The Heart of the Father

THE ORLANDO MASSACRE

On June 12, 2016, a gunman entered a nightclub in Orlando, FL that was frequented by members of the LGBT community with evil in his heart. By the time he was killed by police officers he had killed 49 and injured another 53. He believed he was doing God a favor and earning himself a guaranteed spot in heaven. My heart is broken for the victims and the families who have been devastated by a coward who raised his hand against a country and one specific community in particular.

The rhetoric has been flying around from many different perspectives since the massacre. Two statements have been made by some members of the Christian community that have been very disturbing to me that need to be addressed. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love. These two points of view do not meet this standard set forth by the Apostle Paul. The first goes something like this, "This is the judgement of God upon the LGBT community." or, "They got what they deserved!" The second is along the lines of, "Well, the Bible calls for homosexuals to be put to death."

I would like to deal with the second statement first. Does the Bible call for all homosexuals to be put to death? What does the Bible say about homosexuality? There is much debate within Christendom about homosexuality. You may disagree with me, and that's okay, but may we please disagree in the spirit of love.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY?

The first mention of homosexuality is in the book of Genesis chapters 18 & 19. The Lord sent two angels to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy the cities for their wickedness. When the angels (in the form of 2 men) came to Lot's home the men of Sodom tried, unsuccessfully, to attack the angels intending to rape them, presuming them to be men. Lot escaped and the Lord rained flaming sulfur down upon the cities destroying the cities and all the inhabitants.

The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness but nowhere in the Bible does it state that the cities were destroyed solely because of homosexuality. Normally you hear people arguing from one of two poles. One group says God destroyed them because of homosexuality; the other side says they were destroyed for their lack of hospitality. I believe both poles lack fidelity to the scriptures. The Lord says in Ezekiel 16:49-50, "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it." God did not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for any singular sin but because they were totally corrupt.

In the book of Leviticus we read, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev 18.22; and "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev 20:13. These passages do call homosexual relationships sin, an abomination in the eyes of God, and the latter calls for the death penalty, but is this a prescription for all people of all time? NO!!! These passages must be taken in their context.

What is the context? The Lord is speaking to a specific people group for a specific purpose. He is addressing the Children of Israel and He wants them to be a people separated unto Him. This is made clear in the following passages; "You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out." Lev 20:22 and "Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine." Lev 20:26. You cannot lift a verse or two out of it's proper context and make it prescriptive for every person, for all time.

I am not saying that homosexuality is not a sin. Romans 1:18-32 make it clear that homosexuality (along with a whole host of other sins which we don't seem to have that much of a problem with, i.e. greed, arrogance, unloving, unmerciful) is sin, but nowhere in the New Testament does it call for capital punishment for this particular transgression. If you want to apply this one punishment for this particular sin, please be prepared to apply all the Old Testament Law to your life as well. The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the churches in Galatia that you cannot pick and choose. You must keep the entire Law or you can choose to live under the grace found only in and through Jesus Christ.

Now you might say, "But SEE! It is an ABOMINATION in the eyes of God!" You are right. It is an abomination in the eyes of God. But I did a quick search of what God calls an abomination and here are a few things I found that are also an abomination:

Arrogance - Liars - Murderers - People who devise wicked schemes - People who enjoy doing evil - False witnesses - People who try to divide others - Those who justify wickedness - Transvestites - The sacrifice of the wicked - Those with a crooked heart - Scoffers - Devious people - Unequal weights and measures - Wickedness - The unjust - and That which the world exalts.

That is quite a list, but one thing I noticed; the Bible does not prioritize sin on a flowchart of "Really Bad Sins" to "Not Really All That Bad Sins." God does not have a sliding scale like we do, and we make sure our favorite sins are not given much weight and sins we do not like are weighted very heavy. In our own minds we picture God winking at our sins and being disgusted by sins we don't find tempting to us.

You may be feeling justified in your own eyes as you don't feel called out by that list but just wait. Have you ever lied? Then you are a liar. Have you ever murdered someone? No? Really? If you have ever read the Sermon on the Mount you may want to reconsider your answer. In Matthew 5:21-25 Jesus tells us it is not a matter of the Law bought a matter of the heart. Jesus is saying if you hate someone you have committed murder in your heart. If you have a hatred in your heart for people who struggle with homosexuality, you are guilty of murder, and that is an abomination to God.

WHAT DOES JESUS SAY THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR US?

