Jessica took a mission trip with the Bethel group from Redding California, little did she know that the day that she boarded the plane, I boarded one too. I arrived three hours in Israel before she did, and on the 11th of March I surprised her and showed up on the beach in Caesarea, Israel. She had no idea I was coming. This is what happened there:
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Girl of my Dreams
Hey Everyone...
If you don't already know. I have found the girl of my dreams. I'd like you to meet her.
Her name is Jessica Cortez. And I'll be posting more about her in the very near future.
She's my amazing girl.
Photo by www.tirzahphotography.com
If you don't already know. I have found the girl of my dreams. I'd like you to meet her.
Her name is Jessica Cortez. And I'll be posting more about her in the very near future.
She's my amazing girl.
Photo by www.tirzahphotography.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
JHOP San Franciso chased out of the Castro District by angry mob.
Hello Friends,
I want to share something with you something that happened this past friday night November 14, 2008. I have some very dear friends who live San Francisco. They are there for the purpose of fueling a Justice House of Prayer, contending with the spirit of this age that is manifesting through the ideology of Homosexuality. And crying out for God to break into the life of the Homosexual with His love.
Here is the account of what happened last Friday night, written by one of the JHOPSF Team members, and then below that is some video footage of the aftermath. WARNING: The footage could be consider offensive to some. There is some language in it:
========
We wanted to write you and fill you guys in on what happened to our team here in San Francisco last night.
This is what happened from Daniel's point of view and gives a pretty good overview of the night. :
I went to the Castro (the homosexual district of San Francisco) with JHOPSF (I have been with the Justice House of Prayer San Francisco since April 2008.) like we usually do on Friday nights.
Normally, we sit on 18th and Castro, and someone plays the guitar, and we all worship God. Often times people will be drawn to us, even if only for curiosity of what we're doing, so we get to talk to them, and tell them about the Love of Jesus Christ. On rare occasions, when the Holy Spirit clearly guides one of us (Usually a leader, probably Roger), one person will open-air preach for a little bit.
Sometimes a person will yell at us, or maybe a few. Sometimes people will ignore us. Sometimes people will let us pray with them. We get different responses from different people each time, but the Lord always meets us there.
This time was not a normal night. It was the first time we'd been back in the Castro to do our normal outreach since California Proposition 8, which defined marriage as "one man with one woman" was passed. Apparently, previously, someone at a no on 8 rally singled out Promised Land Fellowship (The church that we attend), and specifically the team they send out to the Castro on Friday nights (Us) as being affiliated with the yes on 8 campaign (Which is partially true. All the individuals involved with the Castro Outreach were involved with the yes on 8 campaign, but mostly in prayer. However, the Castro Outreach isn't about Gay marriage, or politics - it's about Jesus Christ.).
We played the guitar and sang together and worshiped the Lord. Nobody preached. Nobody even really talked to anyone except for a little bit near the beginning.
After just singing and worshiping God for a while, Roger decided that we should all hold hands in a circle and continue singing. So we did.
Someone (Actually a person who came up and hugged and kissed some of us who he knew from the past and was asking us how we were doing) convinced some people that we were there to protest against the no on 8 campaign.
Then some guy who was dressed up like one of the sisters (The sisters of perpetual indulgence is a group of men who dress up in drag like nuns and call themselves the spiritual authority of the Castro.) took a curtain-type thing (Which I think they use to curse people) and wrapped it around us.
Then a crowd started gathering. We began to sing "Amazing Grace", and basically sang that song the whole night. (At some points we also sang "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and "Oh the Blood of Jesus".)
At first, they just shouted at us, using crude, rude, and foul language and calling us names like "haters" and "bigots". Since it was a long night, I can't even begin to remember all of the things that were shouted and/or chanted at us.
Then, they started throwing hot coffee, some people got it in their faces, soda and alcohol on us and spitting (and maybe even peeing) on us.
Then, a group of guys surrounded us with whistles, and blasted them inches away from our ears continually.
Then, they started getting violent and started shoving us. We just gathered in as tight as we could together and worshiped singing Amazing Grace.
At one point a man tried to steal one of our Bibles. Chrisdene noticed, so she walked up to him and said "Hey, that's not yours, can you please give it back?". He responded by hitting her on the head with the Bible, shoving her to the ground, and kicking her. I called the cops, and when they got there, they pulled her out of the circle and asked her if she wanted to press charges. She said "No, tell him I forgive him." Afterwards, she didn't rejoin us in the circle, but she made friends with one of the people in the crowd, and really connected heart to heart.
Roger got death threats. As the leader of our group, people looked him in the eyes and said "I am going to kill you.", and they were serious. A cop heard one of them, and confronted him.
(This part is kinda graphic, so you should skip the paragraph if you don't want to be offended.) It wasn't long before the violence turned to perversion. They were touching and grabbing me, and trying to shove things in my butt, and even trying to take off my pants - basically trying to molest me. I used one hand to hold my pants up, while I used the other arm to hold one of the girls. The guys huddled around all the girls, and protected them.
Soon after, the cops came and stood between us and the mob. When it was getting more heated, the cops were like "You guys should leave." because it was getting harder to protect us. and Roger said "We want to stay." Then he said if you want to get out you have to get out now.
