A Better Transition

The first time I heard of someone having a sex change was while listening to “American Top 40” in 1979. Casey Kasem talked about a musician named Walter Carlos who was a pioneer in electronic music (his 1968 album “Switched-On Bach” was one of the first successful recordings to feature a synthesizer). Walter dropped out of the public eye for a number of years and had gender reassignment surgery before emerging as “Wendy Carlos.” I was shocked when Casey wished “her” luck and looked forward to “her” upcoming work. At 15 years old, I couldn’t believe someone changing their sex was something to be taken seriously. 

Fast forward forty years later. We now live in a society of gender fluidity. Individuals of all ages can suddenly change their sexual identity at the drop of a hat. Facebook now offers users 58 different ways to identify their gender. The proofreading app Grammarly recently published a blog article about “how to use gender pronouns respectfully” because “it’s Pride Month.” 

People who won’t address transitioning individuals by their preferred gender can find themselves in trouble. One Virginia high school teacher lost his job for refusing to call a female student by male pronouns. Peter Vlaming (who is a Christian) offered to use the student’s new name and avoid feminine pronouns, but the school wouldn’t accept his compromise. Other God-fearing people have been harassed, threatened, and censored for not calling transgender people their preferred pronouns.

I refuse to conform to this lunacy. The Bible makes it clear God created man male and female…period! There are no alternative genders. Nor does Scripture accommodate individuals wanting to change their sex. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Sadly, some parents have encouraged their children to become transgender. As Charisma columnist J. Lee Grady stated, “This is not just an attack on family values; it’s an attack on basic intelligence.”

If you happen to be someone struggling with gender identity, please don’t interpret this article as hateful. I’m speaking the truth in love plus using common sense. To identify a biological male with a feminine pronoun (or vice versa) is like calling a dog a cat. It doesn’t change who they really are. A few years ago I did street ministry with a man who admitted he used to wear women’s clothes until he was set free from gender confusion. As 1 Corinthians 14:33 points out, “God is not the author of confusion but of peace…”

Are you seeking to change your identity? A better transition is to become a new creature in Jesus Christ. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Naked Truth

During the 1980s I regularly watched MTV (an initialism of Music Television) to hear cool sounding songs I wouldn’t have heard otherwise on the radio. Although I wasn’t living for the Lord then, I still didn’t care for the suggestive imagery in many of these music videos. It’s ironic this network still calls itself MTV considering their programming nowadays is mostly reality shows that have nothing to do with music.

That’s also the case with MTV’s sister channel VH1, which originally played songs targeting older viewers. One of their current programs called “Dating Naked” features nude contestants (with certain areas of their bodies blurred) talking openly about sex and body parts. This program came to my attention through a Charisma article about the activist group One Million Moms. They launched a protest that resulted in one of the “Dating Naked” advertisers pulling their ads.

Some argue nudity is “natural” since the first people mentioned in the Bible “…were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25) Keep in mind Adam and Eve were the only two humans on earth at that time. Some theologians believe the earth’s first couple were clothed with the glory of God until they ate the forbidden fruit.

Nudity is discouraged in numerous Scriptures. In Genesis 9:20-25, a curse came upon Ham and his descendants after he told his brothers that their father Noah was lying uncovered in his tent. Years later Moses instructed the Israelites not to look upon the nakedness of various relatives (Leviticus 18:6-19). The priests were told in Exodus 20:26, “Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.”

The demon-possessed man in Luke 8 originally “wore no clothes” but became “clothed and in his right mind” after receiving deliverance. When Jesus comes back to judge the nations, He will commend those who clothed the naked (Matthew 25:36). Other New Testament passages such as 1 Corinthians 12:23 and 1 Timothy 2:9 encourages modesty.

Since the Fall of Man, the only passages that mention nudity in a positive context describe marital relations. Proverbs 5:18-19 says, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.” Song of Solomon chapter 4 gives a more graphic description of a married couple enjoying each other's bodies.

One might question why 1 Samuel 19:23-24 says of King Saul, “Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” This doesn’t mean God approved of Saul prophesying in the nude. By this time Saul lost the anointing to be king and exhibited erratic behavior until he died on the battlefield.

God did command Isaiah, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” (Isaiah 20:2) The next two verses explain why, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.”

