Elisha Vision – Commentary

Seven years ago to the day, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hammered aNew Orleans. Today it is Hurricane Issac. Does the Biblical name and the number 7 suggest a possible connection to the amazing timing? Following are two quotes. One is from the event organizers. The second is from a Christian description of the event.

There is a New Orleans event every year since 1972 called Southern Decadence. This “celebration” of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) culture has begun attracting as many as 125,000-135,000 participants from all over the world in recent years.

This is a homosexual event known to be one of the most vile, perverse and ungodly events in our nation. Its 5 days of public display of sexual acts, ludeness, debauchery, drugs and drunkenness. Most of these things take place out in the streets during this festival, and are so debase they cannot even be mentioned, and are also illegal. Shekinah Today – Cindy deVille

Now before you jump to the wrong conclusion, this is not about condemning homosexuals. Jesus died for homosexuals, just as he died for murderers, adulterers, thieves, liars, and drunkards. Oh, and He also died for the proud, the selfish, the arrogant. He died for Muslims, Jews, whites, blacks, old and young.  In other words He died for all of us. It is not about the type of sin, but sin itself. God could destroy New Orleans in an instant. This storm’s lesson is not about the wrath of God, but the mercy of God. It is another wake-up call. We have all had events intersect our lives that caused a change of direction. This is a call of mercy. There is still time to turn to Jesus. Heterosexual immorality is more widespread. Heterosexuals Repent!

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. Romans 3:23-25 NLT

So, does God care that people flaunt being opposite to His way? Sure He does. Could He send a storm to get our attention? You betcha! Does that mean he hates us? No, but He does hate our attitude. Christians have failed to convince folks that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:15:23 NLT

As I have often declared of Muslims: “When a Muslim finds the real Jesus, he becomes an ex-Muslim.” This is true for any pagan religion. It is also true of sexual sin of any variety. When you find the real Jesus, you become an ex-whatever you were. It is not that you never sin, but that you stop “practicing” sin, getting better and better at it. You start practicing “righteousness”, and believe it or not, you actually start getting better and better at it! Here is one more verse to my point that we are all sinners, saved by the blood of Jesus.

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT

What a great church with a list of sinners like that! But it is past tense. They were “cleansed”, “made holy”, and “made right with God.” How? by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

I rest my case. A sinner can become: an ex-sinner!

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists     (READ MORE)