Revenge belongs to God alone, not you.

"If someone screws you, screw them back 10 times harder, at least they're going to leave you alone, and at least you'll feel good."  This is an entirely human sentiment, something that expresses well our sinful nature as children alienated from our Heavenly Father.  It is also, however, a sentiment in direct opposition to the Word of God.  What does God say about vengeance, what is our response supposed to be as followers of Jesus Christ?

Romans 12:14-21 (NIV)

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 5:38-48 (NIV)

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The sentiment expressed in the quote at the beginning of the post came from a rich businessman in 2005, that same businessman is now one of the most powerful people in the world, Therefore his attitude regarding vengeance carries serious weight.  The thirst for vengeance, the desire to see enemies crushed, is not, nor can it ever be, the attitude of a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Revenge doesn't belong to you, it belongs to God, he will defend the righteous and punish the wicked, he will uphold the poor and the weak against the rich and the strong.  

God loves you too much to ignore your sexuality.

People want to do what they want, when they want to do it, and how they want to do it.  People don't like being told what they can and cannot do.  This isn't a mystery, its obvious, a commonality of us all.  Our feelings about sex and sexuality are no different.  In order to fulfill humanity's desire to be autonomous, to make our own rules, elements of society have always sought to ignore the clear consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage, whether it be heterosexual or homosexual, the desire to be autonomous and reject limitations remains the same.
Sexuality has significant consequences for individuals and society that we ignore at our peril.  It can be a force for good when contained within a loving marriage, an expression of fidelity and love, but it can also be a powerful destructive force when it exceeds that boundary, resulting in STD's, divorce, rape, abortions, and all manner of non-marital sexuality, including homosexual expressions.  Sexual expression has to have limits, no society can function without them.  Biology ought to be one obvious restraint on human autonomy, after all, it takes a man and a woman to reproduce, but even this fact of nature comes under assault when people seeking autonomy are willing to ignore nature and embrace homosexual and transgender perspectives.
God isn't interested in ruining fun, God doesn't want to quash happiness or love, but God, as our Heavenly Father and our Creator, is not going to sit by and let human beings pursue dead-end paths that are only self-destructive, he loves you too much.  God, in the created order, has set limits upon our expressions of sexuality.
All sexual expressions outside of the marriage of one man and one woman are sin, not because I say so, but because the Word of God declares it to be so, thus the cheating husband is as equally ignoring God as the person seeking a lesbian sexual relationship.  All sin is an affront against God, if the Church has failed to make clear its opposition to ALL forms of sexual sin, especially our own, that is our failure.  If Christians have seemed more interested in opposing homosexuality than in helping the people of the Church overcome adultery, that is also our failure.  We, the Church, have failed in this arena, far too often.  Holiness begins at home, the people of the Church have failed to live sexually pure lives, for this we need to repent and return to being what God has called us to be.  As a people redeemed by God, we cannot pretend that sin, of any kind, is ok.  It won't be popular to say so, and we shouldn't expect those who don't believe in God to be happy to hear it, but God loves you too much to ignore your sexuality, and as imitators of Jesus Christ, so does his Church.

My words are primarily for myself, my family, my church, and beyond that, the greater Christian community.  If they spur the people of God toward self-examination, and greater efforts at holiness (by God's grace) they will have achieved their purpose.  If my words speak to the Lost, to those without God, let them hear me clearly: God loves you, his Son died to set you free, God wants you to come home to him, whatever your past, whatever your present, God can and will forgive you if you put your faith in him.  When you do believe, join a local church, it is the place where the people who were lost, but now are found, gather together to celebrate God's mercy and grace, and to share his love.

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

Genesis 2:24 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Mark 10:8b-9 "So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Matthew 5:28 "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.  The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.  For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.  Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit."