Someone tried to steal my backpack, but I tapped a cop on the shoulder, and said "Hey, that's my bag." and he got it from him and gave it to me. Others weren't so lucky. Probably half our team got their jackets stolen.
Eventually, as the crowd was getting more and more uncontrollable, the cops were afraid for our lives, so they escorted us to our van. (The cops were very nice to us from start to finish.)
Our van was parked pretty far because it was hard to find parking that day. As the cops escorted us, the mob followed us, until the cops formed a line, and held off the people so we could drive away. We took the long way home, just in case anyone tried to follow us.
When we got home, we prayed and sang more, and then prayed over each-other.
The whole experience made me love, and brought me closer to God, and my friends, and the people in the Castro, as well as the church in general, and the lost in general.
Please know my heart. All of what we do is for the Love of Jesus Christ, and the love for those in the Castro. The Bible says to love God, and then love people. We can only love because He loved us first. We can't hate the people because they are just broken and blinded by the spirit of this age. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Principalities and Powers. It's not a political thing, we just love the people. We don't want to convert gays to straight people. We want them to know the Love of Jesus Christ. Even if someone never becomes attracted to the other sex, they can still love Jesus Christ with all their heart, mind, and soul. As the mob raged, all I could pray was "God have mercy.". It really is all about God's mercy. He desires mercy over judgment. He desires for all to be saved.
One of the things that I remember them chanting was "Shame on you.". One of our girls later pointed out how, in some weird way, it's a privilege for us, because we know that Jesus bore all our shame, and all our transgressions on the cross, so it's kinda like taking on their shame, so we can cast it onto Jesus.
This is the raw footage of the walk from 18th and Castro Street to our car. It was only the very tail end of the night and says that we were all about prop8... when in reality we had nothing to do with prop 8 this night.:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17986914/detail.html
May the Holy Lord God Almighty, Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come, be glorified, now and forevermore. Amen. -Daniel-
Thank you for praying for us, and more for this people in the Castro. We have found ourselves even more broken over them. We love you!
Missy
*Things I added to Daniels story.
May God grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
Missy Huff
Justice House of Prayer San Francisco
Bound4Life
I want to share something with you something that happened this past friday night November 14, 2008. I have some very dear friends who live San Francisco. They are there for the purpose of fueling a Justice House of Prayer, contending with the spirit of this age that is manifesting through the ideology of Homosexuality. And crying out for God to break into the life of the Homosexual with His love.
Here is the account of what happened last Friday night, written by one of the JHOPSF Team members, and then below that is some video footage of the aftermath. WARNING: The footage could be consider offensive to some. There is some language in it:
========
We wanted to write you and fill you guys in on what happened to our team here in San Francisco last night.
This is what happened from Daniel's point of view and gives a pretty good overview of the night. :
I went to the Castro (the homosexual district of San Francisco) with JHOPSF (I have been with the Justice House of Prayer San Francisco since April 2008.) like we usually do on Friday nights.
Normally, we sit on 18th and Castro, and someone plays the guitar, and we all worship God. Often times people will be drawn to us, even if only for curiosity of what we're doing, so we get to talk to them, and tell them about the Love of Jesus Christ. On rare occasions, when the Holy Spirit clearly guides one of us (Usually a leader, probably Roger), one person will open-air preach for a little bit.
Sometimes a person will yell at us, or maybe a few. Sometimes people will ignore us. Sometimes people will let us pray with them. We get different responses from different people each time, but the Lord always meets us there.
This time was not a normal night. It was the first time we'd been back in the Castro to do our normal outreach since California Proposition 8, which defined marriage as "one man with one woman" was passed. Apparently, previously, someone at a no on 8 rally singled out Promised Land Fellowship (The church that we attend), and specifically the team they send out to the Castro on Friday nights (Us) as being affiliated with the yes on 8 campaign (Which is partially true. All the individuals involved with the Castro Outreach were involved with the yes on 8 campaign, but mostly in prayer. However, the Castro Outreach isn't about Gay marriage, or politics - it's about Jesus Christ.).
We played the guitar and sang together and worshiped the Lord. Nobody preached. Nobody even really talked to anyone except for a little bit near the beginning.
After just singing and worshiping God for a while, Roger decided that we should all hold hands in a circle and continue singing. So we did.
Someone (Actually a person who came up and hugged and kissed some of us who he knew from the past and was asking us how we were doing) convinced some people that we were there to protest against the no on 8 campaign.
Then some guy who was dressed up like one of the sisters (The sisters of perpetual indulgence is a group of men who dress up in drag like nuns and call themselves the spiritual authority of the Castro.) took a curtain-type thing (Which I think they use to curse people) and wrapped it around us.
Then a crowd started gathering. We began to sing "Amazing Grace", and basically sang that song the whole night. (At some points we also sang "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and "Oh the Blood of Jesus".)
At first, they just shouted at us, using crude, rude, and foul language and calling us names like "haters" and "bigots". Since it was a long night, I can't even begin to remember all of the things that were shouted and/or chanted at us.
Then, they started throwing hot coffee, some people got it in their faces, soda and alcohol on us and spitting (and maybe even peeing) on us.
