To the Empathetic Pro-Choice Men

Since I should treat men and women equally, and I've already addressed pro-choice women enough with my opinions and God's word, I'd like to address the pro-choice men. Specifically I want to address the men who support abortion on demand (and federal funding of it) because they claim they do not know what it feels like to be a woman and thus cannot tell women what to do. I truly appreciate your desire to be empathetic instead of domineering, but there are many who would consider your defense a cowardly one.  Do you support a terrorist's choice to slaughter children with machetes because you do not know what it feels like to be indoctrinated by radical Islam? Moral relativism is a farce. Killing children for personal convenience or by order from ISIS is wrong, and you know it. You just won't risk being politically incorrect or offending someone to stand up for what is right.

Abortion may remove what you see on the outside as a consequence of irresponsible choices (whether consensual or not), but it does not remove the consequence. If you think you can partake in risky behaviors because she can always just get rid of "it", then you will keep playing with fire, while continuing further in your degradation of women. Abortion takes a human life and leaves lasting physical and emotional scars that you may not see but which are far worse than any pregnancy and delivery could be. Consequences can be very good teachers and can provide a dramatic improvement in the treatment of women....if only men would stop covering up those consequences and allow themselves to truly SEE them.

If you truly want to be empathetic and supportive of women while fighting for their rights and opposing violence against women, here are a few practical ideas:

• Don't get women in crisis pregnancy situations in the first place. Take responsibility for your own actions and treat women with respect. When you mess up, don't run and hide from the problem you created. Support her. Do not ever force her to get an abortion.

• Do not be impressed by "locker room talk". If another guy brags of his conquest over a woman, rebuke him. Be a righteous example, and call the men in your realm of influence to a higher standard. 

• Support women in abusive or crisis pregnancy situations. Honor them. Pray for them. Provide for them. Bring them to Christ-centered ministries where they will be loved and cared for unconditionally while getting all their needs (physical and emotional) met in a way that is honest and pure.

• Stop using pornography and join the fight against it. Pornography is the largest industry in the world and the greatest contributor to both objectification of women and physical crimes against them. Rape, violence, and human trafficking are almost always rooted in an addiction to porn.

• Support local crisis pregnancy centers, faith based maternity homes, and homes for battered women with your money and/or time and skills. Handyman work is always needed as are board members, fundraising directors, counselors, mentors for men involved, prenatal care providers, sonogram techs, life skills trainers, house parents, etc.

• Contact your elected officials and demand that they support legislation that values all human life, male and female, from the womb to the tomb.

• Foster and/or adopt.

• Volunteer as a Guardian ad Litem.

To the men who are already doing any of these suggestions or who support women in other life affirming ways, I salute you. As one born the same year as the Roe V. Wade decision as a result of an unplanned pregnancy. I thank you.  I hope our nation's children are learning what true, compassionate and courageous manhood looks like by watching you.

11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?  (Proverbs 24:11-12, NIV)

Planned Parenthood is the Biggest Abuser of Women and Children

I wept (rare for me) when this dear woman, Norma McCorvey (aka "Jane Roe") came to one of our Bible study meetings and shared her testimony, which included not only her involvement in the Roe v. Wade case but also the way Jesus transformed her heart and life.  She has been fighting against abortion ever since. (Read her 2015 court testimony here.)

Young, alone, homeless, addicted to drugs, and having no true understanding of what abortion is or does to a human life, she came to the attorneys in this case for help. Instead, they deceived and manipulated her into serving their own purposes.

In the same manner, desperate women come to abortion centers looking for guidance, hope, and positive solutions, but instead they are told the same lies Norma heard and given no other options, no support, and no hope. The abortion workers are more than happy to take their money, though. These women are treated as pawns in the abortion industry's profitable game. 




While there are certainly plenty of individual cases of horrific abuse against women by men, and I'm all for eliminating all forms of violence against women and trafficking of women (eradicating porn is the first place to start), U.S. laws provide much greater privileges and protections to women than to men. It is not so much a system problem as it is a lack of common morality and mutual respect by both genders. In many cases, women are merely victims of their own choices.   (For example, if you choose to get a Ph.D. in women's studies, and an equally gifted male gets an M.D. in orthopedic medicine, the guy will make more money. Of, if you choose to wear a vagina body suit, both men and women will look at what is wrapped around your body without noticing your face or brain at first glance, and it will totally be your own fault. If feminists continually berate, demean, emasculate, and dehumanize men as is so common on sitcoms I hear, then they should not be surprised when men leave them or start acting like jerks or as someone less than human.)

