Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Starbucks

     I'm a trial subscriber to Christianity Today because I've always felt that it gives a snapshot of the evangelical church catholic.  It's always been an ecumenical magazine as its origins were ecumenical, coming out of the "fourth" American Great Awakening at the end of the 1940's and beginning of the 1950's.  It was a much more conservative time.  Revivals were sweeping the Northeast and West through Billy Graham's and others' work.  Biblical morality was an accepted societal norm, and any deviance to that sin was something to be ashamed of and kept in the closet.  People were broken as many had done things during wartime that they would never have done had they been stateside.  They had sinned, they knew it, and they wanted freedom from their guilt and shame.
     Today is a different age.  Sin is something not just to be accepted as civil liberties, but it is to be embraced and celebrated.  How does the church deal with these issues?  Church magazines like to address these, some out of protest to changing society, while some deal with the challenges of sharing the gospel, and maintaining the purity of the visible church.  Christianity Today does have articles which address those things, but they also have some that push past the envelope of biblical orthodoxy.  Women ordination, for instance.  Like the Arminian understanding of soteriology accepts some scriptures but disregards others, the same gets done with gender roles which are explicitly stated in the scripture.  It's no wonder we've had problems with open theism and accepting homosexuality in the church.  A lot of inch-length concessions will turn into a mile.
     If one's Christian conscience will not permit him or her to embrace sin, that person is considered bigoted, intolerant, and unprogressive.  Many denominations of Christianity will say the same thing.  In America the church's militant strength is being whittled down to a small remnant, like Gideon's army.  History has proven that a little can do a lot as revival in our redemptive history is cyclical.  When it comes to wicked government there are no worries either.  There may not be a Constantine in our lifetime, but they do happen.  Like Manasseh, Nero, Pope Leo X, and even our current president, there will be antagonists to the gospel of Jesus.  But Jesus remains our champion and still has not relinquished control of His kingdom.  He's still in control.  Even still, come quickly Lord Jesus!
     I was reading an article in my magazine last night about the liberal/LGBTQ boycott of Chick-fil-A last summer.  I was entertained by Antoine Dodson, a homosexual, who would not give up his Chick-fil-A regardless of the biblical conscience of its CEO.  Chick-fil-A doesn't support political/social organizations, by the way.  Sadly, Starbucks wants my business, but on their terms as they will give money to organizations who are antagonistic to a biblical conscience on marriage.  Chick-fil-A never told a LGBTQ person to not give their restaurant patronage.  But Starbucks told shareholders to sell their stock if their religious conscience commands them to believe what the Bible says about marriage, and not support the company's decision to support LGBTQ beliefs.  Islam will kill you for being LGBTQ, yet no liberal dare says anything to them about their beliefs!  I'll love an LGBTQ person because Jesus first loved me, and want to see them freed from sin (any sin) like He freed me.  Too bad that's such a hate crime, that a business doesn't want someone's money anymore because they respect the rules made by the God who made marriage.  Regardless of how I'm treated, I'll love them anyway.
     By the way, the bakery who wouldn't make a cake for a lesbian wedding missed a dynamite opportunity to develop a gospel inroad/rapport with other sinners who need Jesus.  I can't say if she was wrong to do so (she was following her conscience), but we can't be afraid of developing gospel-winning relationships with the lost, particularly homosexuals.  That's true homophobia.  Fight to keep the church pure, but engage sinners like ourselves in the market.  Like them, we're beggars.  We just know how to tell them where we found bread!
     Starbucks is such an artistic, intellectual, and comfortable place to engage in dialogue as most of the time one has to share a table with someone they don't know.  But I do have a conscience and can't justify giving money to a company who will support organizations who seek to deny me my civil liberties.  I reckon now I'll have to go share the Gospel with everyone in the highways and byways of diners, truck stops, Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin Donuts.

By the way, the title of this entry is on a shirt at Dunkin Donuts.  It has nothing to do with the subject of this blog.  This is also a personal blog, so don't get mad at anyone I'm friends with because of it.

