Super AJ,
One more little hint for you. Buy and read "The Shack" this weekend. I think it beautifully describes how sin has separated us from our Lord, and also the wonder of what our God has done for us through our precious savior Jesus. If you have already read it, read it again. We are truly truly living in a depraved, warped, evil, fallen world where it is sooooooo easy to justify our own sins in our heads, and the whole world screams "its o.k.!!" at us. Use your "inner" voice as your guide, as you know anything that makes you feel guilty or separated from the Lord is exactly what you think it is.....WRONG (SIN). FIGHT my brother!! FIGHT!!! I am fighting this battle with you!! I stand at your side and claim victory over this for you IN JESUS NAME!!!!

I already know we're going to get a lot of mail on this. I DON'T CARE:

JESUS LOVES GAYS.

That's the Truth.

I didn't say He loves their lifestyle. I said He LOVES THEM.

Matter of fact, He LOVES THEM SO MUCH that He died for them on the cross, just like He died for your sins and mine (Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32; 2 Corinthians 5:19).

That's A FACT.

Organized Christianity may not like it, holier-than-thou religionists may not like it, self-righteous, hypocritical televangelists may not like it, but that's what the Word of God VERY CLEARLY says.

NO ONE IS BORN GAY.

On the other hand, few people are gay BY CHOICE.

NO ONE KNOWS for sure WHAT CAUSES people to prefer homosexuality, or to have homosexual proclivities: The Truth lies somewhere in between these two extremes.

Gay people often come from homes where the male-female roles were REVERSED, i.e., the female was dominant and the male submissive.

There are a number of OTHER FACTORS that influence such behavior as well, like being sexually or psychologically abused as a child, conditions at home, parental behavior and so forth.

The answer probably varies with each individual, and lies deep in the recesses of their subconscious mind.

Despite Hollywood's and the secular media's RELENTLESS propaganda campaign to shove the gay lifestyle down our throats as being a perfectly acceptable, normal, alternate lifestyle, IT IS NOT.

Most gays, whether they openly admit it or not, are NOT happy people; most gays are CONFLICTED individuals.

The Good News is JESUS CAME TO SAVE GAYS, just like He came to save all OTHER sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

Organized religion may treat being gay as the "unpardonable sin" but, I assure you, IT IS NOT.

There are many who are saved, born-again, and WHO DOES NOT WANT TO be gay, DOES NOT WANT TO have those feelings toward people of the same sex, yet CANNOT help it.

Some began to experience those feelings, UNWILLINGLY, as early as 5 years old.


Furthermore, they feel lonely and ostracized by the religious community, even when they haven't openly expressed their feelings, and very often can't find a place to worship and fellowship with other believers.

I want to reassure them that Jesus knows their hearts, and that they are just as forgiven by His marvelous Grace as ALL OTHER SINNERS (Ephesians 2:8,9).

But isn't homosexuality sin?

Yes. So are lying, cheating, stealing, fornication and adultery. So is holding a grudge. So is having jealousy, envy or hatred in your heart. So is having the desire to see others fail.

But doesn't the Bible say homosexuals won't inherit the Kingdom of God?

NO.

The Bible says:

"Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

THAT IS WHAT SOME OF YOU WERE! BUT YOU WERE WASHED, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

According to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, those who REBELLIOUSLY, DEFIANTLY and DELIBERATELY practice ANY of these sins will not inherit the Kingdom.

UNREGENERATE fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, etc., WON'T inherit the Kingdom of God.

Conversely, BORN AGAIN individuals WILL inherit the Kingdom and are NO LONGER CONSIDERED by God to be in ANY of those categories... even though they may have at some point, because of human weakness, "fallen off the wagon" and practiced such sins.

Verse 11 of that passage PROVES IT, beyond doubt:

THAT IS WHAT SOME OF YOU WERE! BUT YOU WERE WASHED, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED; YOU WERE JUSTIFIED in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God".

Once a homosexual, or any other sinner, repents and gives his/her heart to Christ, THEY ARE NO LONGER what they used to be. They are now and forever children of God.

They are no longer sinners, but saints, saved like any other sinner BY THE SHEER GRACE of our heavenly Father, thru the Blood of Jesus Christ.

That is true, REGARDLESS of their occasional carnal feelings or outward behavior.

Those who go around with protest signs that say "Jesus (or God) hates homosexuals" ARE LYING.

Those who want to condemn gays, better make darned sure that THEY ARE WITHOUT SIN, before they cast the first stone (John 8:7).

There's ONLY ONE SIN that sends people to hell and that is FAILURE TO RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior and God (Mark 16:16)


To make it more plainer (bad english) lol.. on the cross, Jesus not only died for you..but died AS YOU.
he was our substitute. In CHRIST WE ARE HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN THE EYES OF GOD, AND THAT MY BROTHER WILL NEVER, EVER ,EVER ,EVER CHANGE!



