GOD IS FOUNDATIONAL TO OUR EXISTENCE

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God is foundational to our existence; seeking replacements will be a futile attempt to achieve ultimate fulfillment. Adam was made in the image of God. Man is a trinity just as God is a Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; we are Body, Soul, and Spirit.

Importantly, man’s spirit was designed to contain the Holy Spirit (oil), enabling him to be the “lamp of the Lord” on Earth and to be in a relationship with God.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

Sadly, the Holy Spirit departed Adam’s spirit when he rebelled against God at the time of the Fall.

In his epoch-making theological treatise, Knowing God, J. I. Packer put it this way:

“What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination, and lays hold of our allegiance, and this the Christian has, in a way that no other man has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?” 

Once the grace of God has been tasted and peace is established with the Almighty all else becomes incomparable. God’s grace captures a believer unlike anything else. Hence, evangelism should become the communication of desiring grace for others as they react to God.

Stereotypically, people perceive Christianity as having to attend weekly church meetings, reciting prayers, having a narrow worldview, and restricting one’s lifestyle to do’s and don’ts. When in fact, the Gospel is freedom, fulfillment, and “unspeakable joy.”

“And you will know the truth,” Jesus promises, “and the truth will set you free”

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Paul similarly states, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans. 5:1).

Did Jesus and Paul purposely fabricate claims to try and make people feel good? Did they have huge egos that required authority over others? Were they deceived? If so, by whom or what? No, they encouraged people towards “the way, the truth, and the life.” so, through Jesus Christ, they can acquire God’s love by receiving the Holy Spirit to enable them once again to be children of God bearing His image.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5

The Gospel is powerful and its grace will surely materialize in those who wholeheartedly call upon the Lord Jesus. It’s a sure thing. The Holy Spirit assures it.

HOW AI AND QUANTUM COMPUTING WILL IMPACT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

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Amazon and Walmart are good examples of how AI will adversely affect employment opportunities.

The online retailer behemoth, Amazon, is the second-largest private employer in the U.S. – 1.5 million people. It’s also one of the largest investors in AI.

It’s building out fully autonomous warehouses… It’s working to automate the delivery process with self-driving vans and delivery drones… and 30% of its “workforce” are already robots.

Robots don’t sleep. They don’t take vacations. They never need a break. So, let me ask you this: How much longer until Amazon decides these robots are ready to take on the full workload of its 1.5 million remaining workers? And what do you think will happen when 1.5 million hardworking Americans are suddenly out of a job? Biblical prophesied end times lawlessness will be the outcome. Young people will be marching on the streets causing havoc.

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12-13

And Amazon is far from the only giant company doing this. Walmart Inc. (WMT), the largest private employer in the U.S., is rolling out fully automated distribution centers using a combination of AI and robots. The company’s distribution centers are in operation but come with one big catch: There aren’t any people.

What about “knowledge workers” – i.e., accountants, business strategists, lawyers, and doctors – who make optimal decisions, are good at problem-solving, can strategize, and always act in the best interests of the business?

ChatGPT and other forms of AI are killing that paradigm. It makes it so that businesses can scale critical thinking and knowledge work. It doesn’t matter if you have a blue or white collar: AI could be a threat to your job. The reason why AI is more of a threat now than it was when ChatGPT made its debut in 2022 is because of quantum computing. Quantum computers allow for multiple computational pathways to be explored at the same time, opening new avenues and speeds for solving complex problems.

We’re talking about machines so advanced that they can instantly execute calculations that would take the world’s most advanced supercomputers nearly half a century to process.

It’s not like the transition from the horse and buggy to the automobile. It’s more like horse and buggy to the SR-71 Blackbird… the fastest jet ever made. The difference is utterly mind-blowing.

With quantum computing, the digital elite will have AI that is not constrained by computational speed. Quantum-powered AI will drive efficiencies by getting rid of human workers and driving up corporate profits. No matter the job, robots, software, and AI – powered by a new breed of computer – will be able to do it better and cheaper.

This is the societal and economic equivalent of a 10,000-foot mega tsunami. It’s about to slam into our world and alter the trajectory of our world forever. It is amazing that 600 years before Jesus Christ came to Earth for the first time, Daniel was told that the time before Jesus’ second coming to Earth, two of the signs would be that people would be travelling a lot and knowledge would increase. This must have sounded strange to Daniel as he had no concept of air travel and the internet, AI, and quantum computing.