Have you thought about what you might be wearing for eternity after you die? Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

On the other hand, I’ve seen gospel tracts showing unsaved men and women standing naked before the Lord on Judgment Day. There are Scriptures supporting this belief. Jesus said in Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” 

In Matthew 22, Jesus spoke these words in the Parable of the Wedding Feast…

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 

12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 

13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Regardless if any clothing will be worn by men when facing God, every hidden sin will be exposed. Nobody will be able to hide behind fig leaves. Make sure you ready for eternity by being born again.

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” - Hebrews 4:13

Transformation by Christ

It’s often been said we are our own worst critic. Many of us have characteristics about ourselves we wish were different. When I was younger, I often got permanents because I liked how I looked with curly hair. Eventually I stopped getting those because I grew tired of the time and expense involved. Besides that, Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...” All of us should be thankful for how God designed us.

However, we now live in a day where people are celebrated for changing their gender. This past week the media has been bombarded with reports of a former Olympic athlete becoming a woman. Bruce Jenner now prefers to be called “Caitlyn” and be addressed by feminine pronouns. Because of this gender reassignment, Jenner has been awarded this year’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award by ESPN. Even more disturbing is Jenner professing to be a Christian and claiming God gave him “the soul of a female.”

As a minister of the gospel, I cannot accept this claim. God designed Bruce as a man...period. If only he would spend more time studying the Bible. Romans 12:2 commands us to “...not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...” It’s ironic the gay community embraces sex change operations yet they demonize former homosexuals who through God’s help overcame same-sex attraction.

One who truly submits himself to Christ becomes “a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and can continue “...being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) Just yesterday, I watched a powerful testimony of a man who had lived as a woman but then realized he was living a lie.

I pray Bruce Jenner will draw closer to the Lord and again become the man he was created to be. Mutilating one’s body parts is never the solution. It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a cancer. Godly change comes from the inside out.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” - Psalm 139:13 (NLT)

Godly Discrimination

One sign we’re living in the last days is society’s increasing acceptance of homosexuality. At the time of this writing, 36 American states have legalized same-sex marriage. In response to Florida being the most recent, a Tampa Tribune writer claimed it “should represent no threat to anyone’s personal faith.” Baloney!

In many other places, Christian business owners who stood up against the homosexual agenda have been severely persecuted. One Colorado baker named Jack Phillips was threatened with jail time for refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Instead of going to a different bakery, the two men filed a lawsuit. A judge ruled Phillips was guilty of “discrimination” and ordered him to make wedding cakes for other same-sex couples who visit his store. He has since stopped making wedding cakes altogether.

One homosexual wrote to me claiming Jesus never discriminated against anyone. Therefore, Christians shouldn’t do that as well. A closer study of Scripture would reveal otherwise. Although the Lord doesn’t want anyone to perish, He will resist certain individuals such as the proud (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). Likewise, Christians are to distance themselves from certain types of people. Among them are those who contentiously promote false teachings...

“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” - Romans 16:17

“Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.” - Titus 3:10-11

“If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.” - 2 John 1:10-11 (NLT)

We are also to avoid fellowship with professing believers living in willful sin. 1 Corinthians 5:11 says, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.”

Now it’s different if you are ministering to sinners. Jesus reached out to thieves and prostitutes not to affirm their behaviors but to give them opportunities to repent and be transformed. Likewise, Christians can cultivate friendships with unbelievers in hopes that they will come to know the Lord someday. However, we are not to feel guilty when boundaries must be set with those who repeatedly reject the truth of God’s word. 

It’s not always hate to discriminate.

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” - 2 Corinthians 6:14

The Same Love

During my teens and early twenties, I was a regular listener of Casey Kasem’s radio show “American Top 40.” That inspired me to subscribe to Billboard magazine whose record charts Casey based his weekly countdown on.

Nowadays I avoid listening to most of today’s hits because of the increased amount of profanity and sexual content in the lyrics. Still, I occasionally log onto Billboard’s website to find out what’s happening with the pop music scene. There's now a song in the Top 20 by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis called “Same Love” that openly endorses same-sex marriage. Some of the song’s lyrics attempt to discredit the Bible’s prohibition of homosexuality…

The right wing conservatives think it's a decision

And you can be cured with some treatment and religion

Man-made rewiring of a predisposition

Playing God, aw nah here we go

God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten

But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five hundred years ago

While other Billboard.com readers wrote positive remarks about the success of this “gay anthem”, I wrote one that wasn’t. As a result, it got me blocked from adding future posts to the website. It’s sad how those who are the loudest to promote “equality” and “tolerance” are very intolerant of those opposing their views. My comments were not hateful. I simply stood up for biblically-based morals this nation was founded upon.

