Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Decision in the Dome

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

So be careful how you live.  Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:15-20(NLT)

To those of you who worship in other than a United Methodist Church, bear with me as I shake out the dirty laundry for a moment.  This post is for all who believe in prayer, and I’m asking for yours.
In a scant month and a half (46 days), United Methodist Delegates will meet in St. Louis to consider several proposals on what Methodists hold as true or false concerning the issue of homosexuality.  The choices, although complicated, boil down to progressive vs. conservative views of the great debate on whether homosexuality is compatible with Christian teaching or not[2].  This is the same issue that has been contested for the last four decades every time United Methodists meet in General Conference (and probably in most local churches every Sunday in one form or another for that same time frame). 
The point that is germane remains:  in each debate, vote, or test, Methodists have held true to Biblical structure, that, while all persons are of intrinsic worth, granted by our Creator, homosexuality (like divorce, greed, lust, theft, killing, gluttony, et al) is sinful behavior.  The way we come into right fellowship with God is to have a heart-change, giving up sinful preferences, and promise our lifestyle to be governed by the Holy Spirit through God’s Holy Word.  Nobody is (or will be) perfect in his/her execution of that promise…but we press on.  We do not baptize sinful behavior and call it a gift from God; nor do we look the other way when the need to repent is presented.
In a late Christmas gift the president of the Council of Bishops, Ken Carter, sent an open letter to the LGBTQ community apologizing profusely for the damage we, the United Methodist Church, is doing to that community and their families by having this special called conference.
With all due respect to Bishop Carter, the LGBTQ community/lobbying activists have been putting themselves in this position for as long as this sinful practice has existed.  What is being requested is the joining-together of darkness and light in a peaceful co-existence, something Jesus declared was inappropriate (and common sense declares impossible – where one exists, the other is not!)
So, to the point – when the tribe known as United Methodists meet for this special session of 864 delegates from around the globe February 23-26 to vote on whether to turn to God, or bow to the culture, I would ask that you step up your prayers for us. 
If ever there was a time and a need for Wesley’s group to be bathed in heavenly intervention, it is now, and no small matter for this decision in the dome.
For You Today
Dark days call for Light-giving.  As Benjamin Franklin supposedly said:  You can either complain about the darkness or light a candle!  So…join with us in prayer, or sit back and get used to the darkness.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  UMC.org
[2] United Methodist Doctrinal stance holds that it is NOT!

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