Thought by Thought

Know this man of God! Not only does Satan desire to kill you and is after your family, but he wants to destroy your testimony. The tendency to sin is already in our flesh, and he awaits the opportunity to exploit those desires.

We are at war, and the battle is intensely fought moment by moment, thought by thought. If we fail to take each thought captive, we run the risk of being caught up in sin. This is where the measurable fruit of the flesh is made manifest, and your testimony is tarnished and compromised. (I will not say ruined, for God always turns bad into good for His elect.)

So then... Do you brutally fight to die to the flesh and lay down your will? How do you win this battle that is raging and so crucial. I tell you this... You CANNOT win. ONLY through the surrender of the will to Jesus in faith does God then guard you and empower you to win. Your part is to trust, and resist the devil. It is God's part to fight. Stand firm in faith, and let God be God.

Why Do We Cast Our Crowns?

Let me share these facts with you. When God saves us and fills us with His Spirit, setting us free from sin, it is Him in us that is causing the remission of sins as He causes us to walk according to His commands (sanctification).

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Ezekiel 36:27 NKJV

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
Ephesians 1:11 NKJV

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 NKJV

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which  was with me.
I Corinthians 15:10 NKJV

For this reason we will cast our crowns at His feet. When we sin, that is our doing, but when we do good that is of God.

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
Revelation 4:10 NKJV

Blood of Jesus Insufficient?

Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both taught that there are sins not covered by Jesus' blood, and that the sinner must atone for these sins with their own blood. This sins include murder, adultery the second time, and denial of the Holy Spirit.

"It is true that the blood of the Son of God was shed for sins through the fall and those committed by men, yet men can commit sins which it can never remit. As it was in ancient days, so it is in our day; and though the principles are taught publicly from this stand, still the people do not understand them; yet the law is precisely the same. There are sins that can be atoned for by an offering upon an altar, as in ancient days; and there are sins that the blood of a lamb, of a calf, or of turtle doves, cannot remit, but they must be atoned for by the blood of the man. That is the reason why men talk to you as they do from this stand; they understand the doctrine and throw out a few words about it. You have been taught that doctrine, but you do not understand it."
- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 4:53.

See also: Bruce R. McConkie (ed.), Doctrines of Salvation, 1955, Vol. 1, pp. 135-156.

http://jod.mrm.org/4/51

What I Teach is...

It appears to me that I haven't taken the time to properly convey things to some, so I am going to attempt a concise and pointed narrative.

For some reason some of you think I judge others by comparing them to me. Well... If I did that, that wouldn't be a bad thing because comparing anyone to me would ALWAYS make the other person look good. I know who I am, and I am a wretched sinner.

Here is what I teach in a nutshell (if I can be so precise).

We are ALL born into sin, and deserving of God’s holy wrath. We are born SLAVES to sin. That means sin owns us. We cannot do ANY good and our hearts are deceitful and wicked.

Psalms 51:5 NKJV

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

Jesus came as God in the flesh around 2000 years ago and was born of a virgin mother. He lived a sinless life and was crucified for the sins of those whose names were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, and was raised from the dead all according to Scripture. In this act Jesus became the sin of the believing ones and suffered the wrath of God in our place, and HIS righteousness is imputed to those that He died for.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

For He made Him who knew no sin to  be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When a person turns to God with ALL of their heart through the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, such a person is born again (filled with the Holy Spirit) and made new. We are given remission of sins through faith in Jesus Christ, and sanctified through the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NKJV

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

The spiritual state of a person produces FRUIT, which is the by product of what is going on in our heart. If a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, they produce like fruit in their lives. If a person is not filled with the Holy Spirit, still a slave to sin, they produce like fruit in their lives.

Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who  are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

These things are manifest as a RESULT of the God/god in a person's life. If Jesus is our God, then we are in right standing before. If Jesus is not God to a person, they are guilty of idolatry and abide under the wrath of God.