Philippians 2:2 talks about “…having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” The next verse goes on to say, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Same-sex marriage advocates don’t seem to care how their actions are affecting future generations especially parents who want to raise their children “…in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) People who demonstrate true agape love put the needs of others first instead of seeking to fulfill their own lusts.

A featured performer on “Same Love” is a woman named Mary Lambert who considers herself “a gay Christian.” In the chorus she sings, “I can't change even if I tried/even if I wanted to.” She also sings a portion of 1 Corinthians 13:4 (“Love is patient/love is kind.”) It would be helpful for Christians to remind themselves of that Scripture whenever they have the opportunity to minister to homosexuals. We should show the same love to them as to other sinners.

It’s also worth noting Mary was originally raised Pentecostal but then after her parents divorced, she became a lesbian as well as her mother. Let’s pray for laborers to cross the paths of both Mary and her mother so they receive inner healing from past hurts and deliverance from deception.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” - 1 Timothy 4:1

The Moral Case for Purity

While riding a bus in Tampa, Florida a few weeks ago, I briefly browsed through a newspaper someone left behind. One particular article by a New York-based freelance writer named Jill Filipovic grabbed my attention. I was inspired to search for her Facebook profile and email her this reply…

Dear Jill,

This is in response to your article “The Moral Case for Sex Before Marriage.” I first read an edited portion of it in a Tampa newspaper. Later I went online and found the full version on your blog.

I used to frequently have sex outside of marriage. Had I read your article when I was in my early twenties (I’m 48 now), I would have agreed with most of what you wrote. But after having been infected with venereal disease twice and being forced to pay child support for a daughter I never raised, I see things differently now. While I agree there are benefits of having a healthy sex life, I must take issue with many of your claims...

“There's a booming ‘purity industry’…”

I’m sure the “purity industry” generates a tiny fraction of revenue compared to the pornography industry. There are sex shops in practically every city in America. When was the last time you saw a “purity shop”?

“Sex before marriage is the best choice for nearly everyone because everyone has sex before marriage.” 

Probably everyone who drives a car has broken the speed limit (regardless if they got caught). Does that mean speeding is right for nearly everyone?

“People who marry early and/or hold traditional views on marriage and gender tend to have higher divorce rates and unhappier marriages.” 

How many couples have you actually talked to who had lengthy monogamous marriages? I believe most of them would tell you otherwise.

“Marriage is not, and has never been, a way to protect against the harmful, bad and dangerous potential of sex (just read the Bible if you want a few examples).” 

As a Christian minister, I could quote several Scriptures revealing the dangerous results of not following God’s laws especially regarding sex.

“And when government money is going toward telling people to just wait until marriage, we are literally funding an idea that has never worked in all of human history…” 

How about some clear statistics to back up your claims? FYI, the Heritage Foundation has determined our government spends $12 on “safe sex” and contraceptives for every $1 spent on promoting abstinence.

“Our cultural view of premarital sex as morally tainted makes it harder for couples to engage in real talks about their sexual needs and desires before marrying.” 

A couple serious about having a successful marriage will pursue premarital counseling and cover various issues including what they will do in the bedroom.

“Making that choice [sex outside marriage] isn't a moral failing.” 

On the contrary, Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Fortunately, forgiveness is available to everyone who repents of his or her sins and makes Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior.

If you don’t agree with what I wrote, then take it up with God. Either way, we will all stand before Him one day to give an account of our lives.

(end of letter)

Jill never responded to my email. I pray that she read it and it planted a seed in her heart.

“Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain...” - Jeremiah 10:2-3 (KJV)

Why Can’t We Live Together?

In a Yahoo News article entitled “Going Cohab? 8 Survival Tips For Staying Together”, it pointed out how more unmarried couples are bypassing the altar. New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of opposite-sex unmarried couples living together had increased by 13 percent from 2009 to 2010.

