Gays, marriage, definitions & responsibilities
To me, “gay” marriage is not “marriage” at all in any biblical sense. It is a consenting relationship with a degree of commitment.
That said, same-sex relationships may not be best for anyone, but when people choose to go that way, it is their choice, and I have no business interfering with it. Both are still sinners in need of a Savior, just as I am.
I will do my best to lead them to faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. I have no business inquiring as to their sexual orientation. In heaven, it won’t matter anyway.
My responsibility now is to love and serve everyone, regardless of their sexual preferences.
David King
Marshall
‘Begotten’ by God
I found the message in “Life: Why Should I Trust the Bible?” interesting and educational. Word usage is indeed a fascinating study, and Leigh Powers made a significant point.
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I, too, love words and often find it challenging to select the right words to convey exactly what I wish to say. I am often somewhat curious about why writers and speakers select certain words and phrases to express themselves. An example is a sermon I heard recently on John 3:16. The preacher read from the New International Version: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. …” Then, in verse 18, it again says, “… one and only Son.”
I have been reborn and thus am a son of God.
The complete truth of “begotten” must not be eliminated. Jesus is totally God, but when he was sent to fulfill the plan for our salvation, he was totally man. Mary’s pregnancy was physically real, just like our mothers’. His birth was like ours. His life as a baby, child and man was full of the same factors of growth and experiences as ours, with the glorious exception that he was begotten by God. He labored and sweated and bled just like us. In all ways, he encompassed the definition of man while at the same time being one with God by whom he was begotten by miraculous conception.
Bill Lawson
Collinsville
Revisioning camps as addiction centers
What if one, two, three or four of the associations that own a camp in Texas changed their mission to being a fully licensed, medically equipped, psychologically staffed in-patient addiction recovery center?
Wouldn’t it be great if Texas Baptists had a 200-, 300- or even 400-bed residential center to care for loved ones seeking freedom from addiction? A center that was so well respected that people from across the state would seek to go there first?
Talk about a boom for the nearby town, as well. Think of all those Christian professionals living within driving distance of that center!
What if another camp became a regionwide shelter for battered women and maybe even their families? Think of the benefit.
What a great re-visioning for two, three or four associations/areas/camps to serve God’s kingdom in a new way. What a great day for God’s people and for Texas Baptists to have two or four of our camps revitalized for vibrant, year-round, much needed ministry.
If only … .
Ben Macklin
Stephenville
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