Then, a group of guys surrounded us with whistles, and blasted them inches away from our ears continually.
Then, they started getting violent and started shoving us. We just gathered in as tight as we could together and worshiped singing Amazing Grace.
At one point a man tried to steal one of our Bibles. Chrisdene noticed, so she walked up to him and said "Hey, that's not yours, can you please give it back?". He responded by hitting her on the head with the Bible, shoving her to the ground, and kicking her. I called the cops, and when they got there, they pulled her out of the circle and asked her if she wanted to press charges. She said "No, tell him I forgive him." Afterwards, she didn't rejoin us in the circle, but she made friends with one of the people in the crowd, and really connected heart to heart.
Roger got death threats. As the leader of our group, people looked him in the eyes and said "I am going to kill you.", and they were serious. A cop heard one of them, and confronted him.
(This part is kinda graphic, so you should skip the paragraph if you don't want to be offended.) It wasn't long before the violence turned to perversion. They were touching and grabbing me, and trying to shove things in my butt, and even trying to take off my pants - basically trying to molest me. I used one hand to hold my pants up, while I used the other arm to hold one of the girls. The guys huddled around all the girls, and protected them.
Soon after, the cops came and stood between us and the mob. When it was getting more heated, the cops were like "You guys should leave." because it was getting harder to protect us. and Roger said "We want to stay." Then he said if you want to get out you have to get out now.
Someone tried to steal my backpack, but I tapped a cop on the shoulder, and said "Hey, that's my bag." and he got it from him and gave it to me. Others weren't so lucky. Probably half our team got their jackets stolen.
Eventually, as the crowd was getting more and more uncontrollable, the cops were afraid for our lives, so they escorted us to our van. (The cops were very nice to us from start to finish.)
Our van was parked pretty far because it was hard to find parking that day. As the cops escorted us, the mob followed us, until the cops formed a line, and held off the people so we could drive away. We took the long way home, just in case anyone tried to follow us.
When we got home, we prayed and sang more, and then prayed over each-other.
The whole experience made me love, and brought me closer to God, and my friends, and the people in the Castro, as well as the church in general, and the lost in general.
Please know my heart. All of what we do is for the Love of Jesus Christ, and the love for those in the Castro. The Bible says to love God, and then love people. We can only love because He loved us first. We can't hate the people because they are just broken and blinded by the spirit of this age. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Principalities and Powers. It's not a political thing, we just love the people. We don't want to convert gays to straight people. We want them to know the Love of Jesus Christ. Even if someone never becomes attracted to the other sex, they can still love Jesus Christ with all their heart, mind, and soul. As the mob raged, all I could pray was "God have mercy.". It really is all about God's mercy. He desires mercy over judgment. He desires for all to be saved.
One of the things that I remember them chanting was "Shame on you.". One of our girls later pointed out how, in some weird way, it's a privilege for us, because we know that Jesus bore all our shame, and all our transgressions on the cross, so it's kinda like taking on their shame, so we can cast it onto Jesus.
This is the raw footage of the walk from 18th and Castro Street to our car. It was only the very tail end of the night and says that we were all about prop8... when in reality we had nothing to do with prop 8 this night.:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17986914/detail.html
May the Holy Lord God Almighty, Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come, be glorified, now and forevermore. Amen. -Daniel-
Thank you for praying for us, and more for this people in the Castro. We have found ourselves even more broken over them. We love you!
Missy
*Things I added to Daniels story.
May God grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
Missy Huff
Justice House of Prayer San Francisco
Bound4Life
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Recording so Far!
So here is a series of short video journals so far of the recording process of my new cd. The new cd, "Missing Galaxy" should be released by the beginning of the new year.... maybe sooner.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Homosexuality: The Altar of Acceptance
This is my second article on the topic of Homosexuality. I've gotten some pretty decent response out of the first one I've written and I now want to delve a little deeper into some of the things I discussed.
I want to clarify that this is not my efforts to convert the homosexual. If someone living in this sin finds truth through these words, that would be amazing. But these articles are for the Church. Those professing themselves as followers of Christ. This is for you. I believe the church needs a refresher course on what God's word teaches about Homosexuality and how we as a church should respond to it.
Let's begin with who God is. God is Love. The Bible tells us that God loved the world so much, that He sent His only son Jesus to save us from our sin. (John 3:16) When we were dead in our sins, God was rich in mercy because of the great Love that He loved us with. (Ephesians 2:4,5)
And the foundational attributes of who God is toward us do not change regardless of the condition of our heart. By this I mean: God loves us; has always loved us; will continue to love us. He never changes. (Hebrews 13:8)
Christ has now made a way through the price that He paid on the cross for us to come to God. It's the Blood of Jesus' that's cleanses us from all sin.
Has Jesus paid the price for our sins? Yes.
Will His blood wash away our sin? Yes
Has God forgiven the sin of mankind completely? "No."
God is the God of unconditional Love. He loves us no matter what. Whether we spit in His face and turn away from Him, or whether we run to Him, He still loves us. His love is unconditional.
But God is a holy God. He is by His very nature, a Righteous God. And His forgiveness has conditions.