The RESULT of Jesus being God to a person is that the person is free from sin, and is being sanctified (made like Christ) to the glory of the Father. The  RESULT of Jesus not being God to a person is that the person is a slave to sin, and GOD GIVES THEM OVER to the destructive behaviors of the flesh.

This is a HEART issue, NOT a "do it yourself" project. ONLY Jesus can save you and make you free. I NEVER speak about me, but ALWAYS about God, for a person must fully turn to Him with ALL of their heart. If the fruit of the flesh is evident in a person's life, they must be made aware of their idolatry that they might return to God and be healed.

Great Questions

I was asked this question, and I thought it appropriate to share it here also.

"Hey Osa, I don't wanna argue or upset you, just curious about your opinion.

"If God is all powerful, is he also all loving? And if he is all powerful and all loving then how do you explain the problem of evil, such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters. If he is truly all powerful then why do bad things happen to good people? Why doesn't God stop it? If he is all powerful then He should be able to interfere. We have been talking about this in theology and just curious of your view on the topic. Don't get me wrong I am not doubting God just trying to grow my faith."

Before we jump into this, we must also address the erroneous assumption that there are "good people". We are ALL sinners, and only God is good. Bad things happened to a good person only once, and that was when Jesus willingly went to the cross.

Mark 10:18 NKJV

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is,  God."

Those are GREAT questions. The answer lies at the core of creation and why we are here. The Bible says that EVERYTHING that was created, which is ANYTHING that is not God, was created by Jesus, for Jesus, and through Jesus.

Colossians 1:16 NKJV

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

John 1:1-3 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Romans 11:36 NKJV

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

These things create the foundation. All of creation is focused on Jesus, not us. The cross is God’s chosen focal point. Before the foundation of the world it was determined, and then everything was created to revolve around the cross to the glory of God the Father, through God the Son, by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

I Peter 1:20-21 NKJV

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Revelation 13:8 NKJV

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have NOT been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Even the vessels of mercy, whose names were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, and the vessels of wrath, whose names were NOT written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, were created for the glory of God.

Revelation 17:8 NKJV

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Ephesians 1:4-6 NKJV

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Romans 9:11, 13, 22-24 NKJV

(for the  children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

I Peter 2:9-10 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Everything that Jesus created that was given the ability to choose themselves or Him rebelled, and decided they would rather be God. This was not by accident, but by design. God knew what they would choose. This includes every man and woman, and the angels. The only ones that stayed loyal to their Maker were the elect angels and the elect men, and by God’s own power and will.

I Timothy 5:21 NKJV

I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

Matthew 24:24 NKJV

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

God did not create sin, but God created beings that would sin. He allowed Satan into the garden. He allowed Adam and Eve to be deceived. These things had to come to pass so that there could be a cross. God uses the evil of men and the demons for His purposes.

Acts 4:27-28 NKJV

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

Genesis 50:20 NKJV

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but  God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it  is this day, to save many people alive.

Isaiah 10:5-7, 12-13, 15 NKJV

“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it  is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that  He  will  say,  “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as  if  it  were not wood!

God is in COMPLETE CONTROL my friend, and He brings all things to pass to fulfill His purposes. He allows evil to have it's place so as to beautifully contrast His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and power.

Psalms 33:8-12 NKJV

Let all the earth fear the Lord ; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord , The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Is Sin a Big Deal?

God does not change. The wrath of God revealed in the Old Testament against sin did not just disappear with the new covenant. In fact, the tenacious wrath of God against sin revealed in the Old Testament gives credibility to the doctrine of Penal Substitution. Jesus suffered the righteous wrath of God He displayed in the Old Testament. God does not change.

Nahum 1:2-3 NKJV

God is  jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies; The Lord  is  slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the  wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet.

