Okay, I realize that I haven't finished my Hajj series. I will try to have that posted by the end of this week. But I found out something today and was absolutely shocked. The contemporary Christian singer Ray Boltz came "out" as homosexual. This is the link to the story. This guy wrote and sang some amazing stuff like "Watch The Lamb" (which we acted out for Easter at Mt. Hermon UB when I was a kid... I was "daddy daddy"), "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb", and many others. The guy was married for some 30 years until he divorced his wife this year.
Should I be so shocked? I know I am naive, but shouldn't believers give other people the benefit of the doubt? To be honest, I would understand it more if this guy had more of a liberal theological background. Maybe he did. Obviously he forgot what God's word has to say on the subject.
Now, don't get me wrong. Heterosexual sin is damnable just as homosexual sin. But to me, homosexual sin just shows how far down in the depths one has fallen. But Christians need to respond to this just as we would with any other brother or sister who has "fallen". We need to pray for Ray and his family. Pray for him to be convicted by the Holy Spirit, not by men. Jesus said He came not to condemn, because sin has condemned us already. We need to confront this sin, but not condemn the person to hell because that is the job of God.
If anything, this story with Ray Boltz teaches us to be on our guard and to (as Paul says) build up the body until we come to the maturity of Christ Jesus. Remember to keep growing in your walk with God.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog, already in delay...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Day One: My Hajj to Huntington
My Hajj to Huntington—Day One
In my last post I introduced my trip to Huntington, Indiana. Well, I am going to leave tomorrow and it is about time that I write about my first day, even if it was only a partial day.
We arrived in Huntington mid Saturday afternoon. We had made reservations at the Vista Hotel, not far from Huntington University. We were supposed to have two adjoining rooms. I was to stay in a room with a king bed and my mother and Christina were to take the room with two doubles. It seemed like a good idea. We were originally going to stay in new Staybridge in Fort Wayne, but it seemed too expensive.
When we arrived, I was really disappointed. The hotel, which guaranteed our accommodations, gave our adjoining rooms away and gave us two rooms that we on opposite sides of the building. This just was not acceptable to me. Not only were we guaranteed two connecting rooms, but it would be difficult to spend time with Christina. My legal training (which consists of all the Law & Order shows & a few collage law courses) did not prepare me to deal with this bad business practice. At my suggestion, and slight temper tantrum, we re-confirmed our reservations at the Fort Wayne Staybridge. It really didn’t cost too much more.
We came to the hotel and we were instantly impressed. Not only is the facility new, but the staff is extra friendly and the accommodations are excellent. The high speed internet is a big plus, now that I finally have a laptop. The pull-out couch is actually pretty comfy, and the fully equipped kitchen saves us money on eating out. Oh, and did I mention the pool? Its one of the best indoor pools I’ve seen—and I’ve seen a lot of them.
When we finally settled in and took a swim it was time to go to bed. We were planning to visit several UB churches in the area so we would be getting up real early.
That’s it— my first day in the Holy City. No fasting, no prayers addressed towards 302 Lake Street, but a good day. Five hours of traveling, 1 hour of hotel problem solving, and raw nerves. But here we are.
In my last post I introduced my trip to Huntington, Indiana. Well, I am going to leave tomorrow and it is about time that I write about my first day, even if it was only a partial day.
We arrived in Huntington mid Saturday afternoon. We had made reservations at the Vista Hotel, not far from Huntington University. We were supposed to have two adjoining rooms. I was to stay in a room with a king bed and my mother and Christina were to take the room with two doubles. It seemed like a good idea. We were originally going to stay in new Staybridge in Fort Wayne, but it seemed too expensive.
When we arrived, I was really disappointed. The hotel, which guaranteed our accommodations, gave our adjoining rooms away and gave us two rooms that we on opposite sides of the building. This just was not acceptable to me. Not only were we guaranteed two connecting rooms, but it would be difficult to spend time with Christina. My legal training (which consists of all the Law & Order shows & a few collage law courses) did not prepare me to deal with this bad business practice. At my suggestion, and slight temper tantrum, we re-confirmed our reservations at the Fort Wayne Staybridge. It really didn’t cost too much more.
We came to the hotel and we were instantly impressed. Not only is the facility new, but the staff is extra friendly and the accommodations are excellent. The high speed internet is a big plus, now that I finally have a laptop. The pull-out couch is actually pretty comfy, and the fully equipped kitchen saves us money on eating out. Oh, and did I mention the pool? Its one of the best indoor pools I’ve seen—and I’ve seen a lot of them.
When we finally settled in and took a swim it was time to go to bed. We were planning to visit several UB churches in the area so we would be getting up real early.
That’s it— my first day in the Holy City. No fasting, no prayers addressed towards 302 Lake Street, but a good day. Five hours of traveling, 1 hour of hotel problem solving, and raw nerves. But here we are.
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