God’s Plan has God’s Purpose
Absurd: “wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate, senseless…”. I think it’s time to begin throwing that word around more, especially when it comes to the “transgender debacle”. A presidential candidate recently tied himself into a pretzel trying to include the transgender community in the abortion debate. (Every vote counts, you know). Listen, Slick….only a woman can have an abortion because only a woman can get pregnant. To state otherwise is absurd. It doesn’t matter what a person thinks in his/her head, males cannot get pregnant. It is physically, physiologically, biologically, and medically impossible. For anyone (news media personalities, Hollywood celebrities, and politicians) to push anything less than that truth is…well…absurd.
Now you don’t have to be religious to know that. I’ve known and now know unbelievers who have enough sense to know that there are only two sexes and those sexes are quite different and men cannot get pregnant. But being a believer in Christ and holding true to the word of God, the Bible, we do have the strength to stand up to the absurdities of things that are the result of misguided and yes, sometimes even evil human imaginations. Ephesians 4:14 says that as we become more mature in Christ “We will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming”.
Ask yourself this question: “why, all of a sudden, has the spotlight been shone on a community of people that represent at best .6% of the population?”. That is point six percent. As in 6/10 of one percent! (From what I’ve read that’s probably about the same amount of people who believe they were abducted by aliens). That’s absurd.
Many say it’s because they have been marginalized and even discriminated against. Unfortunately, people with mental problems are often avoided if that’s what you mean my marginalized. It’s unfortunate, but it not a question of hate so much as awkwardness and not knowing what to say or how to act. Discrimination? A man dressed as a woman used to come into the fabric store where Angie worked and purchase fabric. You know what? They sold him fabric. When he left and went out to a fast food place to eat, they sold him burgers. Walmart would sell him a ladies bicycle. He can go into any museum, any theater, any public place that his heart so desires.
“But he can’t go into a ladies restroom! That’s discrimination!”. Nope. Not even close. It’s common sense and a safety precaution. To think that someone with male genitalia should be allowed into a women’s restroom is…absurd. It goes to that last part of Ephesians 4:14 that instructs us to beware of “the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming”.
God has a plan and God has a purpose. The sooner people recognize that the better off we all will be and the closer we will be to harmony, peace and unity.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff.
Bro. Tony
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The Sin vs The Sinner – Transgenderism
Does the Bible speak to the plight and struggle of people that are “transgendered”? As a matter of fact, it does. In the first section of Deuteronomy 22 God speaks of some common-sense, proper ways to handle certain situations. He commands that if you find someone’s property do all you can to get it back to them and to help your neighbor in times of need. In fact, he commands several things will set God’s people apart from a selfish and perverse world.
Right there in plain sight (verse 5) God says this: “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.” The Common English Version translates it like this: ”women must not pretend to be men, and men must not pretend to be women. The Lord your God is disgusted with people who do that.”
For many years, and to some extent today, people interpreted that verse as prohibiting women from wearing pants. I feel that the reason it was interpreted that way for so long was that the interpreters never gave serious thought to a grown man parading around in public wearing a sun dress and heels. It was practically unheard of and would have been rightly seen as a sign of serious mental illness. A person didn’t need the Bible to tell them that, right?
Apparently, people do need the Bible to tell them that. God detests such things, not because He hates peoples, but because such things abolish the purpose of His creation. It does so both in how nature works and how God’s creation glorifies Him. He loves the sinner and wants to reclaim him/her through the blood of Christ.
As usual let me stress that we are to treat all people with kindness and understanding. That doesn’t mean we are to affirm their choice as normal nor do we have to applaud their decision as “bravery”. It also doesn’t mean we are to allow them to use another sex’s bathroom, sit in another sex’s classes, or participate in another sex’s athletics. There is nothing “hateful” about that.
But they are a creation of God and he loves them…just as much as He loves me and you. They need our help and they need to hear the truth….spoken in love.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff.