We find those conditions in 1John 1:9. It says this, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
His Forgiveness is unconditional, but only under this one condition: That we come to Him, and we confess that we have sinned. It is that action of recognizing and confessing we have sinned that swings open the door of our heart for God to come in and clean house.
God has made a way for us to be forgiven. He does not desire that anyone should perish.
The church has become a seabed of emotion over the issue of Homosexuality. And no matter the perspective or the way each person responds to this issue, God has a resolute word for the church.
I explained in my last article that certain sins are different consequentially. The sins of lying and murder will both grant us the "rank" of "sinner"; but the consequence of these two are drastically different.
A child can play in a mud puddle in the back yard, or he can play in a mud puddle in the middle of the highway. Both puddles will get the child dirty, but the latter will have a severer consequence than the first.
The problem is that the church has become afraid of offending homosexuals. I've heard it time and time again. The church seems to know more about the Homosexual's feelings than we should. "They feel like we're judging them. They feel alienated. They feel picked on. They don't feel accepted."
We've become more sensitive to the homosexual over our ability to offend them, then we have to hearing God's heart over the issue. Who wants to offend a person by telling them they're dirty and need to be cleaned? No one enjoys doing this. And if they do enjoy it, they have problems. The church is content to remain passive on the subject, meanwhile the homosexual community is sitting in the middle of the highway with the vehicle of justice on it's way toward them.
The church's mindset has been screwed up over this issue. We know that the Homosexual's mindset is twisted and broken. But if the church doesn't recognize that this is not just another "sin", we open our hearts to be infiltrated by it in very subtle ways.
We must change the way we think about the sin of Homosexuality. The reason it cannot be left alone is because it is an ideological issue. It is more than a "sin" and therefore it cannot be categorized with a sin such as 'lying.' In the same way Abortion is an ideological issue that impacts an entire culture. Even though Abortion is "murder" it cannot be categorized along with the sin of 'murder'. Let me break this down.
Most likely you will never see a church/activist group targeting the stronghold/issue of 'lying.' You won't catch them standing in front of the supreme court protesting with signs until lying is abolished. Why? Because it's pointless. Lying is a sin that is natural to the sinful nature.
Homosexuality is UN-natural to even the sinner. Why? Because God has wired men and women's emotions a certain way from the beginning of creation. Sexually, guys like girls. Girls like guys.
Homosexuality disrupts the natural flow that God has weaved into the fabric of the universe. It renders people sterile and unable to create life, when God has created a divine order for life to pro-create.
Even if a lesbian couple decides to raise a child or use artificial insemination, they're still raising a child or using sperm that came from a man. It's the order of the universe. It takes two to tango, and they have to have the right plumbing.
Abortion though it's murder, is abnormal. It's not merely murder as a result of anger, hate or envy. It's abnormal because the natural order of the universe is that the mother is to care for and nurture her child. It's her own flesh. She should see it as such.
If we simply categorize it in the same category as murder or lying, we lose the ability to realize that this is different. This is abnormal. And if it isn't dealt with, it effects the ideological mindset of an entire culture and the generations to come.
The goal of the homosexual agenda is to align our mindsets with the idea that this is a civil rights issue. And regardless of whether we are talking about the brash activist who parades his homosexual lifestyle, or the person living in the preverbal "closet", we must remember this. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We are dealing with a spirit. And this ancient spirit is demanding the soul of our nation on the altar of acceptance. Give it a yard and it will take a mile.
I refuse to acknowledge any mindset or speculation that compares the sin of Homosexuality to that of Heterosexual sin. They are not the same, and never will be. Neither will I give place to a mindset that says, "Homosexuality is such a deep issue that some people will never get free. Some people might struggle with it the rest of their lives."
To do this is to minimize the blood of Christ and the price He paid on the cross. Jesus said himself in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Christ's blood is more than enough to free the homosexual.
God's resolute word to the church is found in Jude 1:23. It says this, "Save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."
There was a time in our nation where the issue of accepting homosexuality wasn't even thought about as a legitimate arguement. Take a look thirty-four years back and you will find a mindset that is foreign to our culture today.
Here's an entry from the Websters New World Thesaurus by Charlton Laird, published 1974.
Yes, sin has entered into the world; But we have taken it to a whole new level. God sees this sin differently.
I want to clarify that this is not my efforts to convert the homosexual. If someone living in this sin finds truth through these words, that would be amazing. But these articles are for the Church. Those professing themselves as followers of Christ. This is for you. I believe the church needs a refresher course on what God's word teaches about Homosexuality and how we as a church should respond to it.
Let's begin with who God is. God is Love. The Bible tells us that God loved the world so much, that He sent His only son Jesus to save us from our sin. (John 3:16) When we were dead in our sins, God was rich in mercy because of the great Love that He loved us with. (Ephesians 2:4,5)
And the foundational attributes of who God is toward us do not change regardless of the condition of our heart. By this I mean: God loves us; has always loved us; will continue to love us. He never changes. (Hebrews 13:8)
Christ has now made a way through the price that He paid on the cross for us to come to God. It's the Blood of Jesus' that's cleanses us from all sin.
Has Jesus paid the price for our sins? Yes.
