Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Gambling for Sodomites.


When I started this blog, Mr. Cathay had just made his remark about gay marriage and God's judgment; and was being reamed by the press. People were either buying Chic-Fil-A in protest or boycotting it. The blog title was “Chic-Fil-A, Homosexuals, and other tasty subjects.”

Now, over a year later, the brother has gone on and a few days ago gay marriage was legalized. Us Christian folks are getting inundated with “judgment sermons” and I see the “end times” prophets are in full swing. The blog seems more timely now, but it does need a new name. (Hopefully one will come as I write.)

You all know the story of Sodom & Gomorrah. God decided to destroy the place because their actions were stinking up his realm. Homosexual rape gangs were roaming the streets. I will bet my bottom dollar that heterosexual rape gangs were active too. We straits are always a little behind the current trends, but we do catch up. Sodomites and Gomorrahites(?) were participating in every sin known and a few that weren’t. God had enough.

God chooses to introduce a game-changer at this time. (The entrance of Jesus was another major game change, but that is another blog.) He involves Abraham in his decision making. The will of God was to destroy the city and he shares this with Abraham. Abraham intercedes on behalf of Lot, his nephew, asking if the cities can be saved if righteous people can be found. God agrees. (Yes, I know it was two angles/men.) Abraham starts at 40 and negotiates down to 10 righteous people. God agrees. The situation still stank, but God was going to ignore it.

Abraham was a gambler and was hedging his bet. Abraham knew that Lot was down there with his family, herdsmen, and servants. All were circumcised; all were Gods people. He was betting that out of several hundred people, ten would be doing what God wanted them to do.

Besides the Sodomites, no one was more surprised when the fire started falling than Abraham. The two cities were destroyed not because of their sin, but because there were not ten of God's people, being God's people.

Everybody has discovered 2 Chronicles 7:14, I had it in the original draft back when. It reminds me of back in the 80s when AIDS first hit, everyone, could quote Romans 1. (I think Rom. 1 is one the most misinterpreted chapters in the Bible, but that is, yet, another blog.)

Read the verse. Don't go too crazy with it. There is a whole lot of crazy right now, with the gay marriage ruling; A lot of it, if not most of it, on the Christian side.

Barry
Hope I have not butchered the Word too much...











Sunday, November 4, 2012

Lot's chance to be a Abraham or a Moses.

This is my first Christian blog. I mean, my first blog about Biblical stuff. Most of the time my Christian musings are reserved for family who can't get away or for Pastors who are to polite to tell me the leave them alone. Putting your ideas out there for public viewing is a whole different thing. It is down right scary. So here goes. (ouch)


While I was doing some research on Sodom and Gomorrah for a blog on what Mr. Cathey said several weeks back, presenting my take on the judgement of the nation; I got sidetracked by a verse I had never paid any attention to before.  (I will do that blog later, I think my homosexual friends and family will find it interesting.)

Most of us know the story. For those who don't, you can find it here Genesis 18 & 19. Lot, who is a bit of a  historical weenie, has been led out of the city by the angels and was told to go to the mountains. He asks can he go to this little city instead and the angel says yes. Here is the verse that caught my eye.

"Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar." Genesis 19:22 KJV (emphasis added)

 "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar." Genesis 19:22 NKJV (emphasis added)

The angel said he could not do anything; not that he wouldn't do anything. He was sparing Lot because of Abraham. Here is the "what if." What if Lot had said, as he said before, "No Lord. I have daughters back there and friends. What if I go back there and warn them. What if I go and spend my life warning them of your judgement. Will you hold off until my time is done. Maybe I can win a few."

The story may have been one of a weak man who grew a pa ... backbone and stood in the gap for a city. Maybe judgement, or the penalty for the judgement, would have been averted. Years later Moses did this same thing for the Jewish nation and they were saved from the penalty of their transgressions. This is what Jesus does for us right now. 

We know that Lot did not say "what if" and we know what happened next. God foresaw the outcome of the multitude of decisions Lot could have made. He could see what Lot could have been. I wonder if God is saddened when He knows what we could be if ...

Thanks to Hulu we did a X-Files marathon a few weeks back. One of  later episodes was staring Burt Reynolds as God, or implied his character was God. Burt looked at the the bad guy, who killed by Numerology, and said "why don't you surprise me and turn around and walk out of here" the guy did not and went in and killed the girl. 

Barry
Hope I have not butchered the Word to much