Bro. Tony
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Cults and the Danger
I mentioned in my sermon a couple of weeks ago, that I had watched a program about cults. While the cults portrayed were dangerous because at some point members were commanded to kill people, I hope everyone knows that all cults are dangerous because they lead you away from Christ. They are spiritually dangerous. The cults that were featured were all small cults, anywhere from 30 to 300 people. However, when you look at the defining characteristics of a cult, you see that some majors religions are nothing but cults. So…what makes a religious movement a “cult”?
My list isn’t comprehensive because some identify up to 12 characteristics. What I am sharing are the most obvious and easily identified.
- They are birthed by a person who personally receives new revelation from God that drives their doctrine. This leader is infallible. Notable for our era is L. Ron Hubbard (Church of Scientology), Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Muhammad (Islam), Charles Russel (Jehovah’s Witnesses), and others.
- They have a book, or books, that they claim as being equal to or superior to the Bible. The Mormons have the Book of Mormon as well as “The Pearl of Great Price” and “Doctrines and Covenants”. The Muslims, of course have the Quran. The Jehovah’s Witnesses actually have their own version of the Bible called “The New World Translation”.
- They claim that only their particular group will be in heaven (and often their definition of heaven is different because of their “new revelation”). The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that only 144,000 will be in heaven, so that’s fairly exclusionary. We pretty much know the Muslims believe you have to embrace Islam…even if by force. Mormons are a little more flexible. Non-Mormons can’t populate their own planets, but if they are good, decent people they may inhabit a type of “heaven-like” experience on a much lower plane.
- They are not always up front about their beliefs often resulting in somewhat deceptive practices. Mormons don’t just come out and ask you if you want to be god of your own planet or tell you that they have secret places only Mormons can see. Jehovah’s Witnesses will introduce themselves now as a “Christian” religion even though they don’t accept Christ as having deity nor believe in the concept of the Trinity. Scientologists don’t parade around their belief that an alien populated the earth millions of years ago by bringing spaceships loaded with other aliens.
There are a few other characteristics of cults, but these are usually the easiest to spot. Yes, the smaller cults with charismatic leaders that make the headlines for their horrible practices and terrible endings are dangerous. But I believe the biggest danger is found in the cults that I mentioned (and a few others) that are perceived not to be cults at all. How do we combat the false doctrines of cults? First by being sure of the doctrines you know to be Biblical and true. Then always pray for wisdom and courage to stand up for that truth.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff
Bro. Tony
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Christians and President Trump
I read an interesting “back and forth” argument concerning Christians who voted for President Trump. It wasn’t the first time I had heard the rhetoric: “How can someone who calls themselves Christian vote for an egomaniacal, racist, anti-immigration, lying, misogynistic, Islamophobic like Donald trump?”
First, I’d argue about some of the descriptions thrown around about him that people continue to advance without any proof whatsoever. For instance, is the man a racist? I really don’t understand where that comes from. His policies are helping minorities by decreasing unemployment and he has established a commission to look into the unfair incarceration rate/sentencing guidelines (even a black president failed to do that).
He certainly isn’t anti-immigration. He has even increased the number of green cards issued. Now he is certainly anti-illegal immigration. But let’s not confuse the two. All previous presidents espouse the very same beliefs about illegal immigration that President Trump has. Exactly. The difference is he began putting feet on his promises. If previous administrations were so much more favorable to immigration practices why did the throngs of people suddenly rushing our borders not make their desperate treks during those administrations? If I didn’t know better, I’d think a liberal plot was afoot. Now as far as caring for those being housed in detention for trying to get in legally and illegally, I think you’ll find the majority of organizations providing comfort and care for them, as much as is allowed, are Christian organizations. I certainly haven’t seen Anitfa or Socialist organizations mobilizing to help.
Is he egotistical? A liar? Look up the definition of “politician”. An honest definition would include those words. If a Christian had to wait for an honest, selfless, saint to run for office before we vote we would never get to the polls. Misogynistic? I’ll give you crude and vulgar (and we Christians do not like that) but as far as we know he hasn’t slept around with interns, movie stars, and subordinates while in office as have some in the past. And…He has had as high as eight female senior advisors compared to five for both a President Obama and President Clinton. How is that misogynistic?