Will His blood wash away our sin? Yes
Has God forgiven the sin of mankind completely? "No."
God is the God of unconditional Love. He loves us no matter what. Whether we spit in His face and turn away from Him, or whether we run to Him, He still loves us. His love is unconditional.
But God is a holy God. He is by His very nature, a Righteous God. And His forgiveness has conditions.
We find those conditions in 1John 1:9. It says this, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
His Forgiveness is unconditional, but only under this one condition: That we come to Him, and we confess that we have sinned. It is that action of recognizing and confessing we have sinned that swings open the door of our heart for God to come in and clean house.
God has made a way for us to be forgiven. He does not desire that anyone should perish.
The church has become a seabed of emotion over the issue of Homosexuality. And no matter the perspective or the way each person responds to this issue, God has a resolute word for the church.
I explained in my last article that certain sins are different consequentially. The sins of lying and murder will both grant us the "rank" of "sinner"; but the consequence of these two are drastically different.
A child can play in a mud puddle in the back yard, or he can play in a mud puddle in the middle of the highway. Both puddles will get the child dirty, but the latter will have a severer consequence than the first.
The problem is that the church has become afraid of offending homosexuals. I've heard it time and time again. The church seems to know more about the Homosexual's feelings than we should. "They feel like we're judging them. They feel alienated. They feel picked on. They don't feel accepted."
We've become more sensitive to the homosexual over our ability to offend them, then we have to hearing God's heart over the issue. Who wants to offend a person by telling them they're dirty and need to be cleaned? No one enjoys doing this. And if they do enjoy it, they have problems. The church is content to remain passive on the subject, meanwhile the homosexual community is sitting in the middle of the highway with the vehicle of justice on it's way toward them.
The church's mindset has been screwed up over this issue. We know that the Homosexual's mindset is twisted and broken. But if the church doesn't recognize that this is not just another "sin", we open our hearts to be infiltrated by it in very subtle ways.
We must change the way we think about the sin of Homosexuality. The reason it cannot be left alone is because it is an ideological issue. It is more than a "sin" and therefore it cannot be categorized with a sin such as 'lying.' In the same way Abortion is an ideological issue that impacts an entire culture. Even though Abortion is "murder" it cannot be categorized along with the sin of 'murder'. Let me break this down.
Most likely you will never see a church/activist group targeting the stronghold/issue of 'lying.' You won't catch them standing in front of the supreme court protesting with signs until lying is abolished. Why? Because it's pointless. Lying is a sin that is natural to the sinful nature.
Homosexuality is UN-natural to even the sinner. Why? Because God has wired men and women's emotions a certain way from the beginning of creation. Sexually, guys like girls. Girls like guys.
Homosexuality disrupts the natural flow that God has weaved into the fabric of the universe. It renders people sterile and unable to create life, when God has created a divine order for life to pro-create.
Even if a lesbian couple decides to raise a child or use artificial insemination, they're still raising a child or using sperm that came from a man. It's the order of the universe. It takes two to tango, and they have to have the right plumbing.
Abortion though it's murder, is abnormal. It's not merely murder as a result of anger, hate or envy. It's abnormal because the natural order of the universe is that the mother is to care for and nurture her child. It's her own flesh. She should see it as such.
If we simply categorize it in the same category as murder or lying, we lose the ability to realize that this is different. This is abnormal. And if it isn't dealt with, it effects the ideological mindset of an entire culture and the generations to come.
The goal of the homosexual agenda is to align our mindsets with the idea that this is a civil rights issue. And regardless of whether we are talking about the brash activist who parades his homosexual lifestyle, or the person living in the preverbal "closet", we must remember this. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We are dealing with a spirit. And this ancient spirit is demanding the soul of our nation on the altar of acceptance. Give it a yard and it will take a mile.
I refuse to acknowledge any mindset or speculation that compares the sin of Homosexuality to that of Heterosexual sin. They are not the same, and never will be. Neither will I give place to a mindset that says, "Homosexuality is such a deep issue that some people will never get free. Some people might struggle with it the rest of their lives."
To do this is to minimize the blood of Christ and the price He paid on the cross. Jesus said himself in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Christ's blood is more than enough to free the homosexual.
God's resolute word to the church is found in Jude 1:23. It says this, "Save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."
There was a time in our nation where the issue of accepting homosexuality wasn't even thought about as a legitimate arguement. Take a look thirty-four years back and you will find a mindset that is foreign to our culture today.
Here's an entry from the Websters New World Thesaurus by Charlton Laird, published 1974.
Yes, sin has entered into the world; But we have taken it to a whole new level. God sees this sin differently.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Dutch Sheets Statement about the Election results
November 6, 2008
I feel certain that many in my stream of the Church want a statement from me concerning Tuesday's presidential election. I will be frank in my remarks but I do not, however, intend to vent anger or attack anyone. I have read several statements from friends and colleagues I respect very much.
Their thoughts are well stated and, for the most part, insightful. None of them, however, seem to want to say some things that I believe need to be said. I do not claim infallibility or to have the final word, but my convictions run deep and I believe I bear a God-given responsibility to share them.
Was This God's Will?
