Legalized Gay Marriage

Standards
Laws are important because they set a standard for people of right and wrong. My heart is grieved that our nation now has laws that support gay marriage. I am saddened because our legislature has decided to set their own standards of good and evil. They have decided to do what is right in their own eyes.

That is exactly what Adam and Eve decided to do. They rejected God's ideas and decided to do what they thought was right. Their disobedience brought destruction, judgement, and death. All throughout history, man has tried to do things his own way, but God does not change His standards to suit our desires. Our country's change in laws have not changed God's standards.

Who's Been Rejected?
Gays and lesbians have been pushing for legalized same sex marriage and claim that they have been rejected by our government and not given their rights by law. However, they have not been rejected, they have rejected God and want to continue in their disobedience. No one has a right to do what is wrong. Legalizing same sex marriage was not a matter of neglected rights being restored; it was a matter of our legislature neglecting the Word of God. God's gave us laws to show us our sin and to show us His character. Our legislature has essentially denied man's sinfulness and God's character by this decision.

The Real Issue
However, the issue of gay marriage is not first a legal issue. Gay marriage is an issue in individual hearts. When people reject God, they live life their own way. They create laws to suit themselves, and sometimes they even create a God to suit themselves like the Isrealites did. My heart is not only grieved by the law that was just passed, my heart is grieved for the people who are living in darkness and who do not know God. It is my prayer that God would bring revival among them and change their hearts.

Polluted and Attacked
People's view of sexuality is warped and polluted in many ways. There are many distortions of Biblical sexuality. God created sex to be between one man and woman in a lifelong marriage relationship. Sex is a gift that he created to bring joy and intimacy to marriage. However, our culture accepts sex before marriage, sex with others while you are married, sex with multiple people, sex with the same gender, along with pornography. All of these are distortions of good sex as God intended it. Biblical sex is being attacked in many ways. It is constantly attacked by media and our culture, and now it has been attacked by our country's legislature.  The only way to gaurd our minds against a polluted view of sex is to renew our minds with God's Word (Rom. 12:2).

My Main Concern
As a Christian, I am concerned about the legalization of gay marriage. However, I am less concerned about this law than what this law reflects about the state of people's hearts in our country. People's souls are at stake. People are rejecting the Word of God and aproving of sin. People are attacking God's truth because they love darkness and the light exposes them. People are broken and have a broken view of sexuality and everything else.

There Is Hope!
Thanks be to God that we are not without hope. God can change the hearts of our people in our nation. When people's hearts are changed, we will then see a change in legislature. Join with me in praying for God to send revival to our nation. Pray that people would turn from their sins and stop living their own way. Pray that God would pour out His Spirit and bring men out of darkness into light. Pray that His Word would be the standard we set, that we would not lean on our own understanding, and that men would aknowledge God in all their ways. Then, be a part of the gospel spreading and share it!

By His Grace,
Dallas

Jesus Is My Shepheard

Jesus is my shepherd.
He cares for all my needs.
He pulls me out of danger,
And I follow where he leads.

When I turn aside,
He corrects me with His staff.
He calls, and I hear His voice.
He makes my heart glad.

The good shepheard laid down His life.
He protects His sheep from evil.
He'll bring his flock safely to the fold,
And will destroy the devil.

Jesus is my shepheard,
And I am His lamb.
I'm happy to be close to Him,
And to be led by His hand.

Worthy of Love

Do you know the feeling of fear that someone you want to be loved by will not love you if they knew who you really are? Are you afraid that someone will find out something only you know about yourself? There was another woman who felt this way. She'd been with many men, but she was still trying to be loved. She had had seven husbands, and was with a new man. She found herself face to face with Jesus. She tried to put herself forward as a good woman, but Jesus knew who she was. He did something amazing though. Instead of rejecting her, He told her that He knew who she was, and He still showed her love.

 Perhaps when you find yourself looking at Jesus, you feel that you need to make yourself worthy before He will love you.  Maybe you have tried to do all the right things and hope that God will love you because you have tried so hard. Perhaps you've spent your whole life in sin and know you are not worthy, and you have given up hope. Maybe people in your life have not accepted you and you think God cannot accept you either. If you have spent your whole life working hard to try to be loved, if you have tried to be worthy, there is something I want to tell you. You will never be worthy.