“Shacking up” has become commonplace today even among some Christians. Because I wasn’t aware of this practice specifically mentioned in Scripture (later discovering John 4:18), I used to think there wasn't anything wrong with that. At the time I recommitted my life to the Lord in March 1991, I shared an apartment with my then-girlfriend. Eleven months later we were still living together but sleeping in separate beds. I knew it wasn’t God’s will for us to get married. Still I was reluctant to end the live-in relationship because I enjoyed the affection this woman gave me.

One day my girlfriend experienced oppression that I knew was demonic. She refused to seek counseling and so I called our church asking to meet with the next available minister. The pastor I talked to pointed out that my girlfriend and I were opening doors to the devil by living together. I asked this pastor to verify what he was saying with Scripture. One verse he mentioned was “Avoid all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV). Even if my girlfriend and I were not having sex, we were giving people the impression that we were by living together. I was finally convinced my girlfriend and I should not be roommates. Later that day I found another place to live with other Christian men.

Does this mean it’s always a sin for any unmarried man and woman to sleep in the same residence? Personally I think it can be permissible in emergencies or temporary situations as long as no illicit activity occurs. One time a female friend offered to let me crash on her couch for the night after a winter storm caused my apartment’s electricity to go out. During my travels, I’ve occasionally stayed in guest rooms in houses owned by single women.

Then again, there was one female missionary who invited me to stay in her efficiency apartment for a few days so we could evangelize together in her city. While I appreciated her offer, I turned it down because it would have resulted in us sleeping in the same room.

Remember the world is watching us. God’s people are expected to hold to a higher standard of morality.

“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” – Hebrews 13:4

Modern Motherhood

Singer/actress Jessica Simpson gave birth to a daughter a few days ago.  There was some media controversy about her child being named Maxwell, which sounds more like a man’s name.  But what’s really disturbing is how children born out of wedlock are celebrated so much these days.  (Jessica is engaged to the baby’s father but decided to postpone getting married until after the baby was born.)  A couple of generations ago, illegitimate births by Hollywood celebrities were considered scandalous.

Before the birth of Maxwell, Jessica Simpson appeared nude on the cover of Elle magazine displaying her baby bump (à la Demi Moore).  The Huffington Post praised Jessica for being an example of “modern motherhood.”  This is a sign of the times we live in.  Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Jessica was raised by a Baptist youth minister and originally pursued a Christian music career but later turned toward the secular market.  In 2003, she released a single called “The Sweetest Sin.”  Although Jessica was married at the time to her then-husband Nick Lachey (and even announced she remained a virgin until her wedding), one of the song's lyrics proclaims, “It would feel so good to be so bad.”  Proverbs 14:9 says, “Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor.”

Two years later, Jessica portrayed a very sexualized image in her music video “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.”  In response to criticism she received, Jessica stated, “It didn't really surprise me because I grew up with a lot of that backlash.  That's why I didn't end up going into the Christian music industry.  I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there.”

I don’t mean to be judgmental of Jessica but God expects His people to live holy lives regardless of their occupation.  Other celebrities like Tim Tebow and Kirk Cameron have maintained a Christian witness despite public pressure and scrutiny.  I pray that Jessica will start doing the same.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Born This Way?

Since I’ve worked as a disc jockey and keyboard salesman plus owned my own recording studio, I still have an interest in what’s going on with the secular music industry. During last night’s Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga hatched out of a giant egg as she performed her new release, “Born This Way.” The song’s lyrics (inspired by the old Whitney Houston hit “Greatest Love of All”) promote a message of loving one self. Sorry to say, “Born This Way” also endorses homosexuality and people who live a “transgendered life.”

Surely God wants everyone to have a positive sense of worth and not live in condemnation. But apart from the lordship of Jesus Christ, self-esteem can take people down a destructive path. 2 Timothy 3 says that in the last days “…men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

Psalm 139:14 does say that we are all “…fearfully and wonderfully made.” However, we live in a fallen world resulting in some individuals born with diseases and birth defects. God didn’t make them this way. Just like in Bible times, people born blind and crippled are being healed today.

God also didn’t make people born with deviant sexual desires. Personally I know individuals delivered from homosexuality and transvestism. 1 John 5:4 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

We were all born with a sinful nature and in need of the Savior. I pray Lady Gaga will someday recognize the necessity of being born again. The “Poker Face” singer could become a powerful (and definitely an interesting) witness for the Lord if she totally submitted her life to Him.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” - John 1:12-13