Was what happened Tuesday God's will? I am quite confident it was not. America was offered a very clear choice between moving further toward protecting the unborn or further away; between a Supreme Court that would move toward honoring God, life and morality or away from it. The stakes couldn't have been higher nor the cost greater. As a nation we put on blinders concerning Barak Obama's background, associations, beliefs and practices, and set these causes back years, possibly decades.
And in doing so we took another step away from God and His plans for America, and another step toward judgment.
Judgment Will Increase
This is not a fire and brimstone warning from an angry, legalistic preacher. In fact, I feel more sadness and grief than anything else.
Perhaps I feel what Jesus felt as He wept for Jerusalem while announcing its judgment. I am not hoping for judgment; I am saying it is inevitable. I don't know where the unbiblical belief comes from that says a nation can live any way it pleases, can reject God and His ways-even mock Him-and not receive His judgments. Nor do I know when the belief came that it is always mean-spirited or judgmental to warn of these things. To the contrary, I believe it is our responsibility.
In warning of judgment, I am not suggesting that God is going to intentially and directly hurt people. Much judgment is simply the absence of God's protection and provision, caused by a rejection of His laws and ways. We have been experiencing some forms of judgment in America for years, but God in His incredible patience and mercy has kept us from the level we've deserved. I believe this will change to a degree and judgment will now
increase:
For those in the Church who aligned themselves with pro-abortion forces, I believe judgment will result.
For leaders in the Body of Christ who refused to take a stand for fear of losing people, money, and tax-exempt status-I believe there will be a degree of judgment.
For those, both within the Church and without, who voted money over morality-a potential raise or better health insurance over the life of a baby-there will be judgment. (The irony is that this decision to base one's vote on the hopes of a better economy won't produce the hoped for result anyway. The scriptures teach that it is righteousness which exalts a nation and that the nation is blessed whose God is the Lord.)
I have heard the argument that God cares as much about social justice issues (such as poverty and racism) as He does abortion, making a vote for Obama OK. I certainly believe God puts a very high priority on caring for the poor and I, too, have wanted to see equality demonstrated through a "minority" president. But to equate having a better income or the desire for a first black president, regardless of his positions on abortion and morality, to the issue of killing 50 million babies is not justice-it is a gross distortion of justice and great deception. I fear that we have been desensitized to this issue of abortion. I believe it kills babies and takes innocent life. I also believe it is blood sacrifice that empowers demons. Let's not forget this in our noble attempts to be kind and conciliatory.
For African Americans I can easily see how it could bring healing to have a first black president, just as it would be for Native Americans to achieve this or for women if a woman were elected president. Again, I have wanted to see justice in this way. I am only saddened that the price for this healing ended up being Barak Obama, a man that will set the cause of life and, most-likely, our God-given destiny as a nation back so drastically. (I also realize there are some who interpret any criticism of Obama as racism. Racism is so NOT what I am about nor what I live, that I will not even dignify any such accusations with a response.)
What Can We Expect?
What are some of the judgments we can expect on our nation from this election?
More economic woes
More violence in an already violent nation
Disease and death (satan, who is responsible for these things will have greater inroads to our nation.)
Natural disasters (weather-tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, drought; fires; earthquakes; etc.)
Terrorism (they will fear us much less now)
War, perhaps on our own soil
Judgments relating to the Court. The stacking of the Supreme Court against the sanctity of life and God's influence on America will occur, which will in turn cause the shedding of more innocent blood, more rejection of God's laws and the stealing from us of our godly heritage-all of which will perpetuate a cycle of even more judgment.
How Did This Happen?
I've been asked if this could have been averted had there been more prayer. I'm not sure. I believe there was a remnant of Christians fervently praying over these elections-I don't think there was anything more they could have done. Others, obviously, should have done more. The complacency and lack of discernment concerning our real condition in America-especially by the Church-is both appalling and horrifying. America is in serious trouble and it seems no one wants to say it. Fewer still are willing to do anything to change it.
Though I understand our reasons, we must be careful in our attempts to placate our feelings and calm our fears through religious phrases like "God is still on the throne" or "God has a plan". He was on His throne 35 years and 50 million babies ago. And He had a plan back then. The problem is, it was us. I understand our reasons for waving high the banner of God's sovereignty at times like these-it gives us hope. I will wave it, as well.
But please be careful with this. Too much emphasis on God's sovereignty and we're worthless; too little and we're hopeless. Maybe we should say, "we lost a critical battle but God will give us strategy to win the war." Then find the strategy.
But still yet, since God is usually willing to work through a remnant, I thought we had enough prayer. Obviously, God decided otherwise. There comes a time when He will not forgive or bless the majority based on the prayers or actions of only a few. America rejected God and asked for a king; I believe we now have our Saul (see 1 Samuel 8:5-7)-a man who does not have God's heart for America but his own. Like Israel in scripture, our nation believes it can turn from God and still be blessed. In His mercy and justice He will show us otherwise.
Like many, believing I had many promises and confirmations that God would "grace" us with a pro-life president in this election, I failed to consider strongly enough that all promises-even scripture-are conditional 99.9% of the time. Though I never prophesied or made guarantees that McCain-Palin would win, failing to factor this principle in strongly enough no doubt caused me to share my optimism with others inappropriately. If this caused any harm or confusion, I apologize.