Norma McCorvey, and all the vulnerable women like her who visit Planned Parenthood centers around the world, and the children they carry in their wombs are legitimate victims, and Planned Parenthood is their abuser. So as a woman who values the rights and lives of all women, I will speak out against Planned Parenthood and celebrate when our government redirects funding away from PPF to legitimate public women's health providers. I will continue to give of my time and money to pregnancy life care centers and to the Christian maternity homes where women receive authentic love, valuable support, comprehensive education, effective counseling, material provisions, and lots of hope and encouragement without taking a penny from these women in crisis.

Learn more about Norma McCorvey and read seven powerful quotes by her here.

Love Women with Living Water

I know I've spoken enough about the women's march this weekend, but I want to throw off all sarcasm and seriously and lovingly consider those women whose participation in pro-choice, anti-men, feminist activism comes from a deep, wounded place where they have been woefully mistreated by others. Perhaps they grew up in a broken home where a father was absent, abusive or neglectful. Maybe they have been betrayed, dishonored, abandoned, assaulted, violated, or mistreated in other ways by a husband, family member, "friend", neighbor, or stranger. Maybe these women are hurting because they are childless (whether by infertility, lack of a lifetime partner, or by choice), and those around them value children so much that they feel shunned or isolated by the giddy "quiverfull" advocates. Maybe they are suffering through an unhappy marriage where each partner's understanding of gender roles is skewed or conflicting. Whatever the case, they are hurting and may feel rejected by any culture that deeply values traditional marriage and children.

God loves marriage, children, and family, but He also loves and esteems single women, childless women, mistreated women, and all other women. The scriptures speak much of God being our Father and Christ our Bridegroom, so we know this issue is tender to Him and that He wants so much to fill those roles for all of us, but especially for those who do not have earthly fathers or husbands. God loves women who have been burned by men or by society in general, so anyone who claims to follow Christ should love them too. Therefore, I want to apologize to all who have been hurt or offended when I have spoken without thinking, out of shock instead of from sincere empathy.

I do not want hurting women to suffer another moment longer.  I want them to be healed. The problem is that we each see love, life, and healing from different viewpoints. I am convinced that excessive protections/privileges, free birth control, free abortion at any stage for any reason, free tampons, harsher sentences on rapists, stripping away even more rights from men, impeaching Trump, or whatever else it is that your group wants will not satisfy.   Too often, wounded people wound back and the cycle continues, escalating out of control.  Bitterness and joy cannot ever coexist.  Revenge or harsh reparations on either side of the issues will not satisfy an angry heart.  Only God's love and grace can do that.   

My prayer is that each woman who has been wounded by a man but still has a God given desire for a healthy marriage would come to know the pure delight of a covenant marriage relationship with a godly man who cherishes and honors her with full appreciation of her infinite value while respecting her freedom and independence. However, these good guys are often scared away by radical feminists who demonize them, or they will listen to the rhetoric (or the emasculation and degradation of men in terms of integrity, intellect, courage, and competence so common across entertainment media) and change into someone weak, passive, irresponsible, incompetent, and unwilling to meet these women's needs or to stay committed to a marriage or a family. May the vicious cycle of assumptions, attacks, and apathy finally cease.  May women build men up and give them the respect they need to become the men they were created to be.  May the two genders be brought together in a way that is complementary and beneficial for both of them and for society overall as God intended from the beginning.

If God's desire for these women is to stay single or childless, then I want to celebrate with them in that divine calling, for the apostle Paul reminds us all that in many ways it is better to stay single so you are not distracted and completely exhausted by the obligations of a husband and children.  (1 Corinthians 7) The mentors in my life who have made the greatest impact have typically been either single or childless. Despite deep wounds of the past, healing, peace, love, and joy can be found through Christ and His wonderful, important purposes for each of our lives.

