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Pastor's Thoughts |
Kathy and I thought you would like to see what we looked
like so many years ago! This
picture was taken on our wedding day, March 26, 1974. God has done miraculous things in our lives! This is a not just a picture of us, but
a documentation of God’s transforming power! The real blessing to this is that God’s power is available
to anyone who asks for it!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new! II Cor.
5:17
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Marriage Vs. Safe Sex?
Our society is trying very
hard to remove the fixed point of reference, the Word of God, that has been the
standard our country was even founded upon. Many major points are under direct attack. One of which is our human sexuality. God is clear that our sexuality is
important and to be expressed and enjoyed in the covenant of marriage. In the protection of the covenant of
marriage, the husband and wife are to completely enjoy each other sexually with
no sense of guilt because it is good and right! Yes, there are great protections and even greater joys in
the physical union between a husband and wife. Yet, our changing culture has brought broad damage to the
institution of marriage. What our
culture does not see is the destructiveness brought on by this mentality that
marriage, as defined by our Lord in the Bible, is outdated and insignificant.
The culture of the land is
feeding our young people with an extremely dangerous sense of false
security! We tell them that sex is
ok outside of marriage, if you feel you are ready, just be sure to practice safe
sex. What is “safe sex” you might
ask? What is mainly taught from
the school system to Planned Parenthood is the usage of condoms for safe
sex. Society has even come to the
place where many schools have reportedly handed them out to any student who
requests them, yet without parental notification.
The statistics of this plan
of “safe sex” might scare you.
Condoms bring a risk reduction of 50% or less in the prevention of
Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis HSV, HPV and Genital Warts. That is what you
call safe sex? Condom use does
prevent HIV/Aids virus by 85%.
Sorry, I won't get on a plane that has an 85% success rate of landing
safely. These statistics can be
found on the website: http://www.medinstitute.org/public/251.cfm
Years ago I saw a cartoon. It was of a young man asking his
grandfather what he wore in the old days for safe sex. His grandfather answered, “A wedding
ring!” We are created in the image
of God according to the Bible. We
teach our children in the public schools that they are an evolutionary being,
not any different than the other animals of this world. With that line of teaching, it is no
wonder our young generation, and quite frankly many of the older ones as well,
act without any clear moral values.
We spend billions of dollars every year, yes, every year, to combat the
spread of Aids and other STD's. We
spend so much so we can live the way we do and not have to be accountable for
it. We do need to research and
find a cure for those who are infected, but why is this an ongoing battle when
the answer is so simple? If this
generation would return to the moral values of the scriptures, we would see
most STD's be drastically reduced if not completely eradicated in one
generation and it would not cost our society one thin dime. God's ways are always the best ways.
Pastor J. Matthew Worrall
A Fixed Point of Reference
A fixed point of reference is something
that is consistent and does not change.
We have several “Fixed point of References” in this world and in our
society. One is the North
Star. Even centuries ago, sailors
would use an instrument called a sextant and as long as they could see the
North Star and the horizon, they could calculate exactly where they were. Remove the North Star, and they would
be lost forever. Another is
Magnetic North. As a boy scout,
(many years ago!) I was taught how to use a compass to find my way in the woods
of Maine. Remove Magnetic North
and the compass would be useless and I may have been lost forever. Another Fixed Point of Reference we all
enjoy is called home. Wherever we
go, whether it is work, school, a trip to see friends or relatives or even a
vacation, home is a fixed point of reference where we should find comfort,
safety and love. Whenever you remove
a fixed point of reference, you loose the ability to find your way and you end
up lost in some fashion.
One more “Fixed Point of Reference” I
would like to address is the Word of God, the Scriptures, also known as the
Bible. It has been the “Fixed Point
of Reference” for our society. Our
country was founded upon it, the Word of God is inscribed and chiseled on our
Federal buildings in Washington, and even the 10 commandments are carved into
the doors opening up into the very sanctuary of the Supreme Court. The Word of God has been used to show us what is right and what is wrong, what is God's will
for man and what sin is. God's Word does not change. It is very much the fixed
point of reference, but we as a people and as a nation have made the decision
that we will dictate what is right and what is wrong. We have come to the place where we will choose what is
acceptable and what is not. We
have removed the “Fixed Point of Reference” from our society and replaced it
with a fluid, amoral standard that changes with the winds of want and because
of this, our society is lost. We
have lost our way! We teach our
children in schools that they are a product of evolution. Therefore, humans are just another
species in the animal world. Then
we wonder why many act like it! We
are made in the image and likeness of God and have a higher calling than
animals.
We remove God and the Scriptures from our
belief system because we do not want accountability. Take for instance the institution of marriage. It was created by God, instituted by
God and is governed by God. God is
the One who said that marriage is to be between one man and one woman. Nobody came up with the idea of
marriage. It was given to us by our Lord, but many people do not want to be
accountable to God nor do they want to submit to God, therefore rules get
changed. It is true that the Bible
says God is love. Nowhere does it
say love is God. Where does it end?
Will there be a time when it will be ok with society for me to marry my
daughter? My son can marry his
mother? What standard or fixed point of reference says this would be wrong if
we do not use the Scriptures to show us?
If those in the gay and lesbian lifestyle want to live together and
sleep together, that is their business and nobody should stand in their way,
but to say that they should have the same privilege to be married as a man and
woman has, that is in violation of the “Fixed Point of Reference.”
To remove a
Fixed Point of Reference will cause one to be lost. We have lost our way in morality; we have lost our way in
violating the place that is supposed to be the safest place on earth, the
mother's womb. We have lost our
way by believing we can dispense with the Fixed Point of Reference, the Bible,
and we will still be OK. The
prophet Isaiah said in Isa. 5:20-21, “Woe to those who call evil good,
and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put
bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own
sight!
We truly are
in those days.
Pastor J.
Matthew Worrall
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