"We Were Born This Way..."

If there ever was a phrase we use this day...this one is a most popular one...and is being used a whole lot....

 "We hear it in regards to sexual preferences, yet not just there. It is heard from people who hold grudges against others: "I can't help it, it's just the way I am". We hear it from people who don't care about others, from people who choose not to forgive others, and from people who lie to one another. It seems to be everywhere...and the reasoning is always the same: " I was just born this way".
 Rosaria Butterfield, the former liberal lesbian professor who at one time tenured at the University of Syracuse, has in recent years made it of public notice she has now personally embraced the Christian faith, concludes: "We are all born... "this way." Yet, she furthers her new found thoughts by pointing out the Sacred Scriptures enable us to rise out of this captive train of thought and gives us a new way and ability to think and to live...through the very power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 She isn't the first....to arrive at this conclusion...

 In the Old Testament of the Sacred Scriptures, going back to the days when Moses lived upon the earth, he began to explain to the people of Israel the importance of following the Lord God...via the very Commands the Lord Himself had personally given to Moses.
 Moses stated prior to going into the Promised Land that the nations and cultures the people of Israel were about to face in the very Promised Land the Lord had promised them...these nations were actually stronger than Israel. Yet, these nations in the land of Canaan...were not stronger the the Lord God of Israel.

 Here then is a Gleaning from Deuteronomy 7:7-10

 " Understand this: The Lord did not choose to pour out His love to you or choose to love you because you have such a great and wonderful personality...a special charisma that draws Him to you. Nor has He chosen you because of your great importance or the size of your accomplishments in this life...in fact, it is quite the opposite. From the "natural eye", the Lord views you as weak, nothing impressive about anything you have, and concludes there really isn't much to you.
 The Lord God has chosen you because of this reason...and this reason alone: He has chosen...to simply love you!

 Now, that being said, the Lord is also reliable when it comes to keeping promises, and in your case, He has given a promise to your ancestors of long ago...that He would always love you!

  His love for us really "got off the ground" when He brought your very ancestors through the power of His Mighty Hand...out of all the slavery they had suffered in the land of Egypt. The Lord stepped in and changed...your very history!...by rescuing your ancestors form the bondage of slavery...from the very hand of Pharaoh... the King of Egypt.
 As a result of this dramatic turn of events...all provided by Him... it now gives us an opportunity to get to know and to recognize this One we refer to as "The Lord our God". And if we do this, we can discover for ourselves He really is the Only True God, and we will also find He is a Faithful God...has been and will be!...for a thousand generations!

  Here lies a key on how to do this...by way of: (1) listening and (2) obeying His Commands. As we learn to do this, we will always find Him..."Ever Faithful"!...no matter what choices we pursue in this life.
 Yet, let this be known as well. If we choose to : (1) ignore and (2) neglect  His Mighty Commands, causing us to live disobedient lives with all it's false excuses, you are then making this declaration:  You (1) do not care for Him and (2) want nothing to do with His Commands He has given.
 These types of choices only bring to your lives...destruction. His Commands will not always be mocked, and when the time comes, the Lord will deal with these "renegades"...in a more personal manner."

 Saint Paul also picks up on this kind of reasoning, and writes to the Colossian believers stating we need to be aggressive in our new lives given to the Lord Jesus...not given to simply being passive and accepting the phrase: "Oh well, I was born this way."

                         A Gleaning from Colossians 3:5-9

 " As you practice His Commands given to us for daily use in our lives...you will sense some things have just got to go...including those physical desires which have an almost "animal impulse" beat when stirred up.
 Learn to recognize that not every desire you have...is a good one. We also have desires that have its origins from our lower nature...our sensual nature, selfish nature, and greedy nature. These desires are to be discarded totally...because the path of these desires...lead to Death.
 What I am referring to are things like... how we view sex now that we are Christian. Having sex without having a moral implications, embracing casual sex, or lusting after others...these thoughts need to come to an end. Do not let your feelings dictate your sensual desires...like having sex with someone because it "feels" right, having sex with others because it "feels so good", or having sex with anyone who attracts us, regardless of gender.
 All of these thoughts are fueled by our lower nature, a self-want and a greed that when it is all said and done...falls into the category of...Idolatry.
 When we make decisions based on our lower nature instead of His Mighty Commands, we are inviting trouble. You are sending a message to others stating it's ok, God understands our physical needs...which He surely does, yet not by "our commands"...but by His.
 What you are really doing when you allow these "lower nature type decisions" to dictate your life... is sending a message alright...a personal invitation to the Lord Himself...to explode in anger."