Has the fact that my prayers weren't answered shaken my faith? No. I'm a little confused and discouraged. I'm also somewhat angry at the nation in general and much of the Church. Mostly I'm grieving over the nation and what this will cost us. I am not, however, angry with God and do not question His justice. And it is not true that we wasted our time, energy and money in our efforts anymore than it is a waste when we share the gospel with people who don't get saved. We must keep in the forefront of our thinking the fact that ultimately we are doing this for Him and that He will reward us for our faithfulness. And who knows, perhaps He will store up all those prayers for the next battle (Revelation 5:8, 8:3-5).
A friend and fellow warrior said it well,
"We did 'give it our all.' I know the Lord was pleased with that. A coach wants to know one thing at the end of a heartbreaking sports loss: 'Did you leave it all on the field?' (your passion, your commitment, your strength, your courage, etc.) I know that we 'left it all on the field.' We didn't hold anything back until the game ended. Tragically, it ended in defeat. We will rise for another day because Jesus is worthy."
Where Do We Go from Here?
Does this election outcome shake my faith that we can see a great awakening and ultimately reformation in America? Absolutely not (and it strengthens my resolve). We will simply get there through greater pain and loss. Even my passion to see the Supreme Court shift is not from a presupposition that there can be no spiritual awakening without it. It is simply due to my deep conviction that their decisions bring so much death, destruction, curses and judgment to America; and because our full destiny as a nation is unquestionably linked to their decisions. So, yes, we will get an awakening and reformation; but the reality is that this reformation of the nation will reform the Supreme Court (and government, in general), not vice-versa. My faith has never been in people or a political party; my faith is in the God who works through them.
I've been asked if my feelings about Sarah Palin have changed. They have not. I believe she is an Esther, a Deborah, with a huge mantle from God for reformation. God has a great destiny for her related to this nation if she chooses to continue down this path.
So, in conclusion, we must re-group as an apostolic, praying church and advance. We must maintain an immovable faith in God, His plans for America and His mercy. And we must move beyond simply asking God for a spiritual awakening and ask Him for strategy to produce reformation, as well. I, for one, am just getting started!
For God and this great nation,
Dutch Sheets
Quick Links
www.dutchsheets.org
www.dutchsheets.zoovy.com
I feel certain that many in my stream of the Church want a statement from me concerning Tuesday's presidential election. I will be frank in my remarks but I do not, however, intend to vent anger or attack anyone. I have read several statements from friends and colleagues I respect very much.
Their thoughts are well stated and, for the most part, insightful. None of them, however, seem to want to say some things that I believe need to be said. I do not claim infallibility or to have the final word, but my convictions run deep and I believe I bear a God-given responsibility to share them.
Was This God's Will?
Was what happened Tuesday God's will? I am quite confident it was not. America was offered a very clear choice between moving further toward protecting the unborn or further away; between a Supreme Court that would move toward honoring God, life and morality or away from it. The stakes couldn't have been higher nor the cost greater. As a nation we put on blinders concerning Barak Obama's background, associations, beliefs and practices, and set these causes back years, possibly decades.
And in doing so we took another step away from God and His plans for America, and another step toward judgment.
Judgment Will Increase
This is not a fire and brimstone warning from an angry, legalistic preacher. In fact, I feel more sadness and grief than anything else.
Perhaps I feel what Jesus felt as He wept for Jerusalem while announcing its judgment. I am not hoping for judgment; I am saying it is inevitable. I don't know where the unbiblical belief comes from that says a nation can live any way it pleases, can reject God and His ways-even mock Him-and not receive His judgments. Nor do I know when the belief came that it is always mean-spirited or judgmental to warn of these things. To the contrary, I believe it is our responsibility.
In warning of judgment, I am not suggesting that God is going to intentially and directly hurt people. Much judgment is simply the absence of God's protection and provision, caused by a rejection of His laws and ways. We have been experiencing some forms of judgment in America for years, but God in His incredible patience and mercy has kept us from the level we've deserved. I believe this will change to a degree and judgment will now
increase:
For those in the Church who aligned themselves with pro-abortion forces, I believe judgment will result.
For leaders in the Body of Christ who refused to take a stand for fear of losing people, money, and tax-exempt status-I believe there will be a degree of judgment.
For those, both within the Church and without, who voted money over morality-a potential raise or better health insurance over the life of a baby-there will be judgment. (The irony is that this decision to base one's vote on the hopes of a better economy won't produce the hoped for result anyway. The scriptures teach that it is righteousness which exalts a nation and that the nation is blessed whose God is the Lord.)
I have heard the argument that God cares as much about social justice issues (such as poverty and racism) as He does abortion, making a vote for Obama OK. I certainly believe God puts a very high priority on caring for the poor and I, too, have wanted to see equality demonstrated through a "minority" president. But to equate having a better income or the desire for a first black president, regardless of his positions on abortion and morality, to the issue of killing 50 million babies is not justice-it is a gross distortion of justice and great deception. I fear that we have been desensitized to this issue of abortion. I believe it kills babies and takes innocent life. I also believe it is blood sacrifice that empowers demons. Let's not forget this in our noble attempts to be kind and conciliatory.