Made This Way

     Yesterday I was looking through a copy of the Navy Times (trade magazine) and was troubled by the many changes that have taken place in my Navy/Marine Corps in the past five years alone.  By comparison, a less important issue to the non-sea service that weighs greatly with Navy Chief Petty Officers like myself, was the abolition of the time-honored tradition of Chief Petty Officer’s Initiation.  Over the past two decades it has become less of the fraternity/hazing ritual it once was, but after 120 years, this sacred Navy tradition has ended.
     Obviously, sequestration is a hot-button topic with many programs being cut which are important to recruiting, training, and retention of quality warriors.  One of the bigger issues is the proliferation of sexuality in what once was a military which focused on professional war-fighting.  In this particular Navy Times, I saw at least four articles focusing on some form of sexuality in the military work force.  If there was this much discussion of sexuality of any persuasion in the corporate world, somebody would be getting sued.
     I am a Christian.  I fear God because He is worthy of my respect and obedience.  I also love Him because He irresistibly compelled me to submit to and love Him.  Because I was conceived a sinner, I had no choice but to be a sinner.  In a nutshell, I was made this way.  Not made to be a sinner, but ended up that way because of original sin.  I was born a sinner and justly deserving of God’s wrath and displeasure.
     God created and commanded that sexuality be conducted and enjoyed within the institution of the marriage of a man and woman.  So, any form of sexual expression outside of those parameters, is contrary to God’s Word which He says is wrong, sin, a perversion, worthy of His wrath and displeasure.  I’m not talking about particular forms of sexual expression that don't meet biblical standards – all of them that don't.  You can hate me for what I believe, but your argument is not with me – it’s God.
     To concede to a sinful lifestyle because “I was made that way,” is not excusable by God.  The Bible says so.  We’re all conceived in sin and we all have our pet sins that we are comfortable with and cherish.  But the only way we learn to hate sin is to love Jesus.  “But I don’t love Jesus,” one might say.  That is a logical statement for someone who has not been changed forever by the Gospel.  Because God chose me particularly, despite my wickedness Jesus justified me on the cross.  Because He rose from the dead, my sin no longer has complete power over me.  Furthermore, because “I was born this way,” in sin, His Holy Spirit had to irresistibly change my love of even my pet sin, and make me want to forsake sin, love, and obey Him.  I didn’t choose Him; He chose me.  When He changed me, I had to and wanted to love Him.  Jesus saved me from all my sins.
     So just as, for example, a homosexual (or any other kind of sinner, for that matter) may claim that he or she was born that way, I have to say that I was irresistibly made to hate my sin (even though I still sin).  I once hated God.  But even though I was Jesus’s enemy, He still died for me.  His Holy Spirit made me love and obey Him.  Special interest groups may hate me because of it, but I can’t help it.  I’ve been made this way.

No Comprendo

     The last couple of weeks we've looked at the authority and authenticity of Scripture, so this week we're going to ask if we can really understand the Bible.  The Bible makes some big claims, and the God who inspired it has the authority to hold us accountable to it.
     I grow weary of being considered bigoted about social issues.  But, when the God of the Bible says in His word that something is wrong, it's not me they should be mad at.  I've just learned to trust the God who reveals sin in the law, and then justifies me by faith in Christ because I can't keep it.  But since they can't see God, nor do they believe He is who He says He is, they take it out on His followers and blame us because we trust Who they don't like.  Jesus said it would be this way, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when they hate our guts.
     I finished my latest book on Jonathan Edwards last week and was once again convicted that I fall woefully short in my spiritual disciplines.  With me it's cyclical how I follow God.  My daily scripture reading is consistent, but just about anyone can read.  My issue is genuine, heartfelt love for Christ.  Why is it that Edwards sees Jesus as beautiful, but I don't have the same impression?  Edwards would spend thirteen hours a day in his study, much of that time in prayer.  He would take long walks or horseback rides, associating the beauty around him with the beauty of its Creator.
     I read the Bible (I've read it cover to cover on several occasions), but do I really understand it?  When I read the Law (I'm in Numbers right now), do I see Jesus in it, or am I just thankful that I don't have to keep that ceremonial law like ancient Israel did?  I want to see Jesus.  I want Him to be as beautiful to me as He is to Edwards right now.  I not only desire to live coram deo (before the face of God), but want to feel the warmth of His presence in His word, in my heart, and the creation all around me.