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.
Go to VIDEO
[2] United Methodist Doctrinal stance holds that it is NOT!