Friend, I have good news though. God has never loved a person worthy of His love. He choses to love the unworthy. God knows who you really are. He chose to love sinners knowing they were sinners. He made a way to salvation for all of us unworthy sinners through His Son's death in our place and resurrection. When Jesus died on the cross, He did it because He chose to love us not because anyone was worthy. It was not about who we are. It was about who He is. He is gracious and that is what He did because of who He is not because of who we are. The best thing to do when you realize you are unworthy is to run to Christ instead of trying to be worthy without Him. Our pride would have us try to be worthy so that we would have grounds to boast. However, you cannot come to Christ with something to offer. It is impossible. All we can come to Him with is repentance.When we embrace God's mercy as unworthy sinners and let go of our pride and attempts to be worthy on our own, we will be welcomed by God and loved. Then, obedience to Him is our joy and freedom. It becomes an expression of love for Him instead of a desperate attempt to be good enough.


Do you obey God to be worthy of His love, or do you obey God out of love because He's worthy? Have you humbly come to Christ as an unworthy sinner, and are you resting in the Savior's love, or are you desprately trying to earn love and have some type of ground for boasting? Perhaps your religious acts have been your attempt to be worthy. Perhaps you have never come to God as a sinner, but you have always tried to put your self forward as a good person like the woman at the well did. That is a weary task. Come to Jesus broken and sinful, and ask for mercy, and He will give you rest. God will not accept you just the way you are. He will accept you only on the account of His Son's death. Ask God to forgive you. He is willing and able to give you mercy because Christ died and rose again for our sins.

" And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be [f]merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

This is a poem I wrote about being unworthy and loved.

-Unworthy Loved-
He knew who I would be
but still created me.
He knows all I have done,
Yet He sent His Son.
Knowing every part of me,
He chose to give mercy.

Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did.
Who knew every sin of mine and not a fault was hid.
I tried to make myself seem worthy.
He knew I wasn't but still loved me.

Come and live, you, who deserve to die.
Come and receive you who cannot buy. 
Come and drink the waters of life.
Come unworthy and be loved by God.

Blessings,
Dallas 

Twenty Things I Have Been Learning Along the Way:

The most important thing in life is knowing God Himself. Even if we gain the whole

world, nothing will profit us if we lose our soul. The only way we may know God is

through faith in Christ, renewal by the Holy Spirit, and reading the Word of God.








Seeking satisfaction with God is better than seeking satisfaction through the world.

Actually the hungrier I get for God, the more satisfied I become! And yet, the more that

I've realized that God is enough for me and am satisfied in Him, the more I am discontent

to only have what I have now of Him. All of my life I want to constantly hunger for Christ

and to become more satisfied in Him.






Without personal application, understanding the meaning of Scripture is worthless.

This is true of all knowledge. In my own personal study of Scripture, I often made

understanding the meaning of it my goal instead of understanding what implications it had

for my life. God showed me my sinful pride and the vanity of this pursuit. By God's grace,

I've learned that the goal of Bible study should never be simply to understand, but also

how to apply the knowledge in my daily life.



Correct doctrine is important, but having correct doctrine without humility and love is worthless. Spiritual knowledge doesn't equal spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is walking by the Spirit, and in love. Love is the fulfillment of the law. It is so much more important to be an expert at keeping the law of love than an expert at understanding spiritual concepts. “If I ...know all the mysteries and all knowledge...but do not have love I am nothing.” 1 Cor. 13:2

Memorizing Scripture is very important. Memorizing Scripture is important because it is our weapon against sin. David said, “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11When Jesus was tempted, He fought with Scripture and said, “it is written...”Memorizing Scripture is important because we can meditate on it when we have it memorized. It is very useful for taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. (1 Cor.10:5)Memorized Scripture is also a source of comfort when I'm afraid or upset. Memorizing scripture is important because we will always have it with us. I've found it very helpful when I'm witnessing, when I have to make a quick decision, when I am without my Bible, and even when I'm trying to understand other passages of Scripture. I get many of my ideas for my writing from the Scriptures that are in my heart. There are so many benefits to always having it with you.





True greatness isn't accomplished by skill, rank, or power but by being a servant and

by humbling ourselves. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”

Matt. 20:26 Jesus Himself said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to

serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” The truly great man follows Jesus's

example and washes the feet of others.



