by steve | Jun 28, 2023 | Just Life, Kingdom Living, Social
How are we to see this restriction? That is the Divine Design of creating sex for the exclusive domain of the martial union of one man and one woman so long as they both shall live. Are we to look at this as a barrier to our fun? Is this the picture of a fence separating a row of wide-eyed 5th-grade boys watching the new roller coaster opening at the amusement park? Or maybe see this as something good and loving, like the guard rale guiding us along a high mountain road, which will bring us enthralling views of creation once we reach the top. One of the most disturbing myths surrounding the Divine and sex is that God is down on the subject. The truth, however, is quite the opposite.
In reality, God created something profoundly beautiful and exciting in sex, and doing life according to His Design brings us into lush green fields of pleasure. When it comes to God and sex, some will argue that because Jesus technically never used the specific verbiage of pre-marital sex, gay marriage, or other hot-button catchphrases of our day, such as trans-gendering, sex can therefore be defined in the eye of the beholder. This argument is particularly voiced in the onslaught of those in the LGBT+ movement’s Pride Month. After all, they might say, “If it feels good, it must be ok,” because Jesus loves us.
No, Jesus did not comment on those specific issues, but he didn’t need to. He clearly defined the root of this discussion by going back to creation when the religious bean counters of his day debated where the fine line was between no-fault divorce and acceptable grounds for marital termination. (more…)
by steve | Sep 15, 2017 | Just Life, Kingdom Living
The bottom line is that when Deb and I got married, she was a virgin and I was not. One of the modern myths about sex is that it’s just physical and no big deal. I don’t believe this and that is certainly not my journey. The emotions have been all over the place in my adult life. At one point I can experience the true forgiveness and redemption of Jesus with an understanding of grace that people with less checkered lives just can’t understand. On the other hand, there are still residual times when I ache for my choices of sexual activity before marriage. I don’t blame the girl. I know it was my decision and it pains me. If there was anything that I could take back, it would be those pre-marital sexual actions that I took during the dark ages on my high school years and young adult life. But I can’t. (more…)
by steve | Jul 27, 2017 | Just Life, Kingdom Living
It had been a long day as Deb and I were dropping off our girls for youth group. We try to grab date nights whenever we can. When you’ve been married for just over 26 years even fast food has a romantic ring to it. So with a coupon that Deb was graced with from one of her students, we headed to Chick Fil A with the anticipation of not having to clean a kitchen and enjoy some time without teen drama. The problem was that the line was taking forever and the day was just getting longer.
I wanted to bolt, but Deb was much more patient. To encourage me she suggested a bet; which is something she hardly ever does. In her confidence, she offered a bet that if we were not through the line in 10 minutes she’d wear a corset that night.
What? A preacher talking about the intimate details in marriage? Well why not? Actually the Bible does speak about the subject in quite wonderful ways. The unfortunate deal is that our present Western culture has allowed Hollywood to highjack the subject. Yes, God really did create sex and preachers really do engage in it. So today and later in a second installment I’ll share 5 quick points on the subject that just might help us restore a truly Kingdom mind set about sex. (more…)
by steve | Apr 15, 2016 | Kingdom Living, Social
Jesus never spoke on the issue of gay marriage. That’s what my LGBT friends report. If we’re looking for those specific words, then they are correct. But on the other hand, there are other issues, such as embezzlement, of which Jesus never talked about either. However we know His teaching on the specific because of what he said in the general about possessions. “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” and other references. In like manner we can see that Jesus covered not only the idea of gay marriage, but all marital issues when He took the religious debaters of His day all the way back to Genesis.
God created mankind distinctly as male and female. The two being differently and completely complimentary to each other. The essence of the act of marriage is the union of those two different beings into one. (more…)
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