Exodus 32:25-29 NKJV

Now when Moses saw that the people were  unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord ’s side— come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord , that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

Ezekiel 5:10-13 NKJV

Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments among you, and all of you who remain I will scatter to all the winds. ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God , ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you;  My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. ‘Thus shall My anger be spent, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be avenged; and they shall know that I, the Lord , have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them.

Jeremiah 19:7-9 NKJV

And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’

Leviticus 26:27-30 NKJV

‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.

Did you know?! You should.

If a person is to be judged for their sin, then none would be saved. We are born into sin, completely depraved from birth. We do not sin because we choose to. We sin because it is who we are. Because we are sinners, haters of God from the moment we are born, God gives us over to the filth in our heart.

Romans 1:21-22, 24-26 NKJV

...because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.

Habakkuk 1:11 NKJV

"Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.”

Ephesians 2:1-2 NKJV

And you He  made  alive,  who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience...

If we could just quit sinning on our own, Jesus never would have had to hang on the cross nor send the Holy Spirit to enable us to do what we cannot. Don't be deceived. Just as it is God who gives us over, it is also Him who works in us once we are filled with His Spirit.

Philippians 2:13 NKJV

...for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

We can NEVER be "good enough" or "DO" anything to be "better". Without the Holy Spirit, we are SLAVES to sin. We have no say in the matter. Sin dwells in us. Only with the Holy Spirit are we made free from sin, being given a choice, and made bond servants of Christ.

Romans 6:17-18 NKJV

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

This is why a person will not go to hell for their sin, but for their unbelief. Without the Holy Spirit we are but the walking dead, destined to die again. Life only comes to those through faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 NKJV

“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith."

Hebrews 10:38 NKJV

"Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

You cannot be "good" and quit sinning. That is a lie from the pit of Hell. Turn to the Lord in FAITH, and be saved! All else is empty garbage.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it  is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Sound Doctrine

What I know, no man has taught me. What I have been given has come through revelation from the Holy Spirit, and NO MAN can take it from me. YOU search for the Truth, and you will find it. Let NOBODY teach you. Listen for truth, then you seek it out.

Galatians 1:11-12 NKJV

But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it  came  through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I John 2:27 NKJV

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

I recently heard the word "Gospel" used in tandem with a doctrine stating that children are born without sin. Such a thing is obvious heresy, and must be addressed. All sound doctrine works together like building blocks, creating a solid foundation of faith and understanding. The idea that we are born without sin is in DIRECT conflict with the Word of God, making it an enemy of the Gospel, NOT a building component. If we are born without sin, then the entire premise of the Gospel is compromised and there was no need for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

We are born into sin.

Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

Romans 3:23
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,...

It is our innate nature that makes us enemies of God and children of wrath.

Ephesians 2:3
...among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

There is nothing good within us. We are innately evil at heart. Selfish to the core.

Genesis 6:5
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 8:21
And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?"

Think about this... Look at a child. Have they learned to bite, to fight, to take, to be selfish, to be greedy? No. They just are that way. It would take a very disillusioned person to look at a child and call them innately good. As parents we have to constantly bring them under correction to encourage sharing, not biting, not hitting, etc. They do not learn to be evil, but they must learn to be good.

We are ALL sinners. There is NOT ONE that is good. We ALL stand under conviction of the law in our depravity. Know the truth. Study the Word for yourself my friend. More hinges on your knowledge of the truth than you may realize.

1 Timothy 4:15-16
Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

SALT AND LIGHT

Listen.

God says EXACTLY what He means, make no mistake about it. The scriptures are NOT left for people to “have their own interpretation”.

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Peter 2:19-21

Being gay is NOT a choice. It is a result of God’s wrath, and God gives people over to it as a result of rejecting Him in our hearts.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
- Romans 1:20-32

Homosexuality is a sin just like having sex outside of marriage is a sin, whether in the form of adultery or fornication. Right and wrong ARE absolutes. NONE who continue in sin, which is unrighteousness, can enter into the Kingdom of God. Period. End of story, because God says it.