The most important priority is one's relationship with God, not one's ministry to

others. Ministry shouldn't be our focus. It is easy to become people-focused, but as soon

as this happens, we are only doing humanitarian work. We should be God-focused and our

ministry should flow from that.






We must fight sin every day, because we are in a battle. If we let our guard down, and

if we aren't intentional and persistent with fighting sin, we will lose important battles. (See

Eph. 6:10-18)

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around

like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him firm in your faith...” 1 Peter

5:8-9a.








It is important to set aside personal prayer time and Scripture reading. Scripture

says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth

of God.” It is so important to read all of Scripture. While everything we read in the Bible

will benefit us, it is important to make sure we are reading all of Scripture and not missing

anything. I've learned that it is helpful to periodically read straight through Scripture, and

then take time to study individual books. It is by reading all of Scripture that we

understand any of Scripture. Some passages are difficult to understand without the rest of

Scripture. I've found that I pray more throughout the day if I have already spent time in

secret prayer. Jesus frequently went off by Himself to pray. We have a great need to be in

prayer. Jesus was a man of prayer, and Christians should be too. Often, I feel like I wish I

knew better words to say when I pray, but God is pleased with our prayers when they are

spoken with an attitude of childlike humility and a submissive heart that says, “Not my

will, but yours be done.”An excellent book on prayer is, “A Simple Way to Pray” by 

Archie Parrish. It's a tiny book with big print, and inside is Martin Luther's letter to his

barber who wanted to know how to pray. I would highly recommend this book!






It's important to be faithful in little things. The little things are the hardest. We all want

to do great things that make us feel important, but doing the small things well is one of the

most important challenges we'll ever have. I've learned God prepares us for great things in

small ways. When we are faithful with little, He entrusts us with much. Nothing done out

of worship for God is insignificant. The best way to do great things is to yield yourself to

the potter and be faithful where you are. He has to shape you before you are ready for use,

and the greatest thing you can ever do is fulfill God's plan for your life no matter how

many little things it takes. After all, God's will for us is that we be conformed to the image

of His Son (Rom. 8:29).






We must guard against distractions. One of Satan's oldest tactics is distraction. It's easy

to become distracted, but our focus must be on Christ. Even good things can become a

distraction. In fact, Satan loves to make us busy with good things as long as we are

distracted from Christ. The solution to this problem is not to rid ourselves of all our

distractions but to learn how God would have us think and act in regards to whatever is

distracting us. We must learn to exercise self-control and to glorify God in each area of

life. And we must “be of sober Spirit” and “be on the alert” (1Peter 5: )






It's important to honor authority. We may not always agree with the authority figures in

our life, but we must submit to them as to Christ because God put them in our lives and

commands us to obey them. Our hearts are selfish and we want to do things our own way.

From the time we were toddlers, we said, “I can do it all by myself!” God is gracious and

He places authorities in our lives to teach us to submit. Submission is a hard lesson to

learn. Ultimately, we must learn to submit to the Holy Spirit. It is through submission to

the Holy Spirit that we are able to submit to the other authorities in our lives. This is a

lesson I'll always be learning. Christ will always be teaching me to say, “Not my will, but

yours be done.” He obeyed His father perfectly and even submitted himself to men!

Christ's submission amazes me! It is paramount as a Christian to learn to submit our will

to our Father's will. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is the way to

death.”Proverbs 14:12








God can be trusted. He is always faithful to His promises and His Word. He never

changes! Over and over again He has proved this in my personal life and in His Word!








God provides. When I have a need I take it to Christ and He always provides what I need.

It isn't always what I want, but He is faithful to give me all that He knows I need. I'm

learning to Pray (instead of worry) when I have a need. 








Relationships are the most important investment I can make on earth. I've learned

that relationships should always take priority over my plans and goals. It is so easy to

forget this when I have a long list of things I want to do. God is gracious to keep

reminding me of this. The longer I live, the more I understand this truth. Sometimes I

have to chose between finishing my list and loving the people I'm with. I'd rather invest in

people than my plans. 