Bottom line, though, is this: Christians had two choices. Many voted for the one who promised to do what he could to limit the horrible practice of killing babies in the womb, to appoint conservative, constitutional judges, build a strong economy, and control illegal immigration. There is certainly nothing un-Christian about those goals.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff.
Bro. Tony
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Sound Theology
(Pastor Tony’s Blog for 6/27/19)
If you look back at the years before the Civil War you will find a deep division in our nation; so deep that fellow citizens took up arms against each other. Brothers fought against brothers and fathers against sons. The result was of course widespread death and destruction. Regardless of the motivations for the Civil War, what strikes me is that both factions purportedly had God on “their side”. Yes, both sides claimed to back up their position with sound theology. Our own Southern Baptist Convention was formed as a result of our Christian leaders and churches supporting the institution of slavery. How is it possible that the Bible can be so misconstrued?
It is fairly easy if you want it bad enough. We simply bow to the will of the people we want to impress and interpret the Bible according to whims of the culture in which we live. And apparently many people still want to do so badly. In the deep divisions and turmoil that mark our nation now we have theologians on both sides of the issues claiming moral, Biblical superiority. The Southern Baptist Convention was on the wrong side of theology one time; let’s be sure not to succumb to popular cultural opinion on this occasion.
Several major Christian denominations turn a blind eye to sound doctrine and Biblical truth, instead interpreting scripture in a way that they feel will endear them to the cultural desires of the world. As God’s Word is absolutely clear on His love for everyone He created, it is also very clear on His purpose and plan for His creation. Scripture is clear on God’s hatred of sin and His desire that people repent of their sin and turn back to him. And it iss clear that the reason He hates sin is because He loves the sinner so deeply.
So Christian, let’s not be swayed by public opinion and let’s come to the conclusion that it is OK to put down because we hold up the Bible. Let’s stand united on the fact that the taking of a life in the womb is wrong. Let’s be strong on our stance that marriage and family are to reflect God’s creative purpose of male and female and that those are the only two sexes and are assigned prior to birth. And remember this: God’s purpose is to love and redeem sinners so our message to them should always be that God loves them and wants to save them from the results of their sin.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff
Bro. Tony
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Hollywood and The HeartBeat Bill
There has been a lot of back and forth between “Hollywood” and folks in Georgia about the threat to take all movie work out of the state because of the bill that would recognize life at the heartbeat of an infant and protect that life. Alabama and other states are also taking the heat from so-call “celebrity activists”. Let me give y’all my thoughts on that.
I have never needed an actor (I will use this term to designate all 50 or so sexes they claim exist that are in the acting business). Their skill is they can “pretend” very well…and many are excellent pretenders. Their job is to entertain people, and many have indeed entertained me. But when they demean me by calling me things like hateful, homophobic, backwards and ignorant, misogynistic, xenophobic, and dumb (among other things) they have lost their ability to entertain me…no matter how good they pretend.
I actually have changed the channel or even turned off the TV when one of those guys that have mouthed off and insulted me appear. Why waste my time watching someone who loathes me try to entertain me? That’s not going to happen. It boils down to this: who do they think they are? Actors are just people who produce a product that I can live without. And I’m willing to live without if necessary. Remember, you and I are consumers and if we don’t consume a product the company ceases to make money. Hollywood and the entertainment business in New York and other such places are the septic tanks that accept the contents from the bowels of every dark, depraved, and disgusting thought the human mind can produce. They think they can lecture me on morals? I don’t think so. Listen…if I want to be entertained, I can be entertained by a video of two monkeys fighting over a banana. I don’t need an actor and I think it’s about time for them to find that out.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff
Bro. Tony
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Standing on Biblical Truth
A Catholic Bishop recently got into hot water for urging Catholics not to get involved with the various “pride” events sponsored by LGBTQ groups. You should read some of the texts/tweets/emails he received. They were hateful, spiteful, and just plain mean. Even prominent politicians called him out as hateful and transphobic. Why was anybody surprised? Hasn’t the belief that there are only two sexes and that marriage should be between a man and a woman been church doctrine since the early church was formed? Why do people expect religion to change according to the whims and desires of the culture?