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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

A true believer who has been born again is made evidence by the obedience produced by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We CANNOT continue in sin. It is not possible. Sanctification is progressive, but we cannot remain in our sin.

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
- 1 John 3:4-9

It is easy to be drawn away by ear tickling ideas, but the Word is concrete. We are to love all people, but not the sin. Remember that Jesus came for the sinners. He came for us in love, and died for our sins. At the same time though, we are hardly being salt and light if we endorse false doctrine. We must stand for truth, without compromising, and call things what they are (which is what God says they are) just as Jesus did. Do not be a coward. Stand firm in the Truth.

Just being light and salt. Do not be moved from the True Word.

Tough Questions, Great Opportunities

My son and I were talking, and he was telling me how he felt about homosexuality. He said "I know God doesn't like it, but I want to respect other people and let them do what they want, so I support it." This was a huge opportunity to pour into my son's life. I told him that it doesn't matter what we think. That is what is wrong with the world today. Nobody wants to offend anyone, so nobody holds to any convictions.

I told Hayden like this. Simple truth, simple application. Jesus says if you are not for me, then you are against me. Period. His entire ministry He drew lines. He said "You are here, and you need to be here. If you stay where you are at, you will perish in your sin and you stand under the wrath of God. If you come to me, you will have eternal life and peace now."

The world does not apply rules of logic to their line of thinking. You cannot say you are a Christian, yet approve of things that God hates. It is impossible. I told Hayden that he is going to have to choose a side. Either we are for God, or we are against Him. Period. Then I also shared what Jesus said to His disciples. He said “They hated me, they will hate you also.” I let my son know that to stand for God is to stand against the thing of this world. I told him that if he chooses to obey God and follow Christ, the world will hate him for it. It takes great courage and strength to follow the Lord.

I did not have to specifically address homosexuality. I addressed it at the core issue. If God says it is bad, and to not do it, then it is bad and a person should not do it. Homosexuality is listed in the same list as coveting, which is simply wanting what we do not have. A sin is a sin, is a sin. To approve of one is to approve of them all. I told him that if he chooses to give his life to Christ, it no longer matters what he thinks about things, only what God thinks about them. He will have to make that choice on his own, but I will not let him think it is something other than what it is. There is NO FENCE. We have to make a choice, and be ALL IN. Period.

Today

It is never too late for us to return to God. His call is constant, His love unfailing, and His forgiveness complete. He simply desires us to turn to Him with our whole heart. The price is already paid for every sin we have ever committed, and all we have to do is trust Him to perform according to His Word.

The hardest thing for us to do is to see our self for who we really are. So many of us are so calloused and disillusioned that we think we are just fine without Him, but we aren't. Our depravity is deep, and permeates every aspect of our lives. Before we can turn to God with our whole heart, we must realize we need Him. We must see our shortcomings and failures for what they really are. They are wretched, damaging, and hurtful to everyone around us, yet alone our selves, and there is nothing we can do of our own accord to change them. If there were, we would not need a Savior and Jesus would not had to have given His life to redeem us.

If God is calling you, tugging on your heart, do not let the guilt and shame of the realization of the thing you have done keep you from turning to Him for healing. He forgives you, He loves you, and He already knows all that you have done. Today can be the day of your salvation. Today can be the day that you are set free from all of the pain, guilt, shame, and failure. Today you can turn to the Lord, call on His great Name, and trust Him to do what we cannot do of our own accord.

Think about it. Does it hurt bad enough yet? How much more must you, and more importantly your loved ones, endure before it does hurt bad enough. There is no short cut. There is no other way. There are more "self-help" programs and ideas in the world today than ever before, and the violence and divorce rates continue to climb at exponential rates. If the world had the answer, this would not be. There is one answer, and one name which we can be saved from our great depravity. Jesus of Nazareth, God come in the flesh to His people to offer life, and life more abundantly.