Jesus doesn't say anything about homosexuality in His earthly ministry but He does have something to say about the first statement I pointed out, "This is God's judgement on the LGBT community." Jesus was asked about a situation where the Roman governor mingled the blood of some people from Galilee he slaughtered with the blood of the sacrifices they brought to the temple and also about how bad the people must have been who died when a tower fell on them. I find His response useful for us today.

Luke 13:2-5 "And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Jesus goes on to tell a parable about a fig tree that didn't produce fruit. When the landowner came and saw the unproductive fig tree he wanted to pull it out and throw it away but the gardener talked him into waiting until he could work with the tree and fertilize it. The point of the story was about the mercy and grace of God. Jesus was pointing out that we should not be in the business of judging people, the point is you must be concerned about your sin. Jesus wants you to repent while you still have a chance. Those who were murdered in Orlando no longer have a chance to repent. Their place in eternity is sealed. Those who did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ will never a relationship with Jesus. That breaks my heart! That breaks the heart of God!

THE HEART OF GOD

We see the heart of God in the book of Ezekiel, “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?" Ezekiel 18:23. "Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'" Ezekiel 33:11. And the Apostle Peter tells us, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9. God wants sinners to repent and turn to Him.

If God Himself does not take pleasure in the death of sinners why would we? We are to imitate our Heavenly Father, Eph. 5:1-12. We need be more concerned about loving people into the Kingdom who are enslaved to sin. We also need to repent of our own sin and get our own hearts right and in line with the heart of God.

Little Graces, part II

A few weeks ago we received a call at the church office. A woman who attends the church had a three year old nephew who nearly drowned 36 hours before and was in the hospital on life support. Things were not looking good for the little boy I'll call Billy (not his real name). She was wanting a pastor to go to the hospital and pray for little Billy.

I took an intern, Jason, along with me. We prepared ourselves, as much as possible, for what would probably be the most difficult hospital visit we would ever make. We sat in my truck praying for the Lord to have mercy on Billy and his family. We prayed for the Lord to give us His strength. We prayed for the Lord to be glorified through us as we tried to minister to a hurting family who had no relationship with God. Then we drove to the hospital knowing God was going to use us...somehow.

We walked into the room and saw the lifeless body of this precious little boy surrounded by monitors connected to him by tubes and wires. His mother stood by his side while his father was standing apart, trying to strike a deal with God for the life of his son. The mood was somber as the nurse went about her duties with love and compassion.

We introduced ourselves and let them know we were from the church and who it was that had called us. We asked if it would be okay if we anointed Billy with oil and prayed for him. The father said it couldn't hurt and they were willing to try anything. They were desperate.

Jason pulled out his vial of frankincense scented oil. The room filled with the sweet aroma as we anointed little Billy's head with the oil. We laid our hands on his little body as we prayed for the Lord to restore him to health and that there would be no lasting brain damage.

Nothing special happened. No thunder. No shaking of the hospital building. No chills. Nothing!

Billy's 15 year old brother took me over to show me what some of the monitors we measuring. This is the brother who was watching Billy when he slipped away and found his way outside and into the pool. As he was showing me the line that measured Billy's ventilator activity, Jason bent over Billy and whispered a prayer into his ear while he held the little lifeless hand.

All of a sudden the monitor went from a small jagged zigzag line to a couple of high peaks with very low valleys. Billy was breathing against the ventilator!

Jason started shouting! I looked over to see Billy's eyes open and he was focusing on all that was going on around him. He was squeezing Jason's finger. Billy's mother started crying as his father ran out of the room to go tell the rest of the family gathered in the waiting room.

It only lasted for a few seconds but it happened. Hope was renewed. Billy had a chance.

I went to visit Billy the next day to see a marked improvement. Billy had to be sedated to keep from pulling at the tubes and wires. The nurse was preparing him for an MRI to see what kind of brain damage he would have.

Billy's father called me on Sunday morning to tell me they had taken Billy off all life support on Saturday evening. Billy was awake and alert. He recognized everyone and was asking to eat his fathers burrito. There were no visible signs of brain damage from observing him and the MRI was unable to show any areas of his brain that appeared to be damaged in any way.

PRAISE GOD!!!

God is so good! He has chosen to show Himself strong on Billy's behalf and glorifying Himself by raising little Billy up. I praise Him for letting Jason and myself to be a part of His work. In the business of ministry life God chooses to bestow little graces like this on me. It is not that I am a healer; I had one day where I prayed for three men and all three of them died the following day. No, there is no power in my prayer, there is only power in the risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

He just invites me along for the ride.