Many people feel completely alone in this world. Even some people who are rich and famous and seem to be surrounded by people who adore them still feel lonely. In this video, I hope to help those who have felt in despair because of loneliness by sharing some words of truth from the Lord Jesus. The truth is that you are never alone.
Sometimes people say, “I’m a good person, so won’t God let me into heaven even if I didn’t believe in him?” Well, how long would you let someone live in your house and use all your stuff if that person didn’t acknowledge your existence at all? This video talks about why you need to acknowledge God and make the decision to be part of his family. If you aren’t part of the family, you don’t get to stay. Eventually you’ll have to get off God’s couch.
An evangelical Bible thumping Christian talks about God’s love for the LGBT+ community and gives Biblical reasons for supporting the LGBT+ community and same-sex marriage. If you are part of the LGBT+ community, you have a place in the family of God.
Most verses from the Bible are read from the New International Version 2011.
Books mentioned in this video:
God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
Torn by Justin Lee
A Change of Affection by Beckett Cook
Same-Sex Attraction and the Church by Ed Shaw
Credit is due to Matthew Vines for several points made in this video. For deeper discussion on the verses discussed in the video I recommend reading God and the Gay Christian.
My basis for believing in a Creator is NOT based on subjective experiences. I believe in a Creator because it is the only logical conclusion I can come to based on the complex creation I see around me. It is not logical for me to believe that all the complex systems needed for life could come together without an intelligent being.
But who is this Being? That is a harder question to answer. I have come to the conclusion that the God of the Bible is the Creator. I made a video about the reasons I believe the Bible. Here is the link if you are interested:
https://youtu.be/P3adVK7qO3w “My Unscientific Reasons for Believing the Bible”
Now, regarding experiences: I don’t think our experiences with God necessarily confirm that our beliefs about God are all correct. It is possible and probable that I don’t have all the right ideas about God. But I don’t think God waits until all of our ideas are correct before he interacts with us. Who could he have a relationship with if he waited for us to have a perfect image of him? All humans are (in some ways) feeling around in the dark when it comes to truth. Some people have more truth than others. I truly believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, and the only hope for humanity. But I have Muslim friends who seem to have a lot more truth than some Christians I know. Our ability to receive truth has less to do with our religion, and more to do with our openness to receive from God.
When I say that I can’t deny God because of my experiences, I’m not talking about my foundational belief in a Creator (which is acquired by simple reasoning). I am talking about 20 years of daily having my life touched in a variety of ways. I’m touched by the words of the Bible, I’m constantly enamored with the perfection of God’s plan of salvation. And though subjective, I’ve had hundreds of experiences of God’s presence. I’ve seen many people instantly healed of things. I’ve seen a broken bone healed in 30 seconds. I am daily talking with God and being in relationship with him. All of these experiences COULD be explained away. Group thinking and our imagination are powerful forces indeed. But if I dismiss all these experiences as group thinking or imagination, and I start from scratch trying to understand the universe, I still have to explain my existence. The only worldview that makes any sense to me is the one I have. I don’t have all the answers. I can’t explain why God seems to be deeply involved in my life while people in Yemen are in dire straits. But I can’t get around the fact of God’s existence. And I can’t come up with a better plan to fix the world than the one that the Bible describes.
The seduction of sin is very powerful. It is very easy to be enticed, which is why the world is so messed up. But the beauty of God’s plan to save us is that it doesn’t require us to be powerful enough to overcome the sin. He was powerful for us. God did what was necessary to save the weakest scumbag in existence.
What would you do if you were the all-powerful Being in the universe? What would you use that power for? God used His power to become your servant.