Sermon Video: Josiah - Renewal and Hope - 2 Chronicles 34

Josiah, the boy king, came to the throne at the age of eight following the assassination of his father, Amon.  The Chronicles doesn't tell us who acted as regent during his minority, nor who educated or trained the boy king, but we are told that at 16 Josiah began to seek the LORD.  At 20, Josiah began a systematic program of destroying and demolishing idols and altars to false gods throughout both Judea and also in the lands of the shattered kingdom of Israel.  At 26, Josiah oversaw the restoration of the temple complex whose repairs had been neglected for decades.  Having accomplished so much before 30, Josiah is an amazing example of youthful zeal for the LORD.
What Josiah would have attempted next we'll never know, for his future course was set by the discovery of the scroll of the Law in the temple.  Previous to this, for an unknown period of time, the people had been without a copy of the Law.  Imagine, Josiah sought the LORD without having personally read the Scriptures, with only second-hand knowledge of God.  The reforms of Josiah appear even more amazing given this limitation.  When the Scriptures were read in his presence, however, far from being reassured because of his personal faithfulness, Josiah was moved tear his robes in mourning as he realized just how far his nation had been, for generations, from the standard of God's holiness as outlined in the Law of Moses.
Knowing his people's sinfulness, Josiah humbly sought the LORD's forgiveness on their behalf, only to learn that the day of God's wrath in judgment could not be diverted.  God granted Josiah the mercy of peace during his day, because of his faithfulness, but assured him that soon judgment would come.  In response, Josiah gathered the people of Judah and Israel, from least to greatest, to rededicate themselves to the Covenant publicly.  This act of devotion to the LORD, knowing that the future held judgment, not blessings, was a further example of how thoroughly Josiah's generation sought the LORD.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

In defense of brotherly love - Samwise Gamgee and Hermione Granger

As is well known, my favorite book is The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.  In this masterpiece that launched the modern fantasy novel genre, the character of Samwise Gamgee follows his "master" Frodo on the journey to Mordor to destroy the one ring.  It is well known that Tolkien modeled the relationship between Frodo and Sam after the relationship between officers in the British army during WWI and their assistants, known as a "batman".  The relationship between Frodo and Sam is one of the greatest example in literature of brotherly love, loyalty, and friendship.  It should come as no surprise, then, that some would rather view this relationship through a sexual lense, wanting to see the Sam/Frodo relationship as a homosexual one.  Such a view would obviously ignore the intent of J.R.R. Tolkien, as the author, although for many this hurdle means nothing, but it would also destroy the nobility of the relationship for it would take away its most important quality: selflessness.  Sam is loyal to Frodo, and loves him like a friend, is there something wrong with leaving it at that?  Must every relationship have a sexual angle, can nothing be altruistic?
A similar thought occurs with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, it has been reported that the author considered having Harry fall for Hermoine, instead of what she actually wrote which had Harry's friends Ron and Hermione end up together.  What was written is far superior, however, for it makes the friendship between these three paramount, and their willingness to risk their lives to support Harry in his quest is more noble without the angle of sexual attraction and romance that would have made Hermione's choice to stay with Harry when Ron left temporarily in the Deathly Hollows a self-centered one instead of a self-sacrificial choice.
Romantic love is crucial to society, helping to hold marriages together, but there is something to be said for simple brotherly love, devoid of sexual connections, for love such as this has often changed the world.  "For God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Sermon Video: King Manasseh - Wickedness and Repentance - 2 Chronicles 33

King Manasseh was a wicked man, he lived the majority of his life steeped in idolatry, blasphemy, and he even committed child sacrifice, offering up his own son in a pagan ritual.  As a king of Judah, the covenant people descended of Abraham, Manasseh bears a greater responsibility for his sin than someone who does not know who the LORD is.  By his actions, Manasseh was guaranteeing that both he and his nation would soon face the wrath of God in righteous judgment.  The only question is, can that future judgment be avoided, can such a wicked man repent and be saved?
In a stunning turn of event, Manasseh does indeed repent when brought low by the LORD, and to top it off, God accepts his contrition and forgives him, allowing Manasseh to spend what time remained in his life trying to make amends for his past.
To counter-balance this message of hope for even the vilest of sinners, if that person repents, the remainder of chapter 33 of 2 Chronicles tells briefly of the life of Manasseh's son, Amon, who only reigned as king for two years before he was assassinated.  In those two years, Amon followed the example of the earlier part of his father's life by engaging in much wickedness, but unlike his father, he refused to repent and died in his sins.
All have sinned, all must repent and seek the LORD's forgiveness, but not all are given the multiple chances that were afforded to Manasseh, for Amon only lived till his 24th year, at which point he had to account for his life before God.  Today is the day of repentance, for no one is guaranteed tomorrow.

To watch the video, click on the link below: