Category: Salvation

Posted on

What is your position on Christians who struggle with homosexuality and the gay lifestyle?

You are welcome at Becker Bible Ministries, Inc!

What a dilemma you are struggling with! To be honest to yourself as the person that the LORD God created places you directly in the path of sin, but to deny your true self causes you to move closer to Him with only part of your self.

In my mind, holding back from having a complete relationship with the LORD God through Jesus Christ because you can only share a part of yourself is just as much of a sin as any of the sins of nature recorded in his Word.

First, you must be true to who you are if you seek to have a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and the LORD God. You must come to them with your complete mind, heart and soul. If you hold back a part of your self because it is judged a sin by man’s interpretations of the Word of God, then man is stopping you from moving closer to Him.

The farther away you are from Jesus Christ, the bigger the dilemma of your struggles become. Soon you find yourself on a path of loneliness and shame, with confusion to who you really are, your unworthiness to come to God, and the devil himself whispering words of judgment to you to prevent you from ever walking forward to Jesus.

In my opinion, there are many different kinds of homosexuality and heterosexuality in the world today.

  1. The Nasties – Many sexual deviants attempt to destroy the innocent souls in liberal game playing that encourages a gay or straight lifestyle with sexual vulgarities that shock and horrify traditional society. Most usually, these movements of depravity are initiated by Lucifer as he uses the lust of people to move them toward wickedness. These types of homosexual and heterosexual activities are sinful and will be judged harshly by Jesus Christ, and the doer will indeed be punished for these nasty deeds.
  2. The Abused – Innocent souls who have embraced their sexual preferences as a result of abuse in their childhood. These sexual preferences surely will not be weighed the same as the doers of wicked nasties, by Jesus Christ. I personally believe that the Abuser will be accountable to all sin that the abused has done as a direct result of that abuse.
  3. The Born – Now we get to the classification that you seem to fit. You are what you are, and you’ve known for a long time. You are what Jesus Christ made. True homosexuals and true heterosexuals are not sinners! HOWEVER, many of the sexual acts of homosexuals and heterosexuals are sin, and these sins are listed briefly in his Word, and quite strongly in the hearts of those who love Jesus Christ.

My advice is to quit trying to make yourself perfect and sin free before you establish a close relationship with Jesus Christ. It isn’t going to work. Every one of us is too weak, too sinful, to ever make ourselves perfect and clean before we approach Him!

Come to Jesus Christ just how you are! He loves you just the way you are! He knows who you love, and he knows how you love, and he knows all of the dilemmas you are facing as you struggle with these issues. If he wants you to change, he will gently guide you to that change in His Time and in His Way.

As your relationship with Jesus Christ grows, he may change your thoughts and heart gently and steadily and move you toward the heterosexual world. He may ask you to give up your sexuality in this life in service to him, with promises of great reward for your dedicated sacrifice on the New Earth. And, this is important, He may keep your heart and mind and thoughts and spirit toward your love of same sex just the way you are right now, and give you teaching and guidelines in how to live righteously with who you are and continue to grow to His expectations.

There is a way for you to have a true and close relationship with Jesus Christ and still be you. The trick of it is giving Jesus Christ the control, and letting him lead you to the path he has chosen for you, with the loving relationship of people he has led your way that are walking the same path toward Him.

Most importantly, keep walking toward Jesus Christ in spite of those who condemn you in their judgments. It is the sinners of great faith that Jesus Christ loves the most!

God’s blessings in your journey!

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv.

Posted on

Heaven will Dissolve with Fire!

One of the biggest tricks that Satan has established in the world is to confuse the Word of God, and allow the common men of the the world to define Heaven. Satan did this in an effort to prevent people from ever feeling the need to walk toward the LORD God, bow their knee, accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, or be baptized in Christ and the Holy Spirit

The trick is perpetuated on unsuspecting worldly people, by making them believe that Heaven is for everyone that is good, and that it will be the dwelling place of all good people for eternty. Heaven is falsely purported to be the final place where all of your wishes are granted to you, and Christianity is defined as one who is “good enough to get to Heaven”.