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Daniel 12:4

TRUMP AND VANCE WILL BE ELECTED PRESIDENT AND V.P.

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After reading JD Vance’s first speech following his appointment as VP at the Republican National Convention, I was sufficiently convinced Vance and Trump will be elected VP and President at the November election to write this post. It will be interesting to see if I am right. How things have changed so dramatically in just 24 hours. Trump is a different person following the assassination attempt on his life. He acknowledges that he is still alive only because God wants to use him to unite the nation.

Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick JD Vance took to the stage at the Republican National Convention to deliver his first address since being announced on the ticket, hailing the former president’s “fight” and call for unity.

“Tonight is a night of hope,” Mr Vance said. “A celebration of what America once was and with God’s grace, what it will soon be again.

“And it is a reminder of the sacred duty we have to preserve the American experiment, to choose a new path for our children and grandchildren.

“But as we meet tonight we cannot forget that this evening could have been so much different. Instead of a celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning.

“And what did he call us to do for our country? To fight. To fight for America. Even in his most perilous moment, we were on his mind. His instinct was for us, for our country, to call us to something higher, for something greater, to once again be citizens to ask what our country needs from us.

“Now consider what they said – they said he was a tyrant. They said he must be stopped at all costs. But how did he respond? He called for national unity, for national calm literally right after an assassin nearly took his life.

“And then President Trump flew to Milwaukee and got back to work.

“Now that’s the man I’ve gotten to know personally over the last few years. He is tough – and he is – but he cares about people. He can stand defiant against an assassin one moment and call for national healing the next. He is a beloved father and grandfather, and of course, a once-in-a-generation business leader.”

Mr Vance is invoking his small-town roots as he accepts his party’s nomination for vice president.

“I grew up in Middletown, Ohio, a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their hands, and loved their God, their family, their community, and their country with their whole hearts,” he said, arguing that President Joe Biden has supported policies that damaged his community.

Mr Vance said it was the kind of place that had been “cast aside and forgotten by America’s ruling class in Washington”.

“When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico.

“When I was a sophomore in high school, that same career politician named Joe Biden, gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good American middle-class manufacturing jobs.

“When I was a senior in high school that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq and each step of the way and at small towns like mine in Ohio or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas and our children were sent to war.”

Mr. Vance said the GOP of the next four years would be “united in our love for this country and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas”.

“And so tonight, Mr Chairman, I stand here humbled and I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to say I officially accept your nomination to be vice president of the United States of America!”

Mr Vance made a pitch to the “American heartland”.

“For these places to thrive, my friends, we need a leader who fights for the people who built this country,” he said.

“We need a leader who’s not in the pocket of big business, but answers to the working man, union and non-union alike.

“A leader who won’t sell out to multinational corporations but will stand up for American companies and American industry.

“A leader who rejects Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ green new scam and fights to bring back our great American factories.

“We need President Donald J Trump.”

Will God give America one last chance to repent and return to Him? Even if God does, I do not think it will change anything. Millennials and Gen Z are lost generations due to schools and universities teaching evolution, not creation. They do not believe God exists therefore the Bible is a book of myths and legends. Biblical prophecy confirms this view. The Antichrist arises from the Middle East to dominate the world. Russia and China are featured as end-time empires, but not America.

TRUMP BELIEVES IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE

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This is an abbreviated version of the article by Suzanne Bowdey which appeared in The Washington Stand on July 15, 2024 – Mike Johnson (Speaker): Trump ‘Seems to Have a Very Clear View of What This Meant. God Spared His Life.’

Americans woke up Sunday morning to a very different world. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s literal brush with death, campaigns, Congress, and even political conventions seemed secondary to the deep horror at what we’ve become as a nation. And for once, after years of being at each others’ throats, a sober country has stopped to reflect: Is this really who we are?

In the days and hours since the bloody president emerged from the stage, fist in the air, everyone seems to understand the gravity of this moment. America was, as so many have pointed out, less than a quarter of an inch away from a national crisis from which we may never have recovered. “Sometimes the course of history depends on margins just that small,” the editors of the National Review remind us solemnly.

The miracle of his survival was not lost on Trump, who acknowledged, “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” In an interview less than 24 hours after the assassination attempt, the reality of what might have happened “is just setting in,” the former president told the Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito. “I rarely look away from the crowd,” he admitted. “Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?”

As he boarded a plane for Wisconsin, the former president also clarified that he understands this pivotal moment. “It’s a chance to unite the country,” he said solemnly. “I was given that chance.” God is giving Americans one more chance to repent and acnowledge Him as Lord over the nation. Will they respond? Based on the fact that America is absent from end times Biblical prophecy I doubt it.