The church needs to do a better job of celebrating all people without judgments based on marital status, number of children, social status, or any other label, for every human being was created in the image of God for unique and wonderful purposes.

I love the model Jesus gives us in the way He treated the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). In that culture, no man would dare speak to a Samaritan and certainly not to a Samaritan WOMAN, for the racism and sexism then was far greater than what we've seen in our lives here in America. This woman was considered immoral because she had had five husbands (we can only assume they each abandoned or divorced her) and was currently cohabitating, so not even the most immoral Jewish man would associate with her. But Jesus, a Jewish man who happened to be the greatest teacher of his day, perfectly sinless, and the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God, reached out to her in love. He met her where she was in her fallen, hurting condition on her native Samaritan soil and did not condemn her, but He also did not excuse her sin or the sins of the men who had mistreated her. He did not love her by redefining marriage to include as many husbands as she had had or by degrading the value of the family or of children so she would fit in better. He didn't even demand that she change her lifestyle (for that's a work only He can do for her). He loved her by simply offering her Himself, the living water that will satisfy her forever.

People of God, I suspect I'm not the only one who needs to repent of self-righteousness or of a sarcastic tone when speaking of the liberal feminists who truly are victims.  My the Lord soften my heart and continually help me to love unconditionally as He loves, with pure motives, not by compromising God's absolute truths, but by humbly offering them Jesus who saved, remade, and wholly satisfies each and every believer.

I cannot end without putting in a plug for an amazing support group that genuinely and effectively loves as Jesus loves. It is appropriately called Living Waters. Everyone I know who has been through this program has found healing, forgiveness of past hurts, freedom from past addictions and strongholds, freedom from same sex attraction if that was their desire, release from the pull of pornography, restored relationships, and a healthy, right, and good understanding of their roles as men and women.

Find out more and locate a group near you here:
http://desertstream.org/living-waters/

Here's to Strong Women

A national women's march was held today to promote or protest something.....I'm not quite sure what that something was exactly (see the previous post), but I did notice people carrying signs and wearing T-shirts with quotes extolling the strength of women.  I'm all for strong women - physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, etc.

Then I considered that I'm a lot stronger now than I was back in 20s and early 30s as a competitive runner.  How can that be given how much older I am now and how our muscles begin to atrophy over the age of 40?

So what makes a woman stronger?

Physically, my strength gains were the result of suffering, loss, and a lot of hard work.  Two major car wrecks during my 20s, which left the EMTs telling me my survival was nothing short of miraculous, did some serious damage to my spine, but I did not realize it at the time.  Spinal discs usually have to be at least 90% compressed before pain signals a problem, so I kept running extensively.  Then two pregnancies that involved carrying average sized babies on narrow hips and crisis deliveries that nearly took the lives of my children finished off the disc compression. I was left with severe and chronic back pain and scar tissue throughout my body.  My running days were over, and my back, knees, and ankles were a mess, never to be the same again.

Both males and females grow stronger the same way.  They must put in lots of time, effort, and discipline as they push back against resistance to break down their current muscles and then build them back stronger than before. Part of my rehabilitation involved resistance training.   With paint relief as a powerful motivator, I strengthened my body and escaped the chronic pain that had tormented me for the previous seven years. Before long, I could do 20-30 pull-ups without an assist or a break and plyo-, clap-, and one-armed push-ups, none of which I could do before the wrecks during the prime of my youth.

Academically, I faced a different kind of resistance because of my gender.  In engineering school, men outnumbered women six to one.  I remember struggling in the courses that require exceptional visual-spatial intelligence, partly because I did not play with Legos, building blocks, or other toys that build this type of intelligence as a child as most boys do.  I encountered professors and students who stereotyped me as being unsuited for engineering because I was female, but back then, women received no special breaks because of their gender.  They had to work as hard (or harder) than all the guys.  When I met resistance, I pushed back, and I grew stronger as a result. I graduated at the top of my engineering class.  Since I was given no favors by professors or administrators fearful of law suits, I graduated with confidence knowing that I had competed against all the other students on equal grounds.