Heaven nor Christianity is not what the world believes it to be.

Heaven is the current home to the LORD God and all of His Spirits, Jesus Christ, the resurrected faithful Christians, and angels. Heaven is not going to last forever. There is going to be a new Heaven established when the New Earth is established. The current Heaven will dissolve with fire and come to an end, as things are reordered and renewed, and those who oppose the LORD God’s rule are brought to justice.

Faithful Christians that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have been baptized in the Baptism of Redemption, and have received of the Holy Spirit, and faithfully Walk the walk of Christ, are promised to NEVER DIE again! For this specific group of believers, and because of the resurrection of our Christ, our souls leave our body upon our death, and are immediately transported to Heaven, where new bodies are given us. We are in Heaven for one purpose…to rest for a while….to recuperate and prepare for our new lives on the New Earth, that will be ruled by our Christ.

Not all Christians even get the opportunity to go to Heaven for this rest. If a Christian has not walked the specific walk layed out in God’s Word, and has not received the Baptism of Redemption, then he will not go to Heaven temporarily, but will sleep in his grave for a while. When the Lord Jesus Christ resurrects all of the dead in their grave on the Day of Rapture, just before the raising of the live Christians to Him. These Christians will receive salvation because of their belief, and join the other faithful Christians in Heaven, to later go on and assume their positions on the New Earth.

I would garner a guess, however, that those Christians who had the opportunity to follow the Word of God while alive, but made no effort to comply completely, will be likely destined to more lowly positions upon the New Earth.

To be a Chrisitian and elgible for a time in Heaven requires a strict and narrow walk in accordance with the Word of God, and with Jesus Christ as your Master and King. Anything less will lead you to your grave for awhile, with promise of facing Jesus Christ on Judgment Day and explaining why you called Him Savior, but failed to honor the Word of God.

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv.

“9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. “11 ¶ [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” (2 Peter 3:9-14 KJV)

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1 KJV)

Posted on

Endure with Hope

One summer day my family was lazily floating in individual inner tubes down the Clearwater River. It was the perfect day and the perfect time, and the slow moving river would offer a little excitement every once in a while with a tiny rapid or two. We’d hit those rapids with excitement, shoot down the river for a couple hundred yards, and then settle back down to the gentle flow of normalcy.

The perfect day was suddenly interrupted by horrible screams of animals piercing our peace from somewhere upriver. We all turned our inner tubes as quickly as we could, and scanned the river for signs of the terrible noises that were screaming behind us.

Black clumps of hair, seven of them, were struggling to stay afloat. Kittens, an apparent burden to their owner, had been tossed out the car window into the river. We watched in horror as one, and then another, gave up their struggles of survival, and sank below the surface of the water.

They were so far from us, that we could not get to them in time to rescue. I remember shouting as loud as I could to my son to follow me upstream, as we tried to figure out how to help drowning animals out of our reach.

It was that shout that drew the attention of one of the kittens that was farthest from our grasp. That kitten focused on us, and suddenly changed direction in the river, and started paddling toward us. He had over a half mile to swim, and his brothers and sisters were going under and drowning in front of him.

We knew the chances of the kitten reaching us seemed hopeless, but we watched the last kitten swim with the determination of one with Hope.

A mile and forty minutes later, that little kitten made it to our tubes, and we quickly scooped it from the water, held it tight, and let it catch its breath. It survived because he had hope of rescue, from seeing salvation floating far ahead of him. Where his brothers and sisters had given up, he endured, because he knew he could.

Scientists have found the same conditioning in rats. To test their theory that rats can have hope, they put them in a container of water. The rats would struggle to swim, but at some point give up, and begin to drown after a few short minutes. At the moment when drowning was imminent, the Scientist would reach down and pull the rat out of the water.

