Joel Osteen, the popular mega-church preacher known for proclaiming the gospel of prosperity, was interviewed recently by Oprah and asked if he believed homosexuals would be in heaven. Osteen stated his belief that they would. He then explained that while he believed homosexuality was described as a sin in the Bible, he did not believe it was any worse than any other sin. Therefore, his conclusion was that since those who commit other sins will be in heaven, then homosexuals must be there as well.
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January 17, 2012
Joel Osteen, Homosexuals, and Heaven
January 7, 2012
Man is Short-Lived and Full of Turmoil (1/7)
Thought from today’s Bible reading from Job 14-16.
“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil” (Job 14:1).
Job, while enduring the degree of hardships that most of us will never face, well understood two facts that are easy to forget when everything is going well.
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January 3, 2012
Trying to Reach Heaven (1/3)
Thought from today’s Bible reading from Genesis 8-11.
“They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:4).
This was the reasoning of those who proposed to build what would be called the Tower of Babel. There are several errors of which they were guilty that we could consider. But probably the most notable was in their attempt to reach heaven. They were determined to do it their way, without any sort of assistance from God.* So God put an end to their ambitions.
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July 5, 2011
The Path to Citizenship
The debate over illegal immigration is a hot topic in our country. For various reasons, millions of people from other countries have decided their lives would be better in the United States of America. This country has always welcomed immigrants and has established a system through which they can go in order to obtain citizenship in the United States.
Many pursue residence in this country and later citizenship through the established legal path. Many others, however, begin their pursuit by entering the country illegally. There are now millions of “illegal immigrants” currently residing within our borders, resulting in a great political debate as to what to do about these individuals. Should they be made to follow the immigration laws that have already been established? Should the government enact some sort of new law that would grant citizenship to those who, for whatever reason, chose to ignore the current law and enter this country illegally.
We likely all have our opinions as to what we believe the civil authorities ought to do on this issue, but this is not the place to discuss those opinions. I bring this up because in this debate we can draw a spiritual application regarding the greatest and most blessed citizenship. As Christians, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Let us notice some parallels between our heavenly citizenship and the current immigration debate.
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October 20, 2010
The Book of Life
The book of life is one of the books that will be opened at the day of judgment (Revelation 20:12). What is this book? How do we have our name added to it? How important is it that our name is found there? Let us notice a few things the Scriptures teach about this book.
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August 23, 2010
Who Will Be Lost? Who Will Be Saved?
Anyone who has even a mild interest in spiritual things wants to go to heaven. Do you just want to go, or are you really going? How can we know if we are going to heaven or not?
Many times when one tries to explain who is and who is not going to heaven, charges are made that such a one is judging others. It is of prime importance that we understand who it is that is the Judge, for there is only one (James 4:12). Paul said, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
It does not matter what you or I think. What matters is what He thinks. Judgment will be made according to His word (John 12:48). So what does the word of God say? First of all, it says that many will be lost while only a few will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14). If we want to be among the saved, we ought to find out what His word says about who will be saved and who will be lost.
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April 1, 2010
Having a Proper Sense of Self-Worth
We must guard ourselves against the sin of arrogance. The wise man warned, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). Paul admonished the saints in Rome, “Everyone among you [is] not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). James said, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
While it is necessary that we keep from thinking too much of ourselves, we must also keep from thinking too little about ourselves. There is a balance. Thinking too little of ourselves can also lead to sin. If we think that our lives do not matter, we may be reckless in our actions and transgress God’s law. If we think that no one pays attention to us and we will, therefore, not be accountable to others, it becomes easier to flirt with sin. If our self-esteem is dependent upon what others think of us, we will act in such a way as to find approval from others, even if it means committing sin.
Therefore, we must have an appropriate sense of self-worth. Thinking too much of ourselves leads to sin. Thinking too little of ourselves also leads to sin. We need to find the proper balance.
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