Family Research Council, Chairman Tony Perkins, who’s been on the ground as a delegate in Milwaukee, agrees that the weekend’s shocking events have completely “changed the dynamics of the convention.” “It’s time to come together,” he said on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” Monday morning, and “not just for Republicans. It’s time to come together as a nation. It’s time for us to … as Jesus said, [to] love our neighbor. Now, that doesn’t mean that all of a sudden our differences go away,” Perkins underscored. “But you know what? We have an understanding that each and every human being is created in the image … of God. Therefore, they have value regardless of what political party they might be in.”

Trump agreed with Perkins, that democracy is a messy system. Democracy always will be. “[B]ut it’s still the greatest system in the history of the world. And the minute we abandon, try to shut one another down, or stifle debate, the pressure builds.” “You’ve got to allow for that vigorous debate, but it’s got to be within the confines of that system.”

Speaker, Mike Johnson believes the “key”, is to understand that we are all part of the same country. We are all brothers and sisters in that regard. I mean, if you look at it biblically we are supposed to love our enemies, right? Much less our fellow countrymen. You love your neighbor as yourself. If you do that, it solves a lot of problems.” Of course, that doesn’t mean we “change our perspective” or “abandon truths,” he was quick to clarify. “It just means we are civil in our conversation.”

That said, Perkins warned somberly, “I think we’re at a crossroads … a pivotal point. This could be the hinge upon which this nation turns, depending on how … Donald Trump addresses this moment. And he suggested that he’s going to take maybe a path less traveled.”

Frankly, the speaker replied, “I’ve been so heartened to see his thoughts and comments articulated over the last day or so since the assassination attempt. He seems to have a very clear view of what this meant. God spared his life. I mean, it was a miracle. We all saw it. Everyone saw it. It’s hard to deny.” Ironically, Johnson made these statements after very nearly losing his own sons last year after a visit to Mar-a-Lago — something he and the former president discussed at length last Thanksgiving.

“In Johnson’s telling, Will, who was 13, was drowning; 18-year-old Jack, prepared to give up his own life, tried to push his brother back to the surface. A parasailer happened to spot Will’s head from above. He hurried back to shore and alerted the lifeguards, who went out on jet skis to bring the boys in. Johnson arrived at the beach to find medical personnel hovering over his sons, pumping their chests. They would spend four hours in the emergency room before being cleared to go home,” The Atlantic wrote this spring in the first public telling of the near-loss.

“‘President Trump heard about it somehow, miraculously, this never made the news,’ Johnson recalled. The two got on the phone. ‘He was just so moved by the idea that we almost lost them, and we talked about it at great length. And we talked about the faith aspect of that because he knows that I believe that God spared the lives of my sons. That’s how I understand those events, and we talked about that.” Johnson continued: “And he said, he repeated back to me and said, ‘God — God saved your sons’ lives.’”

Eight months later, the former president has experienced the touch of divine providence for himself, and the young speaker who wondered where those conversations about God would go has a very poignant answer. “He said, ‘God has given me a chance here — and that is to unify the country.’ [Those are] his words, not mine. So I’m really excited to see how he articulates that and how we meet it out.”

Note how the media downplayed the assassination attempt: CNN: “Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally”. Washington Post: “Trump escorted away after loud noises at rally”. USA Today: “Trump removed from stage by Secret Service after loud noises, startle the former president..”

This messaging was meant to diminish and minimize the truth that a shooter attempted to assassinate President Trump.

WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle (2)

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This is part 2 of my review of Martyn Isles’s book WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle. If you have not read my first post I suggest you do. It refers to the serious error of all humans being immortal.

This post will deal with the serious omission from Martyn’s book and that is the role the Holy Spirit played in Adam’s life and now plays in believers’ lives.

When God breathed life into Adam he became a living creature.

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7

Proverbs 20:27 tells us that the “spirit of a man” is the lamp of the Lord. A lamp requires oil to function. The Holy Spirit is the oil required to make the lamp of the Lord function. Hence, Adam received from God the Holy Spirit so Adam’s spirit could function as the lamp of the Lord. Adam was then able to function in the spiritual dimension and communicate with God as he did in the Garden of Eden.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

What was immediately lost in The Fall is the Holy Spirit departed Adam and Eve’s spirits so they and we as their descendants are no longer able to communicate directly with God.

