So, you’re walking along a busy city sidewalk on your way to lunch. Suddenly, an attractive woman from XYZ-TVNews, mic in hand, blocks your way. “Excuse me,” she says, “May I ask you a question?” Behind her hovers a dude with an enormous camera, heavy on his shoulder. They want to capture your thoughts on one of the hottest topics around today—a topic that engulfs us all.
You smell a trap, but she’s really nice-looking, you often watch the news on her channel, so what’s the harm? “Sure,” you say, trying to look confident, but feeling more than a bit trembly inside.
OK, before we reveal the question (and include an answer to die for), let me introduce you to Dr Patrick Dixon who spoke at a YWAM leader’s gathering a couple of years ago.
Patrick Dixon is a doctor deeply concerned with the AIDS epidemic and was one of the first Christian activists to do something about it. He is ranked as one of the top 20 most influential thinkers alive today. He exhorted us, his audience that day, to take hold of our future.
That future, he explained, would be Fast, Urban, Tribal, Universal, Radical and Ethical. His passion is to prepare people for the future, and the future will be driven by emotions and passion, not in the first place by technology and innovation.
After addressing the YWAM leaders, Dr Dixon took questions. Hands flew up!
The Question
“Dr Dixon, how would you respond to a television interviewer if he quizzed you on live TV, about your stand on same-sex marriage?” With no hesitation came his reply:
“I am committed to stamping out injustice, inequality and stigma in any guise. Yet,” Dr Dixon went on, “I share a deep concern not only with fellow Christians, but with Jews, Muslims, Hindus, most traditional African religious leaders, and many of my Chinese friends, Christian or not.
One Key Value
Dixon continued, “As we look at the whole sweep of human history, every society and every culture has been built on one key value: the importance of children. It is the importance of ensuring that when a man and a woman fuse together and become ‘one flesh,’ that children are born into a household where the man and woman are still together, and looking after them.
“We call this arrangement marriage. It is such an important foundation stone in society, the root of every family tree. Every human being born on earth, whether or not the parents are still together, has a family tree. These family trees, these unions, have been celebrated by society, which usually discourages casual union for the sake of children and cousins and grandparents and great-grandparents.
“The union has been a vital core component of every society in just about every culture throughout all of history. Every culture has an equivalent word for marriage, describing what is usually a great social occasion—equalled only by a funeral—when people get together because they believe this union is the foundation stone of every society.
Marriage
“If the gay community would like to use that word ‘marriage’ for same-sex unions, and if the laws of our countries are changed to enable them to do so, then there can be only one response: we’ll have to find another word for male-female unions. Because most cultures and most societies would not recognize a union between two men or two women as that foundation stone of society.
“The whole of human history is defined by parenting. If you don’t have parents, you don’t exist. Prime Ministers may think they have the authority to reorder the vocabulary. But let’s be clear, we are are talking about something different. That’s not antagonism towards a particular group; its just a statement of fact.’’
For more on Dr Dixon, see www.globalchange.com
Though you may never be accosted by a hot microphone suddenly shoved in your face, with a demand for an answer to that tricky question, we should all be prepared to discuss it. We need wisdom backed up by Biblical authority. This issue will not go away.
So study Patrick Dixon’s very wise answer to this very contemporary question—chances are good that you will, at some point, face this and other issues in your daily life.
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can’t have one without the other
Song lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Blessings
Two Kinds of People
1. Un-Doers
2. DoersTwo Kinds of Doers
1. Doers for themselves
2. Doers for others
Two Kinds of Doers for Others
1. Doers for their own glory
2. Doers by gifting—also known as servants [Rom 12:7]
Two Kinds of Servant-Doers
1. Servant-Doers who simply live out their gifting
2. Servant-Doers who serve as unto the Lord [Rom 12:11b]
A Novel Idea
Carol & Jimmy Owens, Mom & Dad to musicians since the fledgling Christian music scene of the 1960s & 70s, have written a suspense novel that moves from the childhood trauma of a young boy to a lifetime of secrets and lies that haunt Sam Cannady, Pastor of a large and influential church. Gets pretty exciting!
To purchase, click on book
To receive Jimmy & Carol’s regular blog (written and designed not only for musicians, but for us reg’lar folks too), go to: http://www.jimmyandcarolowens.com/
Donna’s Corner
Who Do You Listen To?