Professionally, I do not have the stereotypical engineer's personality.  I remember lots of surprised comments by male executives who had met me outside of work hours and assumed I worked in sales or communications.  I enjoyed the opportunity and challenge of proving myself to them.  It was an amusing game for me that also made me stronger.

Emotionally and spiritually, I have grown stronger by taking risks.  Giving up a career to stay home with one's children (and in my case I even homeschooled them for a few years) feels like a total loss of identity for many and was a risk I assumed would end my career in a fast paced technical field forever, but when our strength comes from within and is based on who we are instead of what we do, taking those risks only makes us stronger. I am back at work today part-time in a consultant role that provides more flexibility and enjoyment than any high ladder job title I may have attained had I never left.  My faith was strengthened with each step I took outside of my comfort zone to follow His leading.

Building spiritual strength also requires us to open ourselves to the truth of our own fallen condition, allowing God to show us the depths of our sin. 

 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.  (Psalm 139:23-24)

This awareness should then humble us and break us, like the physical breaking down of muscle tissue during resistance training, and bring us to repentance where God can then restore and rebuild us stronger than before.  King David expressed his personal experience with this process in Psalm 51.

1Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge....

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

I reference this spiritual metaphor to emphasize a key point.  Our strength does not come from our government, employers, coworkers, professors, spouse, children, family or friends. Our strength comes from the Lord, and the processes used to strengthen us involve resistance, hard work, patience, sometimes pain and suffering, risks, and faith.

  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (Philippians 4:13) 

The strength God gives is placed within us and flows out from the soul.  We do not suddenly become stronger because we force others to declare, "You are a woman, so you are strong" and insist that they bow to all our other demands as well.

Gender quotas do not make us stronger.  We certainly don't develop professional muscles by loafing within legally imposed gender protections which enable us to do everything wrong or nothing at all on the job or in the classroom without getting fired or expelled. If you are a woman with Latino (or other minority ethnicity) descent who is involved in the occult (or any belief system except Christianity) and identifies as LGBTQ, then there is virtually nothing you could do to get fired, while white males are dismissed without notice simply because their employer found someone else they liked better who might shake things up a bit. We grow stronger and more confident by competing on equal grounds, not by receiving preferential treatment.  EEO laws may help get protected classes in the door, but they do not help them grow professionally, for there is little to no incentive to work, much less improve

We don't become stronger by demanding government funded birth control.  We become stronger by taking personal responsibility for our own bodies and finding the courage and self-control to say no to activities that will naturally result in unwanted pregnancy or by managing birth control ourselves, whether we use free methods like natural family planning or purchase birth control products at a price less than the cost of each sign those women carried at the Inauguration 2017 women's march.

Should a woman still end of up in crisis pregnancy situation, then she will become stronger by accepting and even celebrating that life while resisting the public pressure and demeaning lies (such as "you are too weak or poor to care for baby, and you have no other options") of the abortion clinic workers and carrying that child to term.  I know hundreds of women who have made that choice to birth their children in less than ideal conditions (some of whom were rape victims) and against the pressure of their family and loved ones, yet not one regrets her decision to bring that child into the world alive.  They are among the strongest women I know.

We become stronger each time we stand up for truth and righteousness in a culture that despises both and persecutes all who disagree with the new social order.

We grow stronger each time we risk hearing our children tell us they hate us to discipline them out of pure love and with eyes fixed on their long term gain.

We are strengthened each time we refrain from saying what we feel like saying out of a desire to build others up instead of tearing them down.

We are strengthened with each battle we fight - whether against cancer or other illness, financial hardship, natural disaster, injustice, betrayal by those closest to us, or death of our dearest loved ones.

We are strengthened with each risk taken to benefit another, each sacrifice made to serve our families, each word of ridicule cast upon us because we did not cave to peer pressure, and each humble prayer offered on our knees in confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and authentic praise.

We are strong because we have faced resistance and overcome, not because we manipulated all of society into removing each and every obstacle in our path.

We are strong because He who is in us is greater than anyone who is in the world, and by Him, we have and will continue to overcome. (1 John 4:4)

January 2017 Women's March

What exactly is the women's march protesting?

It couldn't be foul comments Trump made over a decade ago because they didn't seem to mind when Bill Clinton was actually DOING the very same things Trump merely mentioned and worse while still in office.

