LivePrayerDaily Devotional for Monday July 12, 2004
The Federal Marriage Amendment
(Galatians 2:20; 2 Timothy 2:11; Romans 12:1; Ephesians 6:6; Philippians 3:7-8)
I can guarantee you that I am one of the most positive people that you will ever meet in your life. For me, the glass will ALWAYS be half full. However, one thing I will never do is lie to you or tell you things that are not true just to make you feel better. Often, I get accused of being negative and having a defeatist attitude simply because I tell the truth. I am sure many will say that today because of what I am about to share with you, but my job is to tell you the truth, not tickle your ears and give you false hope.
On this Wednesday, the Senate will vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment. They need 67 Senators to vote YES for the amendment. Sadly, there are not 67 Senators that are going to vote YES on this amendment. Let me say up front, that it is a sad day in this nation when we have to even be discussing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage. Marriage is God?s Holy Institution and is defined as one man and one woman. No matter what man may try to change it to, no mater what any law may say, God?s definition of marriage, one man and one woman will NEVER change.
For those of you who have been reading my Devotionals since Liveprayer started on 8/31/99, I have been talking about the issue of marriage and those who want to try and change God?s definition for these past 5 years. Just this February 19, I wrote the following, ?Pastors MUST lead their congregations in fighting those who want to change God?s Word. It is time for all the various pro family organizations, Christian legal organizations, to come together as ONE UNIFIED VOICE and put an end to these attempts to change God?s definition of marriage. The homosexual community represents less than 1% of society, yet they press forward their agenda because they have clearly defined goals and are UNITED.?
You see my friend, we have two problems with this issue. The first problem is that the time to deal with this issue and all of the other issues we care about as Christians was when we voted these Senators and other elected officials into office. This was the very point of my Devotional last Wednesday about electing into office men and women who will vote the heart of God on these types of critical spiritual issues. If the people had voted in 100 Senators who loved God and would uphold Biblical principles, we would not even have to worry about the vote this Wednesday. It would be 100-0 in favor of the amendment!
But that is NOT the case. At least 1/2 of the Senate is made up of men and women who will NEVER vote to uphold even the most basic of Biblical principles like the definition of marriage. The people who voted these men and women into office are getting exactly what they asked for, senators who will vote and legislate in rebellion to God and His Word. Knowing this, the current administration should have been seriously dealing with the marriage issue from day one, not simply giving it lip service just this past February when it was too late. (I am aware of President Bush?s comment over the weekend. Sadly, they mean little at this late date. Too bad he didn?t see fit to mobilize masses of people and raise millions of dollars to fight this issue years ago, since he has no problem doing that to get re-elected! I guess everyone has to decide what means the most to them.)
The second problem and where the ultimate blame has to go is on the church and those in spiritual leadership in this nation. Those who are lost and without Christ are simply doing what they know. You can?t expect sinners to care about righteousness or following God?s plan for marriage. Those who MUST care have been asleep on this issue. I guarantee you that you heard powerful, passionate messages on marriage yesterday in church. That is nice, but just 3 days prior to the vote on the Senate floor is TOO LATE. The time for those sermons was a year ago, two years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago!
Back on May 18, after the state of Massachusetts legalized same sex marriage I told you, ?You will be getting hundreds of emails asking you to sign various petitions about marriage in the coming weeks, they have already started to pour in. They are nice attempts, but will do nothing since it is too late.? In the past few weeks I have received over 25 requests from various organizations to sign a petition regarding this issue. Not only are all of these various petition efforts too late, but as I shared in the quote from my February 19 Devotional, because our voice is so divided it is NOT being heard!
As long as satan keeps the Body of Christ divided, speaking with hundreds of different voices, we will never be heard or be able to make the impact that we should in this world. Satan has perfected the trap of division and we have fallen right into it. A perfect example of the Body of Christ coming together in unity was ?The Passion of The Christ.? In addition to everything else this movie accomplished, it was one of the few times I can remember that the majority of the Body of Christ became one! And guess what, THE WORLD NOTICED THEY COULD NOT IGNORE US!!!
I want to add a personal comment here. God has shown me the big picture of Liveprayer many times over the years. This vehicle on the Internet and on secular television has become a unifying agent for the Body of Christ. Liveprayer has cut through all of the man made barriers erected to separate the Body. This ministry reaches men and women of all ages, backgrounds, church affiliation, nationalities, cultures, and income levels. Liveprayer is committed to be a loud, bold, and unified voice for the Body of Christ as we take the truth of God?s Word and the hope and love of Jesus Christ to this lost and hurting world.
I love you and care about you so much. We have got to start realizing that we are not only at war against those around the world who would like to physically destroy our country and kill us, but in a greater war with those who live here for the soul of this nation. Sadly, those who are fighting for satan are winning because we are hiding in our churches and Christian kingdoms we have built giving the enemy no real opposition. You can?t win a war unless you are willing to fight, and you can?t fight unless you are willing to die! The fact is, we aren?t willing to fight for the truth while our enemies are willing to die for a lie!
I will be praying for you today. Praying that the Lord uses these words today, the losing vote this Wednesday to open your eyes to what is happening in our nation. May this be a wake-up call to the army of God that it is time to start fighting back. While we are in the safety of our beautiful churches, preaching to ourselves via the Christian media since you can?t expect the lost to give you money to buy mansions and private jets, our nation is in a spiritual free fall. Too many who God has called to be spiritual leaders are more concerned with building their kingdom instead of God?s Kingdom and it is only a matter of time before we experience God?s judgment for our gross wickedness.
I want to encourage you today to wake up and look around you at what is happening. In my lifetime I have seen prayer in school made illegal, abortion made legal, and now marriage between people of the same sex a reality. What can you do? Plenty! Live a Godly life before this world. Realize that those God brings into your life are not there by accident and take the time and effort to share the love of Jesus and the truth of His Word with them.
Above all, realize that God has a plan and purpose for your life. HE HAS CALLED YOU IN THESE LAST DAYS TO SERVE HIM! The Bible says that if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, it is not your life any longer, it belongs to Him. Surrender your life to Him today! GOD NEEDS YOU AND WANTS TO USE YOU! IT IS TIME TO GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND START MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH YOUR LIFE! Jesus died for you, now it is time for you to die for Jesus!