For African Americans I can easily see how it could bring healing to have a first black president, just as it would be for Native Americans to achieve this or for women if a woman were elected president. Again, I have wanted to see justice in this way. I am only saddened that the price for this healing ended up being Barak Obama, a man that will set the cause of life and, most-likely, our God-given destiny as a nation back so drastically. (I also realize there are some who interpret any criticism of Obama as racism. Racism is so NOT what I am about nor what I live, that I will not even dignify any such accusations with a response.)
What Can We Expect?
What are some of the judgments we can expect on our nation from this election?
More economic woes
More violence in an already violent nation
Disease and death (satan, who is responsible for these things will have greater inroads to our nation.)
Natural disasters (weather-tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, drought; fires; earthquakes; etc.)
Terrorism (they will fear us much less now)
War, perhaps on our own soil
Judgments relating to the Court. The stacking of the Supreme Court against the sanctity of life and God's influence on America will occur, which will in turn cause the shedding of more innocent blood, more rejection of God's laws and the stealing from us of our godly heritage-all of which will perpetuate a cycle of even more judgment.
How Did This Happen?
I've been asked if this could have been averted had there been more prayer. I'm not sure. I believe there was a remnant of Christians fervently praying over these elections-I don't think there was anything more they could have done. Others, obviously, should have done more. The complacency and lack of discernment concerning our real condition in America-especially by the Church-is both appalling and horrifying. America is in serious trouble and it seems no one wants to say it. Fewer still are willing to do anything to change it.
Though I understand our reasons, we must be careful in our attempts to placate our feelings and calm our fears through religious phrases like "God is still on the throne" or "God has a plan". He was on His throne 35 years and 50 million babies ago. And He had a plan back then. The problem is, it was us. I understand our reasons for waving high the banner of God's sovereignty at times like these-it gives us hope. I will wave it, as well.
But please be careful with this. Too much emphasis on God's sovereignty and we're worthless; too little and we're hopeless. Maybe we should say, "we lost a critical battle but God will give us strategy to win the war." Then find the strategy.
But still yet, since God is usually willing to work through a remnant, I thought we had enough prayer. Obviously, God decided otherwise. There comes a time when He will not forgive or bless the majority based on the prayers or actions of only a few. America rejected God and asked for a king; I believe we now have our Saul (see 1 Samuel 8:5-7)-a man who does not have God's heart for America but his own. Like Israel in scripture, our nation believes it can turn from God and still be blessed. In His mercy and justice He will show us otherwise.
Like many, believing I had many promises and confirmations that God would "grace" us with a pro-life president in this election, I failed to consider strongly enough that all promises-even scripture-are conditional 99.9% of the time. Though I never prophesied or made guarantees that McCain-Palin would win, failing to factor this principle in strongly enough no doubt caused me to share my optimism with others inappropriately. If this caused any harm or confusion, I apologize.
Has the fact that my prayers weren't answered shaken my faith? No. I'm a little confused and discouraged. I'm also somewhat angry at the nation in general and much of the Church. Mostly I'm grieving over the nation and what this will cost us. I am not, however, angry with God and do not question His justice. And it is not true that we wasted our time, energy and money in our efforts anymore than it is a waste when we share the gospel with people who don't get saved. We must keep in the forefront of our thinking the fact that ultimately we are doing this for Him and that He will reward us for our faithfulness. And who knows, perhaps He will store up all those prayers for the next battle (Revelation 5:8, 8:3-5).
A friend and fellow warrior said it well,
"We did 'give it our all.' I know the Lord was pleased with that. A coach wants to know one thing at the end of a heartbreaking sports loss: 'Did you leave it all on the field?' (your passion, your commitment, your strength, your courage, etc.) I know that we 'left it all on the field.' We didn't hold anything back until the game ended. Tragically, it ended in defeat. We will rise for another day because Jesus is worthy."
Where Do We Go from Here?
Does this election outcome shake my faith that we can see a great awakening and ultimately reformation in America? Absolutely not (and it strengthens my resolve). We will simply get there through greater pain and loss. Even my passion to see the Supreme Court shift is not from a presupposition that there can be no spiritual awakening without it. It is simply due to my deep conviction that their decisions bring so much death, destruction, curses and judgment to America; and because our full destiny as a nation is unquestionably linked to their decisions. So, yes, we will get an awakening and reformation; but the reality is that this reformation of the nation will reform the Supreme Court (and government, in general), not vice-versa. My faith has never been in people or a political party; my faith is in the God who works through them.
I've been asked if my feelings about Sarah Palin have changed. They have not. I believe she is an Esther, a Deborah, with a huge mantle from God for reformation. God has a great destiny for her related to this nation if she chooses to continue down this path.
So, in conclusion, we must re-group as an apostolic, praying church and advance. We must maintain an immovable faith in God, His plans for America and His mercy. And we must move beyond simply asking God for a spiritual awakening and ask Him for strategy to produce reformation, as well. I, for one, am just getting started!
For God and this great nation,
Dutch Sheets
Quick Links
www.dutchsheets.org
www.dutchsheets.zoovy.com
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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