It couldn't be Trump's foul mouth because Lena Dunham, feminist spokesperson who sexually abused her sister and regularly abuses the public by showing off her privates, says FAR worse to bring out the most carnal nature of both men and women.

It couldn't be a march for women's basic human rights because they celebrate the fact that at least 32,000,000 women have been denied the right to live in an excruciating, barbaric manner through abortion. 

It couldn't be concerns over financial support for moms because the plan Ivanka put forth benefits all mothers in the workplace and those working hard to raise respectable children at home.

It couldn't be suppression of women because they have voiced their support for Islamic extremists who bind and hide their wives in burkas and do not allow them to go out into public, speak out, receive proper education, or live in any way as they please so they can focus only on bowing down to their oppressive masters whose militias take women as sex slaves during their violent conquests.

It couldn't be a march for gay rights because they oppose those who want to to wipe out ISIS - the group that inspired the killing of 49 members of the gay community in just one attack in Orlando.

It couldn't be a march for tolerance because they have little to no tolerance for white males, Christians, or conservatives who are persecuted on a regular basis by groups they support here in America. 

What exactly has them so upset, and what will this march accomplish?  I appreciate the efforts to keep it peaceful, though, so kudos for that.

Presidential Inauguration 2017: A Call for Unity, Patriotism, and Prayers to God

I'd like to commemorate this historic Inauguration Day by sharing a few thoughts I had throughout the day.

Early AM
I've been working through Beth Moore's study, The Patriarchs.

  
This morning's lesson was from Genesis 27 and specifically addressed Esau's hatred of Jacob and the way he consoled himself by plotting to kill his brother (Genesis 27:41). This lesson seemed quite timely given the plots already uncovered by investigative teams to set off bombs during the Inaugural events and the arrest of at least one man (a friend of the Clintons) who pledged to kill the incoming President.  (By 1:00 pm, Fox News was reporting at least 90 arrests made within the vicinity of the Inaugural events.)

Beth Moore explains in the study guide that the Hebrew word used in Genesis 27:41 to describe Esau's feelings toward his brother is "satam" which means to hate, to harass, to nurse hostility and bitterness toward someone or to attack physically. This word shares the same root as the Hebrew verb "satan" which means to accuse, slander, harbor animosity toward another and with the masculine noun "satan" which means "adversary, accuser", from which we get the name Satan. 

Whether one's bitterness and anger flow out of being treated unfairly, not getting what one wants, or out of some false characterization of someone with no evidence or hint of truth, when negative emotions are encouraged by the culture and allowed to swell exponentially to the point that someone is consoling himself with thoughts of murder, that person's behavior has become clinically psychopathic.

Here's my concern. When we live in a culture that tries so desperately to normalize abnormal behavior, emotions go unchecked and psychopathic behaviors increase.

Satan is the father of lies with murderous intentions (John 8:44). He is the arch enemy, the epic accuser, and destroyer of all that is good. The spirit of Satan is what pushes people to attack, accuse, slander, hate, destroy, and plot murder.

Let us pray not just for safety for Trump, his family, and his executive team, but also for Satan's grip on our culture to be loosened and for our hearts to be turned from hatred and fear to love and faith. The battle is the Lord's, but we are commanded to pray, resist the devil, and humble our ourselves in repentance before the Lord. Pence knows that is what we need most, so he chose to take his oath while placing his hands on 2 Chronicles 7:14 which reads, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."


Around Noon
My kids got to watch the Inauguration at school today, and even though many different demographics with very different political views were present in each room, they watched together peacefully and respectfully. I wish more adults could be as mature as those K-12 students, but I sure am grateful their school let them watch history in the making.

I was impressed with Trump's speech. He's learned a lot since his campaign first began and moved considerably toward calmer, more unifying speech.  He's also been listening to a lot of committed Christians who have been teaching him God's word. That's what the evangelical team and Ben Carson have stated anyway, and it seems to show.

What were your favorite quotes from Trump's speech today?
Here are a few I liked (from memory so may not be quoted exactly):
  

• "We aren’t transferring power from one administration to the other or from one party to the other. We are transferring power from Washington, D.C. back to you the people."