Your Thoughts & Emotions?
Is it your own voice and your own thinking? Is it your emotions? If you want to listen to God’s voice, you must die to your own thinking, desires and burdens, and submit them to God. “Lean not on your own understanding.” [Proverbs 3:5-6]
“He who trusts in himself is a fool.” [Prov 8:26]
“Woe to those who call evil good—woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” [Isaiah 5:20-21]
Give Him your burdens and anxiety, for He cares for you [1 Peter 5:7], because He daily bears our burdens [Ps 68:19]. Don’t be anxious about anything. [Phil 4:6]
When we are walking close to the Lord, His desires become our desires. [Ps 37:4]
We must to learn to quieten ourselves, our thoughts and emotions. We are in charge of our minds. We are to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:4-5]
If you were talking to the President or Prime Minister you would focus on what He had to say. We want to talk to the King of Kings and listen to what is on His heart.
Others?
Are we just listening to the voice of others?
Who are those others? Parents, teachers, the media, friends, spiritual leaders (prophets, pastors). They all have something to contribute, but only look to others as much as they look to Jesus, and are listening to the Spirit of God, and what they say is in alignment with the Word of God.
I was teaching at a school of young people who ‘fasted’ electronics for three months. They told me, that’s the least they could do for Jesus. They had a heart to hear Him.
The Enemy?
Are we believing lies of the enemy? He brings doubt and unbelief. He is the father of lies. [John 8:44] Unbelief can cut off all intimacy with God. The enemy questions God’s character and what He says. The enemy twists things around, making God look like He is responsible for negative things that happen in our lives.
The enemy can quote and misquote Scripture. [Matt 4:1-11] He brings fears and condemnation. He makes us feel driven. He accuses and brings confusion. He questions our identity—who we are in God’s sight.
Do not give the devil a foothold. [Eph 4:27]
Resist him and stand firm in your faith. [1 Peter 5:6-10]
God’s Voice?
God has created us to hear His voice. We are created for relationship with God. When we are born again of the Spirit, we are His sons and daughters, His heirs. [Romans 8:14-17; John 3:3-8] He will lead us and guide us.
His sheep listen to His voice and He knows them and they follow Him. [John 10:27-30] He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. He will counsel you. [Ps 32:8]
The Holy Spirit living within us is the Spirit of truth and love. [John 14:15-17; 26-27; 15:26; 16:13-14] He is the great counsellor. He wakens me every morning, wakens my ears to listen like one being taught. [Isaiah 50:4-5]
Seven times in the book of Revelation we read, “You who have ears to hear, listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.”
Trust is foundational. Learn to recognize His voice, have faith to believe you are hearing from Him and be obedient out of love for Him. He cares about every detail of your life. He knows every word that comes out of your mouth, nothing in all creation is hidden from God. [Ps 139:1-4; 13-18; Heb 4:13]
He loves you and wants the highest good for you. Listen to His voice. Learn to quieten yourself and have faith to believe the truth of what the Word says. He is the Spirit of truth and the truth will set you free. [John 8:31-36]
Love and Blessings,
One Gathering
Sept 4-5: Singapore: Associates’ Renewal Gathering at Changi Beach Club
with Dean Fujishima and Peter & Donna Jordan. Click here to to register
and Finally . . .
Ponderings in the Night Watches
Do you ever lie awake pondering and wondering about great (and little) things? I do. Recently while sleepless and unSe(a)ttled, I posed myself some questions:
For citizens of The Kingdom of God . . .
Is a passport required? If so,
It’s not in book form.
So is it . . .
A spiritual passport,
A word-of-mouth passport,
Or is it a heart passport?
- Does your Kingdom passport clearly identify you? (new D.O.B.?)
- Can your Kingdom passport be cancelled by the Authorities?
- Does it have ‘issued’ and ‘expiry’ dates?
- Can it be stolen or lost?
- Destroyed by yourself? And if you did, would that give you automatic citizenship in another kingdom?
And if applying for a lost, stolen or destroyed Kingdom of God passport, must a ‘new-birth’ certificate be produced?
Ponder with me.
Till next time,
The Small Print
that often gets missed (but is important to us!)
—and the whole ministry of YWAM Associates—is for the encouragement,
building up, inspiring, refreshing, stimulating and the thought-provoking of the saints.
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