A television star, in criticizing the bishop’s remarks, said that Jesus would attend a pride parade…with pride. She is right in the statement that Jesus would attend a pride parade. She is dead wrong about his pride in doing so. Jesus associated with sinners everywhere He went, but it was never to endorse their sin. His message has always been a call to repentance; to turn away from sin. And He did it because of His unfathomable love for each one of them. Of course, God loves the transgendered and the homosexual…Jesus died on the cross for them. But He would call on them to turn away from their un-Godly lifestyles and come to Him where he could change them, not the other way around.
It constantly amazes me how willing people are to accept the opinions of those un-trained in the scholarly study of the Bible over those who spend a lifetime in the pursuit of the Bible’s truths. The television lady is a trained lawyer and is evidently good at what she does for a living, but she has no business telling a Bishop what the Bible says. She speaks what she feels the Bible means. Can you imagine if the roles were reversed and that Bishop told her how wrong she is about the law, based purely on how he feels the law should be interpreted?
As religious leaders we are called to stand firm on the Word of God no matter the circumstances. Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to “speak the truth in love”. If you read verse 14, you’ll see that his exhortation to always speak the truth was because it would keep them from being swayed by the “cunning and craftiness of people on their deceitful scheming”. That is so very true today. In her Biblical ignorance the TV star explained great theological knowledge by proclaiming that her reasoning for supporting the LBGTQ agenda is that “God is love, Jesus is love, love is love”. Very deep theology isn’t it? I guess we don’t really need the rest of the Bible if we can just recall that God is love, Jesus is love, love is love.
Despite the waves of deceit and evil attacking our Christian beliefs, stand on the solid foundation of God’s Word.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff
Bro. Tony
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SBC Convention 2019
The Southern Baptist Convention will hold its annual meeting in Birmingham on June 11-12, 2019. Because our Vacation Bible School is also scheduled that week, I will not attend all sessions. But I hardly ever attend the yearly meeting. Why? The main reason is that the SBC, in general, remains theologically sound; holding onto longtime doctrines that have defined our faith over the years. Yes, there was a troubled time several years ago when a conservative /liberal squabble made headlines and caused some division. But even then, when the dust settled, we remained true to our core convictions.
The conventional meeting is a good time of fellowship, catching up with friends, and the preaching is spectacular. But we will not face popular cultural shifts in our theology. No one will bring a motion to the floor to form a committee to study ordaining practicing homosexuals. There will be no resolution offered in support of abortion. The convention will not issue a statement agreeing with the LGBTQx agenda. Why?
Because the Southern Baptist Convention does not have any authority over the churches. Quite the opposite. The churches of the Convention determine the stance on issues. That is why there is a yearly convention. Not only that, but the smaller churches are not without a voice. Based on certain criteria such as membership and monetary giving each church can send “messengers” to vote on any and all issues that come up. But the maximum number of messengers is limited to no more than 12. Using the formula, even a church our size is not left out: we can send 9 messengers. That’s right. The largest churches in Birmingham can send only 12 people to vote while we can send 9.
Therefore, should any of these types of “culturally driven” theological doctrines arise, over 47,000 SBC churches would direct the convention where to stand; not the other way around. And even then, God forbid, if the convention began drifting toward “cultural Christianity” we, as a church, could simply withdraw by refusing to support the convention. We are autonomous and receive no monies from the convention. We own our own property.
