Is Homosexuality wrong?

I'm writing this post about my views about homosexuality, which is has become a big issue around the world. A lot of people say it's ok to be gay, but I personally believe that it is wrong because of what I have found in studying the bible. The bible is a good place to start! What does it say about same sex marriages?

1. God tells Noah to bring two of each kind of animal, Male and Female. God wanted opposite sex partners. (Genesis 6:19)
2. Sodom was a wicked city that God destroyed. The men inside of it were homosexuals (Genesis 19:4-13)
3. Leviticus clearly states that Homosexuality is wrong (Leviticus 18:22-24; 20:13)
4. Wearing the clothing that's normally worn by other other gender is detestable. This would be acting gay. (Deuteronomy 22:5)
5. Like with the city of Sodom, the wicked men of the city in this story are also gay. (Judges 19:22-24)
6. Jesus talks about marriage being between a man and woman (Mathew 19:1-8)
7. Paul talks about how men gave over to their sinful desires for each other as well as woman (Romans 1:18-32)
8. Homosexuals are listed with other sinner that will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Now that you know what the bible says, you'd have to totally ignore the bible to be ok with gay couple and gay marriage.

Another thing I found really interesting was that it has been proven that someone cannot be born gay. This really popular argument has been shown invalid by studying identical twins. Since they have the same DNA, if one twin is gay, the other has to be if there really is as gene that makes one homosexual. But this is far from true. There are many documented cases were one twin is gay and the other is not. Thus, this argument is invalid.

Read more:
http://americanvision.org/8136/new-twin-study-people-not-born-gay/#sthash.aPX1Ybkt.dpbs

We all have a choice. If you're gay, you chose to be because God does not force us to sin. He wants us to repent. This applies for any sin. If you stuck in a sin, God can help!

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done...Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:18-28;32

Homosexuality is wrong, but God allows people to continue in their sin. It breaks his heart, but he allows it. But judgement is coming. No matter what your sin is, you will be judged and your a fool if you think get away with sin. Judgement is coming.

Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Sources:
http://americanvision.org/8136/new-twin-study-people-not-born-gay/#sthash.aPX1Ybkt.dpbs
http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/why-you-cant-be-born-gay/
http://www.citizenlink.com/2010/06/14/are-people-really-born-gay/
http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-pro-gay-marriage-arguments-fighting-with-crazy-people/
http://www.witnessfortheworld.org/homont.html

What does it mean to fear God?

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them...Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:7;9-10

Psalm 34 is all about fearing God. It includes the rewards for fearing God and the punishment for not doing so. This might make you wonder what exactly, it means to fear God. First, I want to be sure everyone understand that fear of God is a positive thing. Here are a few examples of this:

• Exodus 1:17: Because the midwives feared God, they obeyed him instead of Pharaoh by sparing the Hebrew babies
• Exodus 9:29-31: Pharaoh brought disaster on his nation because he did not fear God
• Exodus 18:21: Moses was to choose leaders who feared God and wouldn't take bribes
• Exodus 20:20: Moses told the Hebrews that they should fear God to keep them from sinning 
• Leviticus 19:14; 32: The law says fear of God as a reason to treat the disabled and elderly well
• 2 Corinthains 7:1: Paul says to work toward complete holiness because we fear God

Fear of God is obviously not a bad thing, but is is indeed, fear, not a holy reverence.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mathew 10:28

Jesus says so himself. The bible does say over and over again to fear not, but what Jesus is saying is that shouldn't fear creation, but the creator. The creator is the one who decides if we go to heaven or to hell.

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13

Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 2:11-12

I've talking on God's wrath before, so I'll get to the point. The point is 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." So this may seem like a contradiction. How can we love and fear God at the same time? This verse says we can't.
Well Jesus is the best example of fear and love working together. He warned us over and over again to not fear men, but to fear God. He spoke lovingly, but frankly to all people because we all need to face our sin and repent. But he also demonstrated love beyond human understanding

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.
John 15:12-13

Photo Credit:
http://survivingsurvivalism.com/fear.htm

Sources:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/bible-answers/spirituallife/what-does-it-mean-to-fear-god.html

Is it ok to lie?

I think this is an interesting topic. Of course I could state the obvious "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16) or "Do not lie." (Leviticus 19:11) or "Do not lie to each other" (Colossians 3:9) But I think there's more to it.

Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites
Exodus 1:8-12

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Exodus 1:15-21

In this example of, God blessing the Hebrew midwives for lying.

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come."
Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
John 7:1-10

In this example, Jesus lies. And Jesus is perfect...right?

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die. If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,' then tell them, 'I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'"
All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.
Jeremiah 38:24-27

Jeremiah, God's prophet, lies.

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)
Joshua 2:4-6

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
James 2:25

Rahab is honored for her lying. 

But then there is this:

...all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Revelation 21:8

Does that mean Jesus has a place in hell? And the midwives that God blessed?
In the case of the midwives, it was lie or kill babies.
In the case of Rahab, it was lie or let the spies be killed.
In the case of Jeremiah, it was lie or maybe be killed.
In the case of Jesus it was lie or be...truthful

Jesus doesn't even have a life on the line. He could go like this:

I'm gonna go to the feast, but in secret. Just don't say anything."
Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.

 I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.

I looked into things, and according to the footnotes in my bible, "Some early manuscripts do not have yet."
And removing the 'yet' makes it so that Jesus could be talking about how it's not time for his death yet. But,, at the same time, removing the yet means that Jesus says 'I'm not going.' instead of 'I'm not going right now.'

I think the lying is more of your motive. When Rahab was faced with lie or let the spies be killed, she chose lie. And that was a noble choice.
When the midwives were faced with lie or let the male babies be killed, they chose lie. And that was a noble choice.
The times when God blesses sin is when it's sin V.S. sin and the choice is the more honorable sin. So I don't want what you take away from this post to be lying is ok. Because most of the time, it isn't.
-Ruth

Trees: The Cedar

He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.
Leviticus 14:6

he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
2 Samuel 7:2

In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted, and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths, of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year.
1 Kings 5:10

The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.
1 Kings 6:18

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace for him.
1 Chronicles 14:1

Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.
Job 40:15 and 17

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
Psalms 92:12

What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. 
Songs of Songs 8:8b and 9

You who live in 'Lebanon,' who are nestled in cedar buildings,
Jeremiah 22:23a

They made all your timbers of pine trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
Ezekiel 27:5

Wail, O pine tree, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down!
Zechariah 11:2



Cedars can live to be 2,000 years old! I think it's easy to see that God uses these trees to represent strength and might. And God is even strong than his cedars


The Acacia
The Cedar
The Palm
The Fig
The Olive