Handling conflict in a Christlike way is better than avoiding it, responding in our

flesh, or trying to ignore it. Because relationships are valuable, it is worth taking time

to study how to handle conflict. Scripture gives us all that we need to know in order to

do this. One of the things I've learned is that when I am upset at someone else, I need to

spend time in prayer examining why I am upset. Sometimes I am upset because of selfish

reasons and not because the other person has sinned. Sometimes the other person has

sinned, but I can overlook it whenever I remember all that God has forgiven me. If I

cannot overlook it and I'm still offended, I try take time examining my own part in the

conflict. I ask God to show me how the other person is feeling and any sins that I need to

repent of. Then I ask God to help me to be humble and truly listen, and I go seek

restoration. First, I ask for forgiveness if I have sinned. (It's important not to make excuses

when asking for forgiveness. Like Adam and Eve we often have the desire to make

excuses, but God doesn't accept them, and we aren't truly repenting if we are still making

excuses.) After, this I tell the other person as graciously as possible how they have

offended me and what I would prefer them to do in the future. Then it's time to listen and

ask questions to try to understand the other person because they are usually frustrated too.

The goal when talking about conflict cannot be to prove ourselves innocent or to retaliate.

It must be done in a loving way and we must be ready to forgive. We must seek

restoration when we have conflicts and not leave them unresolved. I am still learning to do

this. God's grace and Word is sufficient to guide and help us in every conflict we will ever

face. Handling conflict is definitely one of the most important skills I've learned. An

excellent book with Biblical principals for handling conflict is, “If you Bite and Devour”

by Alexander Strauch. He explains in depth that when we are faced with conflict,

Christians must act in the spirit with love and humility; control their tongue, anger, and
criticism; and pursue reconciliation and peace. There are hundreds of helpful scriptures in
this book!



It truly is more blessed to give than to receive!






It's important to be teachable and to seek counsel. I've learned the hard way that pride

is destructive, and that I won't learn what God wants me to learn, unless I am humble and

I listen to others. Instead of resisting instruction, I should actually seek it! Wisdom is

precious and should be sought above riches. It can only be gained through humility.






Momentary pleasure is a destructive and subtle idol. I've learned this from experience.

Living for pleasure and seeking to live a comfortable life is dangerous. If that is our

ultimate goal, we won't be willing to obey God. He said, “If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matt. 16:24 Following Christ

isn't comfortable. It's downright hard and will cost you everything, but true joy is found in

following Christ. We can easily be tricked, as Adam and Eve were, to trade eternal joys

for momentary pleasures. Worldly pleasure is counterfeit. Scripture teaches, “In [God's]

presence there is fullness of joy; at [His] right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm

16:11. This is a very important thing to learn, and one of the most important things God

has been teaching me. Satan still entices people with momentary pleasures, but we can

resist him through Christ's strength and he will flee from us.






It is important to be thankful and enjoy God's gifts. I'm learning to say, “This is the

day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Sometimes I forget to give God

the praise He is due for all the ways He has graciously blessed me. I don't want to be like

the lepers who were healed but forgot to come back and thank Jesus. I want to remember

to praise Him. Scripture commands us to do this, and I'm learning to bless the Lord at all

times and ascribe to Him the glory He's due. Psalm 34:1 Psalm 96:8






Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for God's glory

alone, and 

Scripture alone is to be our authority. These are known as the five solas of

Scripture and are central doctrines in my faith. These are the very heartbeat of the Bible

and Christianity.






Christ is returning and it's important to be ready! Scripture teaches He will come like

a thief in the night. We should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Because He's coming back, it is important to be saved and to be faithfully living for

Christ!


In Christ,
Dallas

Hunger Me For You

May I hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mat 5:6)
And be satisfied with your likeness.(psalm 17:15)
May I feast on true bread and be filled with true drink. (John 6:55)
May my soul pant for You, as a deer pants for the brook. (Psalm 42:1)
May the doing of your will be my food (John 4:34)
And the nearness of you my good. (Psalm 73:28)
May I be filled with the fullness of your love.(Eph 3:19)
And live by every word proceeding from the mouth of God. (Luke 4:4)

O bread that came from heaven!
O manna divine!
Come fill my heart and renew my mind.

O pure and living water!
O precious cup of blood!
Refresh my soul, and cleanse me, my God!

You drank the dreaded cup of wrath, 
that I might drink from the river of life! (Heb 9:22, Rev 22:1)
Your body was broken as bread for my sins,
 that I might eat and be justified! (1 Cor 11:24)

I am unworthy to eat at your table,
but you wash my feet and sit by my side.
Yes, your table is filled with tax collectors and sinners.
'Twas for the unrighteousness you came to die.

