#jesus centered

Hey anon, 

You don’t have to apologize! I’m always open to receive questions from y'all! 

So, before I answer these questions I want to clarify that what I think isn’t really important. Simply because I am not the one that set the moral standard. Nor will I be the one everyone will be facing on judgment day. I will give you my “opinion” but I will focus more on the Almighty!

Now, to answer your first question, “Do I think women can be pastors?” Yea, sure, women can do plenty of things because we have free will - but I think the question we must really shift our focus to is “what does God say?” The Bible shows us the roles women have been called to have (Please read Genesis 2, Proverbs 14:1, Titus 2, etc). it has been made evident through out the Scripture that women and men have distinct roles - both equally important! 

The next question is, “Do you think gay Christians can go to heaven?” This question, in my opinion is not very clear. But let’s break it down. 

The term “Christian” was first seen in Acts (chapter 11 - if y’all want to read it). This term was used to mock people that believed and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. We read in Matthew 16:24 that Jesus states, “If anyone wants to follow Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross [daily], and follow me.” Later on in Luke 9:62, Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” The reason I bring those two verses to this response is because IF we have accepted the gift of salvation and have decided to FOLLOW Him - it requires that we are solely focused on HIM! We can’t follow Him and look back to our past sins (or things we identified ourselves with in the past) because Jesus says we would not be fit for the Kingdom of God! That’s a hard pill to swallow, I recognize that. But the question that rises here is, “do we want to keep identifying ourselves by sins we have committed or do we want to be identified by the ONE we have chosen to follow?” I believe that if we profess to be a “Christian” it should be that alone. Our fleshly desires should not be our identity if we say we now walk by the spirit. But Shirley, what does the Bible say about that??? LET’S GO TO GALATIANS 5:16-24!!!!!

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity,  promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance -- as I told you before -- that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions. Since we live by the Spirit we must also FOLLOW the Spirit.”

I know some might think, “ah but these thoughts and feelings are part of me.” To which I respond with what Jesus told Nicodemus, “’I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ ‘But how can anyone be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked Him. ‘Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born? Jesus answered, ‘I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit’” (John 3:3-6). Yea, I know there are many things come naturally to us but God is calling us to live a supernatural life. God calls us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16 & Leviticus 20:7) and what that means is that we are to be set apart. Consecration. Different from what is seen in the world. We are called to allow Him to cleans/transform our hearts and minds; which will consequently reveal that we have new affections and desires. Our desire to please God will grow stronger than our desire to please our flesh - ONLY if we are born again. 

I honestly find it a bit scary when some want to combine their identity with things they are fond with. Is Christ not enough? Are we just here to satisfy our own fleshly desires? Are we here to say we believe and continue to build our lives on our own opinions? Or are we going to run to God continually to ask Him to show us how to love Him better and to serve Him better? Are we going to hold up Jesus’ name up like a banner in our lives?

I pray the Holy Spirit will give you understanding of what He is saying through these passages. Please know I am not sharing any of this to put anyone down. On the contrary, I hope you are encouraged to seek God and His perfect will for your life -- which includes you holding on to Him and living by the Spirit. 

As I said in the beginning of this response - our focus needs to be on the Lord Almighty! So, friends, let us remember that it’s not about us. It is all about God! We are here to glorify Him, make Him known, and just allow our lives to point others to Him!

I hope I answered your question,