The good news is that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour our Heavenly Father will send the Holy Spirit to once again indwell our spirit to be our helper, our counselor, teacher, and comforter.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.“ John 14:26

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.“ John 16:7

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15

“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20

The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. He is also the one who provides the gifts for ministry.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“ Galatians 5:22-23

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

“For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Jesus told His disciples not to do anything until the Holy Spirit came to indwell their spirits at Pentecost. It was only then that they were empowered to live the Christian life. Likewise for us, unless we have received the Holy Spirit we cannot live the Christian life, it is impossible.

TRUMP AND VANCE: IT IS THEIR ELECTION TO LOSE

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Donald Trump survived because God still has more for him to do. It is a miracle he is alive and most Christians will know that is the case. There is no doubt in my mind his response to the assasination attempt will help his election bid. It is now his election to lose. His choice of JD Vance as his running mate for V.P. is also an inspired move.

Vance converted to Catholicism in August of 2019, when he was baptized and confirmed at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the Rev. Henry Stephan, a Dominican friar. According to an interview with American expatriate and writer Rod Dreher, who was present at the baptism, Vance chose St. Augustine as his patron saint.

Vance told Dreher that he’d converted because he “became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true” and had observed that the people who meant the most to him were Catholic. Vance said his conversion would have happened sooner if not for the clergy sexual abuse crisis, which “forced me to process the church as a divine and a human institution, and what it would mean for my 2-year-old son.”

Before becoming Catholic, Vance, now a father of three, was raised by Christian relatives, including many who didn’t go to church. Around when he started law school, he “went through an angry atheist phase,” as he told Dreher.

If elected, he would be the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history — after Joe Biden.

Vance is tied to ‘Catholic integralism,’ an ideology that seeks Christian influence over society

Vance is tied to an ideology known as “Catholic integralism,” an intellectual movement that experts say, prefers a “soft power” approach to exerting Christian influence over society. Thinkers in the movement herald the importance of a Christian “strategic adviser” to people in power.

As Kevin Vallier, a professor at Bowling Green State University and expert in Catholic integralism, told RNS earlier this year: “There’s the sense that the liberal order is so corrupt that elite Catholics have to find positions of influence and use them in a kind of noble and appropriate way,” he said.

Harvard University’s Adrian Vermeule, a leader in the movement, stated that integralists once viewed Trump as a figure similar to Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor who converted to Christianity. Vermeule has also praised Trump by likening him to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a leader widely decried as being authoritarian.

Since receiving Trump’s endorsement for Senate in 2022, Vance has become a strong ally of the former president. Ahead of his Senate campaign, Vance apologized for previously calling Trump “reprehensible.”

“Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016,” Vance told CNN in 2021. “I regret being wrong about the guy,” Vance said, adding he thought Trump was a good president.

Recently, Vance stood by Trump’s side at a New York courthouse during the former president’s criminal hush money trial. He has also made clear that his view of the constitutional limits on a vice president’s role in certifying election results differs from that of former Vice President Mike Pence, who drew Trump’s ire in January 2021 when he opted not to interfere in the process of approving electoral votes for Joe Biden.

There is obviously good chemistry between the two men which is imperative as Trump cannot fire his VP. He has to work with him for the entire four years if elected President.

WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle (1)

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I have just finished reading Martyn Isles’s book Who Am I? Solving the identity puzzle. It is a good book to make Jesus known and reveal more about God. Martyn makes the good point that we all like to think that we are made in God’s image but the reality is that while Adam was created in God’s image, as a result of the Fall, we are no longer in God’s image, we are in Adam’s image.

Now that I have finished the book, from my standpoint there is one major error and one significant omission. The error is that God made humans eternal. Martyn says that when God breathed into Adam He made him eternal, in essence immortal, yet all the Bible says is that he became a living creature.

“breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7

Eternal/immortal means not subject to death. The Bible says God alone has immortality.

“Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no person has seen or can see.” 1 Timothy 6:16

In this passage, we see that immortality is something that is part and parcel of the nature of God. He alone has it. The Scripture teaches that only God has life in Himself.

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” John 5:26

The New Testament also says that God grants immortality to humans who trust in Him.

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3

From the following passage we discover three things about immortality.

“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” 1 Corinthians 15:53-53

1. Immortality is given only to believers, there is no mention of unbelievers receiving it.

2. It is a gift from God that believers will receive in the future at Christ’s coming.

3. Immortality refers not only to the soul or spirit but the body is also included. Believers become immortal when this mortal body puts on an immortal one.

