Daily Devotional for Tuesday August 26, 2008
Hallmark Sells Out to the Homosexual Community
(Ephesians 2:10; Acts 4:12)
Another great American family institution sells out to the homosexual community. I remember growing up, several times a year there would be wonderful movies with wholesome themes for the family to watch, sponsored by Hallmark greeting cards. That is why it was so sad last week to learn that this company who has always been synonymous with families, decided to sell out and embrace the homosexual community by now offering greeting cards for same sex marriages. Most people probably are thinking "big deal," but it is a big deal since it is simply another example of how even a once family-friendly company like Hallmark has no respect for and could care less what the Christian community thinks, despite the fact that the Christian community helped to build Hallmark and turn it into the successful company that it is today.
This is a classic example of the type of issue the Jonah Project will be involved in. By next year when we have 5-6 million people on board, I will be able to pick up the phone and set up a meeting with the CEO of Hallmark, and in no uncertain terms explain to him why having gay marriage cards would not be a wise business move. The sad fact is at this moment, there is nobody in the Christian community who can make that call and have it make a real impact because we are so fractured. We have no voice that carries any weight that would even make the CEO of Hallmark think twice. It is the same on other issues we see daily. The fact is, we have the numbers, we can have that voice, and we can make our voice heard!
So you still think this is a Christian nation? Over the past 40 years prayer and Bible teaching have been taken out of the public schools, we legally slaughter over 4,000 innocent babies a day, gambling and pornography are now socially acceptable, profanity is no longer considered bad language, Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian faith are openly mocked while the cults and false religions of the world are now revered and protected, we have changed God's definition of what marriage and the family is, places that call themselves churches and men and women who call themselves pastors don't even believe the Bible and operate in complete rebellion to God's Word, and the sin of homosexuality is now considered an acceptable mainstream lifestyle choice.
Hello! Christians! Think it is time we wake up???
How could all of this have happened in such a short period of time? Simple. Men and women who God called to lead His church and people have failed to do so. Many of them deny the inspiration, inerrancy, and Truth of the Bible and have led people to accept and condone what God clearly calls sin. Others have chosen to preach a gospel of motivation and prosperity that tickles the ears of the masses and garners them huge followings of people who don't want to hear about sin and sacrifice, only how to be successful and rich by this world's standards.
Still others have gravitated to a social gospel, seeking to solve the problems of this fallen world like hunger and sickness and poverty, without ever mentioning the greatest need a person has, to have a relationship with Jesus since that "offends" people. These are noble causes but wasn't it Jesus who said "the poor you will always have with you." That doesn't mean we don't reach out to the poor and the sick, but the greatest need a man has isn't food and medicine, it is to know Jesus as their Savior. Too many who are navigating the waters of the social gospel, have had to compromise the absolutes of the Bible and create unholy alliances in order to do the work they are doing.
Never before has our silence and failure to lead been as evident as in the war we have lost regarding making the sin of homosexuality an acceptable mainstream lifestyle choice. Don't believe me? Dear Abby is now on board stating that it is OK to be gay. You say big deal, who cares what Dear Abby says? It is just another example of a long standing cultural icon who has reinforced that this choice of sexual activity is acceptable and even desirable!
In case you missed it, recently Harry Potter author JK Rowling revealed that her character Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts school for wizards in training, is gay! She said her announcement was meant to help people become more tolerant of gay people. So now the Potter books are not only helping to educate children on how witchcraft, wizardry, and sorcery are acceptable, but so is the choice by men to have sex with other men and women to have sex with other women. All that is left is for Rowling to announce Hermione had sex with Harry, got pregnant and had an abortion!
How did we get to this place as a nation? Men and women God called to lead who led the church into their own little subculture, apart from mainstream society. We retreated behind the four walls of the church into the comfort and prosperity of the "Christian trough," something satan was only too eager to let us do since it removed the "salt" and "light" from the marketplace and left it to his wolves to ravage. Now when we step out of our comfortable little subculture back into the real world, we are faced with babies being slaughtered, men marrying men and women marrying women, porn and gambling everywhere you turn, filthy language accepted as normal conversation, all of the media vehicles being used to carry Satan's lies to the masses to insure their souls will end up in hell, and parades to celebrate a sin like homosexuality!!!
I love you and care about you so much. The sad fact is, we can't turn back the hands of time. Things are never going to be the way they used to be. Those days are gone and over. However, in the wake of this gross and unbridled sin are the destroyed lives of real people who bought the sweet lies of sin and are now paying the price for their rebellion to God. This is a new opportunity for the church and for God's people to be the true hope and answer for those who are still breathing, whose lives have been devastated by sin, and who yearn for the peace and joy that can only come from having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
A byproduct of all this sin is the coming wrath of God and great persecution on the church and God's people. This is the time when all of the ways we have figured out to divide ourselves will no longer be important, when those who serve the Lord for mammon will fall away since it will no longer be profitable, and those who aren't serious about their faith will run from it. Left will be a faithful remnant whose citizenship is not of this world and whose goals are not earthly but Heavenly. It is this faithful group who will help bring in a great harvest of souls as the final moments of human history unfold.
My prayer for you today is that you become more bold in your witness for Christ. Don't emulate some of these so-called leaders who have been programmed by their business handlers to never even utter the name of Jesus so people aren't offended and book sales aren't hurt. It is at the name of JESUS that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Him Lord! The Bible proclaims that there is only ONE NAME by which men are saved, the name of JESUS! If we are ashamed of Jesus, He will be ashamed of us.
Take your stand for Jesus my friend. In a nation and world that has rejected our Lord and His Truth, now more than ever He needs each one of His true followers to stand for Him. Yes, this nation is no longer a Christian nation, but when this world as we know it comes to an end, sin will be defeated and the TRUTH will prevail! We can take this nation back for God and for Biblical values. Go to the Liveprayer.com website, click on the Jonah Project link at the top, watch the vision video and get signed up. Hallmark and others need to understand that we will be silent no longer!!!
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller