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It is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord when we come to Him just as we are . We recognize that we are sinners and that we need a Saviour in Jesus Christ,we know with our hearts and mind that we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are convicted and understand the love that He has for us.
We need the Lord in our life because there is a void in our life that nothing can fill it 'He is waiting for us to come to Him ,we just need to call upon Him and He will fill our needs.
We come to him as sinners at our lowest point and humble ourselves before Him and ask for forgiveness . The Bible is a great guide on how to live our life and we understand the readings of the Bible because of the love that we have in our heart and mind for the Lord.
The main emphasis on coming to the Lord is that we wanted to change our ways ,to have a true change of heart for the Lord to repent of our sins,that we are tired of living in our sins and want forgiveness.
Last edited by noland123; 11-15-2008 at 09:54 PM..
Don't confuse the phrase "come as you are" with "accept you as your are".
You quoted a part of my post in which I specifically referenced acceptance, but responded with all kinds of words about coming as you are. There's a difference. ACCEPTING someone as they are means just that....you accept them as they are without demanding something to change in exchange for your acceptance.
Exactly! That was the point I was trying to make.
Jesus says "come to me with everything" (which was the point of the OP).
If we had no need of change, or were completely self-sufficient or OK with how we were, and just wanted Jesus to say "I'm ok, you're ok" why would we come to Jesus? No, we come to Jesus because we recognize our needs, and know that He loves us and can help us.
Quote:
If I have to stop being a gay man in order to be acceptable to God....and you will agree that is true....
Why do you think that?
I'm not sure where you're getting that.. but you've made a few unfounded statements about me, at least.. for one, you are NOT an abomination. (Or if you are, I am too! )
OK, got that one out of the way.
To analyze your above statement, there is NOTHING we can do in order to be acceptable to God. Absolutely nothing. Every single one of us is stained by sin.
When we come to God through Jesus, repenting of our sinfulness, and realizing that we are unworthy.. and accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us, Jesus' sacrifice makes us worthy. (I know that you know that.. and I'm not saying that you have not done that.. just trying to figure out what you meant by that statement.)
We all have our struggles and temptations with sin, and will have this until we die, but Jesus is there for us.
Let me ask you something. What does "being gay" mean to you? Is it an act, or a characteristic of one's identity?
Just answer that question for me, and then I'll pick back up with this.
I don't know what it means to me, because I am not "gay".
From the bible, we know that the "act" is sin, along with many other "straight" acts which many Christians conveniently ignore, as many people conveniently point out.
But if you are meaning "tendencies", then I don't know. A tendency toward sin is not necessarily sin, or we'd all be in trouble. And without Jesus, we would be.
I don't know what it means to me, because I am not "gay".
From the bible, we know that the "act" is sin, along with many other "straight" acts which many Christians conveniently ignore, as many people conveniently point out.
But if you are meaning "tendencies", then I don't know. A tendency toward sin is not necessarily sin, or we'd all be in trouble. And without Jesus, we would be.
(excuse my ramblings)
Okay, let me ask you something from a different perspective:
You're a married man, right? Are you in love with your wife?
That I understand, and I believe it's not God that's standing you up on prom night, it's Christians who don't back up what they've said (to you).
Does God accept you as you are? Yes, He's said so.
Will you be loved if you enter in to a church? Maybe so, maybe no.
I admit to being offended at times when I read something that I don't agree with, but I understand that someone, somewhere may be getting what they need at this particular time.
Stop expounding upon your answers. Just respond to the questions straight out, with no extra commentary.
Okay, you say "yes" - you're in love with your wife.
How do you know you are?
Aquila, you and I both know that discussions on love vs. lust vs. what is God-sanctioned vs. inborn tendencies vs. God makes no mistakes vs. if God makes no mistakes what about me vs. whatever, seldom leads to a fruitful, healthy discussion.
We go round and round in circles, and people get mad. We try to figure out all the details, loopholes, scriptures, and get all confused. We're talking about things that we really probably will never understand in this life.. Since I am not walking in your shoes, I will never fully understand you, and vice versa.
THAT is what my OP is about.. Jesus wants us (me and you) to come to HIM with it. HE understands, and will never change.
(AND just to set the record straight, God makes no mistakes!)
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