The Biblical error of an immortal soul leads directly to a second error the fate of unbelievers. Despite Jesus making it clear that the wages of sin is death and unbelievers perish much of the church teaches unbelievers suffer conscious torment for eternity.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.“ John 3:16

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” Matthew 7:13

“Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.” Proverbs 11:19

“Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:15

Note that sin ultimately brings forth death not life in everlasting conscious torment. Four times in Revelation we learn the fate of unbelievers is a second death.

“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8

I like to keep my posts relatively short so they can be read in 5 to 10 minutes. Hence, I will cover in my next post, what I believe is a serious omission. Martyn makes no mention of the fact Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to be our helper. He is our Counsellor, Teacher, and Comforter. He produces the fruit of the spirit (all nine) in our lives and He provides the gifts of the spirit for ministry (all nine). Without Him, it would be impossible to live a Christian life.

HEALING FROM GAY DESIRES IS POSSIBLE

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Taylor Simon Maxwell struggled with gay desires. In his book, The Desire Tree he relates how walking beside his Heavenly Father as a son, he found radical transformation and healing in the Lord. Healing is possible.

Maxwell says, that having God as our Father is like having the best therapist in the world. And the great news is that you don’t have to pay for it. It was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Humbly surrender before Him, recognizing that homosexual desires and behaviors are sinful. That homosexual desires are not a result of genetics but a result of sexualized wounds from our life stories. God wants to help you process and understand why you struggle with what you struggle with and bring healing. He is the loving Father who cares.

Christian men who are struggling with gay desires are not only sealed with the Spirit of God, forgiven of all their sins, and given eternal life, but are in a right relationship with the Father who loves them and longs to sanctify them. That means that we can bring our sinful desires, childhood wounds, hurts, and pains to the Father, and ask Him to bring healing. We can ask Him to change our desires in His Fatherly love. To help us see our sin the way He sees our sin. As God begins to mature us in the faith and change us from within, the things we once wanted lose their power.

Men who are struggling with gay desires must come to understand three truths in their healing journey. This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good place to start.  

The first truth is that no one is born with hardwired homosexual desires. This argument is a creation of those who enjoy their sin and want to make an excuse to live the way they want to. Convincing oneself that you were born with homosexual desires is nothing more than a sinful coping mechanism. If you can convince yourself that you were born with homosexual desires, then you can convince yourself that the desires and the radical behaviors you indulge in are not sinful. “I was born this way baby. What do I have to repent for?”

The Bible says that we are born with a sin nature (Ps. 51:5), not that we are born with predetermined genetic sinful desires. Just like there is no such thing as an “I want to steal a pack of gum from the store gene,” or an “I want to cheat on my math exam gene,” there is no such thing as an “I want to commit homosexual acts gene.” The idea that people are born with a genetic proclivity towards homosexual behavior is not taught anywhere in the Bible. It is in direct opposition to what the Bible says about the location of our sinful desires. This brings us to point number two.

The Bible says that sinful desires, including sinful sexual desires, come from the heart (Matt. 15:19), not our genetics. And that through the power of Christ we can have our desires changed (Gal. 5:24). That we can have our minds renewed and find true and lasting freedom from the sin that is in our lives (Rom.12:2). Jesus said that a man who looks at a woman with lustful intent has committed adultery in his heart (Matt. 5:28), not his genetic code.

Nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to ask God to change the desires of our chromosomes. Rather, through repentance and the supernatural work of the Spirit in our lives, we can become more like Christ and have our hearts transformed (1 Thess. 4:3-8). This brings us to our third point, which is really two points in one.

Men who struggle with gay desires must understand that their sinful desires to connect with men in a relationally disordered way is a result of a complex assortment of wounds that have been sexualized. These men must also recognize, believing fully in their hearts, that homosexuality is contrary to God’s design for gender, marriage, and human sexuality.

Men were designed by God to relate platonically to one another as equal brothers. Fundamentally, homosexuality is predicated on men relating to one another not as equals, but within a sexualized hierarchy of dominance and submission. Truthfully, homosexuality is a desire/behavior to emasculate and/or be emasculated by another man. In the homosexual world, these are called “tops and bottoms.”

When it comes to gender expression according to God’s design, a husband will always express his masculinity by “giving,” and his wife will always express her femininity by “receiving.” A husband and his wife become one-flesh in marriage because a husband and his wife were created from the same flesh to begin with (Gen. 2:23). Homosexuality takes this beautiful design and distorts it. A man was never meant to “give” to another man, and/or “receive” from another man.

