I John 3*

This is a wonderful chapter. Sometimes when I write, I feel like I come off very legalistic, and I don't want to. I do want to understand God's word correctly. I don't want modern thinking to influence my interpretation.  I also don't want my legalistic past to influence my thinking. I John 3:18, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."  Actions speak louder than our writing and talking is what this says to me. Are my actions pleasing to God my Creator? I do believe we need to stand for truth in this day and age, even when it is unpopular. We need to love people even when we don't agree with their lifestyle. I hope that is the way I come off when I may quote a scripture dealing with homosexuality. I feel like no matter how I try, I will still sound like a bigot when I stand firm for what I believe is the word of God. This society wants to legitimize homosexual behavior, and anything, any opinion other than of total acceptance will not be accepted by the mainstream liberals. Maybe I am wrong but that is how they come off to me. I am not against a civil union granting them partnership rights, but I am against changing the definition of marriage. I think this is a centuries old definition based on the Bible and needs to be maintained. I believe when the bible talks about calling evil good, and good evil; this conversation fits that. This is a difficult area, they are increasing in numbers and want to promote their lifestyle. These are just words about how I think. I hope my actions come off better than my words. I do want to be true to my God, I do want to stand for truth as I see it. If I am blind in this area, I pray to God to open my eyes.
As I think on this subject, and a blog I wrote earlier about how I believe it is a lot \of little choices we make throughout life that define us. Not just about homosexuality, but how about a liar? Is it not the same? They choose to tell lies and it becomes easier and easier and they become better and better at telling them. I remember a car salesman I once worked with. I was nineteen and washing cars on a car lot. This 1968 Camaro or maybe it was a firebird, came into the car lot on a trade-in. When I cleaned up the car the back window had these little stickers on it from almost all fifty states. I had to scrape them all off as part of my original detail. I do know they replaced the engine in that car. I heard the salesman telling a prospective buyer that the car had never been out of the state. Why he would say the exact opposite of what was probably the truth, I'll never understand. Any other car on the lot he probably wouldn't have made that statement. But that car that had stickers from almost all fifty states, he says has never been out of the state. It wasn't an important detail to sell the car if the car had traveled out of the state. I think he just practiced lying. He was a nice guy and he actually got me a 20  cent raise, because he thought I was a pretty good detailer and wanted to keep me. He made choices to lie when it probably would have been just as easy to tell a truthful good point about the car. How about me, I had an affair once with a lady I worked with when I was going thru my first divorce. I was still married, but do you know it became easier and easier to develop a relationship outside of marriage every time I did.  Choices I made about my life one at a time, changed me from a man who had only been intimate with one woman for almost the first 20 years of my adult life to a man that has had multiple relationships outside of marriage, and multiple marriages. Once again I have made choices and have chosen to be a faithful spouse for over six years now. The choices we make in life define us. I know I went a wrong direction for a while but I do want to be like Jesus. We learn what Jesus is like thru reading his word. God didn't create me to be an adulterer, he just created an imperfect human with the ability to choose my way. May I continue to make wise choices in my life, that align with God's word.  God Bless, LVZ.