The next time the rat was tested with the same conditions, he was able to swim for hours, rather than minutes. It was the hope, the knowledge of rescue, which gave him the strength to go on.

Christians endure and survive because of hope. It is hope in our salvation, in our rescue, in our survival, in our eternal life, and in our loving Savior Jesus Christ, that gives us the strength to continue in spite of all odds.

There is no doubt that we go through many trials and tribulations. There is no question that we suffer from persecutions because of our faith. It is well known that the pains and hardships of a Christian who walks faithfully are sometimes overwhelming to those looking from the outside.

But we have HOPE, and it is that HOPE that let’s us survive to live another day. Our enemies from the darkness do not have HOPE.

When attacks are coming your way, remember and endure! It is endurance that comes from Hope, and if you are a Christian, you are able to go that extra mile to survive another day. So have patience, complete the Works He Wills you to do, and have full assurance of hope unto the End!

“For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10-12 KJV)

Posted on

Whiners Angry with the LORD God

Sometimes my job as Teacher gives me more wiggle room than that of a Preacher. Preachers have to toe the line to the congregations that employ them. They are expected to say the things that are usually said within that Church, and to avoid the unfamiliar homilies from other places. Visiting the sick in the hospital is usually one of the top tasks expected of all preachers, and how well they comfort the sick, the dying and the mourners defines not only how popular they are among their Congregation, but also how long they will keep their job.

My boss is Jesus Christ. As long as I’m telling it the way His Word expresses, I’m okay. I don’t have to leave feel good messages, or words of comfort, or even be nice if the situation and my King does not demand it.

The good news is most of the time I am nice, especially to the sick, the dying and the mourners. Today, however, I am not going to be.

People of the World, People of the Kingdom, People of the Law, People of Servitude! One thing is assured; everyone is going to suffer and everyone is going to die!

The LORD GOD has willed that death come to sin. Since all people have sin, and the power of sin does not lose it’s hold over a person until death, you can be very certain that death will come to every person alive, regardless of how “nice” and “perfect” they are. Whether that death takes place in the natural way of the ceasing of life with a burial in the grave until resurrected on Judgment Day, or within the Baptismal Waters of Jesus Christ and resurrected immediately upon bodily death to the Kingdom of Heaven. EVERYONE DIES!

Before death, you can also be assured that suffering will happen to each of us! Our worst sufferings may happen when we are young and developing, or middle age and struggling, or old age and remembering! It doesn’t matter when; DEATH is gonna come! It doesn’t matter whether you are destined for great things, whether you are faithful and righteous, whether you are “good people” of whether you are wicked! It’s going to happen!

Sometimes the LORD God chooses the course of troubles that come to people, and sometimes He turns His back and allows troubles to come. Sometimes He leads people into hard times to harden them into righteous responders, and sometimes he leads people into soft places so they can recover.

If you read His Holy Word of God, then you can understand His Ways. If you do not have a relationship with Him, you will never understand His Spirit, His Nature or His Will.

If you have chosen to live a life of the world, bereft of the LORD God’s Things, then do not come to me seeking compassion for your sickness and approaching death unless you want to learn of Him and the salvation of Jesus Christ through faith of His Resurrection and promised redemption of your sins.

I don’t care whether you are angry at God for letting your perfect and good life be tainted with a little struggle and a little sadness. I know that many live their lives in a perfect and good way, come from “good stock” and firmly believe that their goodness will prevent them from having bad things come to them. Bullpucky!

And then when death comes and the “good” worldly person becomes the “saint” in legend, and people speak of the deceased being in Heaven and at peace, I usually hold my tongue, when I think of the times that dead person rejected Jesus Christ, mocked the Holy Spirit, and cursed God.

The truth is that the LORD God gives every living person a chance to come toward Him at some point in life. If those opportunities are rejected, then so be it. If you are of the world, and proud that you can be a “good” person without God, that is fine with me; embrace your choice, man-up, and go to your grave with pride that you lived the life and chose the death you wanted. Don’t come to me at the end and be angry at God and asking why.