(Populist sounding maybe but necessary to swing the pendulum back from tyranny toward a true Republic)

• "When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." 

(Even more so when we open our hearts to God)

•  "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!" 

(He was quoting Psalm 133:1.)

• "We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action – constantly complaining but never doing anything about it."

(WITHIN their legal limits - not legislating from the bench or through excessive, far-reaching executive orders, please)

• "Whether we are black, brown, yellow, or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriotism....we all enjoy the same freedoms and salute the same flag."  

(Rough paraphrase here, but it sounded like he was trying to emphasize how we are all equally valuable as human beings and need to unify as Americans)

• "May God Bless America!" 

 (I don't know about you, but I sure have missed that phrase.)

I also greatly appreciate the way he acknowledged that while it is the government's responsibility (and all American's) to build up, support, and respect our military forces and law enforcement officers, ultimately our protection comes from God Almighty. Now may we humble ourselves before the Lord of Grace and pray for His sovereign protection which we most certainly do not deserve. The Bible is filled with promises to protect those who call out to Him.  (A few examples are Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 5:11, 20:1, 36:7, 57:1, 59:1, 63:7, chapter 121, 140:4, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Thessalonians 3:3.)

Did God really say that?

We live in a culture that insists that Christians only accept the Bible in bits, not as a whole. For now, the culture (and too many mainline "Christian" churches and seminaries) will at least permit Christians to adopt the passages on loving thy neighbor, giving to the poor, and not judging others as long as they do so in a way that is politically correct while also ignoring other passages that condemn sexual immorality, gay marriage, abortion, or selfish-ambition. The passages that insist there is only one way to salvation, that is through Christ alone, must be dismissed so as not to offend other religions, even though to do so would require accepting two contradictory statements as both being true which contradicts basic logic. Worse, to assert that there are multiple ways to salvation would be to call Christ a liar or a lunatic. (See John 8.) Only a fool would suffer and die as He did if there was any other way to save humankind. To call Himself the Son of God and the promised Messiah would be ultimate blasphemy unless He truly was who He said He was. Given that Jesus fulfilled at least 351 prophecies of the Messiah perfectly and that fulfilling only eight is statistically impossible, the odds are certainly in favor of His claims. Then there are the countless followers who know Him personally through faith and testify of their personal experience which confirms the truth of His authenticity.

The culture is also pushing toward an anti-Semitic worldview that insists that we ignore Biblical teaching on the origins of Israel and the Middle Eastern conflict despite the complete accuracy with which the Bible has perfectly foretold the events that have taken place since the days of their father Abraham. When establishing Islam, Muhammad tried to reverse the characters of Isaac and Ishmael so that Ishmael's descendants (who God still blessed abundantly as promised in Genesis 17:20) would receive the specific promise given to Isaac.  Ishmael's descendants can all receive the same spiritual promise through faith, just as we Gentiles can be grafted in by faith, receiving the same inheritance by faith in Christ. God's plan for peace comes through faith, not through war or hostility.  God's plan for peace is only by His plans and His power, not by any human strategy or effort. The culture blames Christians and Jews for all the wars around the world when the Scriptures accurately foretold that this hostility would come from the descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 16:12).

The culture accuses Christians of being exclusive and intolerant, but the fact is that the true path to peace comes only through faith in Christ, and He has extended that salvation to ALL who believe.  No one who comes by genuine faith will be excluded, and we are commanded to go into ALL the world sharing the hope available through Christ.  We have nothing to gain personally in this life except ridicule by sharing the full Gospel with others, but those with whom we share have everything to gain. It is selfless love and a desire for peace that compels the true believer, not arrogance or hostility. (See Genesis 16:12, 25:18.)

Our culture apparently wants us to also ignore the last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 22:18) which warns of judgment on anyone who adds or takes away from the Scriptures.

Our culture insists we are haters, intolerant, and arrogant simply because we refuse to question the words of the God of the universe who possesses all power, all wisdom, all knowledge, and perfect love.  Could it be that those who insist that we read the Bible with white-out or who edit the Scriptures to suit their own social preferences are the more arrogant ones, for are they not essentially shaking their fists at God, accusing Him of being unloving, unwise, and flat out wrong?  Who is pompous enough to declare that God was wrong about those issues that clash with new and ever-changing social norms? Who is brave enough to deny His holiness and call him a fool or a liar?