But that is not going to happen because of the many…many… Biblically conservative churches such as ours who refuse to change the Bible to accommodate the whims and fancies of a world with no moral compass. So, I’ll attend some sessions and hear some great preaching. And I’ll give thanks to God that I’m part of a church that is part of an effort to cooperate with all churches of like theological heart to spread the Gospel of Christ across our nation and our world.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff
Bro. Tony
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Take ALL Life Seriously
The Alabama legislature passed a bill that would make it illegal to perform an abortion for any reason other than the physical health of the mother. Naturally the pro-abortion folks almost blew a gasket. The liberal, abortion-loving media, of course give a much louder voice to pro-abortion fanatics than to those opposed to abortion. (Did you hear about the 20,000 people gathered for a pro-life rally in Times Square on May 6th? Of course not. Not one single mainstream news organization covered it.) And they allow the people in favor of abortion free reign to frame their rhetoric as they please, with no questioning of motive or statistics; never following up with common sense questions that may contradict the belief that abortion should be free and easy for anyone and everyone.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen and heard people offer up their various mantras: “it takes away a woman’s bodily autonomy; my body, my choice”, “it discriminates against women of color”, “men, if you can’t have a baby you shouldn’t make laws about pregnancy”, and those arguments are so hypocritical. It is, indeed, taking place within a woman’s body, but its not to her body abortion destroys. She wants to make a decision about someone else’s body! I saw a woman holding a sign that said, “stay away from my uterus” and I thought “well if she showed that sign to all the men in her life she would have nothing to worry about, now would she?”
Is it really discriminatory against women of color? If someone really wanted to reduce the black population, access to abortion would be on top of their list. I’ve heard that most Planned Parenthood abortion clinics are built close to the black population of major cities. That’s kind of racist, don’t you think? Anti-abortion folks want babies of color born too.
You see, the question that is of utmost importance for Christians, and I believe every moral human being, is “when does life begin?” Many say that the “thing” being aborted is an embryo or fetus. Embryo is Greek for “young one” and Fetus is Latin for “little one”. Both imply baby. So, at any stage, a life is ended. That is why, even compassion for those who have been molested or raped, should not cause the death of the young one inside them. Will it change their life? Of course, it will and those who sexually prey on women should be severely punished, and more so if they cause a pregnancy. But understand this, life is still life and I do believe we do not have the right to arbitrarily end it. What you are truly saying when you want to add the exceptions, I mentioned is that no child of molestation or rape should have ever been born. Would you really tell someone conceived that way that you wish they weren’t alive?
Christian, take life….all life…seriously.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff.
Bro. Tony
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Media Bias of Christians
Have you ever wondered, like me, about the fascination in the media about all things Muslim? It’s almost as if those in the entertainment/news industry have decided to be Islam’s personal promoters and most certainly defenders. I had noticed, as have you, that there is a clear difference in how TV programs (and of course news outlets) portray Muslims and Christians.
I used to watch a certain long-running police mystery program. Over the last couple of years, it was a running joke with me that if a Christian character was ever introduced there was no mystery: he or she “did it”; guilty as sin. I finally stopped watching it when on two occasions a Muslim was a suspect and the program went out of its way to clear their good name at the expense of the ignorant and conservative folks who looked at them with suspicion.
But I think the most obvious and “over the top” example lies with Sports Illustrated. That magazine puts out a yearly “Swimsuit Edition” that is easily their best seller. It has nothing to do with sports, of course, and everything to do with near-naked women in provocative poses, leaving little to the imagination (or so I am told…word on the street, you know). However, this year they will feature a Muslim model in a full-body “burkini”, a total body covering revealing nothing but her face.
I applaud her modesty, I really do, and I wish that Christian women would take a more modest stance with their swimwear. However, would they really have us think that over the years there has not been a single God-fearing, Christian model that would have posed in a modest swimsuit? I can hear the powers-that-be in cooperate saying “who wants to see that? We have a magazine to sell”.
So why, all of a sudden, are they going to publish a fully-clothed model? It’s certainly not to sell magazines. Though they call it the swimsuit edition, I’ve always referred to it as the “lack of swimsuit” edition: There is very little swimsuit involved. I got my answer as I watched an interview with her on a morning news show. She said she was going to use this opportunity to “push my platform”. Hmmmmmm, I wonder what her platform is? I expect there to be some smokescreen social issue, but bottom line it is this: Muslim good. Christian bad. Thank you, Sports Illustrated, for showing the true colors of a post-Christian culture. There is no plausible way to spin your action into any thing less than blatant promotion of Islam.
Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff
Bro. Tony
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