If you reject Him and His Things in your worldly life, then He will not be helping you to understand the things happening to you in your suffering and death! Just in defining your life as “good” and your rewards “deserving” separates you from all of us past sinners who absolutely need the salvation of Jesus Christ and His promised redemption to squeeze into Heaven, and one day help establish the New Earth.

Imperfect and sinful people are offered a choice to live an eternal life guided by God, and overcome death through their faith in Jesus Christ. Wordly people choose their life of pefectness and goodness that one day leads to them rotting in their graves until they are resurrected at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

If you are old enough, and wise enough to make the choice of your way of life, then make it. Quit whining to me about the loneliness and pain that will come to you on your deathbed if you choose to go your own way with the world.

Posted on

Do you think that you may be dying?

Man praying

Right before death comes to people in natural ways, the body begins a deterioration, and the mind comprehends the possibility that the downhill decline is leading to death. Strong spiritual Christian leaders can often perceive the “preparation” of the soul for the death or resurrection process that occurs at the same time life begins to slow down and the body declines. While always a sad part of life when we lose those we love and like, there is a joyous ending when we watch saved Christians pass away. We know we will see them again, and we know they are in the presence of Jesus and in the place of Heaven that heals, comforts, and restores them to their truest selves. But, sadly, we also mourn the loss of those that we think unsaved, because of the wasted life of things that might have been available to them if they had only made the choice of Christ.

My early Methodist upbringing often focused upon the Scripture verse that says the “last are first and the first last:”

“Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” (Matthew 19:28-30)

The Methodist unsaved, especially the men, took advantage of this declaration of Christ, by committing to themselves to ask for salvation from Christ at the very last moment. They resolved to live the life they chose until the very last minute of their lives on the earth.  At that moment, they reasoned, they would give a shout out to the Lord Jesus Christ to save them, and they were guaranteed a spot in Heaven.  I kid you not; many men I knew that went to after church events with their wives, and I heard this claim to Methodist salvation at the last moment of life many, many times. Sadly, I watched these same men in dying process and attended their funerals. I observed in almost all cases, by the time they should have been shouting out to the Lord for that hoped for salvation, they were instead in a coma, feeble, or mentally changed to the point they were unable to publicly declare or privately ask for the salvation to occur.

Last month, I attended a big event with a great deal of people. I saw three, maybe four people that have begun the process of preparation to die. I do not know any of their faiths, do not know whether they follow Christ as their Savior, and do not know if they have accepted Him and received salvation in their private lives. However, just in case they have not done this, I thought it prudent to offer the steps to salvation:

Step 1: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

There are NO more steps. It is not very complicated. Of course, to make that statement, you must first believe that no matter how much good you have done on this earth, you still are sinful, and need the salvation of the Lord to go to Heaven. However, if you believe Scripture, then Romans 10:9 tells you exactly what you need to do.

If you need someone to confess that belief to quietly, because maybe you are fearful of scaring your loved ones in these last days of your life, speak with a trusted Christian leader. I am available for the simple confession of faith of Jesus Christ and certainty of His Resurrection  anytime, day or night. Just do it if you have not been saved. Grab hold of your hope of Resurrection and surety of faith by claiming it before you die; once you die, it is over, and you do not have any other opportunity for salvation.

The men and women I saw prepared for beginning the process of dying were some of the neatest people I met that day. I hope that they already have a strong faith professed in Christ, and are fully participating in representing the Kingdom of God. However, I suspect a few remain unsaved. It is time folks. Confess Christ and your sure belief in Him and the Father God who is your Creator. My phone number is (208)486-6150 and I will help receive your confession of faith, anytime, day, or night.

God bless all believers in Him. When you soon stand in the presence of Christ, please remember me to Him, and speak good things on my behalf. That would be really cool!