go and yet, they don’t live it. They choose to stick with the rules because that is a sure bet to heaven (in their religious mind), when in reality they don’t have the complete love of the Trinity inside of them. True love will show the truth of God’s word. Let’s take the example of women preachers. So many people have been taught that women should not preach at all because of something that they read in the bible. We’re not going to even get into the discussion of what was really meant by that passage but instead I want to take the realistic approach to women preachers. If a woman preacher is able to bring others to Christ, change their life and make them a solider in God’s war, then why is that wrong? Are we really supposed to believe that those women are going to hell? Are we really supposed to discount what they say about God’s love because of their anatomy? Maybe one of the problems in today’s society is our obsession with anatomy…

I am in a committed marriage to my best friend. As a team, we worship God together. God is the center of our relationship, of our home and of our life plans. Our relationship with God individually allows us to love one another completely, without judgment, without conditions and without unrealistic expectations. Our love allows us to be joyful, hopeful, and a light to others. Our love, along with God’s love, motivates us to teach others about the amazing relationship they can have with God. Our love of God and of each other helps us make a real difference in God’s world, God’s army and God’s people. I pray that more people will find the true love of God, a true relationship with Him and a true love in a life partner. I pray that they can take their joyous life and spread it to others. I pray that more people will make a commitment to someone just as God has made a commitment to them. What a world this would be if we learned to focus on LOVE and not rules. What a world this would be if Christians allowed LOVE to lead them instead of the rules. What a world this would be if people focused on making their lives more loving instead of focusing on the “sins” of others.

What a world this would be if all Christians got outside of their box of rules and regulations and tried LOVE instead.  

Cigarette Smoke

 

Why do smokers think we non-smokers want to stand near them while they're smoking but they won't sit in the car with the windows up while puffing away because it chokes them?

Just Sayin...

Choose Life

I pulled into a parking spot at Kroger and just as I was getting ready to exit my vehicle I hear yelling behind me. I looked into my rearview mirror and noticed a white Envoy with a 'Choose Life' license plate. I'm unsure if this is where the yelling is coming from but I wasn't taking a chance of getting myself into the middle of something, so I sat tight. Suddenly, a woman, in her early forties, steps out from the driver's side of the Envoy. I immediately realize that the yelling is indeed coming from this vehicle as it got much louder when she opened the door. I don't see her yelling, she's just looking into the car, assuming towards the passenger's seat, and waits for the yelling to cease.

It wasn't.

The yelling is constant but I can't make out any words, until I hear the one word no one wants to hear in public, especially if directed at you, "BITCH!"

I'm stunned as this woman closes the door to her Envoy, slightly grins, and walks away. Finally, the passenger door opens up and out comes a 10 year old boy.

I bet she wishes now she'd bought a different license plate.

Just sayin...

Goodwill

You know you have a problem when you give away your things to Goodwill and then realize that three weeks later you purchased some of your own things.

And whose seen a Goodwill like this? Really? Maybe they're not paying their employees enough?

Just sayin...

Love

Love means never having to say, "How much do I owe you?"

Just Sayin'...

Scared...

If you have to be told this then you probably shouldn't even have the job!

Just sayin...