The ultimate  fool and father of lies (John 8:44) is Satan himself who first questioned God's word.  He tempted Eve by instilling doubt with the question, "'Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)  Today, Satan is leading our society astray with similar deceptive questions and statements such as the following:

• Satan's Deception:  Did God really say that marriage can be only be between one man and one woman?" 

(Truth:  Yes, He really did. Reference Genesis 2: 14-24, Deuteronomy 24:5, Proverbs 18:22,  Matthew 19:4-6,  Mark 10:6-9, Ephesians 5:22-33, Exodus 20:14, and Colossians 3:18-19 for a few examples. )

• Satan's Deception:  Does God seriously expect you to keep sex only within the marriage covenant? If He really did, wouldn't He would have made it easier for you?

 (Truth:Yes, He really does, for sex will only reach it's true fulfillment and purpose within the safe boundaries of covenant marriage.  This command is not unattainable, however, for all things are possible through Christ. He wants us to rely on His power, though, not merely our own.  Reference  1 Corinthians 2:7-9, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 1 Corinthians 7:2,

1 , Hebrews 13:4, Philippians 4:13, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 1 , Ephesians 5:3, and Proverbs 5:15-18.)

• Satan's Deception:  Did God really say that homosexuality is wrong?  God would not give two people of the same sex such a strong attraction to each other if He did not intend for them to act on their sexual urges.  Besides, now that we have populated the earth, the "be fruitful and multiply" excuse for male/female intercourse should no longer be valid. 

 (Truth:  The Scriptures repeatedly teach that homosexual acts are sinful and reveal harmful consequences, but these Bible verses "aren't about condemning homosexuals, gays, lesbians, or transgender people. Rather, God's words provide a loving warning and offer of grace for those who have strayed from His will for sex. We live in a fallen world with a fallen nature, but in Christ, we can be new creations." (BibleStudyTools.com) Learn more and find useful Bible passages at here.)

• Satan's Deception:  God's promise to Isaac was unfair to Ishmael and caused too many wars.  Since Israel is so small and all the surrounding nations are too small.  Just side with the Arabs and strip Israel of the land they claim is theirs by God's decree.

 (Truth:  God does not start wars or tempt us to sin. Our own evil desires are what entice us to sin and lead us to death. (James 1:13-15)  God did not cause the Middle Eastern conflict, but He has made a way for both the sons of Isaac and Ishmael to find peace and an eternal inheritance through Christ. Any plans we make apart from God will ultimately fail. (Proverbs 19:21 and Proverbs 21:30)  God promised that land to Israel, and nothing can thwart the plans, purposes, and promises of God.  See Job 42:2, Psalm 33:10-11, 2 Chronicles 20:6, and Proverbs 16:4)

• Satan's Deception:   Surely God does not mind if you abort a fetus, especially if, as the abortion clinic workers repeatedly insist, you are in no position to properly care for a child. 

(Truth:  God is the giver of life.  He creates all life in His image. Scriptures affirm the value of all life, from the unborn to the elderly.  All life, whether born or unborn is precious to Him and has been given a unique plan and purpose.  He wants us to trust Him with all our needs and with those of our children.  (See Jeremiah 1:5, Job 31:15, Psalm 22:10,  Psalm 139: 13-16, and Exodus 20:13)

God is infinite, the first and the last.  (Revelation 22:13)  He never changes. What He said then He still means now. 

He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” (1 Samuel 15:29)

No matter what society calls me or does to me, I will always fear God more than man, so I'm going to take Him at his word.

³  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
⁴   In God, whose word I praise—
     in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?

¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise—
¹¹ in God I trust and am not afraid.   

What can man do to me?  (Psalm 56: 3-4, 10-11)

While we must be careful not to throw stones or  cast judgment, we absolutely cannot compromise God's truth to make it seem more comfortable to a society that flat out rejects Him.  How others choose to respond to His word is solely between them and God.  We just must be faithful to live out the faith authentically and share God's unedited truth in love.

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth --only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair." - C.S. Lewis (1958)