Homosexuality is thus, an attempt at recreating that relational dynamic, of which is proper for a husband and wife but is improper for two people who share the same gender. Men who struggle with homosexuality must recognize that the desire to engage in any behavior that is homosexual is a desire for something rebellious. Something rebellious against God’s design for gender, marriage, and human sexuality. The world says embrace these desires. God calls us to holiness (1 Thess. 4:3-8). A man for example, who desires a homosexual context, must humbly stand before God, recognizing it as a disordered desire. And that underneath the sinful desire for a sinful sexual context is a wound. The non-sexual desire, for example, to receive the love of an absent father figure is a very common wound amongst men who struggle with homosexual desires. And so, beyond repentance, there must also be a recognition in the individual that there are many wounds underneath the surface that need to be dealt with. This is not just “I desire sinful sexual contexts,” but also, “I have wounds that I have sexualized from childhood that I need to bring before the Father who loves me.”   

MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD?

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“When God created man (Adam), he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.” Genesis 5:1-3

Adam is said to be made in the image of God but after The Fall things have changed such that Adam’s son is not described as created in God’s image but in fallen Adam’s image and likeness. This is a statement of theological significance confirmed in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… ” Romans 5:12

“For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners,” Romans 5:19

“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,” 1 Corinthians 15:49

Adam’s image includes two things that God’s image did not include. It includes SIN and DEATH. All humans have become dead sinners because we bear Adam’s image. Sin is pollution, which is why Jesus describes the human heart as the source of all kinds of wickedness.

“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23

Whilst we are no longer made in God’s image the good news is that Jesus is made in God’s image.

“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15

“the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4;4

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:3

The entrance of Jesus Christ into world history was not a surprise. It was part of God’s plan to undo the Fall as prophesied in Genesis 3:15. These words were spoken to Satan.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15

Jesus is the woman’s child. He will be injured (bruised heel). But he (Jesus) will destroy sin and death by crushing Satan’s head.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5

This is important because sin and death are our problem, not God’s. It is on us to put it right, but it is beyond our power to put it right because it is against God. So the powerful God became man to put things right for mankind.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Scripture records that:

“For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

“so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9

Just before His death, Jesus said this astonishing thing in prayer.

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” John 16:4-5

END TIMES PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED – FAMINES, PESTILENCES, EARTHQUAKES, WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS

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“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8

South Sudan is facing a confluence of humanitarian crises that are pushing the country to the brink of starvation. Conflict in neighbouring Sudan has caused over 692,000 people to flee into the country, hyperinflation is crippling the economy, climate change impacts continue to wreak havoc and all the while, the Humanitarian Aid Fund is only at 16%. At the same time, forecasts indicate that there will be above-normal rainfall in July following heavy rains that affected several areas in East Africa earlier this year. Already, 46% of South Sudan’s, 5.83 million people, were facing a worsening hunger situation with reports indicating that 1.7 million children could face malnutrition in 2024. Combined these factors are placing millions of lives and livelihoods at immediate risk. “The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is getting worse every day,” said Abel Whande, CARE in South Sudan Country Director. “We are particularly concerned at the condition of women, girls, and children arriving at transit centres in Rienk and Bahr el Ghazal, as part of the dramatic increase in refugees escaping violence in Sudan.

Hyperinflation and currency depreciation have made access to basic necessities nearly impossible, with families spending most of their income on food. This economic crisis, combined with the aftermath of years of conflict, severely undermines the communities’ ability to rebuild and recover. Adding to the difficulties, South Sudan is also bearing the brunt of the extreme impacts of climate change. Extreme weather events, including floods and prolonged droughts, are destroying crops, displacing communities, and exacerbating food insecurity. These climate shocks are pushing already vulnerable people into deeper poverty and despair. CARE alongside South Sudan local organizations are working hard to support communities and the refugees and returnees however they can but the situation is overwhelming. “The influx of refugees and returnees while communities already are facing severe conditions worsen an already bad humanitarian situation, ” said Angelina Nyajima, CEO of Hope Restoration, one of CARE’s partners.

To avert a catastrophe, the international community must act swiftly. Increased funding for the humanitarian response is paramount. More specifically, support must extend to the host communities, those who generously share their limited resources with displaced families. And long-term solutions, like investments in infrastructure, agriculture, and education, are the only way to break the cycle of poverty and vulnerability that fuels conflict.

Source: Care International