You will clothe me in white to be your Bride! And I shall feast with my groom, the Lamb of God!

Slain for my sin,
Yet risen again.
O precious supper,
Thy body and blood.

Tiny Evidences

Tiny evidences dainty and white
Each unique in shape and size

A gallery of masterpieces
Covering the landscape with white fleeces

Gently drifting all around
A peaceful song without sound

Myriads melted in years gone by
Yet new creations still drift from the sky

Never once a duplicate
 Every one detailed and intricate

Inescapable proofs dance before our eyes
The evidence of God that cannot be denied

As endless as the snowflakes designs
Is the greatness and power of God divine

A Different Kind of Birthday

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I held him in my hands. He was perfect. He was so precious and tiny. My little brother Nathaniel Asher, "Nash, " was born on February the thirteenth of this year. Usually, people think of birthdays as the day a life began, but I don't.

My brother never cried when he was born. He never grasped my finger, never looked at me, and never took a breath in my arms. He never took a breath at all, but he lived. His life did not begin on his birthday; no one's life does. Birthdays do not mark the beginning of a unique genetic makeup that only one person will ever have. They do not mark the first beat of a heart. Birthdays do not mark the beginning of a soul's existence. Birthdays mark the day a person, who already exists, enters this world and leaves the environment of their mother's womb.

Nash had a different kind of birthday than most people. His life was already completed when he was born. He was never issued a birth certificate acknowledging his life, but I know that he lived.
I held him in the palm of my hand. Born at seventeen weeks gestation, he was only five inches long. I wondered how someone so small could take up so much room in my heart. I loved him very much, but I never got to tell him so. I never got to know who he was or what he was like; I just held his lifeless body and rocked him. I kissed his tiny forehead and held his delicate fingers. No one could ever convince me that Nash was not a person.

I wish I would have had the privilege of knowing him and seeing his personality. I wish I could have listened to him, made him laugh, and shared life with him. Although Nash was never known by a single person, his little life was important and God knows him. God is the one who formed him and fashioned his soul.

Fetuses are human beings. I am not a scientist, but it was not hard to see that my brother was not an undefined blob of disorganized cells, and I did not even need a microscope or magnifying glass to observe this. He had fingers, toes, ears, legs, arms, ribs, eyes, a nose, and even a tongue. He had everything we have. Fetuses are just a smaller version of normal-sized people. They are not disorganized random cells. They have all the same parts as us, and they are put together the same way. They are just much smaller and more delicate.

Nash taught me that birthdays are not the beginning. Life begins at conception. I will forever remember my brother's life although it ended before his birthday. I held him in my hand for only a few minutes, but I will always hold him in my heart. I am so thankful for the life of Nash, and I will always love him. Birthdays are days when we celebrate someone's life, but I'm learning that life should be celebrated every moment because life is a vapor.

"For you formed my inmost parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."Psalm 139:16 

Overcomers

Whenever people say hurtful things to us, our tendancy is to want to defend ourselves and pay them back. We may be tempted to react out of our feelings rather than respond in love. Scripture instructs us about what to do in these situations.

Overcome Evil With Good
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21)." If we respond to evil with evil, we worsen the problem. If we are going to overcome evil, we must respond in love. This requires action on our part. Evil is not overcome by silence. We must overcome evil by blessing the very people who are mistreating us. "Bless those who pursecute you; bless and do not curse." Romans 12:24

Act In Love
"Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14)." We are never permitted by Scripture to act out of our feelings. We must act in love. First Corinthians chapter thirteen is a good Biblical deffinition of love. Love is essential to honoring Christ because love is the fulfillment of the law.

Do Not Retaliate
"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone... (Romans 12:17a)." The world's idea of justice is retaliation. However, retaliating is not the same thing as seeking justice. "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord (Romans 12:19)."

Seek to Reconcile 
We should, "[Be] diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:3 When others speak unkind things to us, we must examine what they are saying, and if we have done anything wrong we should repent and ask for forgiveness. Whatever the problem is, we should seek to restore our relationship with the person.

Love wants to reconcile. 
Pride retaliates.

May we be overcomers!