Some may not like to face this fact, but it's the Truth.

It's the Gospel.

It's GOOD NEWS for ALL sinners, including gays.

SuperAJ.

I will join Pastor Joseph Lesley in praying for you!
I also thank you for pouring your heart out, here, and in God's presence..God knows your heart better than anyone else. Jesus gave us "The Lord's Prayer" where we asked God to help us with our temptations, and deliver us from evil. It's a powerful pray, because Jesus taught us how we should pray!

We have all sinned and have come short of God's Glory!
Therefore, I say, Love the sinner, just like Jesus does and hate the sin, not the person! Sin, seperates us from God, and the thought of being seperated from God for eternity for me, is unbearable to imagine.

We all struggle with sin, however, with the guidance and help of God's Holy Spirit, we can become overcomers. If we are sincere, and try to live the life the Lord desires us to live, and slip and fall into sin, we have an intersessor, a redeemer, Jesus, whom died for all of our sins! Through Christ, we are washed with His precious blood, and made clean and holy in God's eyes!

We should never deliberately sin, and try to convince ourselves, it's ok, God will forgive us..that is a lie from hell. That would be to crucify our Lord all over again on the cross; and those whom love Him, would never do it.

Remember nothing can be hidden from God, and He knows what lies in our heart.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you the ways of God. Know that God loves you and died for your sins, as He did for mine and everyone else.

The Word of God was written by Holy Men inspired by God. God dictated, and men wrote it down.

Let me leave everyone here with the following scripture..something to think about, and ask God, for guidance.

Lord have mercy on all of us sinners, in Jesus name I pray! Amen!


1 Corinthians 6

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

The Body Is the Lord’s

12All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” 17But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."


In Jesus' Love,

Valerie

A quick question for now is what happens when you sin feeling that God will forgive you, or practise sin? I feel like I have, where does that put me?

Hi AJ
If you are asking about continuing in sin because you know that God will forgive you -
I think that is a dangerous place to be - because it allows our hearts to get more hardened and less sensitive to His Spirit. That's what it did to me. I got so that I could not pray or read the Word and I felt numb and depressed. I pretty much had to ignore God so that I could feel sort of okay. In truth I was miserable and I am thankful for that misery as it finally brought me back to a right relationship in Him after about 3 years of defiance and secretly (if that were possible) hoping that He was okay with my sin and would even arrange things to make it good with Him.
I eventually realized that I was not putting Him in first place where He needed to be and that was keeping me from victory. When I got real with myself, I began to pour out my heart to Him (rather than pretending to hide from Him which we all know is impossible) and little by little He ministered His love and forgiveness to me and I began to draw closer to Him and farther from my particular sin. I still struggle at times but I have grown so much from the experience.
I think part of it is forming new (Godly) habits.
Paul talks about bringing our body into subjection and not letting it lead us. This is in 1 Corinthians 9. I will post David Guzik's commentary from BlueLetterBible below.
God bless you my brother. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.


3. (24-27) Paul’s attitude: an athlete’s attitude.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

a. I run . . . I fight: Sporting events were big in Paul’s day as well as in our own. This would have been especially meaningful to the Corinthians, because their city was the center for the Isthmian Games, second in prestige to the ancient Olympics.

i. Paul often uses figures from arena competition (at least twelve different references in his letters), including examples of runners, boxers, gladiators, chariot racers, and trophies.

b. Run in such a way that you may obtain it: Paul is telling us to train the compete as athletes who really want to win. Without effort, nothing can be won in a sporting event.

c. To compete as an athlete, one must be temperate. This term refers to the manner in which Roman athletes had to train for ten months before being allowed in the games.

i. An athlete must refuse things that may be fine in themselves, but would hinder the pursuit of his goal. Even so, the Corinthians might have to refuse things that are fine in themselves (like meat sacrificed to idols), because having them might hinder the pursuit of the important goal: an imperishable crown, a heavenly reward that will never pass away.

d. I discipline my body: Discipline is a weak translation; the word means “to strike under the eye; to give a black eye.” Paul didn’t want his body to lord it over his being.

i. Bring it into subjection is literally to lead about as a slave. Paul was going to make sure that his body was the servant, and his inner man was the master. The desires of his body were not going to rule over himself!

ii. But Paul did not think the body evil; after all, it belongs to Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:20). Nor would he agree with later ascetics who punished their bodies in a quest for super-holiness. Through the centuries, there have been Christians known as flagellants, who would literally whip, beat, and torture themselves in a misguided attempt to fulfill this verse. Usually, these Christians thought they could pay for their sins through such self-torture, and they refused to recognize that Jesus paid all the penalty of their sin.

SuperAJ,

Have you gone to Exodusinternational.org ??? I think you'll find many of your questions answered very directly on their webpage.